Similiarities

[vegmom2]

I was just wondering how many vegans are also into simple living, anti-consumerism, homeschooling. While most my friends will do anything to make a living, I personally would only do what is friendly for the earth, doesn't hurt other living beings and tends to help others. I try and watch where i use my dollar as well as (love farmers markets!!) where my clothes and other items come from so as not to support any child slave labor or big corporation. I try and buy only what we need, limit tv viewing with all their commercials, and like to do simple things for fun like go into the woods with the kids for a walk. Although it is hard not to be pulled always to conformity in trying to keep up with the jonses, put your kids in everything all the other kids are in etc. Any thoughts on this??

:D Shelley

[Deborah Barrass]

Hi Shelley,
We too are planning to home educate our 2 children and are member of a group in the UK called Education Otherwise,
We also spend a lot of time outside walking or in the park or garden.
We would like to rent a small allotment to grow our own veg, we currently buy from a local farmers market.
There is lots of pressure from family and (some) friends to let Tabitha, in particular (as Felix is still small) to have toys such as Barbie (horror) but have warned anyone against buying them as gift or they would be thrown away or given to a charity shop.
A lot of clothes - and toys -have been circulated from friends but we do buy what seems a lot of clothes for are ever growing healthy vegan children !! I would love to have time - or energy - to make / knit clothes.
I belive that by homeschooling we can at least avoid competition and consumerism endemic in most educational institutions, as well as foster friendships with like-minded families. This is particularly important as we live in a community which is PRO farming / hunting / shooting /fishing. Imagine Tabitha bringing home the daughter of the master of the hunt for tea !!!

Regards, Deborah Barrass

[molly]

I don't know how difficult it might be to find outside the U.S. but there is a book called Compassionate Souls by JoAnn Farb that you might like. There are chapters about vegan issues, education, "swimming against the tide", non-violent discipline, etc. Now that I think of it, you can go to www.compassionatesouls.com too.

[vegmom2]

Hey Deborah and Molly, I will check that website Molly thank you!! And Deborah, i totally hear what you are saying on the homeschooling and maintaining our values as well as the toy issue. I screen any video tapes they get and most don't get through to my kids. I wish we didn't watch any tv but when it gets colder than -10c you can't spend alot of time outside--and i try and limit my time at shopping malls. So we watch some PBS and library videos that i approve. With 2 boys i don't have to worry about barbie just the action figures. We also have a homeschooling group here in Alberta but i am checking out BC as we may move there. Do you also simplify your life and keep purchases down?? Is your husband onside with you?? The whole thing with schooling is that simply by sending them, in my opinion, you would have to spend so much time 'deschooling' them ie. no junk food is not ok because so and so says, no you don't need to wear nike and gap, no you don't need the latest gadget etc etc.
Shelley

[vegmom2]

This seems like a wonderful website Molly thank you!! I know i will spend some time reading it. Does anyone have any favorite books to recommend? Also Deborah have you ever seen www.waldorhomeschoolers.com as it has some interesting info. She is into raw foodism and waldorf homeschooling. I saw your profile and that you have a 2 and 3 yr old or thereabouts, and was wondering if you already are involved in a homeschooling group. Are m/any of them vegetarian?? Its always great to find like-minded souls. Shelley

[Deborah Barrass]

Hi Shelley,

Thanks, I will check out this website. There is another excellent website <www.steinerwaldorf.org.uk> which has a lot of info relating to Steiner method of education. There are a number of Steiner schools in the UK but none near to where we live. A meeting was arranged in a nearby town when Tabitha was only a few months old. It was hoped to set up an alternative to state education along the lines of Steiner education. There was initially a lot of interest but that was 2 years ago and there are only 2 of us left. We have linked up with other homeschoolers in the area and have regular outings to museums, waterfowl park, woodland walks. A small group of us meet in eachothers houses and have sessions baking biscuits / bread, painting, reading stories or just playing. Some of the group are vegetarian - though no vegans. Some, including us, are into alternative medicine and most have not had their children vaccinated.
I would have thought that as homeschooling is fundamentally a lifestyle choice that there would be more vegans. Maybe there are but I haven't met them yet !
It would be great for Tabitha and Felix - when they get older - to be able to chat via email to homeschoolin vegans across the world .... am I being realistic ??
My partner, Michael fully supports the ethos of homeschooling and is very invoved in bringing up Tabitha and Felix. I work weekends (unfortunately) so he takes over. We appreciate every minute that we have together as a family !!
Purchases - I like to think we don't buy unecessary goods. I do like to buy books for the children and when they are older will use their child benefit to buy educational items.
How old are your boys shelley ? Are you homeschooling ?

