Our happy little family welcomes you to our paradise in Comox valley, Canada

Details

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  Description

  Our happy little family welcomes you to our 5 acre paradise in the Comox Valley. Tucked away from the busyness and noise of town, we are nestled into the South end of Black Creek/North end of Merville - a short 15 minute drive away from the North end of Courtenay. Our large home is on a gated fenced in property with an orchard of fruit trees, a lush growing garden of veggies and access to a private ‘Avatar-like’ forest with trails that you can enjoy walking, running or biking on.
  
  We have 2 active, fun, loving boys - ages 4 and almost 7. They love meeting new people and enjoy playing tour guide to all who visit us here. They spend their days, when not in school/preschool, jumping and acting silly on the trampoline and splashing in the pool. They both enjoy riding on their electric tractor and go-cart around the property helping with chores and exploring the trails in the forest. When the boys are not outside, they enjoy inside play in their large toy room/rec room - building wooden train tracks, creating masterpieces with lego, puzzling and anything arts and craft related.
  
  We are very much animal lovers and have a large goofy Rhodesian Ridgeback and 2 indoor cats that truly complete our adventurous family.
  
  Aside from being avid outdoor explorers, my husband and I tend to be home bodies as there are endless things to do around our property. I’ve been a nurse for over 2 decades now and currently work casually at the local hospital. My husband works in IT from home so there tends to always be someone nearby.
  
  We live very close to the water with many local beaches just minutes away - Miracle Beach, Saratoga Beach and other great hidden gems that are not as busy. Loads of nearby rivers with swimming potholes as well as a plentitude of warm lakes to explore and swim. We also live a 30 minute drive from Mount Washington and are up there enjoying snowboarding every week throughout the Winter months. There are lots of hiking/biking trails in the off season and loads of local trails in and around our community. We are also 25 minutes from Cumberland which is known as the ‘Mountain Biking Mecca’ of the Island.
  
  We live approximately 1hr 20mins from the Departure Bay Ferry in Nanaimo where you can access travel to and from the Mainland as well as lots of other nearby islands. The ferry terminal to Quadra Island is only 30 minutes North of us in Campbell River and a 15 minute drive to the other ferry terminal that takes you over to the Sunshine Coast.
  
  While here you can enjoy access to one of our e-bikes as well as occasional access to our SUV. We also have lots of extra outdoor gear for camping, hiking and snowboarding that can be used during your stay with us.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Animal Care

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Our property is such a peaceful place with an open field, a fruit orchard (apple trees of all kinds, cherries, plums, pears) and a private forested area with trails that my husband built (and continues to build and perfect) over the last several years. The forest is a serene place that is home to numerous birds that migrate here from Spring to Winter as well as many that make this their home all year round. From multiple kinds of woodpeckers, various types of Hummingbirds, Cedar Waxwings, Dark-eyed Junco’s, Varied Thrush to the gorgeous Western Tanager - and many, many more. It’s a real bird sanctuary. You can also enjoy the evening/nightly calls and sometimes visits from the Barred Owls. We have some really huge Douglas Fir on the property as well, one of which we’ve named ‘The General’ as he has to be several hundred years old.
  
  We have tried to incorporate our adventurous side within the peaceful nature of our land here - we have an area we’ve made for climbing and swinging in the trees, an outdoor ping pong area, horse shoe game area and darts. Eventually we want to build a zip line.
  
  Prior to having kids, my husband and I used to travel 6 weeks of the year to South East Asia to explore and hike volcanoes, scuba dive and just travel ‘off the beaten path’. We love learning about new cultures and trying new foods. We hope to be able to incorporate this into our ‘home family life’ with being able to host our home to new people and have our kids enjoy this passion that we share - while being able to get a helping hand so that we are able to find some time for each other as that’s been a challenge without family nearby (I’m originally from Eastern Quebec and my husband is from Southern Ontario).
  
  The Comox Valley has a plentitude of things to see and explore. Whether you like to go to the theatre, museums, catch live music and great food - to hiking, camping, exploring waterfalls and whale watching. Most things are anywhere from 15-30 minutes drive away with local exploring right out the front door.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  Looking for help with the kids, housekeeping and an added bonus if able to help with meal prep/making.
  
  Help with kids: playing with the kids, feeding them snacks, taking kids out to the beach and/or parks/playgrounds and any other fun outdoor activities (trampoline, swimming, biking, scooter riding, games, exploring etc). Help with morning responsibilities with the kids, especially in the school year, and help with bedtime routines as needed. Bonus if able to help both kiddos engage in school related learning - alphabet recognition and writing skills for the younger one and reading/writing and math for the older one (he’s already a math whiz and loves the challenges).
  
  Housekeeping help: keeping rooms clean/tidy, helping teach/incorporate the kids in tidying after play, help with kids laundry and kitchen cleanup.
  
  We would love to have help with any mealtime prep/cooking as well.
  
  Also to be able to help with feeding of our pets as needed - fed twice/day. Bonus if interested in taking our dog out for walks/hikes.
  
  My husband and I have been together for 15 years and are in our early 40’s. We would love to be able to go out on dates from time to time - as they have been few and far between the last several years. We are a fun, outgoing bunch - but very laid back at the same time. We are super flexible and respectful of people’s space and time. Being able to communicate openly is important so that we can maintain harmony and peace and provide a fun, loving environment for our kids to grow up in.
  
  We love music of all sorts and are in the process of creating a ‘music room’ in our house so that we can encourage the kids to learn and grow in this area. We have a keyboard piano, bass and various guitars.
  
