Jan Peacock has lived at Tudor Village for four years and couldn’t be happier. She is busy, socially connected and loving life. But if you had asked her four years ago, living in a retirement village was the last thing on her mind.
“I had lived for more than 35 years in Queensland, although I grew up in Boronia and my father had a factory business in Lilydale. My husband Dennis died in 2020 and then I packed up the Queensland house, sold the business, and moved back to Melbourne and in with my sister Trish. Trish had recently had a stroke and I wanted to be there to look after her. Trish passed away in February 2021 and suddenly, I didn’t have a home. My son who lives in Boronia said I needed a new start, I wasn’t staying on in the old house,” she said.
“No way was I going to move into a retirement village. My plan originally was to buy a house and have Trish come and move in with me. Then friends who had recently moved into a retirement village in Rowville told me how much they were loving it and it was the best thing they had ever done. I was very resistant, I told them no way was I going to move into a retirement village, anyway, I said I was too young, it wasn’t for me.”
Not long after, another friend gave her the number of Tudor Village and was insistent she go for a look. Reluctantly she agreed to have a look and went for a visit with her other sister Judy. From the moment they entered Tudor Village Drive in late February 2021, they were both struck with how pretty the tree-lined streets were and the lovely established feel of the village. For Jan, she said it immediately felt like coming home, a full circle from when she had lived in the area as a child.
Jan looked at some of the established homes but didn’t want to undertake a renovation, so was interested to see something that was new and modern. She looked through one of the villas at the front of the village and immediately knew it was for her. Just to be sure, Jan and Judy visited five other retirement villages in the area but they quickly came back to Tudor Village and secured the villa she loved. Two months later, she moved in and she has now celebrated four happy years of village life!
Compared to the other villages that Jan and Judy looked at, Tudor Village offered the best location. Jan says that coming from a farming background, she didn’t want to live in any of the built-up areas in the city, so the country feel to Tudor Village appealed to her. She also loved the facilities of the village and well-established look of the homes.
Jan’s villa is a comfortable 2BR plus study home with open plan living and front and back patios. Her love of animals is evident with pictures of past family dogs on the walls, mementos of lions and tigers from her South Africa trip, and of course, the signature Peacocks around her house and garden, a touching tribute to her late husband. Jan doesn’t currently have a pet of her own but she enjoys walking Keira, her neighbour’s little dog.
In the four years since Jan moved in, her life has been rich and fulfilling.
“I’m a people person, I worked for many years in retail and loved talking to the customers. I have a great social network at Tudor Village and I’ve embraced the range of activities and events. I’ve joined the social committee and help organise the happy hours every Friday and I love being part of the ladies’ Tipsy Tuesday gatherings,” Jan said.
“I enjoy Tai Chi and line dancing classes and I have a social group of friends who share my love of footy (go the Pies!) and reality TV including Farmer Wants a Wife! I also volunteer a couple of days each month at the Healesville Sanctuary as a Visitor Host and help with feeding the animals.”
But perhaps most importantly, Jan has found a new love of travel, something she was unable to do for most of her married life, with commitments firstly on a farm, then as business owners. Jan has found a travel buddy in the village and together she and Norma have already been to Borneo, Italy, Greece and South Africa, with a trip to Amsterdam and Budapest coming up later this year. Jan loves that she can just lock up and leave, with her villa safe and secure within the village.
Jan’s advice to anyone considering if retirement living is right for them:
“Come in early, don’t leave it too long, the sooner you move into a village, the more you will get out of it,” she said.
“There’s so much to do and be part of, and you want to be able to enjoy the social activities and the friendships. Moving to Tudor Village was the best decision I ever made and I love it here.”
For more information about Tudor Village, please contact Kate Abdulovski on 0417 001 577 or visit www.tudorvillage.com.au
