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Metlifecare Somervale retirement village resident Pippa Cunliffe says she’s the happiest she has been in years, as she prepares to move into the village’s new care home, opening in December.

Pippa says she decided to jump on one of Somervale’s new care suites after realising “she needed help with things she couldn’t do herself”.

After that realisation, Pippa did her due diligence, exploring several options in the greater Tauranga area.

“I looked at five homes and decided straight away the first day I came here that this was it.”

Asked what she looked for in her new home, Pippa is emphatic that she’d fit in.

“That I’d be looked after — which my family wasn’t able to do. And the new rooms are a bonus.

“All the new improvements that they’ve told me about, it’s just hard to believe! Some of the things, the comforts — the little things that they have thought about.”

Those little things Pippa is looking forward to include the family-style dining arrangements, the way the meals will be brought to her and her fellow residents, and the fact that her family can visit at any time and cook her a meal using the shared kitchen.

“All those little things are very important. They just want it to be more family home-related.”

Pippa has been living at Somervale for seven months now and will be transitioning in December from her current room to her new care suite, which consists of groups of no more than 12 care suites, with each group having their own kitchen, dining room and lounge area.

She is particularly enthusiastic about the staff at Somervale, saying they are incredibly caring and responsive.

“I ring my bell in the middle of the night sometimes just for milo. They just bring it with never a word. My daughter saw my bell and said, ‘I’m coming here to live!’”

Asked about her favourite feature of living at Somervale, Pippa doesn’t hesitate.

“The staff here! The love oozes out of the walls. Truly! They are really very good here.”

 Visit: https://www.metlifecare.co.nz/our-retirement-villages/bay-of-plenty/somervale