WattleGrove Retirement

Joy:

Twenty ten found Joy facing quite a dilemma. She was in her late 60s, her house where she lived in Orange was in need of renovations she couldn’t afford; if she sold her home she wouldn’t have enough capital to buy back into Orange, and her only family, her son, had recently migrated to Canada.

But as ’they’ say, “the Universe will provide”, and it did, in the form of a coupon in the local newspaper. The coupon was for information about a brand new retirement village, WattleGROVE, located in Cootamundra, about a 3 hour drive south of Orange. 

“I sent the coupon off and a few days later this big fat envelope of information arrived”, said Joy. She liked what she saw and it was in her price range, so she took a couple of friends down to have a look. 

“I fell in love with the place immediately”, she said, “It was so full of life and the unit was compact yet very roomy and I really loved the courtyard at the back. It faces north- east and traps the winter sun. I am over gardens – been there done that”.

So Joy moved into her brand new home in July.  “Everyone is so friendly here, it’s like being part of a big family. I just love it and I haven’t stopped smiling since I got here. You can please yourself when you want to mingle and when you want to keep to yourself. 

“I find the people in the town are very friendly and helpful too. I wrote and told my son how happy I was, which was a great relief for him.

“I’m going to take my time working out what I want to do. I am into arts and crafts and there seems to be plenty of opportunities for that here. And if I want to travel

Cootamundra is a hub for the railway; you can go to Sydney or Melbourne from here.

“It’s amazing how much better things look when you are happy with your life”, said Joy.

Elaine and Bill:

Elaine and Bill are the newest residents of WattleGROVE Retirement Village. The couple came to Cootamundra from New Zealand. “We were originally from Sydney”, said Bill “But thirty two years ago we went to New Zealand on a fishing trip and only just got back!

“A retirement village was the obvious answer for us. I have developed chronic arthritis and had had enough of maintenance and mowing and painting and climbing ladders, and Elaine wanted to move closer to her elderly mother who lives just a couple of hours away at Forbes.

“Cootamundra struck a cord with us immediately - the people here are so friendly, it has a great climate and it’s so central; we are just four hours from Sydney and five from Melbourne”.

Elaine and Bill are absolutely thrilled with their brand new two bedroom home ”It’s so roomy”, said Bill, “and Elaine fell in love with the kitchen with its lovely big work benches”.

Although the village is still very new, the residents have already set up a community vegetable garden. “We’ve planted a variety of vegies for all to share”, said Bill. “and there will be plenty left over.

“We have our own gardens too that are set up with automatic sprinklers but it’s up to us how much work we want to do in them; it can be the lot or absolutely nothing –it’s our choice. Garry, our Mr-Fix-It and Gardener takes care of everything for us, in fact I don’t even have to change a light bulb if I don’t want to – I think that’s great!

“My hobby is flying model aircrafts, I was very pleased to find two clubs here at “Coota” with plenty of wide open spaces for flying.

“WattleGROVE is really lovely and so comfortable. Everything certainly all fell into place for us. We are rapt.”

Resident’s Comments

WattleGROVE offers residents functional villas with practical features and private outdoor areas, offering the perfect opportunity to relax more, with no consuming responsibility of the care of a yard.

Residents explain the village community to be at once friendly, responsive, and respectful of privacy. “Our regular afternoon teas are filled with shared laughter; and our mutual concern for each others’ wellbeing is tangible but non-intrusive. Our Village staff are special people,” one resident said.

As for living in Cootamundra – the peaceful and friendly ambience, with its clean air, parks, wide streets and cared-about appearance all combine to make it a wonderful place to live. “Now we live here, we enjoy the slower pace, but we soon learnt there is also an underlying vibrancy that has led us to keenly anticipate what next we may discover our new home town offers,” a resident said.

Cootamundra is a town with a strong sense of community, and one which gives newcomers a very friendly reception. Residents are often surprised at how many organisations and activities one could join, including seniors’ specific exercise classes, a Men’s Shed, and the University of the Third Age.


