Retirement Can Look Good on You!

Social connection is important for mental and physical health and links to our sense of self, group identities, sense of purpose, and quality of life.

A recent survey by the Federation of nine Councils on the Ageing (COTA) across Australia suggests that 22% of Queenslanders aged 50 years and over were not content with their friendships and relationships, 5% hadn’t had contact with anyone in a week, and 8% felt lonely all or most of the time.

The same survey indicates that older Queenslanders find support for their wellbeing (and mental health) through family and friends, exercising, good nutrition, hobbies, connecting with nature, and through staying connected with digital technology.

Connecting with friends, family, acquaintances, and even one-off or semi-regular casual interactions, can assist in preventing or alleviating social isolation and the feeling of loneliness. Good health adds life to years.

Gold Coast residents are invited to come along and meet new friends and keep their brain active with a variety of activities; languages, arts and crafts, exercise, technology, discussion groups, lectures, and social activities. At U3A Southport, if you were to do 5 classes per week, the cost per class is a mere 40 cents – approximately the cost of one egg!

You can keep up with the grandkids and learn how to use Facebook, Messenger and more, it’s all here waiting for you. Learn French, Italian, or German for your next European holiday and make new friends.

Learn a new passion, find new interests with nearly 60 activities to enjoy. No prior learning and no tests, exams or formal recognition, it’s the sheer joy of learning.

Join us and see the sights on our interesting selection of Day Coach Tours to the Gold Coast Hinterland, Northern NSW, Brisbane or the Sunshine Coast; or meet new friends at our regular “Get Together Lunches” here on the Gold Coast.

U3A is a not-for-profit organisation and all course leaders are volunteers bringing a wealth of knowledge, enthusiasm and expertise to a breadth of activities. We are people-powered – and we are always in need of volunteers in a variety of capacities to keep the wheels running smoothly. If you feel you could contribute in any way to help make our U3A bigger, better and brighter, we would love to hear from you.

We receive much praise from our members and we love receiving great feedback. Juliet, from Southport, was referred through a friend two years ago and comes along regularly to five different courses a week. Arriving back in the Gold Coast from a summer vacation in Italy last year, she couldn’t express enough gratitude at the skills in Italian she’d gained from the courses. She was able to order food, ask for directions, and have basic conversations with Native Italians.

Liz, from Surfers Paradise, pursued art and now successfully sells her artwork at local markets and taught her grandkids new skills. It keeps her mind active and makes a few extra dollars a week.

Line Dancing, Rock’n’Roll, and Tap Dancing are great ways to get fit and discover you don’t have two left feet after all. Learning and practising dance can improve self-esteem, improve your mood and attitude, ease depression and anxiety and most importantly, protect your memory! There’s so much to learn, you won’t be disappointed: