Retirement Places in KZN South Africa

18/01/2026

Putting Ourselves on Light Duty

I wrote an article the week before last about getting low on energy as we age. Although this situation could happen to anybody to be honest, if they don’t get enough of the right rest.

This particular time-out involves putting ourselves on light duty for short periods, so we can catch up with ourselves.

If you followed my previous article, you may recall that psychologists call this from of light duty ‘deep rest’. This is a profound state where, our brains and our bodies both move from stressing themselves, to fixing the damage this causes.

Putting Ourselves On Light Duty

This ‘deep rest’ goes further than cat-napping while our dreams continue though, or relaxing / sleeping at night over television. We need to put our autonomous systems on hold as well, so our entire selves chill out …

If we can’t chill out, or don't want to do that, then we keep adding layers to the foundation of our stress. This core level is general unease over the news that keeps pummeling us. The additional layers are our current worry beads.

Ask any four people, and at least one will tell you they are having difficulty coping with life. Mind you, these won’t be just old people. We are all caught up in the spiral of daily worry and care.

This stress drains our energy, for as long as our ‘flee or fight’ responses are on 'call-out duty'. This phenomenon is a major cause of chronic disease, depression and anxiety. Power naps can’t help us, if all this is still going on inside.

So how do we put ourselves on light duty? Watch this space and I'll tell you more in the next chapter ...

Click here to read the previous chapter if you missed it

Being low on energy is not just growing old. It’s also the result of fretting over the world around this. There is a magic way to escape this.

05/01/2026

Being Low on Energy is Not Just Growing Old

Being low on energy is not just growing old. It can also be due to not getting enough of the right rest. When we know how to relax correctly, we can receive so much in return. Stay with me and I’ll explain how you could recover some of your lost energy. Just don’t expect to be young all over again!

We’ve grown tired of the hackneyed advice on social media. Cook raw nutritious food, some say, while others insist we need more exercise. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was something we could do, that involves doing less?

When we are active, we burn energy and we feel tired. If we listened to our bodies they would say ‘chill out I need a break. But how you achieve this is the question, especially when our brains are active. Perhaps the answer is to relax our brains and our bodies at the same time …

Get the answer to the question at https://seniorshophere.com/low-on-energy-is-not-just-growing-old/ .

Being low on energy is not just growing old. It’s also the result of fretting over the world around this. There is a magic way to escape this.

27/12/2025

Will artificial intelligence take over my mind as I age? The answer is perhaps, but perhaps not. Many obsessions, habits and addictions are capable of ruling our lives. It is what we do with something that matters, not its potential to change us.

Artificial intelligence, or AI for short, is not a real person. It is a powerful computer with a vast store of data. It does not have consciousness, feelings, or a life of its own. When we ask it a question, its generates a response based on data in its memory.

How Artificial Intelligence Works

Super-powerful computers can take this a stage further, by discovering new relationships in existing data, and applying these insights to other situations. However, as things stand, artificial intelligence is not capable of creating new ideas.

Let's take Google as an example of how artificial intelligence processes data. Google analyses websites in terms of their topics. If we search for information about a particular theme, it points us to websites that are relevant to our search.

Google's artificial intelligence has been around for decades. It is a powerful example of AI's ability to detect relationships in existing data. But ... Google does not create any new information about our topic either. Google remains within its existing body of knowledge.

But We Can See Beyond This Box

We, that's you and I, are both capable of original thought. But this does not always happen, especially as we age. Some seniors in Margate Retirement Village residents where we live don't have smartphones, because they prefer to stay where they are.

Could AI Take Over Our Minds?

Artificial intelligence could take over my mind, but only if I allow it to. But first, I would have to switch off my creativity, and accept what it tells me as the absolute truth. The best way to prevent this happening is to regard AI as just another source of information. And accept that what it says is not necessarily true.

But if we use AI as a replacement for our thinking, then yes, our mental sharpness could dull. The brain is like a muscle. If we stop exercising it, it weakens. Letting AI to do all the thinking and deciding for us, carries the risk that artificial intelligence could take over our minds.

