A new year is a wonderful thing; it allows us to start afresh, take on new challenges, and make important lifestyle changes.  If your new year’s resolution is to find the ideal retirement lifestyle solution, here are a few pointers to consider during your decision-making process:

Location
When deciding where to live in retirement, consider a location that meets your needs in terms if proximity to friends and family whilst also offering convenient access to shops and restaurants, hospitals and medical practises, theatre, libraries, churches, and the like. Remember too that you will have a lot more time on your hands once you retire so consider locations that offer beauty, tranquillity, and access to the great outdoors; parks, beaches, and mountain walks all provide great enjoyment and an opportunity to remain fit and active during your retirement years.

Excellent Security
We all become physically vulnerable as we age, and with home invasions an unfortunate reality in South Africa, security is an important consideration. Evergreen’s professionally run retirement villages all offer state-of-the-art, 24-hour security along with strict access control, electric fencing, CCTV surveillance, and around-the-clock foot and bicycle patrols.

Financial peace-of-mind
One of the biggest fears amongst retirees today, is that they will outlive their retirement funds.  For this reason, it is important that you consider a retirement solution that allows you to accurately plan for your financial future.  Evergreen’s Life Right purchase model offers a number of financial benefits including:

• Pricing flexibility
• Transparent and affordable levies
• Reduced upfront costs
• No special levies since the developer is responsible for the upkeep of the property
• Sound investor backing

Access to good healthcare
In later life, the importance of being able to access medical care quickly and easily will become a priority, so having healthcare facilities and trained professionals close at hand means that you’ll be able to enjoy your golden years without worrying unduly about deteriorating health. Evergreen’s continuous care model provides both primary and personalised home-based healthcare services, on-site emergency facilities and 24-hour nursing, as well as frail- and dementia-care for those who need it.

The ability to age in place
It is very important that you find a solution that will accommodate your changing needs and requirements as you age.  You may be in perfect health and able to live an independent life now, but none of us know what the future holds.  Circumstances can and do change, so think long term and make a sensible choice so that you are not forced to relocate later in life when, for a variety of reasons, change becomes more difficult.

Quality of Life
Cooking, cleaning and gardening all get much more difficult as you age, and keeping up with home maintenance can be both onerous and costly.  At Evergreen’s Lifestyle villages, professional onsite teams take care of all aspects of daily life – like cleaning, painting and repairs, gardening and landscaping, healthcare, housekeeping, laundry, catering and more – so that residents can relax and enjoy a retirement lifestyle second to none.

Resort Style facilities
The key to a happy retirement is remaining mentally stimulated, physically active, and socially engaged, so be sure to check that the facilities and amenities on offer will allow you to exercise close to home, meet and make new friends, get involved in your community, and connect easily with your neighbours.

At Evergreen, our built environments are carefully designed to meet the emotional, physical and social needs of our residents.  Village life unfolds within state-of-the-art lifestyle centres that typically include a bistro, coffee shop, reading lounge, library, games room, entertainment area, and mini-cinema.  Residents also have access to our fully equipped gyms, indoor heated pools, and bowling greens, and there are plenty of social events and outings, games nights, clubs, activities and special interest groups to keep them busy.

To find out more about an idyllic Evergreen’s retirement, please click here