Pine Cone

Whilst I'm not convinced one way or another than having a cottage is worth either the money or hassle, surely it doesn't really come down to vanity for many people. Some of us love travel, but can't with a large bunch of expensive kids that still have to be put through Uni one day. Cities get claustrophobic and there is a cetain appeal to having your own place for regular quiet breaks, which sounds a lot less stressful to me than sitting around an airport for hours just for a weekend away somewhere else. I'm personally not interested in wasting my free time sitting in front of a TV or blowing money in a crowded pub while trying to keep bored kids entertained. Actually can you take kids into pubs in Canada?

not2old

Each to their own lifestyle choices.

Do you 'pinecone' want a separate cottage from what would be your suburban residence?

Folks have posted what they do, the different lifestyles they do or are aware of, taking 'the cottage life' the way they do it , or would do it.

Some folks live in cottage country & commute for an hour or so to their city jobs, other are apartment dwellers to home owners or renter that may have a second property on the water somewhere, down to a static caravan (trailer home) in a holiday park, which is another option

Take a look at my post #26 as well as the communities of Keswick & Port Perry which are all within one-hour commute to the city.

dbd33

My children went to Europe for the summers, broader horizons and all that. The neighbours did as you describe, leaving their pets to forage, which is how their cat become our cat.

dbd33

Generally, yes. There have been bans from time to time but now that the child hating enemy of the people, Jack Layton, is dead, there probably won't be any more.

Pine Cone

Truthfully what we want are a whole bunch of completely contraditing factors and no matter where in the world we go next, we've got the find the best compromise for the whole family. If work was less of an issue, we'd be living somewhere quiet, peaceful and rural, without question. But then there is the whole work thing, and whilst I'm taking an extended career break, my husband is very much tied to working in a big city with unpredicable working hours and occasional travel. I'd really like to minimise his commute as far as possible. Therefore what would be better for us at this time in our lives would be somewhere in/near a city that is tolerable enough for us to live. I need to live somewhere that has 'something about it' be that character, beautiful parks nearby, lake/coastline as we hate bland suburban sprawl and we just can't face going back to the UK and doing the London thing again. There are also kids and their future education and their much loved extracurricular activities (scouting, swimming etc) to consider so it wouldn't be fair to move them into the middle of nowhere. This is why a weekend getaway is rather appealing as an investment which we could then retire into one day, but not a static caravan as they just remind me too much of holidays at Butlins. Of course, there is also the option of moving the a lakeside suburb, but by heck they are expensive, for the most part at the very edge of our means. The only thing I know for certain at this stage is despite being a large family, we just don't need or desire a large house.

not2old

take a look at the following, would this meet most of what you're looking for - schools, safety, outdoor life, beach, golf club, easy commute.

Is this something along the lines of what you mean?

https://www.realtor.ca/Residential/S...-Keswick-North

google map it to see 'what's on offer' as far as community activities etc

There are many 'affordable' places within easy reach of the city that are cottage communities with what you could call 'home in cottage country'

I am I said

Must have been a right pain [and expensive] joining them for every summer weekend for years.

dbd33

I expect it would have been so, of course, I didn't do that. I understand that some parents might want to see their children in the summer but the children didn't choose to be born out here and we didn't think they should be disadvantaged as a result of our choices. That meant them spending as much time as possible away. Their language skills certainly benefitted from their trips home. In any case, I was out of town most weeks and at my desk the rest of the time; going from poverty stricken immigrant to ruthless capitalist owner of two newish cars doesn't happen by accident.

Later on, one of them did spend summers Canada/US but, since she was on a boat from the end of school to the start, that didn't make much difference in terms of seeing her. I note that, now she has a child, the same pattern applies, her husband works all the hours God sends and she's taken the child to Europe twice in his first year.

I think cottages are, to a significant extent, about prestige, having a better one than your colleagues, having an older wooden boat in better condition. I don't think most cottage owners have time to actually go there.

not2old

reminds me of a song (which I should post on the song thread)

To reach the impossible dream

Oink

HID’s parents have a “cottage” in some god-awful place by a stagnant lake. In a moment of weakness I agree to visit as there was some sort of family function and I thought it be intresting to go and see how many of her relatives really had funny ears or weird foreheads. What a complete dump, it smelled of damp wood, it had ugly furniture, uncomfortable beds and questionable plumbing. It was an awful experience, there were load of mosquitoes, you had to drive to the local bar and internet/mobile access was sketchy at best. I did mention that as we lived in Vancouver the idea of going to the middle nowhere to sit in the dank box for a few days was the definition of madness. If she wanted to be bored out of her skull all she needed to do is go to Victoria and watch old people shuffle about. Never again.

Photoplex

Is Toronto the only place in Canada he can transfer to? Because, yeah... Toronto...

HGerchikov

We got lucky on the cottage front, we all enjoy the lifestyle but wouldn't if we had to spend time there on maintenance activities. Our second week in Canada, while waiting for our house to become available and our furniture to arrive, we rented a cottage from the cousin of the HR woman at work.

It was perfect, about 150' of direct private lake access, its own beach, neighbours close enough to help out when needed, far enough away for privacy. A couple of years later we went back to the same place with our newly adopted dog, we had had him for 2 days he had spent his first 18 months locked in a crate. It was quite the introduction for him to the great outdoors. He was terrified of the water at the beginning of the week, we couldn't get him out of it by the end.

Over the years we have rented several cottages in different locations, and have traveled to Europe and the Middle East for more adventurous holidays, however when we just want a chill out week we go back to this one. We know where we are going, we know what to expect, it's like having your own, without the stress and a lot cheaper.

JamesM

A very accurate description.

I did get invited to the Muskoka cottage of an exceptionally wealthy internet entrepreneur last summer. His neighbour owned the website PartyPoker and Cindy Crawford owned the cottage opposite.

I sat on the deck all weekend but did not see Cindy Crawford once. It dawned on me that she probably found Muskoka as boring as I did.

The boats, the hot tub, the huge cottage and boat house. It doesn't change the fact you are in but **** nowhere. No coffee shop or bar for miles. 30 minutes in the hot tub, a quick jump in the lake and I'm good to get back to the living.

dbd33

Oink's post reminded me of an horrific weekend spent in a bayou half way to Ottawa. I've been looking for the pictures as I recall us posing so as to all show our bitten bits. No room in that shack was dry and, upon return, we dumped everything we took straight into the wash as one does after a night in the sort of hotel that offers luggage stowaways.

I am I said

The friends of my parents clearly owned the wrong kind of cottage. [sadly...] they are not all like that.