Published by Ingenia Lifestyle, 28th May 2025.

The secret to Susie’s fresh start as a ‘reactivated retiree’ at Ingenia Lifestyle.

After living in New Zealand, Susie packed up and moved to Queensland to be closer to her daughter and sister living in Hervey Bay. The decision to move came after Susie’s husband passed away from an illness.

“My husband had a liver transplant, and he wanted to go back home to New Zealand. After he passed, two years later, I came back to Queensland. I love Queensland, and my daughter and sister are in Hervey Bay. My sister-in-law has now moved to the community as well.”

“I fell in love with the Ingenia Lifestyle offering when I first came to visit and got to the front gate. I stood there and said I’m home, this is my home.”

“I felt such a joy about it, so I went back to New Zealand and sold my house. Then my daughter’s workmate ended up having the house beside me here. Isn’t that crazy? The universe works in magical ways.”

Susie says one of her favourite parts of living at Ingenia Lifestyle is her social life and the activities she enjoys in her downtime.

“Living here, it puts life back into you. We often have get-togethers where we listen to music and dance. We’ve got a few musicians in the village and two of them played for my birthday at The Clubhouse.

“I do lots of chair yoga and also enjoy playing darts. We have something for everyone here from line dancing to mahjong and even tai chi. People want to start something; they just start it.”

“I say to my kids often, I’ve got more of a social life than anyone you know.”

Susie was a member of the Social Club and is part of the Welcome Committee.

“After I first settled in, a group of seven of us decided to create a Welcome Committee for new residents.”

“We get a list from the office each month of new people coming in and we go around and gift them welcome bags, introduce ourselves and set up a table in the function room. We then invite them to join us for a chat at the table. It’s great if they haven’t made other friends in this timeframe, and they get to meet us and more people.”

Susie calls herself a reactivated retiree and recognises the great need for places like Ingenia Lifestyle that help people like her downsize and free up family homes for those who truly need it.

“Being a retiree meant to me that I’m an old person and my life is over. I woke up one morning and decided, I’m not dead, I’m 70 and I am living my best life. So, I call myself the reactivated retiree – I’m out here to recreate myself for the last years of my life.”

“I also think there’s a great need for us older people to downsize their homes. It frees up space for families and other people who are in need, especially with the housing shortage. I’m perfectly happy living a more simplistic lifestyle!”