Deborah Barrass

[vegmom2]

Deborah
My boys are 2 and 4 as of November and yes i plan on homeschooling. I did vaccinate my boys, but Kyle did not get his 18 mo. and they will get no more as i didn't even question it until my homeschooling neighbor told me she did not vaccinate her youngest and instead of judging her as a freak, i researched it extensively and had to side with her and now know so much more that i wish i knew sooner. I don't think it is unrealistic to think your children can email other vegans as i would want the same and with the small percentage of us around we have to meet however we can and utilize those friendships!! I too would think that homeschoolers would perhaps have more vegetarians at least but i have not found that at all as of yet. But when i looked into the Waldorf school in Kelowna BC, i found that many were vegetarians and even some vegans based on a recipe book they put out which was almost all vegetarian. My only thing with waldorf that bothers me is that they use the beeswax crayons and silk scarves and i'm not sure how i feel about that yet--it bothers me in the sense that i've read how silkworms are used and misused for profit and also bees mistreated but there was other positive things--i only looked into the school as an option to homeschooling so that i could meet other like-minded people which is hugely missing from my life. They also have an organic buying co-op, yoga, drumming, art classes for parents, parent seminars, dance classes, puppet making etc all for the parents and they expect lots of parent involvement. You can see the city of Kelowna at www.welcometokelowna.com . It is beautiful but they have a worse economy than here, thus it costs more to live there and i am still trying to research homeschooling there. Here the govt pays us a subsidy to homeschool, starting grade 1 and up it is $900cdn per child to use on anything educational, field trips, music lessons, pottery, art class and/or supplies , gymnastics, swimming lessons etc, etc. So my big decision is whether to go to Kelowna for the lifestyle (whether i send them to waldorf or not) or to stay here where i know there is great support for homeschooling--ho hum i struggle with this everyday.. Pretty crazy but i want to raise my kids in the best possible environment. Anybody else struggling with anything??? I am glad you meet with the few people you do to get together, that is wonderful. Shelley

[vegmom2]

oh yah, i forgot to mention that i am also into alternative medicine--is this a common thread for vegans?? Obviously we are interested in preventative health even though most of us are vegans for ethical reasons, the preventative heatlh benefits are outstanding. :) Shelley

[vegmom2]

Do you have children now Katharina?? if so how old. Nice to see/hear others living similiar lifestyles to mine. We do own vehicules but am trying to move to a place, either here or elsewhere, where i am not dependent on them. But if i do that then i have to live in a city as opposed to the country where i just moved from--so we will see--do you live in a city or countryside? Shelley

[Deborah Barrass]

Hi Katharina,

Whereabouts in the UK do you live ?

Have you ever been to any vegan gatherings organised through the vegan society ? I haven't but would like to try one this year.
There are also a few home education festivals that have been advertised in Education Otherwise newsletter.
One is 10th - 17th May at Charmouth, Dorset - for info viit <www.hesfes.co.uk>.

We do have a car and I do rely on it quite a lot to get to home-ed outings and into our local town as we live in a rural area with a poor bus service.

