When I was 28, and I had just moved into my new condo, I promised myself that in 20 years I would move. 20 years is a long time to a 28 year old. 48 arrived and went. No move. It took 9 more years, but I have moved.
The move took about 5 hours; the thought process that was involved lasted about nine years. My first concept was to buy a boat and live aboard it. The concept of buying a very nice boat and never stop sailing is very appealing to me. My living costs would not be any more expensive than having a ‘fixed’ residence (but probably no less expensive either).
One of the my key economic principles is to buy low and sell high. When one makes a decision one should ask whether or not things are booming, only then to consider selling. In spring 2008, I decided that the condo market was nearing a peak (at least for that cycle). Time to sell. The condo was on the market for a few months but I was stubborn about the price. Neither of the two offers met my minimum price. I decided to wait for spring 2009.
Of course the ‘meltdown’ happened in fall 2008. It was a very frightening time. The markets went a bit insane IMO. Whatever, it was no longer a time to sell.
A seafarer is sometimes faced with an unwelcomed storm. I battened down the hatches. The key is to stay calm and ride out the storm. It would be a rough passage but I had faith that my ‘boat’ was seaworthy enough to ride out the storm. There were a few anxious moments and there were times when I questioned whether I had allowed myself to be fooled by over confidence.
The crisis caused me to do a rethink. I became worried about the prospect of being ‘homeless’. A house, after 20 years of inflation may be worth millions of dollars. I did not think that I would enjoy being a 80 year old live aboard! Any boat that I purchased would, in 20 years, be worth 2/3 rds of its original value. Economic uncertainties convinced me that it would be good idea to have a ‘home’ port.
What would I ‘need’ (or at least accept) for this putative ‘home port’? I came up with a list of criteria: 600 square feet, south view overlooking water, within walking distance of a grocery store, and not too far from Toronto. I had visited Cobourg twice during boat deliveries. The town was a good size and it was a pleasant train ride to Toronto. Cobourg seemed to be a location that would satisfy my presumed needs.
The Toronto condo market recovered nicely from the fall of 2009 to spring of 2011. I felt market conditions were as favourable as in 2008. Back to ‘sell’ mode. This time the condo was sold.
Now to apply the Cobourg concept. I made a couple trips to Cobourg and looked at condos. Although Cobourg was the inspiration for my thinking, I did not feel that the reality met with my expectations. No affordable water view; no nearby grocery store; no walk to the train. The Cobourg Concept could not be applied successfully to Cobourg! Was the Cobourg concept just some brilliant conceptualization that would not be found in the real world?
I went through a quick rethink of what I was doing. Time was of the essence. I was now committed to move. If not Cobourg where? The real estate market in Toronto suddenly went berserk. It would not make sense for me to downsize in Toronto. I checked out Pickering, Mississauga, and Port Credit but nothing met the criteria that I had established.
The key criteria of the Cobourg concept was a water view. I used mls.ca and scanned all the available listings along the shoreline between Cobourg and Toronto. Whitby provided the solution. All of the criteria were met. People ask me: ‘Why Whitby?’. My answer is: I didn’t move to Whitby I moved to a concept!
My new condo is slightly over 600 sq. feet. I have a lake view. The grocery store is a ten minute walk and the GO station is across the street. It ended up that in Whitby I found the realization of my Cobourg concept!