  We are looking for someone that is energetic, motivated and loves kids and animals. We love to include fun, new people in our family and are happy to share that time with you on the weekends but also respect your need for space and time on your own to go explore as well.
  
  Our main requirement is to be able to have open communication and to be able to have mutual trust and respect. With that, we are sure to match well as a family unit.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  French: Intermediate

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  We live in a large 2 storey home. There are 3 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms, a living room with fireplace (also our music room), family room, open concept kitchen, dining room and a toy room/rec room that is private and just about sound proof to the rest of the house. We have a 2 car garage for all of our outdoor/rec gear, extra fridge and freezer and other storage. We have a wrap around veranda surrounded by all kinds of flowers and gorgeous rose bushes. A huge back deck area with comfy outdoor couches and a giant picnic table to do computer work at, sit and enjoy meals or just take in the backyard beauty with the sounds of the birds. We have a family size BBQ and a patio fireplace that we use all year round, as well as a large fire pit that is used whenever there isn’t a fire ban in place. We also have an outdoor propane pizza cooker that we make use of weekly that has been our latest favourite thing - making everything from scratch.
  
  You would be staying in the only bedroom on the main level of the house. It has a comfy couch that opens up into a full size bed with a memory foam top added. The room isn’t huge but also fits a nice armoire and a small desk. This room has 2 large windows and blackout curtains to help encourage a more restful sleep.
  
  Our home is heated by a ‘heat pump’ so is easily maintained at a comfy temperature all year round - air conditioning is glorious in the hot Summer months. We also use our wood fireplace in the living room which is also on the main floor - so lots of great nights by the fire during the Fall/Winter.
  
  You would have access to the downstairs bathroom which also has a standup shower. There is a bathtub/shower in the upstairs bathroom as well that can also be shared.
  
  We have laundry both upstairs and downstairs, dishwasher (can’t live without this in a busy household) and a large fridge with water/ice dispenser. We have our own well here that has been tested and up to standards. Nonetheless, we still have a filter. As mentioned above, there is an extra fridge and freezer in the garage that we use for overflow of things.
  
  Since my husband is an IT specialist, there is working Wifi on the entire property. We also have speakers in various spots on the property that you can play music from if desired to do so.
  
  Our property is gated with keypad access and has security cameras for added security.
  
  Our tiny neighbourhood is like its own little community - everyone is friendly and very active, having each others back when it snows here in the Winter (we live in a snow belt so it can be a lot of fun getting out and sliding down some of the hills and skiing down the road). Everyone still remains private at the same time so no concerns over ‘busy-body’ neighbours.
  
  Food/Meals:
  
  Our fridges and cupboards are always stocked so you are welcome to anything anytime. Help with dinner/supper prep/cooking is very much appreciated but doesn’t need to be a must either. We are happy to cater to any food/dietary restrictions as needed. We don’t have any restrictions ourselves and are open to pretty much anything - we do try to maintain a healthy diet as best we can. Our boys often like different things just to keep us on our toes.
  
  You are welcome to joining in our grocery shops and/or providing us with a list of any particular staples you would like for us to pickup.

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  What else ...

  We do have 2 vehicles (truck and SUV). You would have occasional access to the SUV for kid related outings. I am happy to drive you into town whenever we go there to shop etc (which is typically every other day or so) and be flexible to helping you explore the area. You are more than welcome to tag along with us anywhere really.
  
  We have an extra mountain bike that can be used anytime and you would have occasional access to one of our e-bikes (depending on where you are going - they are pricey so we are cautious at lending them out for far distances/certain activities).
  
  There is a transit bus that runs along the highway nearby that can be taken to town in either direction but the service is generally every 1-2 hours and ends early evening. The bus driver’s are often open to picking up and dropping off exactly where you need to go if along the main route. You can also easily access an island trans link bus that takes people up and down island as well. We’ve often had visitors come over from the Mainland by ferry then catch this bus up to our area if they came over as ‘foot passengers’. And of course you can always rent a car for further and longer trips - Victoria is located at the most Southern part of the island and there is Tofino on the West Coast of the Island that is beautiful to visit. The northern part of the island is also spectacular visit and get in whale watching. Easy access to even more of the little islands to the North.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  We have strong wifi throughout our entire property so you can work on your laptop or by phone anywhere you like. My husband works from home and is an IT consultant - So the brains of the family for anything in technology.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We have a 5 acre property with half of it not forested. We can certainly host people travelling with camper vans or motor homes - can hook up for electricity and water but not for toilets. Easy access from multiple doors to the main floor bathroom - has a standup shower, sink and toilet.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  We have a large goofy dog that is super friendly and loves to be around people. He is great with kids and is very playful when it comes to other dogs - sometimes it can intimidate smaller dogs just cause of his size and energy. He doesn’t have a vicious bone in his body - I honestly don’t think I’ve ever heard him growl before. He’s also not much of a barker. We are open to travellers that may have a dog but we require that it be friendly and trained, especially NOT to be barking at anything and everything. We have neighbours that have a couple of dogs that can bark easily at times and our dog just ignores it. We also require that your dog be ABSOLUTELY good with young kids - we have zero tolerance to any kind of risk in a dog ever biting one of our boys. We have 5 acres of property with half of it fenced from our back forest. Our kids and dog are safe to be kept inside protected - however, there is a small gap under both our gates that a smaller dog could easily escape out of.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  One

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week