Right where you belong.

When Laurie Mills moved to Pakuranga Park around 12 years ago, he became one of the youngest people in the village. “Real Living has an entrance age of 55, and I was only 61 years old. I must have been very happy since I can’t believe I have been here 12 years!” Laurie always knew that retirement village life would be great for him, and he already had friends at Pakuranga Park. “It was never a question of NOT coming here, I didn’t look at any others!”. On top of everything, the village is really close to all the things he loves around the area, including Howick Little Theatre.

Laurie has been involved with this community theatre since he started acting and directing in the late 70s. He had a “day” job in the Reservations/Ticketing sector of the airline industry, but he devoted all his free time to his passion, the theatre world. “One of the things I love about theatre is that, unlike other hobbies, it’s gender free and intergenerational, so you’re always meeting such a variety of different people and age groups”.

Carolyn and her husband always enjoyed an outdoorsy lifestyle, so when they visited Pakuranga Park five years ago they knew it was the place for them: “One of my friends lived here and she loved it because the village has normal streets. Behind my villa there’s a school and I love hearing the children play. I definitively wanted a garden so my husband could have a big vegetable garden. I only have two neighbours so I think, with my villa, I got the pick of the bunch.”

Carolyn loves the independence she can have in a village like Pakuranga Park, with the option, always available, of socializing and having someone to talk to. She has always had a busy life being part of a very close-knit family, with four children and eight grandchildren.

Carolyn had a variety of jobs during her life but at the age of 57 she decided to follow her lifelong dream of becoming an artist. She did a Bachelor of Visual Arts in Manukau and a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture at RMIT in Melbourne. She’s been sculpting contemporary pieces since then and her current obsession is “dwelling”: “Dwelling and baches. You see, people like living in a simple house when they’re on holidays but then they go back home and they have this big house, and they spend all their life looking after it. I love baches because they represent a simple lifestyle.”

Dawn and her husband Syd moved to Pakuranga Park in 2018, after visiting many retirement villages all over the country: “I liked the size of the villas at Pakuranga Park and the fact that I could have my own garden, I instantly knew we would be happy here.” A few days after they bought their villa, Dawn went to her aquarobics class at Lloyds Elsmore and discovered that one of her classmates also lived there: “I was speaking with the lady, and she told me that moving to Pakuranga Park was the best decision we had ever made!”

Dawn worked as a secretary in Air New Zealand for 21 years and then she was employed at King’s College running the Copy Centre. Moving to a retirement village gave her the chance to de-stress her life and devote more time to the things she really enjoys, like aquarobics and cross stitching.

Two years ago Dawn also knew she had to seize the opportunity of a lifetime when Air New Zealand advertised cheap premium economy tickets to Houston. “Since I was a teenager I loved Elvis, my mother used to come into my room and yell turn this down! But eventually she became a huge fan too.”

Ray’s passion for model railroads started around 30 years ago when he lived in Howick. He had a dedicated room in his house where he spent hours assembling train tracks and decorating landscapes. Moving to a retirement village was not going to put a stop to his devotion. Ray installed a folding table in the garage of his villa at Pakuranga Park, where he built a new railroad from scratch. 

“The railroad doesn’t get a lot of running nowadays. The bit I enjoy the most is the making of things. I like pottering around and building things, also repairing them.” Ray is always ready to help his neighbours at the village if they need assistance fixing small appliances or if their car battery suddenly dies. Him and his wife moved to Pakuranga Park three years ago and they couldn’t be happier with their decision. “This is the only village that has streets that you can find in a New Zealand road map!”, he says excitedly. He enjoys the social side of a retirement village and one of his favourite activities is croquet. “Your neighbours are there if you need them, but they’re not in your pocket.”

Ray and his wife are the best example that retirement doesn’t have to be boring. They have a batch and a campervan, and before Covid they used to travel to Scotland every year to spend a few weeks with their son and his family. 

Janet has been working as an embroidery designer for more than 60 years, and although she's officially retired, she still does some freelance work. When Janet and her husband Tony decided to move to a retirement village seven years ago, it was very important for them to be able to bring their work machinery along. “We had visited every village in Auckland. A friend of mine invited us for coffee at Pakuranga Park, and we had a look at this villa. We realised that it was big enough to include a business, so we signed the following day.”

Janet is a very social person who thrives in a retirement village like Pakuranga Park, with plenty of activities and social gatherings to choose from. “My son says that I need to live up to 200 years, otherwise I won’t fit everything in.”

Janet is currently sketching the drawings for a children’s book inspired by one of her grandchildren. Illustration is the latest interest of a gifted career that started more than 60 years ago, when Janet finished her studies at the Foley College of Fine Arts and Design in London. Janet ran the design studio for Lawrie Embroidery for 12 years. After that, she and Tony decided to open their own business, creating both corporate and fashion and bridal designs. Janet is very passionate about her side of the business, specially the wedding designs. She's worked with some of the most famous fashion designers in New Zealand.

With her family all in Scotland, Joan Gilchrist knew that she had to make plans for the future. Pakuranga Park was ideal, close to everything familiar, and it offered independent villas.

“Apartment living would have driven me insane – I need the spaciousness the village offers.”

Joan’s had a busy career mostly in journalism, which was also combined with time in sponsorship, event management, PR, managing a shopping centre – which took her all over the country and overseas. This included covering equestrian events at five Olympics and writing two books with TV cook and author Allyson Gofton. “It was only after I retired properly in my mid-70s, that I realised how isolated I was in a back-section, with all the neighbours at work and my friends scattered around the country and overseas.

“Village life has brought a much-expanded social circle, new friends and lots of activities. Plus there’s the security of the community – and I was able to bring my dog.”