O Canada! O Canada! Goodbye Canada:(

I am going to miss so much all the fabulous friends we've made here, this is the place I became a Mom and I'm so proud to have my two lil Canadian boys!

This is the friendliest place I have ever travelled to. Where people are so open, inviting and polite.

Here in Canada when you get in an elevator (lift) with a stranger and neither of you can think of anything to say, you actually suffer through an awkward silence.

People here are welcoming and non-judgemental, willing to get to know you first before trying to sum you up.

It can be -20C outside and you've found your car stuck in knee deep snow, you can depend on people to just appear to help shovel you out and push your car back onto the road.

The friends I made here became my family. Aunties to my little boys, My best friends. Teachers to my family.

I'm going to miss the endless family activities and festivals, the historical feel of walking through the old port, the distinct 4 seasons, the vibe on the Plateau, the food and my accent.

For your friendly culture, vibrant spirit, for welcoming us wholeheartedly and for skor candy bars, thanks for everything Canada!

p.s. We'll be back ;)

Home on the Plateau

So now we're free of all the excess stuff!
But as my three year old put it, in response to me giving away our plates and cutlery "what are we going to eat off?"

Very good question, where are we going to sleep, eat and play?

Welcome to our "temporary borrowed home" on the Plateau in Montreal!

I placed an ad in our local "wanted" pages.... something like "Tidy N/S Professional couple with two young adorable children, seek 1 month Sublet for July" and as luck would have it, the universe (internets) connected us with another family looking to go away for the summer and rent out their home while they were gone.

Fabulous! So now we get to experience (in my opinion) one of the nicest areas of Montreal and live here in a fully furnished home for the last month before we move home to New Zealand.

25 Boxes

Going indie, for our family means living smaller.


Shrinking our family's possessions down to a minimum so we are altogether lighter and can move easier.


The boys bravely watched most of their toys wander off to find new homes.

I finally let go of all those cute baby clothes the boys have long since grown out of.

Furniture, clothing, pre-loved soft toys, appliances, all our versatile solutions to modern living, all the Ikea, it all had to go.

Till we were left with 25 boxes to ship to New Zealand, 2 suitcases and 1 backpack.

25 boxes is still too much, if it were to be all lost at sea, I wonder how much of it would be remembered and missed?

25 boxes on the left, ready for curbside pickup. 3 boxes on the right, "free stuff".

This process though difficult at times has been oddly freeing...


What's really important? What's irreplaceable? What can you not do without?

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Here we are in Montreal.

Both our sons are born Canadian. Very soon we will leave Canada to return home to New Zealand. For Chris and I, our travels began long before our boys were born. Having both been bitten by the travel bug, our dream is to live and work from anywhere at anytime. Going Indie means taking a risk, it means going after a dream, and it means freedom. Freedom to live wherever we want and to work wherever we want.

When I'm old and grey, I want my life's story to be a great adventure. This blog is the next chapter in my story.