I’m the guy behind VicLife. My name is Chris. I’m married to ‘my woman from Tok-i-yo’ the lovely Maki. We have two wonderful children, 7-year old Hana and 3-year old Noah. Both names work well in English and Japanese although most people have a hard time not pronouncing Hana’s name Hannah.
We also have a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Sakura but mostly we call her ‘Saku’. Which of course means Cherry Blossom in Nihongo. In case you haven’t noticed Maki gets to name children and pets.
I talk about my passions; family, cycling (I have a DeVinci touring bike with about 6,000 kms on it), gardening (we’ve been poking away at the “landscape” around our home for a couple of years, have a small organic garden and the makings of a Japanese garden) and Saku the 7-year old Rhodesian Ridgeback who will soon have her own blog. Most days we can be found working and/or playing in the yard.
We live in Victoria, BC. We moved here from Toronto in 2004. Something we’ve been wanting and planning to do forever. Prior to that lived in Tokyo where Maki and I met and were married - more about that later. Japan is an amazing place and has no doubt supplied me with lots of blog content. We made many lifelong friends there thanks to Yoyogi Park and the ‘Yoyogi Bears’ Ultimate Frisbee team. I don’t play much ultimate these days but try to make up for it with cycling, hockey and golf.I got the travel bug early in life and spent 2 glorious years traveling around Australia, SE Asia, the US. Then came back to Canada, couldn’t stand it so went to the the UK before heading to Japan where I ended up spending the next 8 years without having planned much.
If you can relate to, or are interested in, anything here I hope you’ll drop me a comment or an email. If you don’t like it, don’t write, just go away.
December 25th, 2007 at 6:19 am
hi,
i’m an american who would like to retire near victoria. can a guy with a modest but reliable income source afford to live a simple life there?
thanks,
mark
March 6th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Mark,
I guess that depends on how you want to live and what you’re used to. Housing here is among the most expensive in Canada, but that’s because Victoria is the most beautiful place in Canada to live. If you love where you are it makes small sacrifices easier to manage.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Hi Mark,
Love the blogs, you guys are living the life that most people work towards and I’d like to congratulate you on your ongoing accomplishments.
I am an Albertan (lived here for nearly 30 years) and currently in pre-dental. I have been contemplating that I’d like to start or buy a practice in a milder climate region but not stray from Canada and I guess my only option would be in the BC area. Victoria sounds like an attractive option but it won’t be for perhaps 5-6 years. By that time I will most likely have another child and my current one will be 6 by that time.
We like to ski/snowboard, snorkel, rock climb, cycle, tennis, drink wine with friends, volunteer, dine out, shop, go boating and perhaps I’ll pick up a few more interests and hobbies within the next 5 years. Are there any good private/semi-private schools in the area and how much does your location there enrich your lives aside from the time you spend together? No rush on a reply, thanks.
C
April 16th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Hi Charlie,
Thanks for your comment. I was in a similar situation in that we were living in Toronto for about 10 years and always knew that we wanted to live here (in Victoria). We were just waiting for the right time to make the move. After the birth of our second child and just before our first started school seemed like it was ‘now or never’.
That was 5 years ago and we couldn’t be happier with our decision. Enriched lives? Absolutely. We’re all about the outdoors; walking/running/hiking, gardening, cycling, golfing, kayaking the list goes on (although we don’t ski). Victoria offers the best of all of what we love, every day, right outside our doorstep. And to top that off, yes there are plenty of good private schools here, as well as public. We’ve tried both. Great doctors, recreation centres, arenas, services and facilities of all kinds.
We do miss our friends back in Toronto, but luckily they come out and visit a lot.
Best of luck - live your dream…
April 19th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
My husband and I live in TO with two boys and have always dreamed about moving out victoria. This year is feeling like our “now or never” moment. We were considering driving out for june july & august and maybe renting a place to check things out. Any suggestions? Thanks Michelle