cracked_ribs
Well-Known Member
After years of trying to convince my employers that I would serve them better on the island, it appears to have finally happened. This is largely the result of committing to buy a set of swim steps which were over there, and which were then brought here by a helpful third party, thus making it no more convenient for me to get the job than not...this is exactly the same principle as the weekend windstorm, which is guaranteed to occur in all circumstances unless your boat is unavailable, in which case both days will be beautiful and the springs will be running and biting on everything. Literally an hour after I found out someone had brought the swim steps over, I got a call asking if I could move to the island right away.
Anyway I negotiated the timing back a little but starting in March I'll need to rent a place within 20 or 30 minutes of Duncan, preferably towards Ladysmith where my wife is likely to end up working. I would think at least six months to get her job relocated, and then I have to sell the condo/boat factory here, so possibly a year. Before that I have to keep paying the Vancouver mortgage so the cheaper I can rent the better...but I also don't want to spend half my time on Used Nanaimo trying to buy back all the stuff that gets stolen out of my sketchy rental place.
So if anyone has tips on where to look or where to avoid in the Duncan-Ladysmith corridor, I would be interested to hear it. Or if anyone wants to hear funny stories about the emotional havoc inflicted on your life by constantly interviewing for jobs within your own organization, I could also do that. Or the near misses, like when I got hired by a Nanaimo department, and there was a going away party and everything, but it turned out that the high-up guy who had to sign off on the transfer had forgotten about it, and then when he discovered his mistake he'd missed the deadline for fiscal year end by one day, and then the entire hiring program was shut down for a year and all pending transfers were cancelled.
(Although I have to say despite all of the curve balls I really got lucky - the department I'm going to is actually a huge step up from my perspective and if I'd landed one of the previous bites I doubt I'd be going where I am so honestly I'm not bothered by the long road to get here, just happy it's taking me somewhere I want to go.)
Anyway Duncan to Ladysmith: your thoughts on rentals, buys, boat storage, places to live or places to avoid?
Anyway I negotiated the timing back a little but starting in March I'll need to rent a place within 20 or 30 minutes of Duncan, preferably towards Ladysmith where my wife is likely to end up working. I would think at least six months to get her job relocated, and then I have to sell the condo/boat factory here, so possibly a year. Before that I have to keep paying the Vancouver mortgage so the cheaper I can rent the better...but I also don't want to spend half my time on Used Nanaimo trying to buy back all the stuff that gets stolen out of my sketchy rental place.
So if anyone has tips on where to look or where to avoid in the Duncan-Ladysmith corridor, I would be interested to hear it. Or if anyone wants to hear funny stories about the emotional havoc inflicted on your life by constantly interviewing for jobs within your own organization, I could also do that. Or the near misses, like when I got hired by a Nanaimo department, and there was a going away party and everything, but it turned out that the high-up guy who had to sign off on the transfer had forgotten about it, and then when he discovered his mistake he'd missed the deadline for fiscal year end by one day, and then the entire hiring program was shut down for a year and all pending transfers were cancelled.
(Although I have to say despite all of the curve balls I really got lucky - the department I'm going to is actually a huge step up from my perspective and if I'd landed one of the previous bites I doubt I'd be going where I am so honestly I'm not bothered by the long road to get here, just happy it's taking me somewhere I want to go.)
Anyway Duncan to Ladysmith: your thoughts on rentals, buys, boat storage, places to live or places to avoid?