When, where and how to live in retirement are questions we all face sooner or later. Fortunately, locals’ options are about to improve.

When I moved back down south, I set a challenge to myself to leave the area in a more prosperous position than when I arrived. 

One thing I knew well before I returned was that the Central Otago region desperately needs more health care services for its (growing) communities. This need spans the healthcare spectrum, from primary healthcare and hospital facilities to retirement village and aged care services.

My ability to assist in resolving primary and hospital care services is limited – we need to rely on (and likely lobby) central government for these services over time. For the record, the Central Otago/Queenstown Lakes region is now at a size that plans should already be underway for a large fully serviced hospital to be placed in the region; travelling 3 hours to receive acute care for a population of this region’s size (and growing) is simply not acceptable. 

However, my background in financing retirement village and aged care facilities around the country has allowed me to partner with local investors as a director of the new Aurum on Clutha Lifestyle Village in Clyde.

I vividly remember attending a business breakfast meeting about spatial planning soon after arriving in Central.  It turned into a rather heated conversation about where retirement villages and aged care facilities were in this plan. The council can’t be asked to deliver such facilities, which are highly complex and require specialist input, but the meeting highlighted the need for these services in our community.

That’s why I am incredibly excited and proud that in a few weeks’ time the first residents of the 128-villa retirement village will be welcomed in. 

The village will have an amazing array of community facilities for residents, and over time a continuum of care from village to full aged care (including dementia) services. 

The two main reasons residents enter a retirement village are companionship and security, followed closely by health and downsizing requirements. If these are current concerns for you, or you are looking to plan ahead, then Aurum on Clutha could be an option worth exploring.

You can attend the first open home on Saturday 3^rd June 2023, by popping into the village on Mutton Town Road.

If the village lifestyle appeals, I recommend discussing your finances with your accountant or financial planner to help prepare for the transition.

So, when I look back on the challenge I set myself to leave the region in a more prosperous position than when I arrived, developing this community asset for the community is a pretty good start.