The Renaissance of the Small Town
I love Ontario for its people, beauty, its small towns and yes, its cities. But at this point in life I want to visit them from time-to-time for some shopping and good restaurants tied in with a visit with some great friends. And it seems to be a growing trend.
So what is it that has all these city folk going country? For the Baby Boomers, who are a big part of this trend, it’s trading in their big homes in the city for a simpler life that involves more golf, skiing, biking and community.
But there are families, too. They’ve packed up their kids, lives and sometimes even their careers in the city and moved to small town Ontario.
The move for the Baby Boomers seems like an obvious next step, but what ’s calling the rest of us?
Based on my informal research (drinks with friends, chats on the school yard and talking with clients) here’s my top five.
One: The pace of life
It’s definitely slower, more relaxed and much less stressful. People are less scheduled. They walk with their heads-up and say hello to people rather than heads-down avoiding people. It’s also amazing how much stress people have from traffic, commuting, crowds and noise pollution in the city. Take that away and people’s stress instantly diminishes. It was a feeling I always noticed when we escaped the city on the weekends. Now I feel it all the time.
Two: A simpler childhood for their kids
It’s not that you can’t create this is in the city by getting outdoors and not over-scheduling your kids. (power to all you parents who do) But in the country it just happens naturally. It’s so easy to access the outdoors. It’s safer and your kids can have more freedom. It also helps that you are surrounded by other people who have the same philosophy on life. Sure, kids are still electronics obsessed, but with short commutes and many work from home parents, people have more energy and time at the end of the day. More energy to get the kids outside and even enjoy some family time on bikes, at the beach, hiking or whatever other great things there are in your small town.
Three: Wealth
The financial gains of moving (if you do it right) are a great benefit of escaping the city. If you are already established and were lucky enough to buy in the GTA somewhere at the beginning or middle of the bubble (yes, when we bought fifteen years ago we were told it was a bubble:) you should have lots of equity in your home. It’s a perfect opportunity to sell and live mortgage free and invest that money elsewhere. Or, turn your Toronto home into an income property and use the equity and rent to buy in the country. If you only bought a couple years ago, don’t fret, you can still downsize in price and live more comfortably. And for the younger families just starting out, you can actually afford real estate in a small town and become a homeowner.
Four: Community
We have great friends in the city that we will always stay in touch with and make sure we see on the regular. But they were spread all over the city, and seeing them took months of planning and very often well-intentioned plans were cancelled because we were tired or double-booked. (Check out this Baroness Von Sketch skit about this. It’s hilarious and so true)
Community is pretty much built-in when you live in small town. You can’t help but get to know people because the kids at school and their parents are also the hockey parents, the shop owners, and the people you run into whenever you are out.
Five: Burn out
It ties in with the pace of life, but some people were flat out burnt out from the city and made the choice for health reasons. My advice, don’t wait until you get to this stage, see reasons 1-4 to come before that happens.
There a great reasons to live in the city as well, and for the true city lover, I am not trying to convince you. But if you’ve got an inkling or feeling that maybe city life is no longer serving you, it may be time to explore it a little further. The only regret I have heard from people who have gone country is that they didn’t do it sooner.