{"id":501791,"date":"2022-10-18T14:57:32","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T11:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-move-why-one-family-left-toronto-for-vancouver-island\/"},"modified":"2022-10-18T14:57:32","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T11:57:32","slug":"the-move-why-one-family-left-toronto-for-vancouver-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-move-why-one-family-left-toronto-for-vancouver-island\/","title":{"rendered":"#The Move: Why one family left Toronto for Vancouver Island"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3dcd6a3bcd4\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3dcd6a3bcd4\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-move-why-one-family-left-toronto-for-vancouver-island\/#%E2%80%9CThe_Move_Why_one_family_left_Toronto_for_Vancouver_Island%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;The Move: Why one family left Toronto for Vancouver Island&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-move-why-one-family-left-toronto-for-vancouver-island\/#The_buyers\" >The buyers:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-move-why-one-family-left-toronto-for-vancouver-island\/#The_budget\" >The budget:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-move-why-one-family-left-toronto-for-vancouver-island\/#The_backstory\" >The backstory:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-move-why-one-family-left-toronto-for-vancouver-island\/#The_hunt\" >The hunt:<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CThe_Move_Why_one_family_left_Toronto_for_Vancouver_Island%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;The Move: Why one family left Toronto for Vancouver Island&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n                            The Bergot-Brownings were itching to leave Toronto. One year and 14 goats later, they\u2019re among greener pastures on Vancouver Island.\n                        <\/div>\n<div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_buyers\"><\/span>The buyers:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Nicole Bergot-Browning, a 47-year-old children\u2019s soccer franchise owner; Matt Browning, a 40-year-old civil engineer; and daughters Finley, who\u2019s eight, and Nora, who\u2019s three.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_budget\"><\/span>The budget:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>$1 million.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_backstory\"><\/span>The backstory:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In 2014, the Bergot-Brownings dropped $714,000 on a three-bedroom semi-detached home in Toronto\u2019s Danforth neighbourhood. After Nora\u2019s birth in 2019, the family took regular <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a>s to visit Nicole\u2019s parents, who lived near Qualicum Beach on the east side of Vancouver Island. Matt, a native of Grimsby, England, loved the mountains, and Nicole says the island felt even more like home than north Vancouver, where she grew up. \u201cEvery time we visited, we were like, \u2018What\u2019s our five-year plan to move out here?\u2019\u2009\u201d Nicole says.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, moving didn\u2019t make sense. Nicole worked in television production\u2014a city-bound pursuit\u2014and the family was well-settled in Toronto. Finley attended school a block from their house, and Nora\u2019s daycare was also close by. They were regulars at an east-end farmer\u2019s market, and Matt and Nicole enjoyed regular date nights closer to home at Left Field Brewery. Still, they found themselves more and more eager to spend weekends camping in Algonquin Park and visiting friends\u2019 cottages on Georgian Bay. \u201cWe were trying to get out of the city as much as possible, which was telling,\u201d Nicole says.<\/p>\n<p>In February of 2021, a friend sold their own semi for more than $1.5 million. \u201cWe were shocked at what they got for it,\u201d Nicole says. \u201cI reached out to a realtor friend and said, \u2018Hey, what do you think our house is worth?\u2019\u2009\u201d The realtor <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>raised the Bergot-Brownings\u2019 home at $1.2 million, far exceeding the couple\u2019s million-dollar estimate. Between the attractive selling price and opportunities for remote work at an all-time high, Nicole and Matt felt compelled to make the cross-country leap to Vancouver Island. They listed their home for $1.25 million that March. It sold for $1.28 million just four days later.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1241220\" style=\"width: 1925px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"wp-image-1241220 size-full lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/MMRcourtenaymacleans0188-e1666029389751.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1915\" height=\"1070\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Bergot-Brownings in front of their new home on Vancouver Island. (Photography by Melissa Renwick)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_hunt\"><\/span>The hunt:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Nicole and Matt im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely went in search of a rural property on at least five acres of land. (\u201cWe were sensible enough not to go for a 100-acre ranch,\u201d says Matt.) At first, Nicole\u2019s parents viewed properties on the couple\u2019s behalf. Inventory, however, was sparse. With their July closing date fast approaching, the couple shipped their Toronto belongings to Nanaimo, drove for 10 days in their 2008 Honda Civic\u2014camping along the way\u2014and moved in with Nicole\u2019s mom and dad.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the properties they viewed out west were either in poor condition (all pasture, no trees) or in bad locations (next to industrial zones). But come October, Nicole and Matt lucked out: they found a four-bedroom, three-bathroom farm in pastoral Merville, a township 15 minutes north of Courtenay with a population of 1,200.<\/p>\n<p>The extremely private property sat on five acres of meticulously maintained woodland. The main entrance opened onto a rec room with a wood-burning stove and a nearby guest bedroom. The upper level had a roomy kitchen, complete with an island. The floor above offered a primary bedroom with a full ensuite, and two bedrooms\u2014one for each of the girls. There was a storage shed and a stable, which Nicole imagined populating with animals one day. \u201cMy childhood dream was to be a goat farmer,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1241222\" style=\"width: 1930px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1241222 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/MMRcourtenaymacleans0561.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Photography by Melissa Renwick)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>One animal in particular ended up swaying the sale. The previous owners planned to include their elderly cat, Ollie, with the property, but Nicole was allergic. Even so, she tacked a solemn promise onto their $1,185,000 offer. \u201cI wrote a letter saying we\u2019d take the cat, and that I\u2019d take medication if necessary,\u201d Nicole says. \u201cSo we laughed about buying a very expensive cat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The family spent much of their first winter in Merville, building snow forts around the farm. A neighbour loaned them a herd of 14 goats to keep the acreage\u2019s undergrowth in check. If they find themselves missing urban conveniences, the Bergot-Brownings just look up. \u201cI love the quiet and the stars,\u201d Matt says. \u201cThis is a change of pace from an entire life lived in cities.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><em>This article appears in print in the November 2022 issue of<\/em>\u00a0Maclean\u2019s\u00a0<em>magazine. Subscribe to the monthly print magazine\u00a0<\/em><em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/secure.macleans.ca\/loc\/MME\/head_subscribe\">here<\/a>,\u00a0or buy the issue online\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"c-link\" tabindex=\"-1\" href=\"https:\/\/canadianmags.ca\/products\/macleans-november-2022\" data-stringify-link=\"http:\/\/canadianmags.ca\/products\/copy-of-macleans-single-issue\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" data-remove-tab-index=\"true\">here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async defer crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/economy\/realestateeconomy\/the-move-toronto-vancouver-island\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The Move: Why one family left Toronto for Vancouver Island&#8221; The Bergot-Brownings were itching to leave Toronto. One year and 14 goats later, they\u2019re among greener pastures on Vancouver Island. The buyers: Nicole Bergot-Browning, a 47-year-old children\u2019s soccer franchise owner; Matt Browning, a 40-year-old civil engineer; and daughters Finley, who\u2019s eight, and Nora, who\u2019s three&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":501792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/MMRcourtenaymacleans0098-766x431.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[129352,27142,88879],"class_list":["post-501791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-the-move","tag-toronto","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}