A RETIRED nurse living in a Hampshire retirement village believes people should make the move “before they’re too old and still young enough to make new friends”.
Susie Sonksen, 78, and her husband Peter traded in their home and its 2.5 acre garden in Preshaw, near West Meon, for retirement living.
After 26 years of living on the private farming estate with her own vegetable and flower gardens, Susie has no regrets about moving to Audley Stanbridge Earls in Awbridge.
Mr and Mrs Sonksen were some of the first residents to move into the retirement village along with their labra-doodle Backster three and a half years ago.
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Susie said: “My husband is disabled, he’s had a spinal cord injury for 20 years, and although our house was well adapted you never know what’s around the corner so I wanted to prepare for the future.
“A lot of people say you shouldn’t move so early but I think people leave it too late. It’s a big effort and you’ve got to be ruthless.
“I slightly miss the garden with the wildflower meadow and the big vegetable garden which I looked after but not that much because you get older and move on. I have a little space in the greenhouse where I grow cucumbers and lots of pots so I still do garden but I don’t really need to.
“There’s so much going on here, I’m never bored. There’s always plenty to do and we socialise and see people. One of the benefits of living in a retirement village is you don’t have to be lonely. The worst thing for old people is being left alone.
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“It seems to be the husbands who are always more reluctant to move but I say do it before you’re too old to do it and while you’re still young enough to make friends.
“The grounds attracted us here and having a new build means there’s a very low outlay because everything is so well insulated. In our old house if there was a storm I’d have to go out and check the roof was okay.
“Preshaw was outstanding with the rural farmland on our doorstep. It’s not quite as good here but still pretty good. We can easily take the dog for a walk and Peter has an off road mobility scooter. I’d definitely recommend moving, people younger than me don’t regret it.”
Mrs Sonksen was a pioneer in the nursing world back in the seventies, working as a diabetes specialist before she retired in 1997 and moved from London to Preshaw.
Audley Stanbridge Earls sits in 32 acres of grounds, near Romsey, with 155 retirement apartments and cottages surrounding the Grade II* Tudor Manor House. For more information go to audleyvillages.co.uk/retirement-villages/stanbridge-earls.
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