{"id":594615,"date":"2023-10-16T20:17:37","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T17:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-move-two-die-hard-digital-nomads-finally-settle-at-a-former-parsonage-in-nova-scotia\/"},"modified":"2023-10-16T20:17:37","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T17:17:37","slug":"the-move-two-die-hard-digital-nomads-finally-settle-at-a-former-parsonage-in-nova-scotia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-move-two-die-hard-digital-nomads-finally-settle-at-a-former-parsonage-in-nova-scotia\/","title":{"rendered":"#The Move: Two die-hard digital nomads finally settle at a former parsonage in Nova Scotia"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nThe buyers:<\/strong> Dalene Heck, who\u2019s 47, and her husband, Pete, who\u2019s 46. They co-own a digital marketing company.<\/p>\n

The budget:<\/strong> $400,000<\/p>\n

The backstory:<\/strong> Dalene and Pete were digital nomads long before it was cool. Back in 2007, the couple were living in a 2,100-square-foot detached house in Okotoks, Alberta. Every day, they commuted an hour each way to Calgary to work corporate jobs they didn\u2019t love\u2014Dalene in supply-chain management and Pete in accounting. Then, within a few short months, two of their close family members died and they found out they wouldn\u2019t be able to conceive a child without substantial medical intervention. Dalene and Pete had always talked about taking an extended trip, but life kept getting in the way. \u201cAt that point, we\u2019d run out of reasons not to travel<\/a>,\u201d Dalene says. They decided to quit their jobs, sell their house and see the world, initially planning to return to Alberta within a year. They were gone for nearly eight.<\/p>\n

The couple travelled to 60 countries during their long sojourn. Along the way, they started a remote content and social media<\/a> marketing business, using any revenue to fund their lifestyle, and house-sitting to save on expenses. In November of 2016, the couple was stopped in Seattle when Dalene fell sick and was admitted to a local ER. Doctors soon discovered that her blood platelet count was dangerously low; she was diagnosed with leukemia soon after. The couple decided it would be best to ride out Dalene\u2019s treatment and recovery in the comfort of home, so they purchased a two-bedroom townhouse in Lethbridge in May of 2017.<\/p>\n

By the summer of 2020, Dalene\u2019s leukemia was in remission and the couple were house-sitting once again, this time for a month in Canmore. They did plenty of soul-searching in the mountains, mulling over their next big move. In the long term, settling abroad didn\u2019t feel like a viable option, but they didn\u2019t feel completely at home in Lethbridge either\u2014partly because, according to Dalene, the summer heat is unbearable. Their minds kept wandering back to their dozen-plus visits to Nova Scotia, four of which took place during their remote-work years. \u201cMy grandfather was from Newfoundland, so I\u2019m drawn to the sea,\u201d Pete says. The coast would also be much cooler than Lethbridge.
\n\"\"Dalene and Pete waited out the worst of COVID before hitting the road again. They\u00a0offloaded their townhouse (for $250,000) in May 2022, and that summer, they were on the move. Pete and Dalene\u2019s brother-in-law drove a U-Haul packed with the couple\u2019s belongings to Truro, Nova Scotia, where they\u2019d rented a storage unit. The Hecks then rented Dalene\u2019s aunt and uncle\u2019s empty apartment in Edmonton. A month later, they started their meandering, cross-country trek to Nova Scotia, with stopovers in Regina, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Ottawa and Quebec City. They\u2019d been perusing Nova Scotia listings for a while, but after years of roaming, Dalene and Pete were quite comfortable leaving home without having another locked down. \u201cWe just trusted that things would work out,\u201d Dalene says. \u201cThey always have.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hunt:<\/strong> Dalene and Pete arranged for a long-term cottage rental in Shortts Lake, Nova Scotia\u2014the headquarters for their province-wide home search. At that point, the post-pandemic housing market was red-hot. Hurricane Fiona further complicated the Hecks\u2019 search when she arrived that fall. They quickly nixed the idea of owning beachside property, instead prioritizing homes that were close to, but not directly on, the coast. The Annapolis Valley, with its abundant produce and moderate temperatures, topped the Hecks\u2019 list. Their property criteria? Three bedrooms, a safe ocean or lake view and proximity to the Halifax airport. (They planned on flying frequently.)
\n\"\"In early November, the Hecks spotted a listing for a four-bedroom century home in the former fishing port of Margaretsville. The home was a former parsonage, built in 1913, and listed for the very reasonable 2022 price of $363,000. It was originally owned by the town\u2019s United Baptist church, which sold it in the \u201980s. Its original carved-wood staircase and stained-glass windows remained. Other attractive sells included a living room (complete with electric fireplace), a barn (for storage), more than half an acre of land and stunning (distant) views of the Bay of Fundy. \u201cThe home charmed our socks off,\u201d Dalene says.<\/p>\n

