Winter Home of the Bald Eagle

My new house!

Today I am a homeowner. It is very exciting (it certainly better be, as I’ve had to cut my shoe budget to virtually nothing for the next few months in order to afford the house.) Our house is in Brackendale, BC. Most of you will think, where the hell is that? To answer your question, it is outside of Squamish, which is a small town halfway between Vancouver and Whistler (the famous ski resort.)

The next question usually is, why the hell would you want to move there? Actually, only Vancouverites ask this. Most of my non-Vancouverite friends, especially those who have also survived big city living for at least ten years, can usually understand straight away why I’d want to move to a town of 15,000 in the mountains. We left London because we were sick of tiny apartments and a shitty standard of living. We moved to Canada for big open spaces, and so we could own a house with a big backyard. Vancouver is very expensive, a house in the neighbourhood I grew up averages at 2 million dollars, and I don’t have that kind of money (unless maybe they accepted shoes in lieu of cash.)

Since my husband and I love the Squamish area, and we aren’t afraid of a 50 minute commute (much better than the 90 minute commute I used to do in London,) we started looking for houses there. My mother said that I should move to the trendy, young areas of Vancouver, and I told her that I did not move to Vancouver to try and replicate my London lifestyle. I used to live in a cool area of London, and I didn’t move to Vancouver to live in their small town version of a “cool” neighbourhood. I don’t want a tiny apartment on Main street, where most people look like they are trying too hard all the time, or a house in the “trendy” neighbourhood of Strathcona, an area that you need to share with crack addicts. No thanks, I want space, a big house (4 bedrooms, to be exact) and I want to live in a community where I don’t to worry about locking my door or discarded needles in my backyard.

So Brackendale it is. We are moving sometime in September, and of course I’ll keep you updated on how that is coming along, as I try and juggle another house move, this time during the fashion weeks. Lastly, I should point out that Brackendale was definitely favourable over Squamish, for one very good reason. For those of you who don’t know, Squamish is where all the outdoorsy types go to mountain bike or hike. I can assure you that my husband and I will also be partaking in “outdoor” activities, but our idea is slightly different, we consider drinking beers in the backyard, preferably in a hammock, to be our outdoor activity of choice. Which is why we chose Brackendale. Squamish’s tagline is “Canada’s Outdoor Recreation Capital,” which frankly is terrifying and send shivers down my spine. Brackendale’s tagline is “Winter Home of the Bald Eagle.” Now where would you rather live?