Square Footage Doesn't Matter

When we arrived in mid-July, it looked like an old, worn-down apartment building. The elevator was a little rickety. When we got to the tenth floor, we walked out into a dark and narrow hallway. We could barely fit our luggage and children through it to their apartment door.

Then we entered. Still a bit narrow and dark as we walked through the short hallway, passing the small bedroom on our left and the kitchen and bathroom on our right. Then some brighter natural light and fresh air filled the living room ahead.

I dropped the luggage immediately and beelined to the balcony.

I gazed out on Stanley Park and the mountains beyond. I was awestruck. For the rest of our stay, I found myself constantly drawn back to that balcony. I just couldn’t stop.

Rickety elevator, one toilet, one bedroom, small kitchen.

None of it mattered after 30 seconds on that balcony.

When our one-week trip to Vancouver, B.C. was officially on the family G-cal, I started peppering my wife with questions. She plans most of our trips. This one was to visit one of her best friends, Brittany, and her husband Phil and their three-year old son.

We are going to stay with them in their one-bedroom apartment?

How do they even manage that on their own?

What will we do while there?

With so little space, we’ll want to get out of the apartment, ya know.

Little did I know that I was bringing American semi-suburban dad energy to the entire conversation.

And I didn’t realize what was within two blocks of their apartment: Stanley Park.

Stanley Park is 1,001 acres — larger than Central Park in New York by about 100 acres — and it’s essentially a rainforest peninsula attached to the downtown core.

Old growth trees, seawall, beaches, and wildlife right at the edge of a major urban center.

Vancouver city proper has a population of 675,000, but the greater metro area is 2.5 million. We hit the jackpot - staying a two-minute walk from the edge of Stanley Park. Naturally we were there every day and maybe did 2% of what the park offers.

Minutes after we put our luggage down, Brittany suggests we take the kids down to Second Beach within Stanley Park.

We get the kids into their swim gear and toss everything into their wagon. Take the elevator down and head out of the lobby. The kids skip down the sidewalk, then we cross two narrow crosswalks on calm streets. Boom, we are now in Stanley Park.

We pass Lost Lagoon with all the swans, herons, geese, and ducks. The kids are too busy scurrying around the walking path and picking up sticks to notice.

As we go deeper into the park, we find ourselves well-protected from the sun by a canopy of trees that are hundreds of years old. Glimpses of water start appearing through the trees.

Then we suddenly emerge from the forest and arrive at Second Beach. On the right is a community pool, on the left is a small beach with lots of logs. It’s no Waikiki, but the kids don’t care. They jump right in.

We lay out a blanket and watch the kids play. I sit back and take a long look around.

To my left, the city. To my right, mountains. In front of me, the water. And behind me, a forest older than the country I came from.

All of it reachable on foot from a one bedroom apartment two blocks away.

Then I felt a weird feeling come up. Envy.

This was our first stop outside the US on our year-long sabbatical, and here I was already thinking: dude, I could totally live here.

Who cares about a 3,000 square foot house, fenced in lawn and two SUVs when you can live within a 15-minute walk from this? Stanley Park is your backyard.

Brittany and Phil are great examples of people who live intentionally.

They’d been living in Vancouver in that little humble apartment for years and had thoroughly enjoyed the car-free lifestyle.

Phil would commute to his job at the university most days by bike or transit, bringing their son along to daycare a couple of days a week.

Brittany is a successful content creator and mostly worked from home during nap times or daddy commute days. When she was on mommy duty, she would often walk to Stanley Park for all the things: playgrounds, splash pads, hikes, beach time, the aquarium — all within a short stroll.

No packing of the car and elaborate logistical coordination. She would just load her kid’s wagon and walk out of the apartment building, head to Stanley Park and just wing it.

But now that they have a four-year-old, they realized their beloved apartment might be just a tiny bit smaller than they’d like, especially for what it costs these days. A one-bedroom apartment has its challenges for a family of three.

When we were staying there with them, they had about one month left before they moved to a slightly more spacious place.

Despite it being the practical decision, you could sense the sadness in Brittany’s tone when she talked about it. They loved this little apartment — not because of what was inside, but because of what was outside: that view, that proximity to one of the greatest urban parks in North America.

The apartment was enough for them to live the life they wanted to live. Until now.

Thankfully, the new place would be a little more spacious and still walkable to Stanley Park. Just a bit further, and without that view.

During our visit, Brittany and Phil organized for all of us to get out of the city for a couple of nights to see more of British Columbia.

Phil easily reserved a family van through Modo — a community-owned car share co-op where you reserve specific cars at specific locations and just pick up and drop off. No rental agency or hassle.

Then we hopped in and headed two hours north to Pemberton, stopping along the way for incredible hikes and views.

Brittany and Phil mentioned that before their son, they used to just go on a whim — grab a car and drive into the mountains. Phil is a climber, they love to camp. They’d find a spot, stay the night, head back to the city the next day.

“Daddy, why is the boat going that way?” Tuli asks innocently.

“Um, I’m trying not to let it but the current is a little strong.” I chuckle a little nervously.

Once I get us back on track, I take a moment to look around. It’s incredible.

I’m paddleboarding on a green lake at the foot of the Coast Mountains with my five year old.

We later return to shore and all jump in the freezing water together. Who needs a cup of coffee when you can do that? Tuli was very proud of herself for doing it.

I don’t think I realized it was possible to be living a totally urban family lifestyle with this sort of access to nature. Car-free, very close to restaurants and businesses, efficient transit, and bikeable.

This short trip to Vancouver, B.C. wasn’t extensive. We did not spend much time here or visit all the places.

But, it crystallized for us that there is another pillar of what we are looking for in a landing spot: access to nature. Not nature far away but woven into daily life.

Just like for Brittany and Phil, when you start to prioritize certain things (like access to Stanley Park), you might say other aspects are good enough (like the humble one-bedroom).

Our last night there, we were sad to leave. Mostly because we love their family and knew we wouldn’t be seeing them for a long time.

But, we had another reason.

That reason is why I sat in the chair closest to the balcony window all evening.

That view made a one-bedroom apartment feel bigger than any house I’d ever lived in.

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