Deborah

[vegmom2]

Hey Deborah
I checked out your Steiner link, thank you!! I really love what they do and although there is no Waldorf near me i have thought of moving close to one--but i can't quite make that decision clear to myself yet--I went on a trip to British Columbia, Canada to check out 2 of them and there is one more on Vancouver Island located on 7 acres near a lake and not far from the ocean. Located near a 100km West Coast Hiking Trail through the oldest old growth forest in Canada, the location would be peaceful and serene as would be the lifestyle. I currently live where everyone is going at warp drive to work hard, put kids in daycare, pay the mortgage etc. etc. Although i can still live here and not follow suit and home educate my children, i also think about the environment i am raising them in and who i want them to become--i could also just move out to the country here as well. But i must say there are good resources for homeschooling in the city whereas in the country one must travel to the library, museum what have you--but i do love the country life as i just moved from there to here in the city and miss my space and watching the children have free rein in our yard is awesome. You are lucky to live in a rural area--do you ever wish you were elsewhere?? are you close to family?/ did you grow up there?? what is making you decide on homeschooling?? would you do waldorf is there was one close by?? does the use of silk and beeswax bother you or do you overlook somethings?? Just curious:) Do you have any pets? I read you mention going to a vegan fair..that would be awesome to personally meet other like minded souls!! Also Deborah you mentioned how you love spending every minute with your kids, i hear you on that one!! My husband is also totally involved with our children and spends oodles of time with them--we recently quit the 5 yr cabinet making business we owned in the country to move to the city to renovate a house which we are currently living in--thus we are all together all the time!! we are in quite a mess right now but hope to make roughly a modest years salary in less than a year--we want to move by this June but i have to figure out my life plan first to see whether i move to BC, to a smaller town here, or back to the country here. I have no close family, well a grandma(my grandpa died last month) I lived with them during my moms illness--she died in 91 when i was 22. I don't talk to my dad as he was an alcoholic child/wife abuser and can't lower himself to admit his wrongs so although i forgive him, i don't need him and haven't spoken to him since 91. So with not much family it makes moving elsewhere easier i suppose than if one is close to a family--that is another reason i like the waldorf as many tend to be veg*n at least and share some similiarites so maybe i would meet some more likeminded souls--i did go to a homeschool meeting once with a neighbor and was actually quite surprised at the diversity of people that homeschool with completely different philosophies--and NO veg*ns!! Look forward to hearing from you nd anyone else who has such stories!! Shelley:) :)

[Deborah Barrass]

Hi Shelley,

Sorry I've taken so long to reply to your letter - I don't know where the time goes !

Vancouver Island sounds beautiful - what a place to raise kids. Do Waldorf schools there have high fees, or are they related to income. It's excellent that you get some funding to home educate. Is that a one-off payment or yearly ?

People here also work all hours to buy bigger houses, flashy cars / clothes etc etc. Some of my work colleagues with young children work full time + overtime and go to the gym on their days off !! They can't wait to "get them off to school" Why have children ?

I work 22 hours as nurse. I work opposite Michael so we share childcare. BUT before I had Tabitha and Felix I was an ambitious ward manager who went very quickly up the ranks, did lots of unpaid work at home etc. How my priorities have changed !

What did you do before your cabinet making business ? Were you work orientated before having children ?

I love living in a rural community. The pace of life is more relaxed, people are more friendly and there isn't the exposure to violence / drugs / materialism found in cities. The hospital where I work is in a pretty rough area of Newcastle (a city in northeren England) and many of the patients have drug / alcohol / violence related injuries. The area is horrendous - a member of staff was badly beaten in the hospital grounds last week at 5.30 pm when leaving work. I know that you can't protect your children from everything and that - unfortunately - this is life in 2003 - but it feels good to get away from that 'culture' at the end of a working day.

I agree with you about using wax / silk. There was a home-ed outing recently for candle making and we opted out. Today we have set up a home education art group at an art gallery. My dilemma is BRUSHES !! I was trying to check out the bristles on Tabithas brush a she was merrily painting away. To be honest I wouln't stop her from painting in the group but I will ask the girl who runs it what the brushes are made of. Now I'll be labelled as completely mad !!

