How to choose the right retirement village for you

Moving into a retirement village can be a big deal, and at Southern Cross Care we understand that you want a new home that suits your needs, lifestyle and budget. 

Southern Cross Care has retirement living facilities located in South Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory. 

Choosing the right community requires some thought and research. We created a guide to help you get started. 

Location 

The first factor to think about is location. 

The location of your new community will have a great deal to do with how you want your lifestyle to look.

Do you want to spend a lot of time at the beach? Then you need a retirement village nearby. 

Are you trying to escape the busy traffic of the city? Then you need a retirement community a little further afield. 

Or maybe you want to play golf every day and would like to be able to simply walk onto the course from your home. 

Southern Cross Care operates retirement villages across SA, as well as in Victoria and the NT. 

We have a wide range of locations to suit everyone; you can learn more on our locations page. 

Facilities and services 

Your next consideration should be what you want your village to provide for your lifestyle. 

If you enjoy gardening and have a green thumb, you may want a community with a shared garden.

Alternatively, you may find joy in tending to your personal garden at the back of your villa. 

If staying fit is important to you, consider finding a village with a community centre that has a gym. 

If you enjoy caravanning, you will need a place to store your caravan. If you have two cars, look for a home with a two-car garage.

Some people are looking for more support when they move into a retirement home, but still want to maintain their independence.

This is where consideration of the services on offer is important. 

In all Southern Cross Care Retirement Villages maintenance of homes and shared spaces is taken care of. 

This means less worry and more time to enjoy your retirement. 

Other services may be provided depending on the type of retirement living you are signing up for. 

Southern Cross Care has fully independent villas, units and apartments, where you may choose to have home care services but will need to pay separately for them. 

Many of these homes come with a 24/7 emergency call system for your safety and peace of mind. 

But we also offer serviced apartments, where the services include weekly cleaning and linen, chef-prepared meals twice a day and the emergency call system. 

To learn more about the different facilities and services in Southern Cross Care’s retirement villages, visit our Accommodation Options page. 

Close to amenities 

The next step looks deeper into location and is about what you need around your village in order to live the life you want. 

The amenities you can scan surrounding streets and suburbs for include shops, medical facilities, places to eat, entertainment and government services. 

For example, if you are interested in joining your local council’s programs for older people you should look for a home that is not too far from that council’s community spaces. 

Or health conditions may mean you need to see a doctor regularly, and it would be helpful to live close to a doctor you trust. 

Proximity to medical facilities often becomes more and more important as people age and part of the idea of moving into a retirement village is that you can age in place. This means growing older in your own home because it has all the supports and accommodations you need. So being close to amenities for your health is an important consideration. 

It’s also ideal to have public transport at the doorstep, for use if you don’t want to drive but still want to go out often. 

Activities, entertainment and outings 

Now we come to the fun part.

They don’t call them ‘retirement communities’ for nothing. 

Moving into a retirement village with a community that suits your ideal lifestyle is key to loving where you live. 

Consider whether you are the kind of person who will want to have as many community activities as possible, spending time with your neighbours whenever you can, or whether you are not really interested in socialising with your neighbours at all.

Many retirement living sites with community centres have regular events and activities that bring the community together. 

For example, cards and games sessions, art and craft groups, bus trips, men’s groups, group exercise sessions, happy hours and afternoon teas, celebrations of important holidays and concerts by visiting entertainers.

In communities with bustling social calendars of activities, entertainment and outings, you can still choose what you want to attend. 

But if you move into a community that has no activities on offer, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to suddenly access activities if you change your mind down the track.

Communities with no formal activities can still provide opportunities to socialise and catch up with your neighbours if you prefer a low-key chat and a cuppa.

So make sure the community you choose has the potential to support the level of social interaction that you want. 

Southern Cross Care has a wide range of communities with lifestyles from the busiest to the quieter schedules. 

For more information visit our Retirement Living Communities page and click on the communities that interest you.