Driving across Canada was pretty epic. The scenery, the road trip food (hello, Tofurky sammies!), the Uhaul full of homemade farm preserves…
Okay, possibly most overdue blog post ever, but here it is and here’s our news: Chris K. and Jocelyn have moved to Nova Scotia!
Yep. As in we’re already here.
We’ve been in NS for 2 1/2 weeks now. We got here by driving for seven days across our beautiful and very large country.
Fergus, Lola, Thumper, and Frieda turned out to be calm, (mostly) easy road trip companions.
As hinted at in my last blog post, our decision to move out of Maple Ridge wasn’t a sudden one, but the final destination decision sort of was. Nova Scotia had been on my mind for awhile – definitely for over a year, but we had more serious destinations in mind leading up to our move-out date: the interior of BC, southern Ontario, France (okay, maybe France was never that serious, but it we did talk about it a lot)… However, Nova Scotia kept moving up on our destination list for a couple pretty important (in our minds) reasons: 1) We were really curious about it – it was a big unknown for us and therefore scary, but also super exciting and adventurous-feeling, 2) Land is cheap! Okay, cheap for people who are used to BC prices. Like, insanely potentially attainable for two people who have debt and little savings. Right? Seriously. Check out mls.ca for yourself.
In the end, despite the scary/ exciting unknowns (no lined up farm work, no lined up work at all for Jocelyn, no one we really knew…), the adventure and the new beginnings NS offered won out over our other options. We felt moving to a place where neither of us had roots would be good for our relationship and certainly, moving to a place where we could seriously consider buying land was super exciting. So, here we are!
Our adorable new home, that we and our furry family members are happily settling into.
And we LOVE it. We seriously do. We’ve got ourselves a super great living space in Kentville (located in the very farm and vineyard and orchard friendly Annapolis Valley), we’ve been exploring the province (BEAUTIFUL!), meeting new people (absolutely as friendly as you hear), frequenting farmers markets (so many!!!), and just generally settling in.
We’ve got kilometres of walking trails and wild bird sanctuaries accessible, literally, from our backyard. We’ve been starting each morning with a morning walk. It’s pretty perfect. Also perfect is that all amenities we need (groceries, farmers market, coffee shops, banks, etc) are all within a 15 minute walk from our house. Walkability! YAY!
How are we affording it? Chris has kept the non-farm job he had back in BC. He works remotely for a tech company in Toronto, meaning he can work anywhere he has reliable internet, which is AWESOME. It’s really the only way we could afford to pick up and move out here. Thank you Chris xo. I left my non-farm job behind in BC, but I have just landed myself a seasonal delivery job with UPS (seriously stoked!), and am hoping to line up work on a farm in the new year. We’re not rolling in riches, but we’re making enough to support our life out here (as long as we go to farmers markets with strict budgets – our will power disappears when faced with gorgeous produce (esp. since we don’t have access to our own anymore), delicious raw vegan treats, and local booze – alcohol (and tastings!) are permitted at NS farmers markets. Heavenly! ;).
Are we buying land right away? Oh no. We aren’t ready (financially or mentally) to do that yet, but part of our plan is to spend our time here determining if buying property in NS is realistic for us, and if so, determining what part of NS we’d like to buy in.
Are we starting up our own market business again? Not right away. I’m hoping to get work on someone else’s farm – to hopefully get mentored by an expert, learn new skills, and acquaint myself with what it’s like to grow in NS. Will it feel weird not to have a booth in the local farmers markets. Absolutely. Already does. I LOVE being a vendor in a market, but I’m working on practicing patience :)
Will we keep blogging? Probably. On this website? Not sure, but we’ll keep you posted.
In the meantime, you can follow along with our adventure on our regularly updated instagram page (https://instagram.com/farmforlife).
I think that’s it for now. Seriously, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who has been following our story and supporting us in a myriad of ways. The past three years on the farm in Maple Ridge were hugely life changing, and although our lifestyle changes left some people in our lives seriously questioning and, let’s be honest, judging our decisions, most of you have been overwhelmingly encouraging. We have felt that and we love it. Thank you for lifting us up and cheering us forward.
A long-time favourite quote (and life motto) of mine has been one by Goethe (posted below). I’ve been incredibly fortunate in life so far to have the family support and friendly pushes to pursue my many different interests and dreams without much hesitation. I know that not everyone has this kind of support, but if you’re not doing what brings you happiness and joy, or if you feel a strong pull to do something other than what you’re already doing, I say, with every ounce of encouragement I have within me, DO IT! Do it, do it, do it. Figure out how to make it work within the life perimeters you find yourself in and do it. We have one life here on earth (in these bodies at least). Make the most of it. No regrets. xoxo
“Whatever you can do, or think you can do, begin it; For boldness has power and magic and genius in it.” ~ Goethe
A few of the things we’ve seen since being here. A pumpkin person in Kentville, composting toilet instructions at Broadfork Farm, and one of the creative cement houses by late artist and architect Charles Macdonald.
