The Grass Is Greener

Are you sitting at work or in your home office right now thinking, “I wish I could see more trees and breathe fresh air with space instead of living like an animal in a cage!” Well that’s how I felt… often. I would say to Lin “I love our home, but I can’t look at the neighbour’s vinyl for the rest of my life!” We’ve had discussions for years about where our next move would be. Both originating from England (a small, busy little country where the pace of life is fast and furious) we came to Canada to live life in the slower lane. It was my idea and having persuaded Lin to take the leap of faith with me we’ve made it work.

Our next adventure after ten years of being settled down was centered around the same question… “Where next”? We considered going back to the U.K. Anyone who has emigrated knows that elastic band pull back to the home country. Our families are there and we thought it would be good, responsible even, to live closer to them, especially to our mothers and to give our son (who we had along the way and was now a major part of the decision reasoning) a close bond with them. But going back to the U.K. felt like going backwards, and our adventure shouldn’t be over yet.

We seriously considered the South of France (doesn’t everyone) and for quite some time became obsessed with the beautiful and surprisingly affordable reno’s, tiny cottages and, as the years went by, fully liveable properties with large, established gardens near cute villages. Then life took a different turn and we made the decision to stay in beautiful B.C.

A big part of our yearning (call it ambition, passion, some call it unrealistic) was to create a good life. Not that ours was bad and we were grateful for what we had – but both of us realized we wanted (or at least, we thought we wanted) to live in the country (my big thing), grow things and make music (Lin’s big things). We, like millions of others around the world, are choosing to “up sticks” and move on for a better life. I feel that there is a trickle that is turning, not into a flood, but more of a steady stream of people who are choosing to move or being pushed out of big cities into the country. House prices, rental prices, child care options, traffic and a yearning for us and our children to live a life at a more ‘human’ pace and scale are making a lot of us seriously consider and even make the move.

So how do you and how did we, make the decision of “where next”? Well, like many before us we took holidays that looked suspiciously like the life we wanted to create. Cute cottages in sleepy villages that were accessed via tree-lined highways and days that involved tasks that were no more complicated than what to eat or which walk to take. After a few vacations we, like many before us, started to fantasize about living permanently in the lovely oceanside community of Roberts Creek on the  Sunshine Coast in western Canada. We got a referral for a good Realtor and upped our fantasy to pseudo-research, getting on her email list for properties for sale. We still were not completely sure if we could leave the city (all those children’s activities, shops and people nearby) and live in the country (the dark, unlit streets, no shops or restaurants on our doorstep, the wildlife!). But every time Lin had a frustrating day I would forward her an amazing house, with an amazing price tag and type “just sayin!”. We kept holidaying here and viewed a few more properties. Then, we found a dream property, put in an offer… and lost it. We were so disappointed that the very next weekend we planned to ‘get back on the horse’ and look again. On my birthday, no less, we viewed seven properties and found our real dream home. It had a huge (and I mean huge) main house with over 2.7 acres of land with a separate building that could be converted into a cottage and space for Lin to create her own sound recording studio. This time we were not going to miss out. We put in an offer, which was accepted. We were on our way!