Lifestyle

Moving from a rural property to a two-bedroom duplex was a huge decision for Del McCoy, yet it’s proved a great lifestyle choice. Del sadly lost her husband Kevin three years ago and determined that while she still loved the large property she shared with him, she needed to make the big move so she could thrive in a new community. “I’m a fairly social person and it got a bit lonely with not many people around,” Del said.

So, the decision was made and she moved into Seachange Toowoomba in July last year. Over the nine months since, Del has become a keen participant in the activities available at the resort and country club, including lawn bowls and relaxing in the pool. “I really enjoy catching up with people for coffee and chats and getting to know them. I’ve met a lot of people who have come off the land who know people that I know,” she said. “I’ve made three or four really good friends. It’s the sort of place you can be social if you want to, but you don’t need to if you don’t, and you have your own private area to get away. I do miss the space of living on the land and being in a small rural community but it’s very quiet here, which I enjoy.”

“I also spend a lot of time with my two sons, one in Roma and the other in Goondiwindi, where I help muster the cattle and get my granddaughter to school and because I miss the farm life so much, I do a lot of farm sitting.” The independent 74-year-old also recently bought a 6m self-contained motorhome and spends plenty of time travelling to meet friends and go camping.

When Peter Zagdanski’s daughter launched ‘Project 70’ little did he know it would irrevocably change his life … for the better. “My eldest daughter, Kate, told me mid last year she had initiated Project 70 – I’ll turn 70 in April,” Peter said. “She told me all I do is sit at home, I don’t socialise, I don’t get out, I don’t do anything, and it was time to figure out something to do. “So, I went on a two-week holiday up north and somewhere along the way I saw an advertisement for Seachange and the idea to move into one of the resorts sprang into my head. “I looked at Seachange Toowoomba and the ones on the Gold Coast, where my other daughter Kristen lives, and Toowoomba, for me, stood out from the crowd.” Peter moved into the resort in October and began an active life taking part in all the activities.

Meanwhile, Kristen was instrumental, along with family friend Sue who works at Animal Welfare League – Queensland, in finding Peter a new little companion – a seven-year-old Maltese cross Shih Tzu called Princess. “Don’t blame me for the name … she came with that,” he laughed. “We think she might have been puppy farmed as she’s quite timid. “I had mini Schnauzers years ago but haven’t had a dog for a long time. But I think Princess is going to add years to my life. “She’s a great companion and follows me around like a shadow. Wherever I go, she goes. She’s already made a big difference to my life and I’ve only had her since the end of January.”

Dogs at Seachange Toowoomba must weigh less than 10kg and there are currently four dogs living their best lives at the resort. Peter and Princess enjoy their daily strolls around the facilities and there’s no more ‘sitting at home doing nothing’. “Before I moved here, I lived in a little 1920s mining cottage in north Toowoomba and I never really got to know the neighbours as they really kept to themselves,” he said. “It wasn’t as social as it is here and it’s very easy to become isolated.” Now his social life has turned completely around, and both his daughters can’t help but tell him, “I told you so”. He participates in happy hours, open days, the gardening club and has been known to organise trivia nights. He also makes full use of the facilities, including daily swimming in one of the resort’s pools to ease the arthritis in his back. “There’s always something on and my social life has picked up about 100 per cent,” he said.

Marilyn Schefe has been guiding visitors around Toowoomba’s Carnival of Flowers Spring festival for about 22 years, but it was a pickup of a tour bus at the city’s Seachange Lifestyle Resort that changed her life. “A tour group from Seachange Arundel came up from the Gold Coast to see the carnival and I was asked to pick them up at Seachange Toowoomba,” said Marilyn, who estimates she’s done about 180 tours of the popular flower festival. “It was the first time I’d been there, and I looked around and thought ‘oh my, I could just live here’. And I went home to my husband Gary and said, ‘I think we are going to live here’.” And that’s exactly what happened with the couple moving from their 160-acre hobby farm on the Darling Downs into their new home just before Christmas. “It was a lovely Christmas present. We wanted to move into town to be closer to my mum and dad as they got older,” she said. “Our farm was 30km out of town, so it was a bit of a drive to do the round trip.”

Another consideration was their drought-affected farm where the couple used to run cattle. “We lived there for 23 years but we had to sell the cattle because of the shortage of feed during the 2019 drought, it was so bad. “Plus, Gary is 70 and I’m 64. We really liked the idea of resort living. As you get older you don’t want to be mowing lawns and gardening but still want to be able to enjoy it all and that’s what Seachange Toowoomba provides.

“We’ve made lots of friends. Everyone is so lovely. We’ve met quite a lot of people we kind of knew through other friends, because we have lived in the area all our lives. You get to know people living in the district, other people who have come off the land.” Marilyn keeps busy, also leading two or three tours of Toowoomba history throughout the year. “It’s promoting our city and promoting the Carnival, which has been running since 1949. Toowoomba is noted for its parks and gardens including Queens Park, Laurel Bank Park, the State Rose Garden and the Japanese Garden. “Something is in flower here all year around and the city actually holds another summer display in February/March.

“Toowoomba was declared a city in 1904 and it has always been a farming district. It’s the main city for the Darling Downs and, in fact, is the largest regional city in Australia west of the Great Dividing Range. “A lot of people retire here from the Western Downs because with a population of around 140,000 they still feel like they are living in a country town.” The city is also well known for its historic buildings including Clifford House, the home of Mayor James Taylor, also known as the King of Toowoomba, built in the 1800s, and churches such as St Patrick’s Cathedral and St James Church. “People can come and stroll around the city and see all the historic buildings and there are also now about 50 murals painted on walls to view,” she said.

Marilyn and Gary spend their downtime strolling around the Seachange Toowoomba resort, however, that can be quite time consuming – in the most enjoyable way. “It’s a relatively new resort so we often just go for a walk to see what’s happening and how the building works are coming along. You think you might be out for half an hour but next thing you know it’s two hours later because you’ve met loads of people on the way and stopped to chat,” she said. The couple have already made good use of the facilities including the pool and lawn bowls and have plans for more. “There’s always something going on. One lady has started Qigong classes, there’s plans for yoga, there’s a craft room, gym, tennis courts, trivia nights and games on a Saturday afternoon. “There’s even happy hour every second Friday.”