Oak Grange resident Barb started her career as a make up artist in film and TV, worked in hospital administration, volunteered with an international humanitarian organisation and studied Comparative Religion through La Trobe University at 70 years old. So as you can imagine, Barb is a woman who makes things happen: A natural fit for the Oak Grange social committee, which arranges regular get togethers like bingo and Christmas in July.  

“Here, there’s a sense of community where you can get involved in so many things,” Barb says. “I’m in the social committee, I’m on the residents committee, if there’s anything where I can get involved in organising things, I’ll be part of it.” 

Barb is clearly happy at Oak Grange, but her decision to move into retirement living was not made quickly. Her late husband was in the Federal Police and then the Air Force, so she’s moved 23 times, but she spent four years in her apartment after her beloved Julian passed before making the hard decision that would ultimately be so rewarding. Her apartment in the Blue Mountains was lovely, but she found herself very much alone during the week when neighbours were all at work and busy with their lives. She worried about becoming more isolated if she couldn’t drive, too. 

“Of course my daughter’s here [in Melbourne] and kept telling me to move down, too,” says Barb. “We looked at lots of places and I was saying ‘no, no, no, no’, then we came over here and I said ‘this is it.’ Looking back all I can think is why didn’t I do it sooner?”  

Barb’s children tell her she’s now got a better social life than them, with regular get togethers at friends’ apartments for drinks, outings to the theatre, and even being involved in the weekly knitting group (although Barb admits she doesn’t really knit, she’s only there for the conversation!). 

“You know you’re safe here,” she goes on to explain. “I got Influenza A a while ago but the nice thing was every morning you get a call from people around to see how you were. Nobody came to your door, but if you wanted them, or if there was anything you needed, those connections are really there when you need them.” 

Barb will be moving into a new apartment later in the year as the redevelopment progresses, and she says she feels ‘lucky’ about the beautiful outlook and design of the new place. She’s also looking forward to seeing new faces around the community as new residents move in - understandably, given Barb’s warm and social personality. 

“If you don't want to go out with neighbours or speak to anyone or come down to the clubhouse; you can just close your door,” Barb says. “Sometimes you want to be on your own, and some people like to be on their own most of the time.” But as you can imagine, Barb’s not one of them.  

If you’re interested in joining the type of community Barb enjoys being part of, please reach out to our sales principle Danae Konstantakopoulos (0447 869 300) for more information on Levande Oak Grange, or see apartments available here.

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