Best of Both Worlds

Well, if living in the city and working in the country is wrong, I don’t want to be right!

My living and working arrangements were not always this way. In 1985 my husband Darryl, our two children, and I moved from Prince George into the Village of Brentwood Bay on the Saanich Peninsula, Vancouver Island.

I was always amazed and delighted—still am—that I could be living in such a beautiful little village, home to the world-renowned Butchart Gardens. Living in the country within a radius of a 25-minute drive north, I could be on the ferry to the Mainland or on a plane leaving from the Victoria airport. Driving south, I could be seated at the Royal Theatre in Victoria watching a world-class performance.

Buying vegetables and eggs means stopping at a roadside stand and paying with coins into an honour box and taking your children to school in a 5-minute walk.

Business attitudes in the country differ from the city, too, perhaps because overall, it is a less stressful environment.

That laidback attitude made it appealing to have my Notary practice in Brentwood Bay as well—and 26 years later, it still appeals. Now my husband works with me in the office, having retired from his management position with the Government of Nunavut. Our daughter’s Yorkshire Terrier Marley is in the office 3 days a week, taking his job as office greeter quietly but seriously. He has a fan club of clients that schedule their appointments to ensure he will also be in the office when they come in.

Catch of the Day

It has always been rewarding to have a Notary practice that serves generational clients—to have families with young children buying homes while referring their parents to me for Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Representation Agreements, followed by—in what seems like a ridiculously few short years—the same young children now as adults, coming in for their personal planning documents and buying their first home.

Business attitudes in the country differ from the city, too, perhaps because overall, it is a less stressful environment. People coming into my office invariably are friendly with a relaxed attitude. Where a city worker may see the upcoming work day as a series of looming problems, a country worker tends to view everything with the attitude that problems are really just unfinished business.

Today, roadside stands with their honour boxes are not as plentiful and

Our float home

my home is no longer in the country. In 2007 we had the opportunity to design, build, and move into a float home. My BC Notary office stayed in Brentwood Bay, our now-adult children who were attending the University of Victoria stayed in our house, and we moved into our 1800-square-foot float home in a marina in the city harbour. We joke that our kids didn’t leave home so we did!

Now we commute to Brentwood Bay in the opposite direction of city traffic with our best commute taking the backroads on our motorcycles along the west side of the peninsula or, for a very surreal experience, riding around the downtown streets of Victoria before the city wakes up, when the air is cool and fresh, the streets are deserted, and you can ride slow enough to read shop signs. I like to pinpoint the location of shops and boutiques I have heard or read about and for Darryl—that’s his preferred method of window shopping.

Once the delivery vans start to show up, we leave the city for a scenic

Notary office

ride along the waterfront and out to Brentwood Bay along backroads on the east side of the peninsula.

We traded country life for living on the water in the city, being able to kayak, go biking on our water bikes, or just go out on the boat for an evening dinner cruise. The float planes, early morning tugs hauling barges out of the upper harbour, boats, ferries, and the constantly changing light and colour of the ocean and sky make our views a kaleidoscope of activity—a drive-in or IMAX screen theatre right out our living room window.

Last weekend we were fishing in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and saw several seals. That means you’re not likely to catch fish or, if you do, not likely to get anything other than the head of a fish into your boat. Throughout the day we saw river otters along the shoreline and sea lions off Race Rocks in the Strait.

What made the day particularly memorable was the 20 minutes watching Killer Whales round up fish by gathering into a large circle and tail- slapping the water with such force, the sound reverberated down the Strait. It was motor off and fishing lines in, to watch a world-class performance put on by our iconic BC southern resident Killer Whales.

Next time out was our day for catching fish, reeling in a 28-pound Chinook and a 10-pound Coho that will keep the smokehouse and freezer full for a while.

Now on my wish list is finding another BC Notary to join me so there will continue to be a Notary at this location for another 26 years. s Charmaine Van Tine is a BC Notary in Brentwood Bay.