In the early part of life, many people are driven by the hustle and bustle of big city lights. They excitedly chase down the buzz of juggling busy careers and building suburban empires with raising a family. But at some point, that same majority always realises there’s actually more to life when there’s less rat race.

Meet Karen and Shayne

Karen and Shayne Derwin had this exact realisation a few years back. For 21 years, the pair owned and together operated a popular franchise tyre business in Blacktown, about 40 minutes out of the Sydney CBD. Through that same two decades, Karen and Shayne also raised two daughters in their sprawling family home at Pitt Town, on the Hawksbury River. It was when Shayne’s health took an unexpected turn late in his 40s, and they were forced to pay someone to help them maintain their 60-square house, the pool and the gardens, that Karen says they realised they needed to make a change.

“Life just became hard with running the business and everything, so we started Googling some options,” Karen explains. “We looked at smaller homes everywhere from Port Stevens to Nelson Bay, and even as far north as Kirra on the Gold Coast.”

With parents on both sides of their family already living in over-50s communities, Shayne started investigating that option. Karen admits she was “sceptical” about joining a lifestyle resort community because she thought, at ages 54 and 56, they were just too young.

“I was actually quite anxious about the idea of moving into an over-50s community, but Shayne’s heart was set on it,” Karen says. “It was in September last year that we finally decided to inspect Palm Lake Resort Forster Lakes and I remember it was such a rainy day the day we turned up for our visit.

“But before we even got to the end of the resort tour, I wanted in!”

Karen says they put a deposit on a Forster Lakes home and made a 12-month plan to offload the business and sell their family home. Eleven months after that initial rainy inspection day, the Derwins were unpacking their furniture in their brand new double-storey ‘Malabar’ design home. With a double-car garage and an 8m driveway, Karen says there’s ample room for their Dodge Ram tow vehicle and the caravan that takes them on adventures. Positioned in a quiet location directly adjacent to bushland, the pair nowadays enjoy ‘green’ views and that highly prized sense of serenity.

Now officially retired, Karen will tell you that she proudly makes time to put herself first. On the day we caught up with Karen, she’s just completed her weekly Aqua Zumba class. She enjoys a lay in the sun by the pool, chatting to people around the resort grounds, sharing a coffee with friends and taking their dog, Maddie, for walks.

“You can do so many activities here or none at all – and that’s the best part,” she says. “It’s your choice.” While Karen admits that the hardest part was moving 3.5 hours away from their two adult daughters and their families, including a 19-month-old grandbaby, the threebedroom/three-bathroom Malabar is spacious enough to accommodate the whole tribe, when required.

“I’ve never been so happy in all my whole entire life,” Karen beams.

 

 

 

Meet Wayne and Judy

Wayne and Judy Finkelde are another couple who can attest to the benefits of escaping the rat race and finding seachange serenity at Palm Lake Resort Forster Lakes.

The couple has spent the past 35 years based in and around Camden, an hour’s drive south-west of Sydney. While Wayne says you’d class that area as semi-rural, the Finkeldes will tell you they watched Camden’s suburban roads fill with traffic over the years and the schools become more and more crowded. With construction of the Western Sydney International Airport now in full swing just 30 minutes up the road, they decided enough was enough.

“We had no plans to move to Palm Lake Resort Forster Lakes at the time – we actually discovered it while on holidays,” Wayne smiles.

Just like the Derwins, Wayne and Judy had spent a lifetime in fruitful employment. Wayne was the CEO of a printing business and Judy a medical secretary. While juggling their careers, they also proudly raised three boys who have gone on to provide them with seven gorgeous grandchildren, aged from 4-12 years. And just like the Derwins, this couple had to weigh up the pros and cons around moving four hours away from their family, to escape the hustle and bustle and finally find time for themselves. Eight months ago, they unpacked their boxes into a double-storey Palm Lake Resort Forster Lakes ‘Carrabelle’ design home – and haven’t looked back.

“Forster Lakes has been such a good thing for us,” Judy says. “We love the community. We didn’t want to live on just another suburban street – we wanted to meet people and have a social life.”
Golf-mad Wayne will tell you that he loves the resort’s golf simulator rooms, the indoor pool and playing snooker with his new friends. Judy joined the resort’s singing group and tries not to miss line dancing and Aqua Zumba classes or catching up with her Mah-jong group weekly.

“The facilities here were such a big attraction,” Wayne says.

“But the social aspect has been so nice. We go to the resort barbecues and Happy Hour every week and we love trivia – we never played trivia before in our lives until we moved here!”

Aged 64 and 66, the pair says the greater Forster area provides them with even more joy. With glorious One Mile Beach just minutes down the road, Judy says they take their dog, Emmy, on a beach walk most mornings.

“We used to enjoy travelling before, but now we don’t feel the need to leave – we have everything we want right here,” Judy says.

 

Featured in the This is Your Time Summer 2025-26 edition

 

 

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