Retirement village expert chooses new home in Arvida community

“We have a two-bedroom villa with a garage. It’s very warm and dry with double glazing and a good heat pump and good sun. After many years living in a draughty 1931 bungalow in the Hutt Valley near Wellington, that’s life-changing. Our energy bills are lower, and rates and property insurance increases are history for us. In just a few months, we have made a number of friends and are very much looking forward to contributing to the life of the community. We’re enjoying cycling, pool, yoga and a huge range of other activities.”

John retired from the RVA in August, following a career that began with New Zealand Railways, including marketing manager for part of the freight business.

John and Janet visited the community several times before making their decision and John was delighted to reconnect with several former schoolfriends who now live there too. Then they then went through the Arvida occupation rights agreement (ORA) with their lawyer.

“He went through everything and talked about all the points we needed to know and we asked some questions. It was very straightforward,” says John.

Having visited many retirement villages for work, John says they had “tucked away” ideas about many they liked but Arvida Waimea Plains stood out for them. That did give them a head start before they began their own journey of selecting a village, making visits, talking to residents and seeking advice from their lawyer. They found the information they needed was all easily accessed.