We do have a cat called Pierre. He is 19 this year. As we have only been vegan for 7 years (and veggie since 1982) I haven't fed him a vegan diet. I don't know whether we'll replace him when he eventually leaves us - though I can't imagine not having a feline friend around ! Do you have any pets ?

How is your renovation project coming along ? Is it difficult doing work with the boys in the house ? We don't seem to be able to get a room decorated ! What do you call your sons ?

We decided to home ed for lots of reasons. The education system in this country places a lot of emphasis on academic achieavement and starts testing kids at a very young age - putting a LOT of pressure on them to meet targets. Kids aren't allowed to be themselves, be creative, have time outside, ask questions, they must conform, wear the right clothes, have the right attitude - the list is endless. I think we can do a much better job while maintaining their individuality and allowing them to be children and develop at their own pace. I've met some really interestig people who are also home educating for various reasons. I also have many friends who have had terrible experiences with their childs education and have never questoned whether there is another way . Surely there must be a thread with veganism - questioning something you're not happy with and doing something about it !

I think I better go now as it's way past my bedtime. Sorry if spelling is poor - due to tiredness (honest!)

Love from Deborah::o

[vegmom2]

It was great to hear from you!! Just got back from driving to the country to put my 2 yr. old to sleep--any suggestions?? My 4 yr old stopped napping at xmas and now my other one doesnt want to nap either--to answer your questions, Waldorf is about $350cdn/mo. plus other fees as they come up so yes it is very expensive--and the money for homeschooling is per year given only as receipts go to the board--then after they determine it is a legitimate expense, they give you cash back-i hear you on the 'why have children thing' and agree with all you've said!!:) I was a sales rep. with an insurance co. b4 kids and although i got rookie of the year for Canada i lost interest quickly and then started thinking of children. b4 that i was a travel agent, career counsellor, tourism representative, and cashier for 10 yrs at a large box store called Superstore--paid my way through 6.5 yrs of university where i graduated with a degree in Recreation Administration. That story in the parking lot is awful--very sad. You are too funny--'labelled as completely mad'--isn't that the complete truth!! its not an easy way to live but extremely rewarding to me and in rearing my children this way with such compassion!! I have 2 dogs that i had prior to being vegan so i do hate giving them their dead parts dog food every day but can't afford any other veg. versions--could cook them stuff but that is more time than i have--don't you find the day just go by and you still don't get it all done?? Remembering birthdays, having kids help make cards, valentines day and mailing out cards to friends, cleaning, organizing, spending time with the kids--i mean good quality time--i let mine play some computer car games just to give me a break--but i would never go back to work!! The project is slow but going steadily, i would not do it again with the kids as i am very disorganized with things still in boxes, but it was just to be a one time thing to see if it worked and give us more time to decide where to live. I love the country, very peaceful driving there again today--but i love amenities of the city, we can walk to the library. The project is going fine with the boys as i am with them while Kevin works downstairs, when the basement is done in a few weeks he will be ripping apart the kitchen so we will be playing downstairs instead of upstairs in this 1215 sq ft bungalow. It cost $150000 and we hope to sell close to $200000 as the market is very hot and the avg. house in the area goes for $185000 not fixed up. My boys names are Cory and Kyle and are 4 and 2. Any more children for you?? I guess maybe i should be sending a private email so as not to bore the rest of you!! Anyway, I hear you on your reasons to homeschool and i feel the same. How many are currently in your homeschool group and does it have a name? Can you tell me (again probably!!) some of the things you do?? Shelley

[sophie]

