117
SPRING
2016
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MARKET
watch
ESCARPMENT
®
real estate
Haveyoueverhadtorelocate?
Ithappensall the time.
When you have researched the community youwere contemplating
moving to, youprobably sawa list of the top5 reasons tomove to that
givenplace. Theyprobablymadeacompellingcase. It isprettygood
marketing really. “The top5 reasons tomove toour areaare Lifestyle,
location, environment, affordability, and food.”
Here is the thing.Didyour plans change? Didyouhave toconsider
moving toadifferent city?When you did your research, I can almost
guaranteeyou that you found the same thingon thenextwebsite.Not
similar…exactly the same list of headings. “You shouldmove herebe-
causeof theawesome lifestyle, location,environment,affordability,and
food”.
Everyareaprides itself on its top5. The thing that you shouldknow if
youare thinkingaboutmoving toSouthernGeorgianBay (andwhatyou
alreadyknow ifyouare livinghere) is thateveryoneelseshould just settle
downa littlewith their lists. Theproblemwith lists is that they invitecom-
parison.Acomparison isacontest, and simplyput:Wewin. Every time.
1. Lifestyle:
Please…whowoulddare to compare their lifestyle to
ours? Withacoupleof notableexceptions thatwecouldconsider sim-
ilar inscope (Whistler forexample),nooneholdsacandle tous. Idon’t
even thinkwe need to stoop toanyoneelse’s level todescribe it, but I
will sayone thingon thesubject.Commuting.Wedon’tdo that.Somany
peoplespendanhour in thecargoing toworkandanotherhourcoming
home.Knowwhatwedo?Westartourdaybyskiing foranhourbefore
the school busses start toarrive. Wegoandplay9or jumpoff thepier
in Thornbury to cool down on our way home. Beat that! To be fair
though, it does takemeanhour toget toworkon somedays. Ido try to
ridemy bike along theGeorgian trail from Thornbury tomyColling-
woodofficeeverysooften. Certainly, it shouldbemoreoften. I suppose
therearesomewhocoulddo that commute inunderanhour,but Idon’t
like to speed.
2. Location:
Typically, big cities vying for your relocation dollars
talk about proximity to things like international airports, and transport
links. OK. I am coolwith that. I havea friendwho lives in theBeaches
areaofToronto. Ihaveanother friendwho lives rightaroundCreemore.
If they both have to race to Toronto Pearson International Airport, to
catchan0900 flight toMiami, theonlyway theguy from theBeaches
wins is if he takesahelicopteror leaveswaybefore rushhour starts.
Transport links—I guess this is amatter of opinion.We don’t have any
400 series highways, but wedohavedirt roads. Hmmm…16 lanes of
trafficora limestonebikepath? Damn…that isahardchoice.
3. Environment:
Whenpeopleare talkingabout environment they
are usually talkingabout one of 2 things:Weather and clean air and
water—clean air andwater is a lock downwin for us.Whenwe have
friendsand family visit us here fromGermany for the first time, they just
assume that Georgian Bay is salt water.When you tell them it is fresh
anddrinkable, and that the entire landmass of Germany could fit into
thegreat lakes basin… twice, they think youarea liar. Until you show
themamap. The scale is simplybeyondanything in their experience.
Airquality.Anecdotally,everyonesays that theair iscleanerand fresher
upNorth right? Well if EVERYONE says it…
As for weather…yes…we have that. 4distinct seasons to enjoy to the
limit. Andby theway; thatbringsus rightback to lifestyle. The4season
recreation inourarea IS the lifestyle.Spring isuponusnowandweare
alloutsideon the roadsand trails. Lovelywarmsummers for thegolfers.
Vibrantandcolourfulautumns thatbringcyclistsout indroves.Coldand
snowywinters (usually) for theskiers. Thisyearwasnotagreatexample
of that obviously, butwhereMotherNature failedus, goodoldhuman
innovationcame to the rescue.Canyou imagineawinter like thisbefore
snowmaking? The local LCBO storeswould have had thebest year in
history!
4. Affordability:
Someof youmay roll your eyes here, but stop
and thinkabout it.Ourmixof real estate is truly impressive.Youcan still
rent anapartment in thisarea forwell under$1,000amonth. Youcan
buya condo for under $150,000. $1,000,000does not get youan
entry-level homeonabusy street. It buys youamansion in thecountry.
Your real estatedollargoes further here than it does inmost of themar-
kets southofus. Manybuildersanddevelopersare targeting the sweet
spot of around$500,000 right nowwhen theyareplanning their new
product because inventory in that category seems like it isat anall time
low. It is a comfortable number for the amenitymigrant selling their
home in thecity, andyou likelydon’t evenhave todownsizewhenyou
put a tonof extracash inyourpocket fromyour sale in thecity.
5. Food:
Glorious food.Wearenot Toronto.Wedon’t have thou-
sands and thousands of restaurants. However, the oneswe have are
prettyawesome. If youhaveever eatenNarry’s Thai green curry, you
can attest to the fact that it is oneof thebest out there. Unless you are
mydaughterSophiewho recentlyate the tinybut potent chili at thebot-
tomof thebowl. Ididwarnher,but shewasn’tattesting toanythinguntil
she caught her breathand could feel her tongueagain. Howabout a
pizza at Tessoro? A beer at Collingwood Brewery or Northwinds?
Whatwe lack involume,wemore thanmakeup for inquality. Iattended
agamedinnerat theBruceWineBar theotherday.ChefShaunEdmon-
stone’spressedconfitduck legwith localorganicgreensandaperfectly
cooked sous videduckeggyolk (64degrees if youwerewondering),
canbecompared to thebest of thebest of any restaurant in thecityas
faras I amconcerned.
And that is just the restaurants! Farm to table isn’t somethingwe talk
about here.We live it! Kolapore Springs trout.Meester’s Asparagus
(can’t wait). The perfect steak fromBlackAngus orGrandview Farms
(shameless self-promotion). Almond’s apples. My cousins fromOttawa
go toGrandma Lamb’s inMeafordandbuynot less than5 jarsof sweet
redpepper jellyeachandevery time theycome tovisitus. Ifwego tovisit
them, theywon’t evenopen the frontdoor forus if it isn’t the first thingout
of thecar.My in-laws invadeGoldsmith’severyOctoberbefore theyclose
toget ahalfdozen“Thornberry”pies for the freezer toget them through
a longcoldwinterwithout thebountyprovidedby that wonderful oasis
of fresh, local produce.
DesmondvonTeichman
Broker of Record, Owner, Royal LePage
LocationsNorthRealty, Brokerage
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