Morgan has been working in Vancouver for a few years now which lead to talk from moving from our south Surrey home to closer to his work. One day last October after another long commute home, Morgan had had enough and the decision was made. We were going to move. We talked and discussed amid excitement and some anxiousness. I said we could move anywhere but downtown. Housing prices were really high everywhere that seemed decent to live.
After a few scouting trips, we had a date day where we biked around the seawall and saw a bit of the West End. I was sold. My criteria was that there was a park and a grocery store near by. Of course there were grocery stores all over in a place with such high density as well as an elementary school and some parks. Finding an apartment to rent was a bit of a challenge and eventually after many trips out to Vancouver, we selected one that met most of our criteria.
We spent months purging, cleaning, selling, purging again and packing so we could move to a drastically smaller space. I started reading minimalist blogs so I could start embracing a mindset conducive to what would be our new living space. We still need to purge more and we also switched out some furniture for lots of new Ikea furniture that would fit our space and needs much better.
I’m loving downtown. We always said we could move back if we didn’t like it and somewhat ironically now I say I never want to move. We sold our van and don’t feel any need to buy a vehicle. We walk and bike everywhere and have so many amenities so close to our house. The first few months were lonely but once I made a good friend who I connected with well, she introduced me to her friends which really expanded my social circle. When I was lonely, we would visit my family and my friend in White Rock often on the weekends. This was such a blessing having them so close by.
The kids loved Vancouver immediately as we were going on all sorts of exciting outings such as the aquarium and Science World. Our kids adjusted so well which was such a blessing. Leah has made many great friends at school quickly. Joel wasn’t so excited about starting preschool as he didn’t want to be away from me but he adjusted quickly and soon started enjoying preschool.