We decided that now is the time to find an acreage to live on and start our next adventure.

We wanted to travel all over BC and pick the best place for us…but there were so many places and not really one perfect place. At least not what we could legitimately afford. We were told that we could afford $450,000 max – and honestly that was a stretch. Type $450,000 and click “update” on realtor.ca. Spoiler: you won’t find much in the Lower Mainland. More specifically, you’ll find less than 10! At least right now.

This was the start of our journey to find a farm.

At first, we were looking at the interior and the island.

But both places are quite far from our families. And we need help with the kids often, so neither location was ideal in that regard. The interior is also really hot for someone with epilepsy. Since heat is a major trigger for seizures, would Jay even be able to go outside and farm in the spring or the summer? That is the dream, but not the current reality. We needed a location that wasn’t too hot (or too cold!). So then, where around here can we get acreage? Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows. Langley – NOPE, NOPE, NOPE – Mission – a couple, Hope – a couple, Chilliwack – a couple. Harrison Mills/Hot Springs – a couple.

So we set off on a drive to Mission.

I found 4.5 acre house DEEP, DEEP, DEEP into Mission. So we went uninvited. Luckily the realtor was there to let us in – the yard looked beautiful and the house was livable. We got excited…until we heard the word SOLD! Sigh of disappointment.

Us: “How much did it sell for?”

Realtor: “Over asking and it is a grow op!”

Realization sets in that this is going to be tough. But we are determined to find the perfect place for us.

Next, we set off to Harrison Mills.

Here,  a friend’s mom is selling her 15-acre property with a farm stand for under a million. We get there…but we can’t actually afford this. So I knew it just wasn’t the place for us.

But we were still hopeful.

Let’s drive to Hope!

There is a 40-acre property on the Fraser River where we could do fly fishing camps and more! And, 40 acres were going for just under $500k–whoo hoo!

So we are really excited and start off on the drive to the home we’re imagining. First, we go past the deplorable NESTLE bottle depot (I’d probably want to protest that one). And then we get to our dream mobile house….oh well, beggars can’t be choosers. We can do mobile. After all, it is 40 acres, right? Turns out, it’s 40 acres of sheer cliff face. I’m NOT joking. The place would make an awesome rock climbing club…but not a farm. We wonder how this can be called 40 acres! Plus the river is on the other side of the street.

Disappointment sets in.

We drive back to Chilliwack.

We go to the Winners in Chilliwack for a quick break and I remember how I saw 5+ acres in Chilliwack. Since it’s a beautiful night, why not keep driving? We passed the water slides, the new amusement park, the ice cream parlor and the lake but what we loved most was the smell of campfires. As we rounded the lake and went up the hill to Columbia Valley it seemed so magical, I had no idea this was up here all along. It just seemed like a great place to raise a family and start a farm. We stopped at a few farms to what they were growing and it all looked great and the lawns were lush as it is a valley surrounded by mountains. There were lots of Christmas trees, blueberries and orchards – a perfect place to give it a shot.

While we didn’t see the actual property that day, we knew this would be the spot.

Becky

Becky is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Landscape & Production Horticulturist, Arborist and budding Herbalist, who recognizes and specializes in the link between healthy soil, the gut and the brain. She also loves being the mom to her two wild and crazy kids Brooke & Connor whom keep her and her ever loving, creative husband Jay on their toes.