Azure Blue Carina, Tangara West End, Wondall Gardens Manly West.
30+
village across Queensland
1953
caring for Queenslanders
Not-for-profit
no shareholders
12
resident stories below
What they'd tell you over the fence
Three people who weren't sure about any of this, and what happened next.
WATCH MARION'S STORY | 1:30 min
Marion | Wondall Gardens, Manly West | 5 years in the village
"I was a bit shy first off"
I was a bit shy first off, and I just wanted to stay in my little home. But eventually I started meeting people.
Five years on, Marion and her friend Norma run the village's Biggest Morning Tea, which has raised money for Cancer Council since 2001. They added a market the week before, then donations from local MPs and Bunnings, then a full auction. Their stated aim is getting people out of their homes.
"You know that if you need something, no matter what it is, there's always someone at the end of the phone that could come and help, which is lovely."
WATCH CHRIS'S STORY | 2:00 min
Chris | Yurana, Springwood | 1 year in the village
"A new lease of life"
I really was quite lonely where I was living, but coming in here you haven't got five minutes to sit down.
A big house that was getting hard to maintain, and no real idea what retirement living would be like. She brought her cat. Now it's wallabies on the morning walk and St Patrick's Day with the whole village "pumping".
“I really didn’t know what retirement living was going to be like, and it’s the best choice I ever made.”
WATCH NEVILLE'S STORY | 2:14 min
Neville | Fraser Shores, Hervey Bay | 22 years in Hervey Bay
"I'm only popular because I own the dog"
After my wife passed away, my daughter said, 'Dad, you need a dog to look after.' And I said, 'No, I don't.' But she insisted — and it was the best thing she ever did for me.
Neville and his wife travelled Australia looking for somewhere to settle and stopped in Hervey Bay almost by accident. Twenty-two years later, he can't get past a house without someone coming out to give Freddie a treat. Freddie has also worked out that neighbours with mobility scooters will give him a lift.
"The best thing that ever happened to me was coming to Fraser Shores. The people in the village are wonderful. We've all got one thing in mind: we're retired."
More from across Queensland
Townsville to Springwood, West End to Redcliffe.
WATCH DAVID'S STORY | 1:49 min
"You can see it in their eyes that they mean it"
I love the pool. I've missed one day in nearly a year. Every morning at 7am, I'm there.
A builder who spent his life restoring houses around Petrie Terrace. Under a year in the village and, as he puts it, no chance of moving. Wednesdays are the community bus, doughnuts and coffee.
David | Azure Blue, Redcliffe | 1 year in the village
WATCH ANITA & CHRISTINA 'S STORY | 1:55 min
"They reckon we live on a permanent holiday"
There's always somebody to call on. I feel so secure and so comfortable here. You can pop in for a cuppa anytime you like.
Gardening has pulled the village together — alongside three looms always in play, mosaics, five pets and a morning walk to the boardwalk that ends in coffee.
Christina & Anita | New Haven, Redcliffe | 3 & 6 years in the village
WATCH JOHN & MAISIE'S STORY | 2:11 min
"Maisie said, 'We'll take it'"
Everyone's really friendly. You're not pestered. You can just be yourself. Best thing we ever did.
They moved while they were still "youngish". There was no garden when they arrived, just weeds — which suited them perfectly. Spare lemons and mandarins go in a basket outside for anyone to take.
John & Maisie | Nandeebie, Alexandra Hills | 3 years in the village
WATCH DI & JOHN'S STORY | 2:04 min
"Right mate — when you retire, we're moving somewhere warm"
When we first moved in, we said to each other, let's give the social activities a go. And that's really where it all started.
John joined the army in '63 and they met in Western Australia. Fifteen years at Carlyle Gardens now — choir together, indoor bowls, and a caravan they can take out without worrying who's watching the place.
Di & John | Carlyle Gardens, Mackay | 7 years in the village
WATCH HELEN'S STORY | 2:26 min
"I decided it wasn't my scene"
I looked at several retirement villages and decided it wasn't my scene. So I just started looking at units around the suburbs.
Then her grandson, who used to make deliveries to Azure Blue Carina, told her to look at one more. Helen has since been hung twice in the Moran Portrait Prize — unusual for a hobby artist — and started a monthly happy hour with a couple of friends. Everyone arrives with their own prosecco.
Helen | Azure Blue, Carina | 5 years in the village
WATCH SHEENA'S STORY | 2:03 min
"Work wasn't just work — it was my whole social life too"
When I retired and found myself living alone in the suburbs, the isolation really hit. Then I took a tour through Carlyle Gardens. The moment I stepped in, I just knew.
She put the house on the market and moved within a month. That was fourteen years ago.
Sheena | Carlyle Gardens, Townsville | 14 years in the village
WATCH MARGARET'S STORY | 2:32 min
"I bought a scooter I didn't want. So I started a scooter club."
The younger you go into a retirement village, the more you can do.
The club rides in Hervey Bay's annual convoy — 21 people, and one year she sewed royal gowns and golden canopies for the "royal coaches".
Margaret | Fraser Shores, Hervey Bay | 10 years in the village
WATCH GEOFF & VI'S STORY | 2:07 min
"Nobody's playing here?"
We couldn't imagine not being here now. The friends we've made — they've become like family.
They saw the empty music room on the tour and decided on the spot. About 450 songs in rotation now, '50s through '90s. Geoff watches feet from the stage — if the feet are moving, it's working.
Geoff & VI | Argyle Gardens, Bundaberg | 7 years in the village
WATCH JOHN'S STORY | 1:49 min
"I can just lock the door and walk out"
My time is my own and I don't have to put it into gardens or maintenance.
Rowing since 1969, still with men he went to school with. He liked Tangara enough to tell his brother to look at the units — now their kids see each other regularly. Next week, a regatta in Boston.
John | Tangara, West End | 3 years in the village
Find a village near the people you'd miss
Most people move less than 20 kilometres — to stay near family, a GP, or a community they already belong to. Start with where, not what.
Brisbane & Bayside
Redcliffe & Moreton Bay
New Haven and Azure Blue Redcliffe, minutes from the water.
Logan & Redlands
Yurana at Springwood, and villages across the southern suburbs.
Sunshine Coast
Coastal villages, plus Bokarina Beach Village now selling off the plan.
Gold Coast
Village living close to the beaches, the hinterland and the M1 north.
Hervey Bay & Bundaberg
Fraser Shores and Argyle Gardens — resort-style living in the Wide Bay.
Townsville & Mackay
Carlyle Gardens — two of the largest resort-style villages in North Queensland.
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