At the End of The Day The Choice Is Ours

The choice is yours, and the choice is mine. Artificial intelligence could become a dictator and take over our minds, if we stop thinking for ourselves. It could become an addiction like alcohol and drugs that can rule lives. The choice is ours!

Get more interesting ideas from https://seniorshophere.com/.

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06/12/2025

Weather Forecast for Body Aches and Pains

When we were kids, which we admit was a while ago, our grandparents would say ‘there’s rain coming and we can feel it in our bones’.

Their weather forecast for body aches and pains came true surprisingly often, and now it works for us oldies in a retirement village too.

Impact of Atmospheric Pressure on Us

When atmospheric pressure starts falling, it has proven impact on our joints. This is not something that’s a coincidence that we pull out our hats.

But let’s concentrate on getting the information across to you first, then our lifestyle advice will follow.

More About the Effect of Weather

# Atmospheric pressure bears gently on our bodies and our joints. As this pressure falls, it allows our joints and muscles to expand slightly. This can irritate nerve endings in inflamed joints, and amplify the pain.

# Cold temperatures may make the lubricating fluid inside our joints slightly thicker too. This reduces the lubricating effect, increases friction inside the joint, and can contribute to doubling up stiffness and pain.

# Falling temperatures can also make our joints and ligaments stiffer, and reduce blood flow to their furthest points. This can have the effect of making the rigid joints feel more painful, especially when we move around.

# Chronic inflammation or old injuries can cause our nerve endings in our joints to become more sensitive. Changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure can increase this sensitivity further, and sharpen our discomfort.

Neither we nor our grandparents were kidding when we spoke of a weather forecast for body aches and pains!

When atmospheric pressure falls, it has a proven impact on our joints. But that’s enough about the problem. Let us find a solution together.

Things to Do When Your Body Aches

Well, we could start by moving to a retirement village where there’s never any frost, like balmy Margate Retirement Village on the warm, subtropical east coast of sunny South Africa. Then, soon as we settle in, we could start following this advice:

# Keep moving about, so our muscles and tendons don’t tighten up.

# Stretch regularly and do yoga for healthy, flexible joints.

# Dress according to the weather so you keep your joints warm.

# Apply local heat with a nice hot shower or a comfortable hot pad.

# Eat smart. Berries, broccoli and whole grains reduce inflammation.

# Ask your doctor about non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication.

Closing Thoughts from Two Contented Seniors

And finally, let's be mindful that wisdom comes with age. This is just as well, because we need to make the most of it while we are blessed with the time.

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23/11/2025

How Much Longer Will My Pension Last?

Pension schemes seldom keep up with inflation. Our annual increases - based on the consumer price index - CPI - seldom match reality on the ground. This was not a problem when oldies were fortunate to live to seventy-five years. But now, thanks to medical science, we find ourselves wondering, how much longer will my pension last, before I need to top it up in some way?

IS THIS THE RATIONALE FOR RETIRING LATER?

Dwindling net pensions are nudging some governments to increase the retiring age in England and France. And then there is also the not-so-small-matter of the decreasing birth rates in some quarters. We can filibuster about this for as long as any vocal politician could, or while having neighbours around for refreshments in our peaceful retirement home.

But the bottom line is we can’t say for sure how long our pensions are going to last, before we may have to supplement our income in one of these ways:

# Retire as planned. Find ways to generate additional income to subsidize our lifestyle.
# Keep working after we retire, so we invest our pension payments instead of spending them.
# Add to our pension capital by becoming continuation contributors, after we officially retire.

Some of our friends relaxing with us in Margate Retirement Village - where we enjoy a pleasant life right, life style - find themselves pondering how long their pensions will last before they have to cut back on expenses. Or turn to their kids for help perhaps, which is something they would rather not do.

CREATIVE WAYS TO MAKE OUR PENSIONS LAST

We don’t have a magic canned solution either, if you find your pension value shrinking. In our case, we became virtual freelance writers for clients, who value our wisdom that comes with age.

