Ivan and Charmaine Clarke, Ruth Speight and Ricky Tranter
COVER STORY
Live, work and play or most Australians the idea F of ‘seniors living’ has been a place to move to after retirement or in the twilight years of life.
For a new generation, one that is still working but wants more out of life, the decision to make a move to a Halcyon community is one based on lifestyle rather than their age. Welcome to Generation X, roughly defined as those born from the early 1960s to around 1980, they slot in after the Baby Boomers and before the Millennials. Instead of listening to the Rolling Stones on an 8-track, they may have had Blondie or Wham playing in their cassette player or perhaps even Nirvana on a CD. At Halcyon we have a number of homeowners who are in their early to mid 50s and are still working fulltime – leaving the gates each day to head to work and coming home to a social and connected community.
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Instead of having to mow lawns or maintain large homes, they are using their precious weekends to fully enjoy the facilities and opportunities community living provides.
MULTI-GENERATIONAL MOVE
hen Ruth Speight was given W the task of finding a suitable place for her parents to retire from their home in Tasmania, she and partner Ricky Tranter couldn’t go past Halcyon Greens.
“I’m one of six kids and we live all over Australia,” Ruth said. “We all went searching for a place for Mum and Dad and I found Halcyon and fell in love with the community.” Much to the chagrin of her five siblings, Ruth’s parents Ivan and Charmaine Clarke moved to Greens in June last year.
GENERATION X MAKES THE EARLY MOVE
“In the end it was their decision, but it really was the best option out of everything we had looked at for them,” she said. Ruth said she and Ricky thought it was perfect for her parents but could also see the appeal for the two of them, who work at the same northern Gold Coast school as primary teachers. “We have such busy jobs, we could see how the community could be great for our lifestyle,” she said. “Funnily enough, we are going to be closer to work when we move to Halcyon so we will spend even less time commuting.” The pair are very active and are looking forward to using the facilities as well as getting involved in the many activities on offer at Greens. “Now is the time for us,” Ruth said. “It’s our turn to be able to relax and enjoy the lifestyle, while still being able to enjoy our working life.”
