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Sunday, April 27, 2014

A 'not so seasonal' migration

Well, the time is fast approaching (less than a month to go) when we will drive away from our little slice of heaven, and say goodbye to our little log home on the lake.  Even typing this, I tear up... not quite sure how we are going to be able to do it. Never mind leaving my parents and our dear friends But, do it we must - we have been sorting, packing, organizing, holding garage sales, interviewing renters, finishing up odd jobs around the house, pushing the girls through their remaining 'schoolwork' and having last visits with friends.

We made it home in time to Celebrate Hazels 6th Birthday


As emotional as I am about leaving, I am excited for this new adventure in our lives and looking forward to making our home on the other side of the country. As a Western girl, born and bred, I know this side of Canada pretty well....looking forward to exploring the East! And even the 10 day drive to get there!

The house we bought in New Brunswick


I hope to blog more regularly, but can't promise as we are going to get busier every week.

Spring is here, the ice went out and we had our first wiener roast of the season.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Making Decisions

It sure feels great to make a decision!  And we have been making a number of important, life changing one lately!  Despite a number of sleepless nights, and much, much discussion we are very excited about the upcoming changes.


Our first decision was coming to the realization that due to Joses allergies/asthma we needed to sell our house.  It was a hard decision, one that we have considered for years - we could never bring ourselves to do it as we love our log cabin on the lake and it is near to my parents and our friends.  After spending these last few months away, Jose is feeling like a whole new man - full of energy and completely off his inhalers!  Once we made the decision to sell and whole new set of choices presented themselves!


Given the nature of our income, we can choose to live anywhere - and we considered everywhere! From Spain to Mexico to Ecudor...we really wanted to move here, to the United States but didn't qualify for any Visa.  After deciding that Spain was too far away, we started looking at Canadian towns close to the US border (we are loathe to give up the inexpensive shopping here) with a pool (Violets passion) and dance lessons (Hazels passion) as well as decent schools (We feel like its time for the girls to go back to traditional school). After a winter without snow here in Oregon, we were also in search of a milder winter.... unfortunately, in Canada, that comes with a hefty price tag.  We tried to find a place in western Canada so we could still be close to family and friends but just didn't want to be 'house poor'.  We wanted to be able to afford the lessons for the girls, vacations, and save money for their university education etc.  I am also trying to take ino account my needs as a disabled person - proximity to doctors and places to have my equipment is important, and given that I no longer drive we thought it would be nice if we were in a town within walking (or rather rolling) distance of shopping, schools, parks, etc.


After searching high and low for somewhere that met these needs (I think we cruised every inch of the Canada/US border on Google Maps) we stumbled across New Brunswick.  We initially discounted it as it is just so far away from our friends and family.  The girls have such a strong relationship with their Grandparents and we value that - it was the reason we moved from the city to our house on the lake. We kept coming back to it, until one day our millionth mls.ca search landed us in a beautiful little town across the border from Maine, in central New Brunswick.  We fell in love with a huge, old home in need of cosmetic TLC but (hopefully, still have to have an inspection done) structurally sound with updated wiring,plumbing,etc.  We are not completely done closing the deal - crossing our fingers, but if all goes well we will be closing at the end of March and moving mid-June!

As things will be tight until we sell our house, we were eager to get home and start preparing our house for sale, as well as start packing etc.  After much hemming and hawing, and with a bit of trepidation, we have decided to brave the snow between here and home and leave here in a couple weeks and make a break for home as soon as the weather allows.

So, we will spend the next few weeks soaking up the Oregon beauty - it will be hard to say goodbye!




Friday, January 3, 2014

A Choice, A Chance and a Change.....

Jose and I have finally accepted that we have to sell our beautiful, little, log home on the lake.  It is a tough decision that has been a long time coming - Jose has suffered and struggled to control his ever worsening asthma (caused by allergies) ever since we moved into the house 7 years ago.  We had considered selling the house in the past, but loved the place too much.  We still do love it, and hate to leave it, but Jose is feeling sooooo much better now that we are away, that we realized we would have to. Once that difficult decision was made, a whole world of opportunities opened up!

Our number one choice would have been to try and move here, to Oregon.  Unfortunately, we do not qualify for any of the Visas that we would need to become permanent residents - so that was out of the question.
We considered continuing to live in the trailer every winter as we had originally intended - however, we are finding that accommodating my disability is more challenging than we had anticipated.  In addition, we are feeling like it may be time for the girls to attend traditional school again.  So, we need to settle down somewhere for at least 10 months a year.

While living here in Oregon we have enjoyed the conveniences of being in town, as opposed to a 60km round trip from town.  We have also enjoyed the lower cost of living that exists here in the States - given that we are unable to immigrate here, we started considering towns close enough to the USA/Canada border that we can utilize cross border shopping. We also let our imaginations run wild and considered Spain, Ecuador, Eastern Canada and more, before settling down and considering our priorities.

This will be the third move Jose and I have made - our first home in Edmonton was a practical, affordable starter home, which we left when we followed our hearts and moved back to my hometown.  That was a great move at the time - I wouldn't trade the relationship my girls have with their grandparents for anything (and they will be the hardest to leave) but this time we are thinking with our heads.

We want to find a place where:
1. We can have a lower cost of living - through reduced house insurance (we pay 300.00/month currently because we are not in a fire protection zone), more affordable internet and heating (hello cable bundles and natural gas furnaces!), less gas budget commuting to town, and availability of cross border shopping.
2. I can 'roll' in my chair to shopping, library, etc. - now that I don't drive.
3. Violet can take swim lessons (her passion) and Hazel can take dance or music lessons, and they can both go to school again.
4. We are close enough to our family and friends in BC and Alberta that we can still see them!

So far, the Boundary region of BC is looking good - particularly the Grand Forks area.

So, 2014 is looking to be an eventful year but for now we are committed to enjoying the next/last 3 months here in Oregon while we continue to consider our options.

HAPPY NEW YEAR