Hi everyone!
Have been meaning to add to this thread for a while....
My name is sophie, I have 2 children, Jasper aged 6 and Lily aged nearly 4, and I am due to have my third child in March (planning a homebirth). I really relate to a lot of the ideas I've read here. Sometimes I feel a bit like an outsider with some of the ways we do things, I don't really know many people who are quite as committed to an alternative lifestyle as we are, though I do have some very supportive friends with some similar ideas. I don't know ANY other vegan families though. Our kids have been vegan from conception, they are not vaccinated and have never had antibiotics, in factm they've never really had conventional medicine. We use homeopathy and natural medicines, but honestly they don't get sick often, apart from the occasional cold. My partner grows and sells organic vegies, we are very committed to organics and eat about 95% organic food.
My children have never been TV watchers, though they are now at an age when I'll let them watch the occasional thing. My 6 year old is an avid reader with a reading age of 12, and reading is what he likes to do best! We live in a small community by the sea, and in summer spend a lot of time at the beach.
Jasper goes to the little local school, which is working great for us. He has a great teacher (who is vegetarian and quite 'alternative') and everyone knows each other which is nice.
Originally he was enrolled in Steiner, but it was a 50 minute drive from us so when it came to the crunch we decided to try the local school, and so far it has been great.
My sister is very involved in the Steiner community and their are some parts I like and some parts I don't. Some of their Biodynamic farming practices are not very vegan (eg the use of cow horns), just as some of the homeopathics are not vegan (eg use of bees), but there is a lot that is good. Anyway, I'm hoping to chat to you all some more!

[molly]

No, vegmom, don't feel like you have to send private messages.... I'd chime in to this thread too if I had my kids already. :) I appreciate the opportunity to sort of get to know some of you & what you are going through; it helps me mentally prepare. So much of what you are talking about is exactly what I have been thinking about, so it's helpful to hear how things go in the real world. (I've done a lot of reading, but that only goes so far!) Then again, I don't want to be nosy, so if you want to be private, by all means do! :)

[vegmom2]

Molly, thank you for your comment!! I will just keep blabbing away then!! When are you planning to have children?? Its the best thing i have EVER done and i would not change it for the world so if you ever need convincing i would love to help you out. They are the whole reason i am vegan in the first place and have taught me my priorities in life, which for me is not money but relationships with people and respect for all life including how we treat the earth.

Sophie,
Congrats on your upcoming birth...please keep us posted!! Good for you for sticking to your beliefs and not doing the antibiotic/immunization thing--i to have done research and agree with those who choose not to vaccinate and well doctors give out antibiotics like it is candy!!--in fact they now make cough syrup into freezies for kids so it pretty much is!! I am glad you can do so much organic stuff--i am contemplating moving to a climate that is warmer just so i can grow my food longer and at least have access to fresh food all year round. You sound like you live in a wonderful place!! Can you tell me what you like or don't like about living near the sea/ocean (i can't remember where you are from and if i check now i am scared i will lose all this writing!!) You are so lucky to have found a school with a vegetarian teacher yet--how is he doing and are the class sizes small?? How big is the town/city you live?? If it is small (ie. 5000-10000) what is it like? You mentioned school was nice because you get to know each other and that is nice. Does it have the typical pop machines, bad food and TV? Bye for now!

[sophie]

