Ailsa still feels independent. She’s just made life easier.
After 25 years in her Fairview villa, Ailsa didn’t want to move again.
At 93, she had already lived through plenty of change. She had trained and worked as a practice nurse, raised a family, lost her first husband unexpectedly, built a second chapter of life, and even helped grow a retirement village herself, from six homes to 47.
So when Ailsa talks about retirement living, she does so with more than an opinion. She has lived it, worked in it, and seen what makes a village feel right.
Twenty-five years ago, Ailsa and her husband Rod bought one of the original villas at Fairview Lifestyle Village in Albany.
“We bought off the plans,” she says. “I really didn’t want to move into a retirement village, but Rod was ready.”
“It felt more like a community than a retirement village.”
For many years, the villa suited them beautifully. They had space, gardens, independence, neighbours and a life they enjoyed. But after Rod passed away six years ago, the home that had once felt manageable gradually became harder to keep up with.
The garden became less of a pleasure. The house became more work. And after a health setback over Easter led to a hospital stay, Ailsa’s family and specialists began gently encouraging her to think about a move closer to support.
“I had been resisting moving for quite a while,” she says. “I’m independent. My brain tells me I can still do anything. Unfortunately, my body isn’t ageing quite as well.”
At first, Ailsa had not considered an apartment in the Main Lodge. But when she visited with her family, she was surprised by what she found.
The Lodge had a sense of space she hadn’t expected. Wide corridors. Generous proportions. A calm, established feel. It did not feel cramped or clinical. It felt considered.
Then she saw the apartment.
“The aspect was beautiful,” she says.
Instead of looking into another building, Ailsa looked out to the greenery. That mattered. It gave the apartment a sense of peace and privacy.
The decision was still emotional. After 25 years in one home, there was a lot to sort through, and even more to feel.
“Every day I cried,” she says. “It brought back memories. I had to make small goals. One cupboard today, a few drawers tomorrow.”
But slowly, the move took shape. And once Ailsa arrived, life began to feel easier very quickly. By the third week, she was hosting dinner parties in her new apartment.
The move did not take away her independence. In many ways, it helped protect it.
Ailsa had stopped driving, and although she was still living independently in her villa, she had begun to feel the quiet limits that come with being further away from daily activity. In the Main Lodge, she could be private when she wanted to be, but connected when she felt like company.
“You don’t feel isolated,” she says. “Everybody knows everybody.”
That sense of being known has made a real difference. Her family feels reassured knowing staff are close by, and Ailsa feels seen without feeling watched over.
The welcome was immediate. On one of her first trips downstairs for coffee, another resident called out, “Ailsa, haven’t seen you for years!”
For Ailsa, the comfort of the Lodge is not just about the apartment. It is about the people around her.
“The staff have been so welcoming. The nurses are wonderful,” she says.
That daily contact has given her something she values deeply: confidence.
“As you get older, you lose confidence. People like that give you confidence again.”
Now, Ailsa has the privacy of her own apartment, the comfort of support nearby, and the freedom to be involved as much or as little as she chooses.
“You can get involved if you want to. If you don’t want to, you’ve still got your own sanctuary,” she says.
Her advice to others is simple. Do not wait until the decision is made for you.
For Ailsa, moving to the Main Lodge was not about stepping back from life. It was about making daily life lighter, safer and more connected.
“I still feel independent,” she says. “I’ve just made life easier.”
To discover Fairview’s spacious Main Lodge apartments, visit fairviewvillage.co.nz.
