How to live a cottage life on an apartment budget

It’s summertime in Vancouver, and you want to enjoy the two or three (tops) months of sunshine before the grey clouds roll in for the rest of the year. But you’ve hiked everything there is to hike, you (apparently) can’t spend every day on a bar’s patio, and for some reason, your apartment doesn’t have air conditioning.

It sounds like you’re just about due for a cottage trip. But, once again, there’s a problem: You don’t have a cottage-owning friend to visit. (It happens to the best of us.) So what are you to do when you have the spirit and determination to spend this summer chilling at a cottage, with no cottage to chill at?

You get your own.

“But wait,” you say, “Aren’t cottages only for real estate tycoons and bitcoin moguls?” To which we say: Yeah, probably. But not JUST them. There are other ways. Ways that are closer to home. And, with some help from Wildwood Lake Front Cottages, we’re going to show you how.

Don’t try to be your parents

We tend to base our expectations of our own lives based on what we saw growing up, and for many of us, that was a situation where our parents purchased their own houses and apartments, usually from the income they earned at one stable job.

We don’t need to tell you that things aren’t that way anymore; you’re living it. So why do we still expect to be able to have all the same things in the same way? Owning a fully-detached house with an additional summer home probably isn’t in the cards for us, just like really understanding how Instagram works isn’t in the cards for them. Circle of life.

Think outside the box

Everyone can hit up Tofino, the Sunshine Coast, and Squamish. Everyone knows someone who knows someone who has a cabin in Whistler. Why settle? Why not go in a literally different direction?

Wildwood Cottages are located on the shores of Whatcom Lake — in America. It may seem counterproductive to grab a nearby cottage in another country, but that’s the beauty of it. If your options are driving two hours north to fight traffic and everyone in the Lower Mainland looking to buy or rent a cottage, and driving two hours south to a place to call your own, it seems like there’s a clear winner in this equation.

Campfire / Shutterstock

Divide and conquer

The biggest difference between investing in a house and a cottage is the matter of ownership. It’s hard to go in a 6-way split for a townhouse with some friends, unless you’re really into bunk beds. However, a cottage is meant to be an escape, not a permanent living solution. It’s meant to be shared and lounged around during the summer months.

Maybe you’re one of those people that swears by hitting up their cottage in the fall and winter too. More power to you: It takes all kinds. By seeing a cottage as a shared life experience and an investment you’ll split with people in your life, it becomes that more attainable for you all. Factor in that the price is less than a third of a Vancouver condo, and you’re laughing all the way to the bank.

Embrace cottage living

Some people go to Mexico and come back with the same braided hair (with beads at the end) every time. Others dodge winter to play golf in Florida. Others still are really, really into cruises. They all have one thing in common: They embrace their new element. And to truly savour that cottage life, you need to do the same.

You’re not just a city mouse up at the cottage for a long weekend; you’ll have your own custom cottage playlists, relaxed and breezy clothing, and a generally chill outlook on life as a whole.

Because that’s the key to living a cottage life: You need to live it, not just borrow or rent it. And there’s no better place to do it than Wildwood Cottages. From the units themselves, to the laid-back pace of life on the shores of Whatcom Lake (complete with a communal boat), it can become your true home away from home for you and yours, no matter the size or shape.

So visit Wildwood Cottages to learn more and start your new chapter today.