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ESCARPMENTMAGAZINE
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CA
WINTER
2017
escarpment l iving
So inMarchof last yearwe
made thisareahome forour
family.What oncewasourweek-
endchalet isnowour homeand
that seemsquite suitablegiven
the settinguphere.While it is
entirelyadecision to live inour
playgroundandenjoy today,
it’salsoabout havingour young
boysBrody (age1)andRyder
(age3)growupwithall these
wonderful surroundings.Why
wouldwewait?Forour family,
the future isnow.
Tobe fair, thismovewasa
familydecisionandhad tobe for
thebetterment of everyone.As
such,weneededeverything to
addup.
Weweighedall theprosand
consandmywifeand I had
many lengthydiscussionsover
aglassofwine. Itwasn’t
clear-cut andeasy. Therewere
drawbacksmovingaway from
mywife’s sideof the familywith
veryactivegrandparentsand
auntsanduncles inour kid’s lives.
Tomake thisworkwecommitted
to regular visitsand tohave
familyupmoreoften to stay for
weekendvisits. As Iwrite this, it
hasnot beendifficult toget
people tocomeup foravisit as
they too likewhat theareahas to
offer. Transitioning thekids from
onedaycare toanotherwasalso
trickyandprobably similar to
what familiesgo throughwhen
moving their kidsbetween
schools, although Iwouldbet it
was less complicated.
At suchayoungage, our kidsare
reallyonboardwithanydecision
youmakeat thispoint so longas
thereare treatsavailable to
reinforcegoodbehaviour.While
theyare really tooyoung to
knowwhat isgoingonwecan
see theenjoyment theyhave for
it uphereand look forward to
watching themgrowup in this
playground.
Making themovewith thekids
being thisyoung isabigplus I
think. I’veheard that family
dynamicsgetmorecomplicated
as thekidsget olderandwant to
cast their voteon familymatters.
I’ve talkedwitha few friendswho
havemade themovewithyoung
teenagersand someof the family
meetingsarea littlemore
animated. Therearewider
opinionson the topicofmoving
toa small townwith implications
of socials livesbeingdevastated
andhow ‘unfair it all is’. That
said, I’m told theycamearound.
Formany, thebigchallenge is
work.Myadvice therewouldbe
don’t let yourwork stopyou from
living. It just doesn’tmake sense.
What is it youareworking
towards?
If youareaBusinessowner, this
regionboastsoneof thebest
places inCanada to runa
business. In fact,Collingwood
ranked#1 recently ina list of
entrepreneurial communities
according to theCanadian
Federationof Independent
Business (CFIB).
If youareaprofessional, therearemoreandmore
families whowould prefer towork with someone
like-mindedand that theyare likely to seearoundat
communityevents. Itbuildsmore trustanddimension
aroundyour relationships. There’salso this technol-
ogy thing. If you’ve got discipline, you can really
work from anywhere these days. As you look
around, there isnoshortageof interestingbusinesses
doing verywell withmore to come—I think it’s safe
tosay. Formyself,asan InvestmentAdvisor,moving
to theCollingwoodareawas theperfect location to
helpan increasingnumber of business owners and
private investorswithcomprehensive investmentand
retirement planning. So from that standpoint it was
an easy decision. Afterall, it’s no secret that many
people view the areaas one ofOntario’s leading
retirement destinations.
The rat race continues for somebut, for our family,
weare simplyenjoyingmoreofwhat we first fell in
lovewithwhenwebeganvisiting thearea some10
yearsago.Wecontinue tomeet lotsofother families
who have alsomade the decision to call this area
home. It’s been a lot of fun hearingall their stories
too. Afterall, thisstory isnotunique toour familybut
therearea lotof common threads to theones Ihave
heard. I forget what the old local saying is but, for
us, it goes something like: “We came for the skiing,
we stayed for the…everything.”
As a reader of this magazine, it’s quite likely you
havehad the samedream for youandyour family:
toone day call this area home. And soas you flip
the pages, enjoying all the images and articles
which showcase the true four season lifestyle and
the thrivingprospects forbusinessesofall kind, I just
haveone last question for you...
Whenyoumovin’ up?
|E|
top: Ryder andBrody
Summer 2016
“We came for the
skiing, we stayed
for the...
everything.”
