It’s been a long time since I have posted. Life got busy as we navigated a pandemic and all its changes. With a band of kids that were suddenly home all the time, to changes in the economy and some family changes, my blogging time got set aside. So what is new with me? Our big family move!
Last spring
Last year, the Figley family moved to the Vernon, BC. My husband suddenly found himself without a job and so we moved where the work was. Many people dream of moving to the Okanagan, and now that I am here, I can see why. However, at the time, this was not my dream. I had been living in the Edmonton area for 22 years. My friends had become family and my children were happy in their schools and lives. Digging through 7 people’s things to prepare a house to be sold, driving back and forth 9 hours to look at houses and preparing to say goodbye was hard for everyone. Emotions ran high.
Josh moved ahead of us to start his new job while I packed, listed the house and got ready for the family move. Now the housing market where we were moving was hot. We were bidding on houses that were on the market a couple days. There could be 10 people bidding and the owners would pick the best bid, usually well over asking price 
or cash. That is a tricky situation. After losing the bid on several houses, we stopped travelling to BC to look at houses. We simply bid on any house our amazing realtor could show us on a video, that could fit our family with some renovations and was in safe area. I also wanted a closet for a vacuum. These were our qualifications (the vacuum cupboard is another story).
Our house sold, thank goodness, but we kept bidding and losing on a new house. We were bidding on houses we had never seen. I would get excited each time but we kept losing the bids. Finally, we had the winning bid on a house that had almost no work in 45 years. We had to make a 4th bedroom to make our family fit but it would work. However, the timing would been that we were temporarily homeless as our house closed on August 15 but we did not move in until October 15…. yikes.
My family in Ontario let me have a nice summer visit while I tried to find something in BC for the kids to start their new schools. I found an Air BNB which very nicely took all of us and the pets until we could move the family to the new house. There were 6 people, 4 pets in a 2 bedroom without a full kitchen. It was a stunning place to stay on vacation and I highly recommend it but very tricky for 6 weeks with our numbers. We looked forward to moving into our new home that we paid well over asking price for AND HAD NEVER SEEN. My husband made it to the home inspection, but I had never seen the inside of the house.
We make it to the Okanagan
We make it to the Okanagan in a broken mini van, with 4 kids, 2 bearded dragons and 2 cats. That is a whole other story but I can tell you a large amount of wine when we arrived was needed. Immediately, all of the family were grateful for breathtaking views of the area, the beautiful weather and kind people in our new stomping ground. We moved to a smaller town then the suburb of Edmonton from where we were before. Its very interesting how we moved 9 hours away, but it seemed like a different world. The culture of the area and the size of town was an adjustment. There is no Costco here… we have to travel to get to Costco! I do love being able to drive anywhere in town in about 10 minutes.
I was very pleased to see all the kids handle the move with maturity and grace. The older kids are in the same school as high school is grade 8-12 here. In Alberta, middle school is grade 7-9. It was not easy on them, especially my son in grade 12 as that is a terrible year to move. There is a pasture of cows, on a steep hill across from the high school which is again new to the city kids. I think the cows, the deer or quail on our lawn was the most surprising part.
After a few weeks, the girls had settled in quite well. Ravyn had started preschool and we were too busy again to realize we had left our lives behind. The move was good for the 2 teen girls. As Kaede says, “even the mean girls here are nice compared to back home”. I feel blessed that they found the new school welcoming.. There are lots of good parts to moving to a smaller town.
The renovations
Remember I said that we moved into a fixer upper? The house did not have a dishwasher or any recent painting. The original orange curtains from 1976 and original indoor/outdoor carpet was in the basement. The group favorite was
the pink bathroom fixtures but we all agreed the kitchen had to go. Josh and I got to work. I am very lucky to have such a handy husband. With some great products from the Restore, Josh renovated the kitchen, replaced the basement flooring, added a room in the basement, and built a workshop. He is amazing! I went to work on unpacking, organizing, painting the whole house and all the little things that needed to be done. This house looks completely different and we love it.
Adjusting to the move
As the school year ends for us, I can reflect to see how we have all grown through the family move. Throwing yourself out there to meet new people, not letting your confidence get in the way and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to explore new things are all challenging tasks. We all started looking for our new tribe. I moved a lot when I was younger so I had an idea of how it would go. It was just not something I was looking forward to. However, after being isolated during the pandemic, we all got used to being somewhat away from other people.
It takes time to build those lasting relationships. The kids really valued their friendships from last year. Thank goodness for technology as they were all on group calls with video games or chats….there are so many ways to call and chat for these kids now. At first, I don’t think the kids were interested in meeting new friends since the old ones were so available after school. It is a bit easier for the kids in school to meet people then it is for mom or dad. There have been bumps, adjustments and challenges but I am happy to see our social lives increasing.
I can’t say that it was an easy year, but we survived and are all together. I had the support of my family and friends to help us over some tricky issues. We had some awful things happens such as vehicles breaking on the way to the airport, trailers stuck on the side of the road and mortgages almost falling through. We have a home, which in this area is not a given. I am grateful to have so many possibilities for the future.
This area is know for it being WINE COUNTRY! I found an old kayak, there are beautiful lakes, beaches, orchards and camping. I am excited to see what new opportunities await us here in the Okanagan.
Thanks for taking the time to read. Click here to learn a bit more about me!
