Abstract:

Increasing numbers of people are choosing to make regional moves after retirement. These kinds of moves have been relatively neglected in a research literature which has concentrated on frail older people who move within or between metropolitan areas, principally to be near the security of the family. With regional retirement migration, there is a predominance of capable, middle-class couples who choose to move once retirement frees them from having to live near their workplaces. Retirement migration focuses attention on the vanguard of an older cohort which has proactively decided to move in order to improve their living circumstances. This chapter focuses on findings from a study of people who have moved to Point Lonsdale upon retirement, 2 houts drive from Melbourne. The results of this study suggest that there are substantial benefits for the small minority of older people who choose to make such moves and have the necessary economic and social resources. They report substantial benefits from an increase in security without any loss of autonomy, which contributes to higher levels of psychological wellbeing.