Realize your Retirement Dream

Where do you want to live when you get old?

Some people dream of retiring to a small place by the sea, but for others moving is a difficult decision they face when they can’t continue living the way they used to. At that point the options available are limited, yet if we plan ahead we can enjoy a sustainable lifestyle surrounded by people we know and have an active role in our community at any age.

Four years ago I got together with a group of people and bought a country estate with a mansion and outbuildings, some of which were already converted into apartments. We have separate homes with small private gardens and share 10 acres of grounds where children play and we grow our own food.

None of us was thinking about retiring when we started. We were simply sharing resources in ways that benefit everyone and working together on common goals. This has led to deeper relationships and a true sense of community.

We are now in the process of converting a redundant outbuilding into new houses and we’ve found that a large proportion of people applying to join us are over 60. It’s a wonderful environment for young and old, but we don’t say yes to too many older people because we like the diversity of a balanced age range.

Many of these older people have thought hard about how they want to live and know that a community like ours would meet their needs better than anywhere else. But it’s better to make that choice earlier in life to have a chance of making it a reality.

Having seen the alternatives to living in a close knit community I’m glad I’ve started doing it in my 40’s.

I’ve just been to visit my mum who lives with lots of other retired people 200 miles away. Everyone living there has moved from their previous homes and needed to get used to new surroundings and make new friends. They all live independent lives in separate apartments and get together regularly to play cards or share common interests. In some ways it’s similar to the community I live in, but there are no young people living there and no sense of common purpose.

My mum doesn’t get a full range of social interaction and - in contrast with our community - children visiting quickly get bored and want to leave.

Older people are a valuable asset to our community. They have time for gardening, passing on skills and occupying children, sitting around the fire leading a sing-a-long, and contributing their ideas at meetings. It’s a far healthier and satisfying way to live. If you think it would suit you, why wait? It has advantages at any age.