Happy Hour: Community Living in a Retirement Village

Abstract

Large purpose-built retirement villages are becoming a popular choice for housing and care for older people in New Zealand. Promoted as a lifestyle choice and often set in resortlike environments, these commercially operated retirement villages offer new ways for wealthier older people to age. There is a limited body of research that looks at retirement villages providing different forms of housing and care on one property, as one entity. This study builds on the existing literature by exploring how residents experience a sense of community within a physical environment designed specifically for their social engagement, housing and care. In particular, it considers how residents manage their social life while living in a diverse community of fit and frail residents. Grounded in a constructionist perspective, this study applied an ethnographic approach to learn about the residents’ social life and community experiences. Data was collected from interviews, walk-about conversations, social site mapping and a selection of media material to gain an understanding of the social issues important to the residents. The twelve participants, aged between 70 and 87, were all independent residents living in a retirement village in a high socio-economic suburb of Auckland. My findings showed that social group membership was key to shared community experiences and a sense of belonging. Residents who found themselves on the social fringes, particularly as newcomers or through health decline, were at risk of marginalisation, stigma, and social exclusion. Further, I found that some residents’ community experiences were hindered by the design and layout of the village and by the structure of the residentmanagement relationship. Given these findings, and in light of the diverse range of active and declining residents living in the retirement village, it is recommended that the retirement village management provide needed support for residents experiencing social and health decline.