Canada here we come….

We decided to go for it and an offer was duly made, quickly considered and accepted. The date for formal handover was 1st September 2017. The next step was easing the sale through of our coffee business in the UK and of course the small matter of finding a place to live in Canada. We, of course had the kind offer of living temporarily with my mother-in-law, but we very much needed to find a place of our own, if for nothing else, the sake of long-term cordial family relations. As I was self-employed, my schedule was a little more ‘fluid’, so it was deemed that I should be the one to make the lions’ share of the trips over to Canada. Added to that, I adore airline food, airport security and spacious non-cramped long-haul flights. If you cannot tell, insanity does not run in the family and this is said with my tongue firmly embedded in my cheek

I had booked 10 or so houses to view with our realtor Kevin, from Lantzville to Union Bay and my wife’s parting words before I set off for the airport were ‘Don’t come back without a house…’. I’m not entirely sure this was a turn of phrase or a legitimate threat, but I thought it wise to at least try and oblige.  

It was with bleary eyes and no small amount of jet-leg ‘pleasure’ that I appeared outside a house in Parksville to meet our realtor. The house was in a decent location on a corner plot and also not far from the, soon to be our coffee shop in Qualicum Beach. I spent all of 2 minutes looking around and cognizant of having the onerous task of getting through 9 more properties spread over the Island, I was keen to forge ahead. Plus, I fancied sounding a little like Martin Sheen in The West Wing, with an assertive ‘What’s next?’   I’ll tell you what came next, not bloody much! To cut a long, Island-wide and fairly exhausting story ever so slightly shorter, we made an offer on the very first house we saw. The offer was accepted, and I was able to return to the UK, not ever having to find out if my wife’s parting words were, or indeed not, just a figure of speech.

It was nearing the time to book the house movers and pack …….