"My mum and dad used to bring us to Casula for picnics; it was a nice day out from where we lived in Bexley which was half an hour away by car. Of course, it was real countryside then, lots of market gardens and fields. There used to be a drive in picture theatre on this very spot- Maple Grove is bigger but the pictures used to be where my villa is now.
It was a funny little twist of fate that brought me to Maple Grove. A couple of friends of mine were thinking about retirement villages and had made an appointment to come and look at this one. I wasn't interested - I thought villages were for old people and I was still busy living and working part time by managing the villas where I lived in Bexley.
About two weeks before their appointment they were involved in a car accident and couldn't get here on their own. I offered to drive them and while they were in the office talking about buying a villa, I had a little walk round and liked what I saw. Everyone was friendly and I was asked to come back to a do they were holding at the village. That was it really, I liked the atmosphere here right from the beginning. I've been here for 11 years now and I still like how it feels.
It was an easy move for me. I never married and always stayed at home with my parents in the big house in Bexley where I was born. I worked in finance for many years but had always been involved with the Girl Guides and, eventually, it became my job. I travelled a lot with the Guides all over Australia and even overseas but my home was with my parents. After they died, the house was left to me and my two brothers so it was sold and everyone took what they wanted from it.
What some people don't realise is that a retirement village is like any other community-it's what you make of it and there's plenty going on here. There are always opportunities to go and see something, committees to join, sport to play and they even organise trips away for two or three days. There is a little something for everyone who lives here if they want to get involved.
I don't manage to go on the trips away because I'm still a little busy with other things. I'm on the finance committee here, the chairperson of the resident committee and I'm also still active in the Guides which can take up my time.
If I had any advice it would be to think about a retirement village earlier. Aside from all the things you can get involved with, it helps with your personal finances because you always know what your villa is going to cost you each year. I'm not much of a budget person, which is funny since I worked in finance for so long and it helps me to know what money I've got to spend. But, a village can help you get on with your life by taking care of a few of the little details for you. It doesn't stop you doing anything but it does offer you a few new things to do if you want to."
