“I've got more social life now than I've ever had.”

Making the decision to move into a retirement village was easy for Summerset Mount Denby resident, Sharon Powell, but it’s the community of new-found friendships that have reinvigorated her social life.

“I've got more social life now than I've ever had. When my husband was alive, we were very social. But after he passed, it was harder for me to go out. Here there’s things happening every day.” said Sharon.

“I walk every morning with my next door neighbour, and there’s a group of us who get together for special birthdays or events, we take turns hosting, and all go along and have a few drinks. When I go away, one of my neighbours waters my garden. Another neighbour had recently picked a whole lot of plums, so he bought plums over along with some quince jam he had made. People do little things like that.”

At the suggestion of late night parties, Sharon couldn’t help but laugh, “You've been talking to my neighbours” she chortled. “I can't say enough how friendly everyone is around here. It’s lovely having really good next door neighbours.”

New friends and a new home aren’t the only new things in Sharon’s life. Since moving into the village, she’s also tried new activities for the first time.

“I play Pétanque, which I'd never played in my life before, but I play that now, and I've played indoor bowls a few times, and been to bingo, which I’d never done before either. There’s been a lot of firsts for me here, it’s been great.”

Village living has also given Sharon freedom from maintaining her home.

“I had a large property for 32 years, my husband and I used to maintain it together, but after he passed, it got to the stage where it was just getting far too much for me. Now I don’t have to worry about water blasting my concrete or anything. You don't really realise until you shift somewhere like this, just how much you do in your own home. It's a bit of an eye-opener. You think, Oh I don’t have to do that anymore.”

Bringing sentimental items along for the move ensures Sharon feels right at home.

“When I came back to sign all the papers I said to the village manager, Kat, ‘I’m feeling quite sad because I've got a water feature my husband gave me many years ago, and it needs power. I've had a look and there's no outside power points’ and Kat said, ‘we can sort that out for you.’ Within a few weeks of shifting in, I had the power point and my water feature going.”

“I can't stress enough how helpful and friendly the staff have been, they went over and above for me.”

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