{"id":559476,"date":"2023-03-01T23:00:57","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T20:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-move-from-torontos-rental-grind-to-a-quaint-corner-store-in-quebec-2\/"},"modified":"2023-03-01T23:00:57","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T20:00:57","slug":"the-move-from-torontos-rental-grind-to-a-quaint-corner-store-in-quebec-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-move-from-torontos-rental-grind-to-a-quaint-corner-store-in-quebec-2\/","title":{"rendered":"#The Move: From Toronto\u2019s rental grind to a quaint corner store in Quebec"},"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-6a413c630fd36\" 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-6a413c630fd36\" 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-from-torontos-rental-grind-to-a-quaint-corner-store-in-quebec-2\/#%E2%80%9CThe_Move_From_Torontos_rental_grind_to_a_quaint_corner_store_in_Quebec%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;The Move: From Toronto\u2019s rental grind to a quaint corner store in Quebec&#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-from-torontos-rental-grind-to-a-quaint-corner-store-in-quebec-2\/#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-from-torontos-rental-grind-to-a-quaint-corner-store-in-quebec-2\/#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-from-torontos-rental-grind-to-a-quaint-corner-store-in-quebec-2\/#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-from-torontos-rental-grind-to-a-quaint-corner-store-in-quebec-2\/#The_hunt\" >The hunt:<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CThe_Move_From_Torontos_rental_grind_to_a_quaint_corner_store_in_Quebec%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;The Move: From Toronto\u2019s rental grind to a quaint corner store in Quebec&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1243739 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image0.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"3888\" height=\"3024\"\/><\/h2>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_buyers\"><\/span><b>The buyers: <\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tatjana Heuer-Carrigan, 31, and Hamza Tariq, 37<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_budget\"><\/span><b>The budget:<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$1.5 million\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_backstory\"><\/span><b>The backstory: <\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Throughout his late teens and early 20s, Hamza worked part time at his father\u2019s corner stores, first in Kingston, Ontario, then in Winnipeg. He didn\u2019t mind the work, which included stocking shelves, paperwork and manning the counter\u2014he just couldn\u2019t imagine making a life of it. After finishing his undergraduate degree at the University of Winnipeg, Hamza moved to Toronto, where, three years ago, he met Tatjana on Tinder. It was a whirlwind romance, and the couple married after less than a year of dating. At that point, they both had steady jobs in marketing\u2014him for American Express, her for the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Toronto Star<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014and they were thinking about buying a home together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>READ:\u00a0The Move: Why two pilots willing to put down roots anywhere in Canada landed in Calgary<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To save money, the couple moved in with Hamza\u2019s parents, who were then living in a four-bedroom home in Brampton. Hamza and Tatjana were grateful for the helping hand, but space was tight: Hamza\u2019s sister and brother-in-law were also crashing at the house, and Hamza\u2019s brother often stayed over. In early 2021, after six months of cohabiting in cramped quarters, the couple started looking for their dream property.\u00a0 House prices had skyrocketed during the pandemic, which limited their options. But Hamza and Tatjana weren\u2019t interested in a starter home. They wanted a place with several bedrooms\u2014they were planning for kids\u2014as well as office space. A $1.5-million budget wouldn\u2019t stretch far in Toronto, so they focused their search on Etobicoke, Oakville and Mississauga. They visited roughly 30 properties in their price range, all small townhouses and semi-detached properties that needed extensive aesthetic or structural upgrades. None <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>ealed to them, and they called off their search without ever entering a bid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In May of 2021, Hamza and Tatjana decided to sign a year-long lease on a two-bedroom condo in Toronto\u2019s<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regent Park neighbourhood and wait for house prices to settle. \u201cSeeing what we could afford made us feel so discouraged,\u201d says Tatjana. \u201cWe also started to think that our corporate lives in Toronto weren\u2019t going to allow us the work-life balance we wanted. The ability to\u00a0 spend more time at home with a child or two was important to me.\u201d Conversations with Hamza\u2019s parents further expanded their thinking. The Tariqs\u2019 corner-store business brought in more money than Hamza and Tatjana\u2019s salaries combined\u2014plus they set their own hours. Hamza, now a long way from his part-time days at his father\u2019s shops, realized that buying their own store might be the solution he and Tatjana were looking for.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_hunt\"><\/span><b>The hunt: <\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The couple resumed their real estate search, this time in Quebec, where Tatjana was born. There, they could buy a corner store\u2014known as a d\u00e9panneur, or \u201cdep,\u201d in La Belle Province\u2014for a third of the price of an Ontario store. Job security was another upside: independent d\u00e9panneurs are fixtures of Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois culture and occupy a solid niche in a market saturated with bigger convenience chains. Tatjana was also excited by the idea of returning to the province of her birth. \u201cEven though I grew up in Vancouver,\u201d she says, \u201cI felt connected to Quebec. I often visited my dad\u2019s family in Montreal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>RELATED:\u00a0The Move: This Ontario family found space and affordability in Calgary<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> of weekends in the late winter and early spring of 2022, Hamza drove thousands of kilometres to scope out dozens of existing businesses for sale across southern and central Quebec. Sometimes Tatjana came with; other times, his parents came along for the ride. The couple came close to closing on a d\u00e9panneur located in Sherbrooke, but ultimately decided it was too big (and busy) a site for their first venture. It was on a solo <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a> a 90-minute drive northeast of Montreal that Hamza found \u201cthe one\u201d: D\u00e9panneur Joblo, in the 2,400-person town of Maskinong\u00e9. Joblo was previously owned by a couple in their 60s, and the business was already profitable. It sold convenience-store mainstays like chips, chocolate, milk, bread, beer and cigarettes, and even had its own coffee counter. In Maskinong\u00e9, whose entire commercial centre consisted of a gas station, a pharmacy, a gym and a bank, the dep was an established hub.