We wrote this article to remind you of the shrinking value of money. We should try to do something about our depreciating pensions, while we are still young enough to be able to make a difference.

Quite a few people living in Margate Retirement Village south of Durban on an idyllic coastline, are actively closing their pension gap with small, work-from-home service-type businesses, that do not disturb others living nearby.

When they have got their finances sorted they can relax, and explore the golden beaches for which our beloved Margate is renowned. Did we mention the climate is coastal-subtropical? We could even swim all year round if that took our fancy.

Find more posts about planning for retirement right here https://seniorshophere.com/category/preparing-for-retirement/ .

09/11/2025

Maintaining Our Balance As We Grow Older

Maintaining our balance as we age can become a challenge, as the years pass. Would you like to know how the human balancing system works, how it weakens as we age, and the medical treatments and medicinal supplements available to moderate this.

Declining balance affects a number of residents in the retirement village where we live. One of us leaps forward like a spring chicken, while the other walks with two hiking poles. We chortle that we have just come back from skiing in the mountains and everybody loves it!

But jokes aside, balance is one of the most intricate and vital functions in our bodies, and we do need to know how it works. Let’s go into this step by step, as we delve into this fascinating topic affecting many seniors relaxing in retirement.

How Age Affects Our Balance

Maintaining our balance as we age can become a challenge, as the years go by. Let’s explore how the human balance system works. Our stability, and balance on our feet depend on three separate systems, working together as we illustrate below:

The vestibular system is a hidden world on the far side of our eardrums. It helps us understand the sounds around us. But the semicircular canals and ‘otolith organs’ do more than just that.

Those tiny organs also detect gravity and movement. This helps us understand where we are in relation to things around us, through head motion, gravity, and spatial orientation.

Our Brains Use Incoming Data

Our brain works like a central processing unit or CPU on a computer. It receives information, processes it, and instructs our central nervous system accordingly:

# Our brain uses vestibular data from our ears to sense movement and maintain equilibrium.

# Our eyes tell our brain where our body is, relative to the things around us.

# Those clues from these systems help prevent falls and maintain correct posture.

Proprioception Brings This All Together

We touched on this concept earlier, but there are few more things we would like to share. Proprioception is our body’s “sixth sense” of its own position, movement, and location in space.

This system uses receptors in muscles, tendons and joints, to send information to our brains via our nerves. This data promotes coordinated movement, balance, and the ability to judge force without looking.

Just as one example, this is how you could touch your nose with closed eyes, or walk without constantly thinking about where to place your feet. It even promotes balance with our eyes shut, if it is working correctly!

These three systems feed signals to (a) the cerebellum, which coordinates involuntary movements such as balance, posture, and coordination. And (b) the brain stem which makes rapid adjustments to our muscles via our nervous system.

Our Balance Deteriorates As We Age

Several age-related changes affect these three systems, which likely maintained our balance perfectly when we were young:

# Our vestibular system declines as the tiny hair cells in our inner ears slowly begin to die. The fluid in our inner ears thickens slightly too, slowing response times. Our hearing fades as well.

vision changes almost imperceptibly. We have reduced depth perception, and less sensitivity to contrasts. Our night vision impairs our stability further, making it easier to fall.

# Our muscles and joints undergo changes too. Our major muscles in our legs, hips and back weaken. Our reflexes in response to changes slow down. Our stiff joints reduce the speed of corrective responses further.

To complicate matters even more, the signals that trigger responses take longer to arrive from our brains. This delays our coordinated reactions, and our subconscious attempts to maintain our balance.

We can help maintain our aging balance in several ways. But when the damage is done, it is largely done. We end this post with some ideas of what you could do to slow this trend. The rest, as they say is up to you!

Addressing the Underlying Causes

Address the underlying causes first. Visit an eye specialist. Discuss how you could benefit from spectacles and / or cataract surgery.

Speak to your doctor about your blood pressure and take their advice. Perhaps you have ear infections? A diabetes test could reveal something too.

Some medicines can also cause dizziness. Review these with your doctor. They will know of the side effects which can lead to dizziness.