The home also had a few less-than-charming features. Its two bathrooms were side by side, connected by a door. The kitchen, while newly renovated, lacked app<\/a>liances. The property was also afflicted with a \u201cwet basement,\u201d a common occurrence in Nova Scotia but news<\/a> to the Hecks. \u201cWater tends to leak into every old house around here,\u201d Pete says. Fortunately, none of those issues were deal-breakers. The day after their viewing, the Hecks submitted an offer of $340,000, a low-ball figure due to the lack of appliances. The owner, a landlord living in Ontario, countered with $357,000\u2014the sale conditional on a home inspection. They closed weeks before Christmas. \u201cWe weren\u2019t handy, and we\u2019d just bought a hundred-year-old home,\u201d Pete says, \u201cbut we could see ourselves here for a long time.\u201d
\n\"\"The Hecks took possession of the parsonage last January, but stayed in Shortts Lake until their rental agreement was up in mid-March. That month, they retrieved their belongings from their storage unit in Truro. They were too tired to carry their mattress upstairs on moving day, so they temporarily set up their bed in the living room\u2014and soon realized that, thanks to minimal insulation, they could feel the full effects of a storm that had settled over the area. \u201cIt was -40 outside and nine degrees on the main floor,\u201d Dalene recalls. \u201cWe slept with toques on, plus every blanket we owned, but we were still so excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the months since, the Hecks have busied themselves with repairs. An old, leaky chimney is now sealed, and they\u2019ve installed a generator to keep their sump pump working\u2014and their basement dry\u2014if the power cuts out during a storm. Most importantly, with winter coming, they\u2019re planning to install a heat pump and insulate the cellar and attic, where Pete recently discovered a book of hymns lodged in the wall.
\n\"\"In contrast to their new home, Margaretsville\u2019s few hundred residents have extended a warm welcome to the come-from-aways. One woman, a former volunteer with the United Baptist church, was already well acquainted with the Hecks\u2019 house, and the Hecks recently gave her a tour so she could see the renovations. (\u201cShe was responsible for changing the wallpaper\u2014many times\u2014in our bedroom, to get it ready for new pastors,\u201d Dalene says.) A local community hall fundraises with pancake breakfasts and ice cream sales; Dalene and Pete have already volunteered for a few shifts.
\n\"\"Surprisingly, Dalene and Pete haven\u2019t felt any wanderlust since their move. \u201cWe\u2019re getting older,\u201d Pete says, \u201cwe don\u2019t want to strap on backpacks and be gone for months at a time.\u201d These days, they spend most of their free time tooling around Nova Scotia, recently to Yarmouth (for its astronomy-themed Starlight Festival) and Digby (to enjoy Scallop Days, a celebration of Pete\u2019s favourite food). Since the pandemic, they\u2019ve scratched any travel itches by developing their own card game<\/a> called \u201cTrip Chaser,\u201d the goal of which is to buy, barter and gamble one\u2019s way to various destinations. A lot of the couple\u2019s best travel memories are baked into the game.\n<\/div>\n