Does retiring on an island live up to the hype?
Their friends mocked them for moving to a ‘hippy island’ but decades later, Brian and Alison Walker are still living the good life. Gill South writes.
No traffic, a tight-knit community that looks after its elderly, slowing down to ‘‘island time’’ and having your family to visit every holiday.
Living out your retirement on an island is something a lot of us dream about.
But what is it really like? We asked some island-living retirees to find out.
The long-term islanders
Alison and Brian Walker are island pros – they’ve lived on
Waiheke Island for 35 years, raised their children there and are now happily retired at their home in Onetangi.
The couple have always loved being off the mainland – Brian’s heritage is from Stewart Island, and they’ve visited everywhere from Norfolk Island to the Chatham Islands.
‘‘A lot of our friends mocked us for moving to a ‘hippy island’,’’ Alison says.
But the island has given them a good life – Brian ran a grocery shop in Oneroa for 10 years and
Alison taught intermediate and high school while they raised their three children.
The couple bought the Onetangi Beach Apartments along the way, which they have since sold, though they have kept a few apartments to supplement their retirement income.
‘‘It used to be that people came to Waiheke to retire,’’ Alison says, ‘‘but now there’s a lot of young people coming to the island.’’ Brian says: ‘‘It’s a suburb of Auckland and an idyllic island.’’
There’s plenty to do. There are very good walking tracks, and you can get into the bush very quickly, Alison says.
Up until recently people hunted pigs, though now it’s only rabbits.
You can meet people easily, and there are quite a few walking groups and clubs as well as the community cinema.
The Walk Waiheke website, run by a charitable trust, is full of information on self-guided walks to the untouched parts of the island.
‘‘Life is pretty easy,’’ Alison says. ‘‘We use buses quite a bit. They’re trying to put in more cycle trails and there’s a growing number of electric cars.’’
Retirees can also travel free by ferry into central Auckland, thanks to the SuperGold public transport concession. ‘‘It’s just a half-hour commute.’’
Alison and Brian feel close to medical support and doctors if needed. There’s Auckland Hospital for emergencies and helicopters on the island to take you there.