Practical Steps to Improve Balance

# Ask your doctor to recommend a physiotherapist. They may recommend exercises to strengthen your leg muscles.

# Discuss other core exercises, that could reinforce your pelvis, lower back, hips and abdomen that anchor your center of gravity.

# Think about taking up yoga, dancing, or perhaps tai chi which combine slow, gentle movements, deep breathing, and meditation.

# On the practical level take in enough liquid and food. Remove trip hazards from your home. Install proper lighting and non-slip flooring.

Medical Supplements and Nutrients

Always discuss supplements with your doctor before you use them, especially if you are taking other medication. Consider the following evidence-based solutions arising from research.

Supplements play a role in maintaining our balance as we age. They may help support our balance indirectly, by strengthening our nerves, muscles, and our vestibular system in our inner ears:

# Vitamin D improves muscle strength, and reduces the risk of older adults tripping and falling.

# Vitamin B12 enhances nerve performance, by tackling deficiencies that can cause unsteadiness.

# Magnesium helps regulate muscle contraction, and our nerves’ ability to transmit signals.

# Omega-3 fatty acids promote healthy nerves, and may help integration of balance signals to our brains.

Compensating for Failing Balance

And finally, don’t be shy to turn to assistive devices for help, and perhaps even a carer to back you up. Personal carers are quite common in the retirement village where we live. They help residents participate more fully in village activities.

Other things to consider include:

# Walking poles and sticks help people cope with trip hazards, and avoid broken bones and then crutches.

# Electric mobility scooters are the number one attraction because of the freedom they bring.

# Electric wheel chairs bring mobility to residents who find using scooters a challenge.

# Walking frames with and without wheels and brakes, help residents move around in their cottages, and avoid frail care.

There's More to Discover About Retiring Successfully

There are loads more things we can do to enjoy a happier retirement. Click on this link https://seniorshophere.com/maintaining-our-balance-as-we-age/ to open a store of rich opportunity.

There’s practical useful advice for seniors by seniors on our website we dedicate to retiring successfully. What’s really great is this. You won’t encounter a pay-me-first wall when you arrive. All our content is free, and for you with our compliments!

25/10/2025

Help Your Bones Joints and Muscles Stay Healthy

Would you like to know another interesting fact about the retirement village where we live, on the sub-tropical South African east coast near Durban? One of us is highly mobile, and strides forth in confidence. While the other tires more easily, and is unsure about their balance. You need to help your bones joints and muscles stay healthy, and it is never too late to start.

You see, with age our bones tend to shrink, both in terms of size and density, and they weaken as a result. We may also find we cannot reach the top shelf of the kitchen cupboard anymore. Our muscles also begin to let us down. We experience this fact as a loss of coordination, stability and balance. This makes us more vulnerable to trips and falls. We could break an arm or a leg, because our bones are getting weaker too.

How To Care For Your Bones, Joints, and Muscles

There is nothing we can do to stop the passage of time. But there are things we can do to manage the impact on our bones, joints and muscles. Here is some food for thought courtesy of Mayo Clinic. Pick the bits that apply to you.

Get Enough Calcium in Food or Supplements

Adults need at least 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day. Women older than 50, and men over 70 need 1,200 milligrams a day. If you want to keep your bones, joints, and muscles in good shape, then include dairy products, broccoli, kale, salmon and tofu in your diet.

If this is impractical owing to your personal circumstances, then speak to your doctor about calcium supplements.

Get Enough Vitamin D in Food or Supplements

Adults aged up to 70 need 600 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day. Adults older than 70 should aim to get 800. The best way to ensure this is to include include tuna, trout, salmon, eggs, and vitamin D-fortified milk in your diet. Your body also makes Vitamin D when sunlight falls on it directly.

If this is impractical owing to your personal circumstances, then speak to your doctor about Vitamin D supplements.

Exercise Gently As Part Of Your Daily Routine

Exercises using suitable weights approved by your doctor, could help you build stronger bones and slow down bone loss. Follow a varied program taking your personal circumstances into account. Walking, jogging, tennis, and climbing stairs may all be possibilities.

