I can not help but think of myself as the producer, director and star in my own little play, this thought pattern is thourally enabled by being smack dab in the middle of one of the greatest forces for change that Canada has ever seen, The Baby Boom. That long winter after World War 2 when our heroes returned triumphantly, ready to engage in the building of a new world must have been especially enhanced by our Long Canadian winters as it is very much a Northern phenomenon. As we have changed the landscape to suit our needs throughout our lives we now enter into our retirement years and I do not doubt for a moment that this too will see a distinct shaking up in the way people view this next phase of our lives. Many of our grandparents sat at home hoping to have the family stop by but many of us are eager for adventure, we want stories to tell. Being a housing professional this is the area of interest that I would like to explore and share my thoughts with you.
Having emerged from one of the biggest financial crisis of our time I believe that people have had a wake up call, I think we will now see, in fact I am seeing, a trend towards people wanting to be done with the big mortgage, the huge house with 4 bathrooms to clean and are sitting up to examine and execute what this next phase of their life will bring. Many of us want to travel, in our own country and around the world, if we do not do it now, when will we do it, time is marching on. However we also want to know we are secure and the way many Canadians view this is through thier Homes. In order to have it all we need to be creative and willing to think outside of the box, we need to work together. I see the Cowichan Valley as the perfect place to live for 6 months of the year but perhaps a warmer climate is in order for a few of those winter months.
The Strata complex started out as a wonderful idea, but quickly got watered down to the bare bones to help the developers make more money, it does not have to be that way. Lets take a small number of rules, truly enforce them and create a environment in which people can fulfill their full potential. A self governing community will always nurture the greatest hearts and minds. When you are part of a community that you have a stake in you take ownership, when you take ownership you feel like you want to make it the best you can. When you start this canvas with an amazing back drop of pristine forest and one of the nicest Lakes and Rivers in Canada and the cleanest water on the planet you have every chance of creating a winning lifestyle.
I would like to take this opportunity to begin to sketch out some possibilities to build on, you could look at the type of community that would best suit your personal lifestyle and subscribe to that in theory, when we gather enough like minded people who agree on a lifestyle that we can all help to create, we could make it a reality.
Celebrate interdependence within a self sufficient unit of your choice.
Penny Lane
Penny Lane is a small 12 unit Riverfront complex that has already sold the 5 existing cabins and is now embarking on the next 7, they are oh so cute, one acre of lovely Riverfront Common property with a shared dock, and there is a walking bridge over the Cowichan River that leads right to all the amenities that Lake Cowichan has to offer. The Trans Canada Trail goes past here leading to some of the countries most beautiful walking trails. They start at $225,000 and go up depending on the quality of finishing you want to see in your unit, most include wood flooring and granite already and are well designed and quality built. Although we have not evolved past what is already a charming setting, my Mom hopes to go into this little community so I can see it evolving into a little Retirement village. It is a strata development with fees at around $110. per month, please visit my website for more informationwww.remaxlakecowichan.com
Stin-qua
Stin-qua is a Lake Front Community in Honeymoon Bay which offers 16 Waterfront or Water access lots that give you full access to our 34 KM freshwater Lake. Enjoy fishing, boating, swimming, hiking and only 45 minutes to Ocean fishing in Port Renfrew to catch salmon, halibut and crab. Much more on this wonderful green oriented, gated community on our website as well, close to golfing, dining, and camping, on your way to Nitinat which offers worlds class recreation
Our Eco Centre
Take a look online to ourecovillage this is the type of community that I want to be a part of, Brandy looks like a little Hippie girl but she is a highly educated woman who is devoting her life to teaching people how to live in community and live lightly on the land in a sustainable, respectful way. Brandy has created a new zoning to allow her to do what she does, she has also literally created a new way to finance this type of community. We have a opportunity to create this type of village right here in Lake Cowichan on the Native Land or with patience on a 14 acre piece of land that is coming available. It would be easier on the the Native Land but of course it has its own inherent obstacles. Native Land would be much more reasonably priced for people so there is a opportunity to have both. What it lacked as a long term investment vehicle it would gain in ease of development, the Band does not have to abide by the regular municipal laws and building codes so we could get extremely creative in building green unconventional homes and set up a community in a most unorthodox fashion. Of course everything would have to go through a Lawyer who was well versed in these matters.
North Shore Rd
I have a 1.5 acre Waterfront Listing on the North Shore that is a combination residential, commercial zoning that would likely be easy to build a high end townhouse strata for the more sophisticated among us, the shore line is amazing and there is even some sandy areas in the summer sun, it is close to town and will likely soon be on the town sewer and water. I think if we got 40 people to commit to this development that you could have a top quality project on some of the nicest waterfront available in the area.
Albert Einstein said that imagination is more important than knowledge and in this world of Google where we have all the knowledge at our fingertips, as amazing as that is we need to put our imaginations to work to make the most of it.
My personal vision is to have a home surrounded by other little homes, tucked in the bush, a place to be alone and a place to be together, in fact many little places, a place to work, a place to garden and a nice organized place to re-cycle, in fact a place to separate our glass for example where we can take it and throw it in a oven that melts it and makes, say glass blocks to build something or to make paving stones for the garden, a little indoor swimming pool, glassed in for garden plants, mostly edible, a big stone oven for pizza or bread, a gazebo to sit and talk or make music, a water feature to enjoy, a place to craft, a place to cook, a work shop to build things in, a place to park our boats and motor homes, maybe we could even share some of these. Often we only need to use something a little, we do not need to own everything, in fact the more we own the heavier that responsibility of taking care of it or polishing it and storing it and insuring it and cleaning it.
We could have a system in place that made it so that we could age in place, perhaps allow a couple of the littles house to go to caregivers, the hospital is only 20 minutes away (13 minutes with our fourth child) and we have a clinic and a wonderful ambulance station in town.
I would love to invite you to comment on these possibilities, in fact lets start a blog to explore the positive and negative aspects, the pros and cons, lets set up a list of people who might want to explore living in one of these various sites and how it would look if it where our home. Just e-mail me at sandystinson@shaw.ca with your personal choice of environment to live in and your views on how we could optimize our chosen lifestyle.
Remax of Lake Cowichan would like to offer a $1000. prize to the person who sends in the most creative, innovative thoughts on the subject. Contest is open to all and the deadline is Thanksgiving October 11, 2010, we will share your ideas with all.
All the Best
Sandy Stinson