John: "It's a matter of ‘new' versus ‘old.' We had a big house for 35 years and everything creaked and groaned. Here everything is new and clean. It's great."
"I spent nine years in the air force and then thirty-one years with Qantas. I would be away for a week flying, and then back to our family home for a week of mowing lawns and maintenance."
"It was big house; it was old, and it had several extensions. It was shaded a lot, which meant mildew in winter. I also have a house up at Hawksnest, and when I retired we would spend 10 days up there and 10 days back in Sydney. But a lot of that 10 days back here was maintenance on the old house. I still have the place up at Hawksnest, but now I have my freedom and time for myself, for things like playing golf."
"My wife has passed on but I keep myself very busy. I enjoy carpentry, and I find that when I go out to the garage for an hour and I have the door open, it takes three times as long to get anything done. People are always walking past and they drop in for a chat. I like it."
"I also like music and I now have the time to enjoy it. The village buys blocks of tickets to things like the Symphony Extravaganza at the Entertainment Centre and they organise transport to take us all in. All very easy. They also have a weekly BBQ and Happy Hour every Friday afternoon. Very social if and when you want to join in. I don't travel much now as I have done my bit. I have been to London about 250 times with Qantas. In the air force I was stationed first at Williamstown and then Butterworth in Malaya. We flew F86 Sabres. But I have a boat now up the coast and I go up every few weeks to do some fishing. I can just lock up and leave."
"There was no doubt in my mind about making the move to The Landings. I put $1,000 down before the first sod of earth was turned. Moving in has been great. A walk in the morning or evening should take an hour but it can take three as you meet others walking their dogs and working in their gardens. When I do my woodwork, friends drop by for a chat - today they even dropped in tomatoes that they have grown in their garden for my lunch."
"You meet people from all walks of life and it is very easy to just talk."
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