Although born in Toronto, my daughter is a country girl at heart. Fresh air, sunshine, big sky, flowers in the field, and...donkeys.
It is interesting over your life how you determine your preferences for city or country living, and how they sometimes change over time. A few months ago, I met a woman who lives near us on a hobby farm. She has custom built a gorgeous home (think Yellowstone married to Architectural Digest) and has a barn and garden along with two horses, a llama, a donkey, a dog, twelve chickens and eleven ducks. My daughter considers it Heaven. We spend one day a week walking and grooming the animals. It has been a marvelous addition to our routine. She lives in the country, but within a city.
Living in Northern Ontario has opened us up to the outdoors in a way that the big city did not. Everyone here does any number of outdoor activities. In the winter, think snow shoeing, cross country and downhill skiing, snowmobiling, snowboarding, skating and ice fishing. In the summer, turn your mind to canoeing, kayaking, paddleboarding, cycling, walking, hiking, waterskiing, swimming, dirt biking, ATV off roading, fishing, and camping. There is a lot of open space all around, and rather than hide inside when it is cold, northerners embrace it. And ironically, this past summer here was warmer than in the city. There is the ability to embrace a country lifestyle while having all of the urban amenities nearby.
Everything is geared to the outdoors, and everyone aspires to have a "camp" which can mean any number of things: an RV, cabin, bunkie, tent, yurt or full-blown house, all on the lake. There are 330 lakes in town so there is no shortage of pristine and accessible bodies of water. There is no need to spend millions on a cottage. You can rent an RV and pay for the seasonal pass to park it and spend the summer there, all for a few thousand dollars. It is a very affordable way to spend the warm season from May to October beside the water.
The slower pace of life coupled with the benefits of spending time in nature and with large animals has been good for our collective moods and overall health. Walking, grooming and feeding carrots to a horse is a totally different pace than working, driving and running around. The calmness and serenity we feel after spending a couple of hours at the farm lasts for the rest of the day.
Working in a place that permits a lot of leisure outdoor pursuits has been laudatory for our overall health. Northern Ontario has affordable housing, reasonable expenses, and a work-life balance that is enviable. Add in the ability on a regular basis to commune with nature and you have a winning combination.
We even eat chicken and duck eggs from the farm along with fresh veggies from the garden. There is nothing better than fresh farm food. We are stopping and smelling the roses...along with the manure...with no complaints. City mouse moves into country house. Welcome home!
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