Featuring our resident Penny from Ravines by Alavida Lifestyles; Illustration by Krisanne Gonsalves.
Penny has been a resident at Ravines for just under a year, and her glowing testimonial will have you wishing you lived there too. Although Ravines was not her original choice, it turned out to be a delightful surprise, and maybe even.. meant to be! Penny feels fortunate to have landed at Ravines where she has discovered a vibrant community with “wonderful things to do and wonderful people to live with.” Read on as Penny describes how the outstanding staff, fun-filled activities, delectable dining, and convenient amenities have made Ravines an exceptional place to call home.
How would you describe your time living here so far?
I considered Ravines even though it was not my first choice and I’ve been very happy to find all kinds of wonderful things to do and wonderful people to live with.
Any first impressions upon moving in?
There are people of all ages here, it’s amazing to me. I thought it would be a lot of older people. But it turns out that there are people from about 80-100. There’s a lady turning 100 today, and there’s going to be a big blowout supper tonight. Everybody who lives here is friendly, it’s really quite something.
How would you describe the staff and the level of service they provide at Ravines?
The staff are fabulous here. They’re very friendly, and I could just go down a long list of things that I think are quite extraordinary here. They’re all willing to immediately answer any questions you may have or help you understand something. It’s never no – their willingness to help out is quite incredible.
Do you have any activities or social events you look forward to?
I try to participate in as many things as I possibly can. I think that’s healthy to do that, and that’s encouraged. From puzzle making to joining any exercises that are going on. They are all quite different from one another and given by different people; it offers a variety, which is nice. People walk here, it’s got beautiful grounds. And people go out of this building every day. If they can’t get out because the weather is bad, there are long corridors inside that you’ll see people walking down all the time. They’re very health conscious. Everybody knows they need to keep moving. There are lots of activities, exercise classes every day, movies, and a pool for aquatic exercises.
What are some of your favourite features about living here?
What’s great is that this building, where everyone has their own apartment, is attached to another building with assisted living. So if you became really ill, you could move over to the other building. I love this feature; it makes me feel very secure that that’s available. That’s a really important feature.
Another feature that’s really important to me is that I have parking underground—I don’t think other buildings have that. There’s a gentleman who works there, a mechanic—he’s a jack of all trades—and if you have any problems with your car, he’s very helpful in directing you or having a look and seeing if he can help out, fix it, or whatever.
I go out a lot because I have activities outside of the building. I went to line dancing class yesterday. It’s quite a distance from here, but because I have my car, I’m able to go take part in that. That goes for anybody; if you have an activity outside, it’s easy to take your vehicle and away you go. Quite a few people do drive who are living here. And for those who don’t, there are regular bus trips to shopping centres, which is an option that many people take advantage of.
How do you feel about the dining experience?
The meals are fabulous and really good quality. There are three nutritious meals a day—the staff is very conscious of producing good food. The servers are also very friendly, and they clean up afterwards completely. And you get to enjoy your meal with your friends at the table. If I’ve gone out, I’ll be sure to hurry back to make it for mealtime!
I eat in the dining room for all three meals, and it’s always lots of fun because you’re sitting with four people, including yourself. There’s always, “What are you doing today?”, “What’s new?”, “What’s happening?” and so on. Every table is full of conversation. I find it to be a very friendly place to live.
Do you have any final thoughts or life advice you’d like to share?
No, I don’t think I could give just one piece of advice – you have to live your life. And hopefully, you’re lucky to have a good mate, which I did. I’ve lost him a couple of years ago, and it’s kind of lonely without him. But it’s nice to have some people you can relate to and join in with when you move into a place like this.