Hi vegmom and everyone!
I live in the South Island of New Zealand, and we live on a little bay of a peninsula. Where our house is is actually a tiny place where most of the houses are holiday houses. It is very peaceful and we have a beautiful little beach 5 minutes walk away. In summer this beach is pretty popular, especially with the locals who know of it (it is sort of a hidden treasure), but the rest of the year it is like our own private beach! About 5 minutes drive from us is the main settlement which is a very small town, I'm not sure of the exact numbers, something like 1500 people or so I think. We have a school (with just over 100 pupils) which is a primary school (goes to age 12), and we have a general store, a hotel/cafe,a preschool, a post office and a library. The nearest city is not too far away, only about 30 minutes drive, but because it is over the hills, you can forget it's there unless you need it.
We love the lifestyle here and have been living here for over 6 years, so the children have always lived here. The range of people is very diverse and I have made some great friendships, and have found people to be very supportive of our veganism, on the whole. Quite a few local people buy organic vegies from us also.
It is definitely the kind of place where everyone knows your business, but that can be good too, for example people are very supportive of others. There are lots of young children and they usually go through preschool together and then on to school, and play at each others houses etc so build really good friendships, while the parents feel they all know each other. Most of the other parents know we are vegan, which is great as I don't have to constantly explain it if Jasper goes to a friend's house to play. The school consists of 5 classes and they vary in size. When Jasper started his class only had 11 children, his class now has 20 children. He has done very well, he was moved up to the next class halfway through his first year(kids start school at 5 here) and immediately was put in the top reading, spelling and maths groups even though he was over a year younger than some of the other kids, and the youngest in the class. We are really proud of him. His teacher is great and has educated the class not only on healthy living (which had no mention of meat!) but also on veganism and vegetarianism, so all the kids in Jasper's class think it's normal for him to be vegan, and recently on a school outing they all made an effort to bring things for a shared picnic that Jasper could eat, with the encouragement of his teacher. On his teacher's birthday she brought a vegan cake to share with the class, even! So, so far, we feel thankful that our school experience has been so good. Because all the kids bring their own lunch to eat there is no cafeteria issue (actually NZ schools don't generally have cafeterias). As for pop culture, well, it's true that when Jasper started he had no idea what Pokemon or Spiderman or Toy Story or Harry Potter were, but now he does, and is quite interested in them as a concept, but because he has never seen them it's not really a problem. He is a very curious boy, and asks a LOT of questions (he asked me in a shop the other day how the world was made), so is naturally interested in these things that some other kids have seen on TV, but actually has never asked to watch them himself. He has, however, been reading the first Harry Potter book independently. He reads every chance he gets!
I just realised this is getting very long! Hope this answered some of your questions, and hope to chat more!

[vegmom2]

Hi Sophie,
Wow, your location and lifestyle sound wonderful as well as your boy's school experience. It is true my boys don't know all those characters either but when they are with their cousins that is all those boys (being older 7 and 5) talk about, especially star wars!! It is wonderful you are so close knit. Does your family live near by? Where did you live b4 this spot 6 yrs ago?? I am glad everyone is helpful with the veganism. I actually bought the Lord of the Rings (1st time i ever bought a vhs tape) just to see the scenery of NZ as i had been researching it at the time as a potential place to move. I have a friend who has travelled the world and says NZ is where she would like to move and was in the process of getting citizenship when her husband had an injury and therefore they did not have enough points to qualify. She loves it there. She settled for Kelowna, BC Canada and she admires my veganism and said she could never do it because it is too disciplined. Anyway i had gone to the library to take out every book on NZ and was awed by it. But then i met someone who had just been living there for 5 yrs and came back to Edmonton because he said it was way too expensive (esp. housing) and the govt. was out to do some drastic things...i don't know but the conversation left me feeling like perhaps it would be too hard. So now we are looking at Vancouver Island and i am currently getting info. sent to me on it.
I just long for the day that i will find a place that my soul calls home and to me it is by water, slower pace, smaller town just nature everywhere...do you have pics. of your home and family and area to put on the internet?? Gotta run!! Hey my smile icons aren't working..
:) :) :) :) :) :)

[molly]

vegmom, believe me, I don't need convincing to have children! :D The one thing I've always known I wanted to do is be a mother. I've only waited this long because of mounting obstacles. I thought this year would finally be the year, definitely, but I'm not 100% sure anymore. I had some health problems for a couple years, starting pretty soon after I got married, so that put off all plans for a while. But besides that, we've been trying to get our finances in order, at least enough so that we are heading out of instead of deeper into debt, before the baby even comes along to gobble up more $. (We have his sudent loans to pay off now, on top of the debt from medical bills, & loss of income for a number of months, etc, etc, etc.) I don't mean we want to have the $ to buy lots of "stuff", just that we want to have a little left over after rent & food. I just got a promotion at work though, so maybe that'll help. Sometimes I think I "shouldn't" have a child until our life is abolutely perfect, then I remember that that'll never happen! We just need to stabilize a bit, that's all, & I still hope it'll be this year. Also, I was considering looking for a new doctor, but I think I'll give this one a chance, at least until my next appt. I'll spring the vegan pregnancy idea on her, see how she reacts, & go from there.

