“What is life at a Ryman village like?”
It is a simple question that future John Flynn resident Peter Webb got a simple answer to when he randomly asked a Nellie Melba Retirement Village resident during an open day.
“He said ‘it’s great’ and I thought ‘that’ll do me, that’s all I want’,” Peter said.
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Peter and his wife Jan Vanselow will move from their home of 36 years in Ringwood North to Ryman’s John Flynn Retirement Village in Burwood East next year.
Jan said the resident’s glowing review was further proof moving to a Ryman village was the right thing to do.
“Right from when we put in an expression of interest, I’ve felt that we already belong,” she said.
“A lot of that is to do with John Flynn sales advisor Michelle Shaw.
“Michelle has rung us up a number of times just to check how we are going during the lockdown and she sends us cards and little presents.
“Ryman have our deposit, but they are interested in you as a person, you are not just a dollar sign on a piece of paper.”
And the “very transparent” purchasing process had provided an important sense of future security, Jan said.
“We knew exactly how much it was going to cost to go in, how much it is going to cost us while we are there because they have the fixed maintenance fee, and exactly how much our estate would get when we left. It was very transparent, so we have that important peace of mind.”
Peter said both he and Jan grew up in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs and they wouldn’t want to retire anywhere else.
Another perk of the village’s Old Burwood Rd location was it meant Peter could remain a member of the Eastern Cycling Club.
“I cycle about 60km a day most days, Friday is normally my day off because we race on Saturdays, so I need a little bit of rest,” he said.
“I got extremely involved with cycling as a result of a health problem. I had prostate cancer about 16 years ago, and I decided I wanted to get really fit.
“I used to be a swimmer but then once this cycling ‘bug’ hit, it took over.”
Jan said they had been pleased to learn one of Peter’s fellow Eastern Cycling Club members would also be moving to the village.
The assisted living and special care options offered at the village meant “the future is already mapped out for us”, Jan said.
“We like the idea that when the time comes we can just move from our 2 bedroom independent apartment into an assisted apartment, or into higher care if we need it without having to leave the facility. We feel that once we make this move we are never going to have to move again.”
“We are just looking forward to it greatly,” Peter said.
