When Bev retired from a career in nursing last year, she and her husband Ian had no plans to slow down.
Active members of the Rotary caravan club, they looked forward to having more time on their hands, so they could head off in their motorhome and enjoy holidays around the country.
So they decided to sell their four-bedroom family home and find a lock-up-and-leave property that better suited the next phase of their life. "We decided we'd like to live somewhere where we were able to shut the front door and go away for a few weeks and know that everything was safe and looked after," says Bev.
Moving into a two-bedroom villa at the Bupa Totara Gardens Retirement Village in Whangārei has been liberating. "It's all we need," says Bev. "We had accumulated far too much stuff before!"
They've found they have a lot more leisure time now they don't have to do maintenance around the house or garden. "The maintenance man is amazing," says Bev. "Our village coordinator is amazing too – she looks after us like a mother. It's really nice."
When they're not away in the caravan, they're often out and about having coffee with friends or attending lectures on a variety of interesting topics as members of the University of the Third Age (education for older people).
They've also made some good friends at the village. "We have lots of games events and meals together, and people pop in and say hello," says Bev. "It's a lovely way of life."