I can't tell you (well, actually I can & I have, but here I go again!) how relieved I am to have found you people here. Like a second family... we're all a little different but we kind of understand each other. When I found that book Compassionate Souls I was amazed that people out there actually felt the same as I do about things, & it was so exciting & inspiring & comforting. I think I found VegFamily from that book, & here I am! Reading about how everyone is managing to live "right" enourages me, because otherwise I'd think I could never do it. I still haven't figured out what I'll do about the education issue, but I know I have at least a few years to ponder that one. First things first, prepare & plan the pregnancy (as much as such things can be prepared for & planned!).

[vegmom2]

Hi Molly, now i understand your story a bit better:) I didn't know if you were younger or what but i totally understand the finance thing!! It is really hard to have to wait especially when you know you want them--i never thought i wanted them and needed alot of convincing and it was through chance that i decided i wanted them. That is, i felt that i was missing something in life and realized that it was probably a child and once i had one i knew that was it!! So it was actually a spiritual journey that led me to a place i thought i never would be and it filled the longing that i could not find any other way. Life just seemed to need more and i was the last person to want a child after being abused etc. So now i am longing for something different...veganism was one answer now the next piece in my life puzzle is community and a safe place to raise my children where we can be close to nature yet close to some stores. I love the idea of living near the ocean and love watching sunsets so that is why i am researching moving to a different province. Life is neat how it unfolds and teaches you what you need to grow and learn and become enlightened. So i just need to find this major piece and then i will be more settled and at peace.

Sorry also to hear about your health issues--please share if you'd like, i'd love to hear it!! I have yet to order that book Comp. Souls but will be doing so and you are right it is very nice to share in such a nice atmosphere. Also like you said, things are never right enough to have a child and i still did not have a career when i got pregnant--but what i got in return was far greater, and although we are not rich we are doing OK. :p

[sophie]

Hi vegmom
sorry it's taken me a while to reply, I have been getting a bit frantic with trying to organize things for the birth of the baby, I'm due in 3 weeks and time seems to be getting faster and faster, withe the other two it always seemed to drag at this stage, but I think because I'm a little more laid back this time I've left things to the last minute. Anyway, am getting there!
Yes, I do have family nearby. My parents live in the nearest city, it's only a 45 minute drive to their place, which is a good distance as I think I need that space, although it's great having them so close. When I got pregnant with my first child, my partner and I were trying out living in a different place, 6 hours drive away, but I found that I really wanted to be near my parents so we moved when I was pregnant. We didn't want to live in the city again (we'd been living there as students and I was sick of the city lifestyle) so we moved to where we live now and loved it. We have been renting our house for 6 years, we don't own it, so I would be devestated if we had to move, as we can't afford to buy our own house yet. There are usually rental properties available though.
What is Vancouver Island like? Anything that's an island sounds good to me! That's interesting that you were once thinking of moving to NZ. And brave, it's certainly a long way away from where you live now! Where we live there are lots of English people who have moved over, a big group of them! People from overseas love the lifestyle here, I guess we take it for granted a bit, as we don't know any different. I have always liked the idea of living somewhere overseas for a while, though with each child it gets harder to do these things. I lived in italy for 6 months when I was 21 (I am 30 now), and it was amazing, I've always wanted to go back. There is so much of the world I want to see, but it'll just have to wait!
We find the cost of living to be ok, but I know that the further North you go, the more expensive housing is. Most of the people in NZ live in the North Island, and in cities like Auckland I've heard the housing prices are very high, whereas you can buy a house in a little town at the bottom of NZ for a ridiculously low price.
The rest of my family is here and there, I have a brother in the city too, a younger sister who is also vegan and in Italy right now, but coming back soon, and an older sister who lives in the North Island (we're in the south) who has 2 children the same ages as mine, unfortunately we only see each other about once a year. How about you?
Well, Lily has just spilt paint on the floor so I'd better help her clean it up! Bye for now...