Why Gabriola?

All my life I have dreamed of living by the ocean, and preferably on an island.  When I was in my thirties, my friend Margaret retired and moved to Salt Spring Island, which I loved, and where I even started looking for a piece of land. 

Much later, when a colleague told me that he had bought a house which he and his family were planning to retire to in a few years on Gabriola Island, I was curious to know more. I discovered that it was a beautiful little island located just off the coast of Vancouver Island, at the same latitude as Vancouver, that can be reached by ferry from Nanaimo or Vancouver, or by sea plane.

Unlike Victoria or Vancouver, real estate on this island is still affordable, even waterfront properties.  There are more than 250 artists who live in this community, with a vibrant cultural life including theatre festivals and concerts.  This delightful island community has most of the basics covered -  one grocery store, a hardware store, a handful of cafes and restaurants, a doctor’s office, a lawyer’s office, Descanso Bay Regional Park, which has a lovely campground, various beaches and hiking trails, a few bed and breakfasts, several yoga studios, and golf club, and two marinas.  Ocean kayaking and sailing are at your doorstop, with stunning views over the ocean towards Vancouver and the mountains, and towards Nanaimo, or south towards other Gulf Islands.

For for past few years I have been scanning the house listings on Gabriola, and dreaming about possibly moving there.  In the meantime, my brother moved to Vancouver Island, my sister and her husband were living on Salt Spring Island, my son decided to settle in Calgary, and my daughter, currently finishing her biology degree at the University of British Columbia, hinted that she would probably be staying out west after graduating.

In April of 2014, I took my first trip to Gabriola Island, staying at the Twin Beaches Bed and Breakfast, shown below, located near the two beaches on the northern part of the island, which is run by Josephine and Shaun, who came here from Nottingham, England.

While there I met with an engaging local real estate agent, Carol Martin, who took me on a power tour of the island and took me to see a number of different properties I had selected.  One of these sounded promising and was affordable, with fertile land that had been used in the past for market gardening.  It even had a tiny house studio on it, which was the first tiny house I had ever seen.  As we turned on to the road it was located on, Carol mentioned that it happened to be located beside the Gabriola Rod, Gun and Conservation Club... That was definitely a deal breaker.

Though I loved getting to know the island, none of the houses really caught my fancy.  Then a short time later after I got back home, I discovered a lovely property located on the southern part of the island near Drumbeg Park. As another trip west wasn't possible right away, I asked my daughter Sarah to visit the property and to give me her opinion.  Although I had only experienced it through her pictures and comments, I felt strongly drawn to this land, and by July the property on Whalley Road was mine.  This is a picture Sarah sent me when she first visited the property.

It had an old trailer on it when I purchased it, as well as a partially covered deck, a shed, electricity, and a well and septic system.  The trailer was not worth keeping, but I had a large tent which I used and camped on my property for a gloriously sunny week in July of 2014.

This is way to Drumbeg Park from my property, a mere five minutes away.

Views of Drumbeg Regional Park on the southern tip of Gabriola Island:

This bald eagle had a favourite tree where he would hang out.

On the last day of my week long visit, as I sat contemplating the gorgeous ocean view, I thought to myself, what would really make things perfect would be to see something like a seal.  Within minutes this cute little sea otter swam by me, then got out and posed for me before swimming away.

Back east, I thought by purchasing this land that it would help me define where I was going. After all, I had a destination now, and a special piece of land.  But it wasn't clear what to do next. I spent over a year deliberating, pouring over house plans for log cabins, tiny homes, and post and beam homes, and drawing up several different house designs, while continuing to look at Gabriola house listings.  The thought of building a home and starting a new garden from scratch was daunting, and nothing really called to my heart in a deep way. I also struggled with figuring out what my life would look like on Gabriola, whether I would find a part-time job, continue to teach yoga, or start a casual bed and breakfast.

Then in October of 2015 I saw a listing for a beautiful waterfront home on the east coast of the island with stunning views looking towards Vancouver and the mountains that was almost affordable, and got excited again.  Though the property had just sold, it made me realize that it was time for me to make a move.