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 130-year-old building sat on just under an acre of land, next to a Catholic church and across from the Maskinong\u00e9 River. Along with the main-floor store came two second-floor apartments. Hamza and Tatjana knew right away that they would move into the larger, three-bedroom space and set up the other one for visiting family and friends. Best of all, they could get the entire 2,400-square-foot complex for $450,000\u2014less than a third of their Toronto budget. \u201cIt added up in so many ways,\u201d says Hamza. \u201cPlus, Maskinong\u00e9 is halfway between Montreal and Quebec City, so we had easy access to big cities.\u201d They were sold.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hamza and Tatjana were initially a bit worried about what their neighbours would think of them. For starters, neither spoke French. Tatjana had taken classes in school but was far from being able to communicate at workplace-level fluency. They also had concerns about what it would be like for Hamza\u2014who immigrated from Pakistan as a child\u2014to be a brown, non-French-speaking person in a small, white town, a wildly different reality from Toronto. Determined to steer public opinion in their favour, the couple went on a charm offensive. Last July,<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a week or so after they moved in, they threw a \u201cget to know us\u201d party, setting up a tent in the dep\u2019s parking lot and passing out donuts, muffins and coffee. They even printed 100 T-shirts emblazoned with <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cJ\u2019ai choisi Maski\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (\u201cI chose Maski\u201d), a heart and a fleur-de-lis on the front, and \u201cD\u00e9panneur Joblo\u201d on the back. \u201cIt was the talk of the town,\u201d Hamza says. \u201cPeople came into the store afterwards asking if we had any more shirts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>MORE:\u00a0The Move: Why one family left Toronto for Vancouver Island\u2026 and 14 goats<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Settling into their new living quarters didn\u2019t go quite as smoothly. After renting a modern condo in Toronto, life in an old building took some getting used to. The floors weren\u2019t level and the apartment rattled with each passing train. Joblo\u2019s previous owners were heavy smokers, which meant replacing all the light fixtures and window treatments, and washing the walls multiple times. In the end, the couple hired a local guy to repaint the interior, twice. Banishing the smoky smell cost them upwards of $5,000. Still, Hamza and Tatjana loved being able to spread out across 1,300 square feet in their unit, a pleasure after being cooped up first in a condo, and then with family. And there was no denying the convenience of living right above their new workplace.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finding their groove as store owners took time, though. Before putting down an offer on Joblo\u2019s, Hamza and Tatjana had decided not to make any im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>te changes to the dep itself. They wanted the staff to feel as comfortable as possible before switching things up, especially given the language barrier. Tatjana\u2019s grandmother\u2014who speaks French\u2014came to stay for a few days to help them get acclimated. \u201cThere\u2019s only so much we can do with Google Translate,\u201d says Tatjana. Shortly after, Hamza\u2019s dad sent one of his bilingual employees from Ontario to spend three weeks at Joblo.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite Hamza and Tatjana\u2019s best efforts, three of Joblo\u2019s four existing staff members quit within two months of their arrival. Finding replacements during a labour shortage was difficult, but the dep was back up to three employees by December and by that point, everyone was gelling. Tatjana now deals with the dep\u2019s day-to-day operations (like customer service and stock) while Hamza tends to back-end tasks (like accounting). In February, Joblo expanded its small coffee counter into a more elaborate takeout service called Chez Mama Sam, complete with a menu of South Asian dishes developed by Hamza\u2019s mom (plus poutine). \u201cAt no point did I imagine we\u2019d be living in the middle of Quebec, and that my mom would be teaching a cook named Steve how to make Pakistani food,\u201d says Hamza, laughing. \u201cActually, he\u2019s the brother of the guy who repainted our place. It really is a small town!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite the initial challenges, Tatjana and Hamza\u2019s gamble has paid off. They\u2019re already looking to buy a second dep in the area and planning to rebrand their properties from gas station\u2013style pit stops to a more \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> store\u201d feel. The couple also adopted an English cocker spaniel puppy named Monty, with whom they take long walks on the trails of Pointe-Yamachiche nature reserve. For now, at least, the quiet life in Quebec suits them. \u201cI love that there\u2019s no traffic here,\u201d Hamza says. \u201cAnd there are only ever six people at the gym.\u201d<\/span><\/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>\n<\/p><\/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:\/\/macleans.ca\/economy\/realestateeconomy\/the-move-from-torontos-rental-grind-to-a-quaint-corner-store-in-quebec\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The Move: From Toronto\u2019s rental grind to a quaint corner store in Quebec&#8221; The buyers: Tatjana Heuer-Carrigan, 31, and Hamza Tariq, 37 The budget: $1.5 million\u00a0 The backstory: Throughout his late teens and early 20s, Hamza worked part time at his father\u2019s corner stores, first in Kingston, Ontario, then in Winnipeg. He didn\u2019t mind the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":559477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image0-766x431.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[12156,71226,129352],"class_list":["post-559476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-housing","tag-real-estate","tag-the-move"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559476","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=559476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/559477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=559476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=559476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=559476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}