I grew up in a suburb town 40 minutes outside of Vancouver, Canada. It was where many of the middle-class families in the baby-boomer generation ended up. The town itself is spread out over a wide geographical area, so although it is fairly large, it never felt like it. Many of the neighborhoods are (still) bisected by large agricultural fields, horse ranches, and remaining forest stands. It is a beautiful place to call home.
I began gaining a real-estate conscience about 10 years ago, when Vancouver hosted the 2010 winter Olympic games (… a story for another time). Something many people feared who called the greater Vancouver area home was how all of the world’s eyes on the region might spark international interest in its real estate. It was certainly worth preparing for.
I’m sure the real estate market was already on the rise pre-Olympics, but it ramped up significantly in the years to follow. I mean, with the mildest climate in Canada and the plethora of mountains, rivers, lakes, and beaches to explore, the area is hard to beat. It’s a paradise you pay for, though.
After the Olympics, the region saw massive increases in property value. Insurance rates went up. Property taxes went up. Gas prices soared and subsequently so did many services. It was like watching the game of monopoly in real life, only more bewildering.
Later in 2010, I began my undergraduate studies and for the next four years of my life I hardly thought about what I was going to do after I graduated. When 2014 came around, it was a wake-up call. I was in my early twenties and starting to browse the rental market and was shocked at how expensive even a basement suite was in the area. Moving out of my parent’s home did not appear so glamorous.
I scraped by the next four years, hardly saving much money, until I met my husband. Being able to share expenses with somebody certainly helped keep a little more money in our pockets. In 2018, when we decided to look into purchasing a home, we encountered another rude awakening.
I loved my hometown, so so much. Growing up there was a dream. But there was little chance we could ever afford to live there. I remember talking with my parents and being frank with them that there was just no way we would qualify for a mortgage for an $800,000+ house. We wouldn’t even get a mortgage for a $500,000 house several towns over. We were simply priced out of the market.
It was a sobering conversation, but one my parents were expecting. They knew how much inflation had made it nearly impossible for any of the up-and-coming young adults of our neighborhood to stick around. Even if we could, what quality of life would we have living with so much debt? My parents were very sympathetic. Buying your first home is supposed to be exciting and liberating, not burdensome.
As we chatted more, we decided that if we had any hope at a good quality of life with some degree of financial freedom, we had to leave home. That’s when we started browsing real estate options many hours away.
Did I want to leave? No. Did I want to stay close to my family and friends? Absolutely. But we had to make a decision on whether to establish a future of promise or a future of fear and uncertainty. I don’t think we would have got much sleep if we bought a house we couldn’t afford.
Early into 2019, we purchased our first home in a new town 4 hours away. We had no contacts there. No friends. No family. But it did not take long to secure work, meet friends, and discover some incredible things about the town. In a matter of months we realized how fulfilling life could be in our new home. It might have taken some creativity and resilience in the beginning, but we discovered how to make a paradise out of our new home.
When you think about it, it is the natural progression of society to grow up, spread out, and colonize new territory. As much fear is involved, there is a basic instinct we have to adapt to new environments. With a little bit of patience, the structuring of your new life can even be enjoyable. It is the life YOU built, not the one you were raised into. That’s something to be proud of.
So, if you are like me and you want to stick close to home AND purchase property, consider your options carefully. I have seen friends and loved ones purchase homes beyond their means, only to regret the decision. I even have a family member who was forced to sell after 5 years because the mortgage rates increased, and upon renewal, they no longer qualified to keep their home. It was heartbreaking.
If you can afford to live in your hometown and stay close to everybody you know and love, that is a tremendous blessing. Unfortunately, the present day economy is making that harder and harder for us when the cost of living is increasing so dramatically.
I’d encourage those of you who may be weighing your options about where to settle down to consider looking a bit further afield. It is an unsettling thought to consider moving to a new and unfamiliar town, but it can be so rewarding. And the chances are you are not the only ones in search of affordable real estate.
Thousands of young adults are moving to the smaller cities and towns across Canada on a quest to build a semi-reputable life. Will it compare to the towns of our childhood? Probably not. But the experience is all about what you make it.
Trust me, if you do not have to worry about money every single waking day of your life, you’ll find peace. Financial concerns are paralyzing, even if money is not something you value. We live in a society where money rules, and it can be difficult to simply “not stress about it”. The stress will still find you.
In saying that, there are ways to outrun the stress of money. When you do, the peace is real. Everything about your new home will be more enjoyable if you don’t have to worry (and I mean really worry) about paying your bills. You’ll have more time for exploring and adventuring. You’ll have more financial freedom to treat yourself to vacations, and to begin building a future for your kids. And you’ll probably appreciate the limited the time you have with friends and family so much more when you get it.
I promise, you can make it work.
The grass may not be greener on the other side, but it may be softer.
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This post was previously published on Change Becomes You and is republished here with permission from the author.
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Photo credit: Reliant Realty ©2019