Additional Testimonials


Norma

“Having lived most of my adult life in Cootamundra and knowing it as a great town in which to live, I was delighted to see this style of retirement living being provided locally.

Without a large garden to care for, I now have more time to entertain, learn about computers and continue the voluntary work I so enjoy. I am involved in many volunteer organizations and I enjoy the work they do and now find I have the time to fill in for others when the need arises. 

There is a real feeling of community amongst the residents and we all look out for each other.”


Armstrong’s

“Being retired farmers who have lived in the Cootamundra district all our lives, we appreciate the outlook of the surrounding hills and seeing the livestock grazing. We are content and certainly do not feel crammed in or overcrowded.

We value the opportunity of making new friends from nearby areas and interstate and we are renewing old acquaintances.

Being the owner of a new bicycle (a gift from the family) Ian is enjoying this physical challenge immensely. While Shirley is very pleased with the interior design of the villa as she feels it minimizes housework.

The exterior landscaping is cared for mainly by the Gardener who does an excellent job with the mowing of the expanse of lawn – so we can sit back and enjoy what life has to offer.”


Lena

“Now that I live at WattleGROVE Retirement  Village I wonder where I found the time to look after my family. I have my car and my independence to visit my children in Canberra, Kiama Downs and Mudgee.

I am enjoying myself with all my friends, I have joined a club or two and feel so free to go on holidays both all around the country as well as overseas. Since moving to WattleGROVE I have taken a trip to Europe with my Sister and we had a wonderful time together - a 2 night stop over in Singapore, 15 night river cruise from Budapest  to Amsterdam and we spend about 10 days in my birth country, The Netherlands, where I still have relatives living and I’ve enjoyed a wonderful cruise island hopping around the South Pacific with a group of friends, including another resident. Boy I’m always happy to be home again - but hey I’m busy planning my next big adventure!

This is the best time in my live.”


Tweedale’s

“We had been considering the idea of moving into a Retirement Village for quite sometime. Looking around Adelaide, (where we lived)  we were unable to find anything that we felt would be suitable for us. Then we started to search the Internet to see what was available elsewhere.

We came across a village on the net in NSW that interested us very much, so decided to call into WattleGROVE Village at Cootamundra on the way to visit family in Orange.

When we went through the display villa at WattleGROVE we were very impressed with the amount of storage and the spacious living area. We also found the town people very friendly and the shopping centre is not far away which would be very convenient.  There is an excellent Medical Center and Hospital close by. Something else that interested us was that the town is located on the main rail line from Sydney to Melbourne, which would be very convenient for traveling for us to see other friends and family.

Since moving into our new villa at WattleGROVE in October, we have been made to feel very welcome by the management and all the residents. We have settled into our new home very well and enjoy the security and lifestyle very much. We are very happy that we decided to make the move and are looking forward to having many happy years here.”



Sutherland’s

“My husband and I moved to WattleGROVE in August 2009 and feel it is one of the best decisions we have ever made.

We were never too keen to move to a ‘Retirement Village’ but after attending the Open Day, we quickly changed our minds and couldn’t wait to sell our home and move in. We put our home, which included a large garden and pool

on the market and it took quite a while to sell, and when we least expected it it sold and we very quickly headed to WattleGROVE and bought our unit.

The staff were very helpful with the purchase and being able to choose our own paint colours, carpet and tiles certainly made the unit feel like our home and we are now very comfortable.

The comforts of the unit are very much appreciated and enjoyed by us both. The air conditioning/heating makes life very comfortable, the easy gardening and watering system, the modern kitchen and ample living space all add to the realization that we should have done this years ago.

As we travel quite a bit it is also reassuring to know that we don’t have to worry about anything – our home and garden will be looked after and we don’t have to pester our family and friends to water the gardens and look after the house.

Moving from a larger house has not been an issue – our children have appreciated the extra furniture they acquired – but we have plenty of room in our unit for the furniture we needed and\or couldn’t part with.

We are very happy at WattleGROVE and enjoy the company of other residents, but this is not the issue that a lot of people worry about – everyone respects the privacy of others – so that living in the WattleGROVE community is about security, comfort and an easy to manage home.”