It was a funny feeling to come back to Victoria after setting up our new household in Vancouver. Amazingly, it's Vancouver that feels more like home...and this is only after 12 days in Vancouver in our new digs! Strange, really, because we have lived in Victoria for 39 years, raised our family, had our careers, and made lots of good friends.
It certainly has something to do with Vancouver being our home town and also the home town of my parents. Things like watching people going down the water slide at English Bay and thinking of us doing that as kids and my parents doing that as kids.
I had read a review of "The Happiness Project" in the Globe and Mail and was rather intrigued by someone who was really quite happy but wanted to research being "more happy". I feel I'm very happy and content and hadn't really considered being more happy. I logged onto her blog and then bought the book. One of the things she talked about was living in New York in an apartment with her husband and two kids and how wonderful NYC was but also some of the disadvantages of having a family in such quarters but still thinking NYC was the best choice.
That got me thinking that we love the vibe of large urban cities and now that our son isn't at home we can so easily live that urban lifestyle. And a big bonus is that our son lives in Vancouver!
When we went into Vancouver the end of July, we really had no plan to change our life in an hour. The idea was to identify good buildings to rent in to try out the lifestyle perhaps in a couple of years. But an apartment was available at a reasonable price right on Beach Avenue with a fabulous view over English Bay. I think it just might be the best real estate in the world...quiet area, Stanley Park a few minutes walk, and all the action of the West End in a 5 minute walk.
Now, we're putting our house up for sale after being in a wonderful residential area for 35 years and loving the idea of living in a one-bedroom apartment. A month ago I would have said anyone was completely crazy if they suggested we might be doing this...
