Gary Doyle
Sales Representative
Realty Executives of Sudbury Ltd.
“We should think about living on the lake” was the start of the conversation a few years ago.
Immediately, my thoughts went to “Lake” and “how far is this lake from the golf course?” Greater Sudbury has over 330 lakes to choose from, so a bit of panic started to set in as I envisioned never getting to play golf again. Calmness prevailed as I considered the fact that if my wife, Kellie, wanted to live on the lake and that is a lifestyle that she has always enjoyed - growing up with trailers, camps and cottages during the summer months - so far be it for me to just not give it a serious consideration. My response was “sure let’s take a look at what is out there, but I would like to stay within a 15-20 minute radius of town” (“town” aka “the golf course”!)
So, the search began to find our next home as we were currently the proud owners of a 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom home in New Sudbury and had recently become empty nesters as both children were now off the payroll and onto other provinces to build their life. We often found our current house too big as we used the kitchen, bedroom and TV room and the rest just awaited sparse visits from family and friends.
Now back to the search. I did not fish, boat or swim in cold water, so I really did not have any preferences as to what lake. I did know this, I really enjoyed having the sun in my backyard near the end of the day as that is when I would most likely be home to enjoy it. Therefore, a South/South-Western exposure was the main criteria for me and being within 20 mins of “town center”.
We looked at several properties until we found a bungalow with 2 bedrooms and a very nice Southern exposure lot with lots of privacy and only 8 Minutes from the Idywylde Golf Club (oops, I mean “town center”). The deal was struck and, the fact that we sold our home in New Sudbury in one day, things began to move along very quickly.
We took possession in mid-January and it was cold and snowy, but we weren’t long realizing a whole other aspect to living on the lake – winter fun! We would take our dog Charlie onto the frozen lake for great walks where he could run free, the neighbours were out building skating rinks, we saw cross country skiers and snow bikes glide by, the mini villages of ice fishing huts and, of course, the drop-ins of family and friends roaring in on their snowmobiles for a visit. It never even occurred to me that I would be interested or even able to do all this stuff, nor did I even see winter as an actual asset for lakefront living!
Then it was our first summer and the experience was even more fantastic. We would come home from a day of work through the front door and immediately into a quick change to shorts and sandals and out the back door to “camp”. Did I go fishing? Sure did and I can tell you, after 3 years, I have still not caught a fish even though my neighbour two docks down pulls them out of the water every day. Did I go swimming in that chilly water? Absolutely, but only after a wood fired sauna. Of course, you know what’s next, we had to buy a pontoon boat to really enjoy the entire lake and all the new and old friends who lived on the lake.
I will say this - for a guy that had no interest in living on the lake, I am now usually the first guy out of the “town center” locker room after a round so I can get home as quickly as possible to enjoy a relaxing beverage with Kellie where I can thank her for giving me the nudge while soak in the sunset from our dock.
All the best till next time and be sure to get out and enjoy the lakes!
If you have every considered living on the lake or finding that perfect family camp to add to your lifestyle, give me a call today!
Contributed by:
Gary Doyle
Cell - 705.691.6166
Office - 705.586.3334
gdoyle@realtyexecutives.com
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other salespersons, staff or affiliates of Realty Executives of Sudbury LTD. Brokerage, Realty Executives International, the Sudbury Real Estate Board, Ontario Real Estate Association, Canadian Real Estate Association or any of their subsidiaries. For any concerns pertaining to the content herein, please contact me immediately at gdoyle@realtyexecutives.com.
