A month ago we were returning from the west coast, after helping our son Harrison move into his new place. Harrison is starting his fifth year living in Victoria, the capital city of our Province. He’s been enrolled in the University of Victoria’s Gustavson business school. This is a coop program, where you study academically at the University, but then have the opportunity to work for several companies throughout the program to enhance your education. This fall, Harrison secured a wonderful opportunity to work for a large investment company, located in Toronto (he’s working in Victoria, on line due to the pandemic) and next Spring, if all goes well, he will complete his degree.
He’s been doing exceptionally well and has even garnered some scholarship money. The only downside to attending the University of Victoria has been the housing situation. It’s never been great for students, as the University only has enough housing for first year students and this year the demand was so great that they couldn’t even accommodate those request. It’s not like we were ignorant of this fact, since our older children, Alyssa and Mitchell both completed their degrees at U Vic, but you know, you always hope that something will be found.
The first year Harrison lived on campus but by the second year, since U Vic doesn’t have adequate housing, he had to secure something off campus. Fortunately, Harrison made some great friends and he and three other guys rented a house together, where they lived for year two and three. Then in year four, wanting a change, he and his two other roommates, rented a trendy 3 bedroom apartment in the Uptown area of Victoria. That worked well last year but his roommates, both business students, are spending their last year of school learning abroad, so Harrison had to find something else. By this time however, he was really ready to find his own place. Easier said than done, since demand was out weighing inventory and this blew the roof off rental prices. Well, all real estate for that matter!
It was literally down to the wire and we were telling Harrison that he could always come home for the fall, since he was working on line anyway, but then he found a place. A perfect place. The fact that the real estate agent hired to rent the suite, had also attended U Vic’s business school, might have swayed things his way as he secured it quickly. It’s always good to have mutual connections!
Harrison’s new, 400 something square foot, one bedroom condo suite is located in a styling building on the edge of downtown Victoria; walking distance to the famous inner harbour and has all the amenities that living in the city brings.
That cool urban lifestyle is attractive in so many ways.
When we agreed to help Harrison move out of his apartment and into his new place, I thought it was going to be two busy days but Harrison had been busy selling unwanted items and decluttering with a vengeance. It’s not that he had tons of things. In fact the fact that he didn’t, made it a lot easier. as he could pick up each item, down to individual math books for instance and say, “do I need this? do I want it?” and then find a home for it. He had also rented a van and started packing some things in it before we arrived on August 30th.
We arrived late afternoon on August 30th, and with the help of our three youngest kids, Will, Kate and Tori, we were able to move Harry out of his apartment and fully pack his van in a matter of hours. Easy, peasy! We were able to pick up dinner and have a lovely evening back in our hotel room. He was officially out of his apartment and everything he owned was in the van or in the back of our mini van. It was a breeze.
The next morning, August 31st, we were up early. Harrison and his Dad went off on several errands; Harrison had to meet with his previous landlord to hand over the keys and have the final walk through of his old place. He had to pick up the keys for his new condo’s elevator, so we could have it exclusively the next morning for his move. Later in the day, he finally got to see his new condo, while picking up the keys from the real estate agent. Up to that point, he had only seen pictures of his place but both he and his Dad were thrilled seeing it for the first time and they returned to the hotel later that day with many stories. The kids and I had stayed in our hotel for most of the day. I took them swimming in the poo,l which we had reserved for our own use, we had read, played games and snacked a bunch.
When David and Harrison returned, we went to do some shopping, (new bedding etc) and to pick up dinner. We did get to bed early though, as we knew the next day would be busy.
We got up early the next morning and put on our running shoes, ready for the big move. Harrison had the elevator and parking spot reserved from 9 to 1 pm and I thought we would really have to hustle to get everything in during those hours. Between the five of us however, we were able to move him into his place in 45 minutes. I kid you not!!! We packed that elevator maybe three, at the outset, four times and were easily up and into his apartment with all of his belongings in NO TIME. The kids were a big help! Once everything was in the suite, David and Harrison put his bed together and the kids and I unpacked all the kitchen items, washed them, and placed them in the perfectly tiny and well appointed kitchen.
By noon, the kitchen was all set up. David and Harrison went out on a few errands; to return the elevator key, and the moving van, etc and the kids and I remained. The only hitch was that the new white sheet set we had bought from Homesense the day before, only had 1 flat sheet it it. Where was the fitted sheet and pillow cases that were supposedly inside? No problem though, as we had a number of things to still obtain and we would return it and find another set, garbage can and cutlery container, to name a few other helpful items to make things feel homier.
While Harrison and David were gone, I made up his bed with the bedding we had, and the kids being so exhausted, actually all laid down in a row on his bed and fell asleep on the cozy duvet. I was shocked at how fast they all dropped into a deep slumber but the place was so restful that even I wanted to just lay down and dream. I didn’t though. I unpacked a few more boxes and moved the furniture around into a better configuration. Not that Harrison had much, but having less makes it more fun. (Harrison’s girlfriend Dani, had lent him a few pieces that fit in beautifully with the decor of the place…she has incredible taste) When David and Harrison returned a few hours later everything was in place. Other than a few Rubbermaid boxes, which I stacked in the hall, there really was nothing else to do. He could literally just start to live.
…except we needed food.
With the thought of food, the little kids woke up and we took off again. We had lunch in the van as we drove to Costco, and then we had a delightful time shopping for food to fill Harrison’s fridge. After living with roommates for several years this was the nicest part for Harrison, as the whole fridge and freezer would be his alone and he could fill it with all the food he wanted. It made me so happy too! In the picture below, his fridge is behind the wall to Harrison’s right and the stacking washing machine and dryer are in the cabinet to his left.
Once we returned and filled his fridge and freezer, we took off again for a delightful walk to Victoria’s historic inner harbour. We soaked up the downtown life; watching people, window shopping, and taking in all the sights of Harrison’s new neighbourhood. As the day’s curtain slowly closed, the evening breeze gently flowed in from the ocean. We ended our walk at one of our favourite places to eat in Victoria, “Tacofino.” We ordered up our chosen taco’s and ate them right on the street. On our walk back to Harry’s place I was thinking, “what a cool, hip place to live.” It suits Harrison perfectly.
Returning to Harrison’s building, we all hugged and took a few more pictures, then it was time for us to say goodbye and return to our hotel for our final night’s stay in Victoria. It was the easiest and most fun move I’ve ever experienced. Since then, we have spoken to Harrison many times and each time he marvels over the joy he feels in his new place. While it’s nice to live with other people, there is something to be said for having a place all your own. It’s a place where you can really relax and be at peace.
Harrison has found that in his tiny place.
Well dear blogging friends, family and blog readers, I will close for now as I’m off to bed. It’s late here and as per usual, the only time I feel like I can write is when the house is quiet. I hope this post was somewhat coherent as a result, ha! I’m glad to have shared Harrison’s move with you. While we may not have a small footprint of our own, we can always carefully edit our belongings and surround ourselves with only things we love and use. We can all have a place of peace to call our own.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Blessings from Hope