What Stairs

Earlier posts: “So the time had come to move”, and “Moving on.” have talked about various historic moves and our downsizing operation. After three months in an apartment, how has life changed? Following up on the title of this piece, I no longer have to go up and down stairs. We may be on the third floor, but so far on only one occasion have I had to use the stairs, when someone else was moving large pieces of furniture. It may have involved two flights, but that is nothing in comparison to six or more flights a day at 212 Montgomery. In theory we no longer have a garden. but the children in assisting us to move purchased more plants than we had room for on the balcony, so we moved some of them inside , and we are entering the winter with at least six plants in the living room, and we had an excellent crop of little tomatoes.

When you have lived in the same house for nearly 50 years, you get to see and meet most of your neighbours from time to time as they move into the neighborhood. Moving to an apartment, even if only a couple of kilometers away may result in a separation from other people. We last lived in an apartment in Newfoundland in 1968 and yet my wife and our next-door neighbour at the time, still entertain each other to lunch on their birthdays. Our first three months here at Centre Point seem to suggest that this a friendly place to be, apart from official get together times, Happy Hour on Friday evening, Coffee hour on Thursday morning., It is hard to avoid your fellow tenants. who seem to respond positively whether in the corridor, elevator or parking lot.

It was a little concerning today when I responded to Statistics Canada about the Labour Force Survey, and they said that my apartment did not exist!

It is hard to leave or return to the building without encountering a fellow tenant, and at the very least a greeting appears to be mandatory. I only wish I could remember the names of all those people who seem to remember mine.

In terms of space, we may have a little less than in our old house, but it is much better organised. We have a bedroom and bathroom each (my wife claims that I snore) on either side of the main room which includes the kitchen the dining area and the sitting area. There is probably room for a curling rink, but we have heating facilities, so that will not happen. The main living area with everything else off to one side or the other, no corridors or passages is actually larger than the semidetached house my sister-in-law has in London!

We assume that this is an adult building, at least we have seen no sign of children living here, though we do see the occasional visitor to Mum or granny, some of whom may stay overnight. Two of our children stayed here overnight on inflatable mattresses. The person who showed us round this building asked why we were not going into one of the fully catered buildings, considering our age, to which I responded That I would much rather do my own cookery. It would probably cost us three times as much if we went into one of those buildings, while the rent here would be covered at least seven years with luck, from the proceeds of our house sale. It is not one of the lower cost buildings and the population tends to represent at least a middle-class background. Residents belong to golf and curling clubs, and a surprising number of them write books. Rumor has it we are the oldest couple in the building.

As far as the neighborhood is concerned, it has a lot to offer. The adjacent block on the street has two pizzerias, a fancy dining spot that serves lobster omelettes for breakfast, a Dollarama, a climbing wall, and an African Grocery. Across the road is the Happy Baker, which justifies its name in its choice of bread and pastries, while on the opposite corner is the Superstore, the largest grocery store in town. If we wish to leave, the bus station is just across the street.

On the whole, we are content with the move.