Why People Move to Retirement Villages: home owners and non‐home owners

Abstract

The aim of this study was to understand how housing attainment in old age interacts with life span vulnerabilities to influence the decision to move to a retirement village. Eighty residents were interviewed on reasons for moving to a resident funded village and a subsidised village. For the former home owners anticipation of, and reaction to, the life span transitions of declining health, widowhood and changing neighbourhoods were important. While these were also important for the non‐homeowners, their primary concern was to obtain affordable accommodation of reasonable quality.