Lived-in 2 July 2003, 16:15

A Friday Five from April 4, 2003:

1. How many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life?

This will break your heart. Nineteen.

(0. One room house and other houses, cabin without utilities, and more: birth-5 years)

  1. Shared house (?) on Vancouver’s east side (<1 year)
  2. Townhouse apartment in Kitsilano (<2 years)
  3. Housing co-op townhouses in Abbotsford,
  4. Vancouver’s Champlain Heights, and
  5. Langley (each 1.5 years)
  6. House on 213th St in Langley (5 years)
  7. Cumberland house, Vancouver Island (2 summers)
  8. Boyfriend’s family home, Courtenay (2 summers)
  9. Totem Park low-rise UBC student residence, double then single (2 school years)
  10. Gage high-rise student residence, 6-woman quad (1 school year)
  11. Low-rise apartment in the Oak St/VGH area, roommates/boyfriend/alone (3 years)
  12. WW2-era roommate house on East 3rd Ave (<1 year)

    ...Then with my fabulous new boyfriend:
  13. Bachelor suite, Thunderbird student residence (<1 year)
  14. Low-rise apartment, West 13th Ave, south Granville area (<1 year)
  15. Garden flat below the Nude’s Grebbedijk, Wageningen, NL (2 years)


  16. “Low-rise” high-ceilinged flat on the Cours Franklin Roosevelt, Lyon, FR (1 year)
  17. Canal house flat in old Utrecht, NL (>2 years)
  18. HUB Mall student residence, The University of Alberta (1 month)
  19. High-rise apartment in Edmonton’s Old Strathcona (since Feb 2003)

2. Which was your favorite and why?

This one, because we had a choice and found it ourselves. And the view. And the two non-adjacent bedrooms; room for guests.

There are no Bad Canal Days, just the persistent whiff of neighbourly tobacco smoke thanks to efficient HVAC. Silly, cramped bathrooms/open kitchen and profligate living room and master bedroom space. Deluxe.

3. Do you find moving house more exciting or stressful? Why?

It’s all stress. Textbook says it’s one of the topmost stressful things you can do in a Western Decadent society. I highly recommend relocating instead of moving house. :) “Honey, we could have moved a horse!”

We took a picture of our new/used station wagon loaded with all the things we brought on the plane. Our last move with a car. sniff :D

4. What’s more important, location or price?

What am I, made of money? A location I can live in and afford.

5. What features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath, big yard, etc.)?

Dream as in stupid, or as in reachable?

Stupid: 200+ year old historic house/fixer-upper castle, high ceilings, recently refurbished indoors with contemporary comforts (paid for by someone else), stuffed with original art, no antiques except for those laden with meaning (e.g. ST Coleridge’s writing desk, etc.), handmade furniture, both traditional and casual dinner services for 12, unobtrusive security system and other automations, spooky library, four season garden, neighbours with Weimaraners, my own designer, decorator, nanny and gardener (that’s four people), and Martha Stewart chained under the stairs like Harry Potter

Reachable: bungalow single-floor architecture, east/west exposure, unspecified yard, kitchen for three, ensuite washer and dryer, soaker tub, decent utilities, modern HVAC (air) system, hot tub, in the living heart of the city, quaint neighbourhood, quiet street with old trees, acceptable noise may include crowing roosters, church bells, and/or public celebrations, walk or bike to groceries and cafés, on speaking terms with neighbours, in a mid-sized city and major cultural centre, on the Aegean, the Mediterranean or the Black Sea, <20 minute bike ride with no vertical from the beach, where I can speak a useful international language (English, French, Spanish or Italian)

We’ve already got a pool. :P

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