DAVID

David and his wife Janet choose to look forward. Instead of focusing on what was, the pair welcome new discoveries. “We now have unfettered time to travel and explore new opportunities. To listen to our hearts and our bodies and make many new friends.” 

When the pair were ready to downsize, they stopped by Ryman’s Nellie Melba Village for a chat. “The first thing they said to us was, ‘we want you to be happy’. Not, ‘we’ll promise you a big apartment’, but just that they wanted us to be happy. From that point, we knew it was for us.” 

David says that village life is a very different way of living. A better way. “You suddenly find yourself in a community,” he smiles. Diving headfirst into that community, he and Janet have started teaching a dance class for other residents. “We started two nights a week and we've had to downsize the class because there are too many people! That’s the expansion of community that Ryman provides. It’s perfect.”  

Having spent 80 years outside the village environment, David and Janet value their independence. At Nellie Melba, David says freedom is part and parcel. “Freedom is in the little things you don’t even think about. Like not having to worry about someone ringing the doorbell late at night or having a security system on your front gate. And there’s no worrying about utilities or maintenance. Here, all those little freedoms combine.” Especially as he and Janet often lock and leave to travel. “While you’re away, Ryman will take care of it. So, if we’re away, we know we will still have the apartment vacuumed or the plants watered.” 

David and Janet enjoy being independent. Having the freedom to lock up and leave on a trip, run their dance classes, and be open to new discoveries. That is David and Janet’s measure of a full life.