Consult your doctor before you start exercising as part of your program, to keep your bones joints and muscles in good shape.

Don’t Abuse Substances That Can Harm You

Smoking to***co and consuming too much alcohol can reduce your bone mass, and increase your chance of tripping and breaking bones. You may need help to quit smoking, although you could also do it through willpower. The effects of alcohol become more severe as we age. This further increases our chances of tripping, falling and breaking bones.

Be gentle with yourself. Consult your doctor before quitting alcohol and smoking. Stick to their advice because they understand you, and they know what is best.

Find more natural health tips at the health and safety series we just started at Senior Shop Here https://seniorshophere.com/category/health-and-safety/.

There's loads more to discover on our website, and what's really great is you won't encounter a paywall when arrive.

17/10/2025

Step Down Gently To Retirement

Our lives evolved in stages from the gentle days of youth, to pinnacles of success that mask our true identity. But now we must prepare to shed our employment. Our productive days are over. We have to step down gently to retirement, because someone else wants our paycheck. But how to retire successfully is the question …

But wait a moment! If we turn things around the other way, then we get a different picture. There is more to life than working for other people, be they our director, manager, supervisor, or customer. Retiring liberates us from tap dancing to other people’s tunes.

Let’s Step Down To Retirement In Style

Retirement is rediscovering who we really are, so we can disengage from work and achieve our deeper dreams. We can compare this experience to peeling an onion bulb, until we reach the core where new life begins. Just imagine what this change could do for you, and those you love!

Stepping down gently to retirement is discarding three 'onion layers' we no longer need. These layers are our job-related goals, our social events at work, and the personality we adopt while working. We must learn to live happily without them, for they will evaporate into thin air when we retire.

Shall We Begin Our Journey Now

So let us begin now by quietly developing our retirement plans. What we will do with our spare time, how we will bolster our self-worth, and our value to those whom we love? With that resolve building momentum, our next step is to gently disengage from social events at work.

Our final task on this journey to retirement is to shed our work mask, and prepare to say farewell. Then we can boldly stride into our new future. We will be free then. Free to step down gently into retirement, free of our work baggage, and free to concentrate on becoming ourselves again.

We wrote this post after we moved to the Kwazulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa, and our peaceful Margate Retirement Village near the ocean. We have freed ourselves from the apron strings of aging, and discovered there is more we can achieve here.

More Information

Please follow this link to more posts based on our own retirement experience https://seniorshophere.com/ . We won't ask you to register. This information comes to you free with our compliments.

05/10/2025

Right Sizing The Kitchen For Retiring

There's an old adage saying “You can take the cook out the kitchen, but you can't take the kitchen out the cook". We knew we needed to take care, when broaching the delicate question of right sizing the kitchen for retiring.

That said, we did successfully transplant cook when we moved to our retirement village down by the seaside. Our relationship survived a few squabbles, and went on from strength to strength. In the process we learned that cooks will be good cooks wherever they are.

Most of us have pots and pans that we rarely use. Some of these end up in bottom pot drawers, and at the back of shelves where busy cooks seldom go. Some are 'failed experiments' we bought on a whim, and seldom use again.

Retiring could be an opportunity to move these items to the guest bedroom, and make a note of how often we actually use them. Those that are still there after a month, are a great place to begin right sizing the kitchen for retiring. The acid test is "could we donate these to a charity shop now?"

Right Sizing Our Kitchen for Retiring

We decided to leave our big old oven behind, when we moved to our affordable retirement village by the seaside. We were concerned about increasing electricity costs, and our appetites were shrinking too.

We no longer required four hotplates, and an oven big enough to roast a turkey. And so we invested in a combination microwave convection cooker, and a double induction hotplate instead.

We are so happy we no longer have to bend down to take food out the oven. And we have space for a top-loading deep-freezer too!

