Cottage

This week I caught an episode of Sarah's Cottage. During commercials, Greg and I bantered back and forth about owning a cottage one day, and that conversation got me thinking. When I think five, ten, twenty years down the line, I imagine myself with a house that smells like gingerbread and exudes life from the bustling family inside. Buying real estate is, for me, as much about thinking about how I want to live my life, as it is about hopping on the property ladder.

There are things I know for certain and other details that are fuzzier.

I know I would like to continue to be able to walk to work and to a grocery store from my home. I also know I want green space within reach. Greg would add great lighting to the mix.

I'm less certain that I want a big house, though this home in Georgetown, St. John's continues to appeal to me. The Georgetown Bakery is as good a neighbour as anyone.

I do however, think about owning two properties. Perhaps there is a way for Greg and I to own a place in Newfoundland and another in British Columbia. We could run a B&B in St. John's during the summer, rent the place for a long term rental in the winter and then spend winters and springs in Vancouver doing contract work. Cash flow is an obvious deterrent, but I don't rule a hybrid regime out when we ponder which coast to settle on.

If conventional careers are more necessary, I'd give thought to purchasing an affordable condo in the city, like this one and owning a big old house for spending weekends with the family, like this one.

I'm decidedly in the brainstorming phase right now, but it is enjoyable to think through different sorts of plans.