When Ascot Vale resident Glenice Cook saw an advertisement for Ryman Healthcare’s Raelene Boyle Village she wasted no time in finding out more.
“I had a pretty hard list of needs and it seemed the village would meet them,” Glenice said.
The same day Glenice contacted Ryman to express her interest in the village, her daughter called to say ‘Mum, I’m going to bring you a pamphlet about a village in Aberfeldie, you can make an appointment’.
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“I was able to say ‘it’s too late, I’ve already done that’,” Glenice laughed.
Among Glenice and husband Barry’s list of non-negotiables for retirement living was the need to live on one level and be able to remain within the area they have lived in for the past 30 years.
With friends living at Ryman’s Nellie Melba and Weary Dunlop retirement villages in Wheelers Hill, the couple knew they would love village life.
“Our friends tell us how pleased they are to be there,” Barry said.
“And we’ve seen the amenities at the villages, and they are just beautiful,” Glenice said.
“My daughter did say ‘you’ve only been on one cruise in your lives, and now it will be like being on a cruise for the rest of your lives!’"
Now the couple’s home has been sold and they are counting down until they move into the village later this year, a sense of security has replaced feelings of uncertainty.
“We’ve really got to the stage where we’re not able to cope with the physical demands of maintaining a property,” Barry said.
“We didn’t want to stay here and risk being a burden to each other and our family and we can now relax together knowing our immediate future is secure and that ongoing advanced care will be available onsite if one or both of us need it.”
The Cooks said before they signed on the dotted line for a three-bedroom apartment they asked “a lot of questions” of Raelene Boyle Village’s sales team and got “straight forward answers”.
“This transparency was very good, and the conditions of occupancy are very fair which has made us confident that we’ve made the right decision,” Barry said.
A sense of community at Raelene Boyle Village is already clear thanks to events organised by Ryman which have enabled future residents to meet one another.
“Ryman have gone out of their way to make us feel part of a community,” Glenice said.
“That’s been really important because older people can get lonely and it seems there is no reason to be lonely once you are there.”
The village would only improve the aspects of life in Melbourne’s north-west that the couple already love.
“We’re still going to be close to important services like public transport, doctors and specialists,” Barry said.
“And we’re going to be able to make some new friends and keep our old ones too.”
Upon completion the Raelene Boyle Village will include 73 aged care beds, 27 serviced apartments and 64 apartments, as well as a cinema, bowling green, indoor pool, gym, library, café and bar.
To find out more about our Raelene Boyle Village click here.