We Are Happy in Our Compact Kitchen

We thought our kitchen might be a bit small before we moved in. Now we rave about being in virtual arms-reach of everything. We recommend you do something similar. Although you do need to stay on the right side of cook, when broaching the delicate question of right sizing the kitchen for retiring!

We wrote this post after we moved to the Kwazulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa, and our peaceful Margate Retirement Village near the ocean. We have freed ourselves from the apron strings of aging. We have discovered there is more we can achieve here.

More Information

Please follow this link to more posts based on our own retirement experience https://seniorshophere.com/ . We won't ask you to register. This information comes to you free with our compliments.

20/09/2025

Don’t Ever Think Of Retiring

Don't ever think of retiring. If you are not growing, then you are fading away. We see this happening to a few of our friends in a retirement village in Margate, South Africa. This is where we live, and from where we write our personal blog.

Our great grandparents worked until they dropped in the late 19th century. Then along came progress, and so our grandparents had pensions. Although they did not survive long enough to fully enjoy them, as old age and infirmity took their toll.

In those days, you see, retirement meant retreating from society, and lingering a short while until ill-health took you down. But that's all changed now 'baby boomers' live longer. That's why we say don't ever think of retiring, because we have a lot of living left to do.

Retiring No Longer Means Retreating

Retiring, in the military sense of the word, means withdrawing from action. And so it must have seemed natural for our parents to ‘retire’ when they ‘went on pension’ at age sixty-five or so. By then, most of those folk were running out of options, and ready for the rocking chair on the porch routine.

The world has made more than a few rotations since then. We are living a decade or so longer than our parents, giving inflation adequate time to chip away at our pensions and savings. But we are sharp, we are baby boomers, and we can take back control of our lives.

We wrote this post after we moved to the Kwazulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa, and our peaceful Margate Retirement Village near the ocean. We have freed ourselves from the apron strings of retirement. We have discovered there is more we can achieve.

However, we can’t presume to help you figure out your personal road ahead. The only suggestion we can make, is don’t ever think of retiring in the conventional sense. Rather see it as an opportunity to take back control over your life.

By all means supplement your reserves by working for yourself, but not for someone else. You will find people treasure your wisdom and experience.

So take the plunge and find the right role. Stand up and walk tall into rich new world of fresh opportunity, and stride out. Don't dither. Just do it!

Please follow this link to more posts based on our own experience https://seniorshophere.com/. We won't ask you to register. This information comes to you free with our compliments.

30/08/2025

Life Right And Retirement Lifestyle

A life right, in the context of retirement, means a lifetime opportunity for an individual or couple to live in a particular cottage or apartment. So it’s like being a tenant in a sense, but with all the rent paid up front. The longer we live, the more it becomes a bargain. Isn’t that a life right and retirement lifestyle to long for?

But That’s Not Where the Bargain Ends.

But that’s not where the bargain ends. The best retirement villages refund their life right payments, if residents relocate. Alternatively, the money passes to their heirs when they pass on. The repayment comes from the subsequent resale of the life right cottage or apartment, so there is a time delay.

In summary, then …:

# There is no outright purchase. There is no transfer duty or property tax either.

# A life right is personal to the owner(s). The purchase price is refundable.

# The retirement village is responsible for maintenance and upgrades.

# The life right owners pay levies. These pay for the operating costs.

Retirement Life Style More Than a Life Right

You get something else thrown into the bargain with a quality life right. Sectional title, where you own a specific part of a building or complex, may sound like a great idea when you are down-sizing, but there is a catch we believe you ought to know.

The ‘ought’ is you become increasingly isolated as you age in sectional title, and younger people move in around you. A life right and retirement lifestyle is far more of a community than you may realise. You find yourself in the company of like-minded, welcoming people who are aging too.

Before you lock yourself into sectional title with the personal obligations this brings, think about the freedom that a life right and a retirement lifestyle bring to retirement. You get all the benefits, plus the ultimate lock and go. What an opportunity, what a freedom without those obligations.

More About Us

We are a couple in our mid-seventies who have happily retired, although we are far from idle. Visit our blog for more advice on transitioning to the senior phase at https://seniorshophere.com/.