It’s hard to believe that we’re fast approaching a quarter of a year since we moved.
The idea first came about late last summer, over a round of drinks and grub with my in-laws. We were talking about our ambitions for the land my husband’s parents had bought in Leduc County and how excited they were for the future when they could be out there full-time. That put a bug in our ears, the whole way home from the restaurant we quite seriously discussed the possibility of moving to Leduc.
It made sense for us to make the move; there wasn’t much tying us to Calgary anymore, the housing market was too competitive with what we could afford, we didn’t have kids and my job was easily done remotely; all we needed to do to start the process was for my husband to request a transfer at work. We expected it would take 1-2 years to get approved, “moving at the speed of government” was the phrase, so we were shocked when an opportunity opened up only a few months later.
Our time here so far has been wonderful, although often bitterly cold. We’ve had a handful of springlike days before being plunged back below zero, which is forever immortalized in my temperature blanket as a few lonely stripes of green.
The weather has made it somewhat challenging to explore the area, but I’ve been able to bop around the shops in Leduc’s downtown/Main Street area, honing in on a local yarn store — Blackbird Knitting & Needlework — that opened just two years before; Saradee Boutique, a cute family-owned local boutique with everything from clothes and jewelry to Crave cupcake mix; Jar’d Mercantile, a low-waste refill shop owned by a fellow Calgarian export, and Prestigio Bakery & Bistro, a European-style bakery with pastries to die for.
There’s also a pair of furniture stores with all the farmhouse “live, laugh, love” decor your heart desires, and taxidermy. So much taxidermy. (which I do find morbidly whimsical, however)
Besides it being idyllic small-town suburbia, our other draw to Leduc was the housing market. The house we bought here would easily fetch about $200k more than what we paid for it if it were in Calgary. My office has enough space for all my craft supplies and then some, and my husband has the workshop of his dreams in the garage.
The very fact we have a garage is worth celebrating itself. We spent the first five years of our independent adult lives in a townhome complex in deep Northeast Calgary that seemed to attract comically monstrous hail. Since we only had outdoor parking, we lost two trucks and a car to the storms over the years.
The place had its problems but it served us well for the time. We were back in Calgary for the Easter Weekend, and we decided to drive past our old townhome. No less than six other units on our block had either ‘for sale’ or ‘sold’ signs staked in the front yard. We joked that we were the catalysts for this particular shakeup.
We’re extremely happy in Leduc — in our dream home, living a quiet and comfortable life minutes from the homestead. I can’t wait to see what else is in store for us here.
Loved the visit and love that you are settling in AND we will see you often hopefully at the “farm”. That weather blanket is so neat and will be so interesting once you complete a year, or two or five!