People often think, “What the heck am I going to do when I retire?” But I can tell you there’s not a lot of time for boredom at Evergreen because there’s so much to do, with all the clubs and social activities. There’s the gym and library; we have a photographic society and a wine club that meets regularly; we’ve got a games room where we play bridge, chess and canasta. I haven’t seen anybody playing poker or strip poker yet, but it could happen, I guess!

Our biggest fear about growing old was that we’d become a burden to our children, so our move here was more about taking the worry off their shoulders. They live overseas, so they’re concerned about our health and safety. We knew that when we moved to Evergreen we’d be well looked after because of the exceptional healthcare facilities, and we’d be more safe and secure than if we were living in a big house on our own. So it’s all worked out well – they’re very happy that we’re here, and so are we!

I’ve been here for four years and I’ve never looked back. People sometimes cling to things, afraid to make a mind shift or to move away from what they know. You have to take a leap of faith – I did and I can really recommend it. I’ve been so happy here and there’s so much to do – the library, the pool, the gym, movie nights, walkabouts, bus tours and more. Strangers become friends and there’s never a dull moment. If you open your front door there is always someone to chat to. The company of other people is wonderful here.

We had our names down at three other places, but when we saw Evergreen we knew immediately that it was the place for us. We most definitely did the right thing at the right time and we are incredibly happy here. The lifestyle that we have is so easy, everything is done for you, the staff are fantastic and the security is second to none. The quality of life that Evergreen has given us over the past 8 years is exactly what we were looking for when we moved here.

We moved here from the UK in 1970. We have no family in South Africa, so just being the two of us, it made sense to come to a place like Evergreen where you’ve got help and support if you need it – like nurses on call and telecare units in all the apartments. And you meet such a lot of people – interesting people. You can more or less live the life that you did before you came while knowing that help and friends are on hand if you need them.

We have a very active social life here. You can do as much or as little as you like – whether its line dancing or movie night or the games evenings or attending a church service. There’s a wide variety of things to do, and what’s nice is that they’re all under one roof. We’d reached the stage where we didn’t go out very much at night because neither of us like to drive in the dark – but now we can just dress up, walk down the passage and we’ve arrived.

Thank you, Henriette, for making a difficult decision so much less traumatic than it might have been, we look forward to seeing more of you as we settle into our forever home. You continue to be there for us, long after our purchase.   We will gladly recommend you to all our friends and will always feel blessed that you came into our lives and made a life changing move seem like an adventure!