Growing old in a new estate : establishing new social networks in retirement

The benefits of a strong proximal social network for people as they advance in age are well documented, but the continuation or development of social networks may be challenged when people relocate to a new home on retirement. This paper explores the personal network development of older residents who have moved to a new suburban (but not age-specific) residential development in a general urban setting. Drawing on a case study of a new outer-suburban ‘master planned estate ’ in Brisbane, Queensland, the findings from interviews with 51 older residents and participant observations of a community group are presented. The study suggests that a traditional ideal of unreflexive community of place was an unreliable source of durable social bonds in contemporary fragmented and mobile social conditions, where the proximity of family members, durability of tenure and strong neighbourly ties are not inevitable. One successful resolution was found in a group of older residents who through exercising agency had joined a group the sole focus of which was social companionship. The theoretical bases of this type of group are discussed and its relevance is examined for retirees who have chosen to live in a residential environment for lifestyle and amenity reasons, away from their lifelong social networks.