Travel

We’re moving to…

by theminimalistmom |

We’re moving to…

 

… the Isle of Man.

Yes, I had to look it up too when I first heard of it. I had some vague sense that it was in/near the UK but wasn’t sure.

Is this a HUGE change from Vancouver? Yes. Am I excited about it? Yes.

Isle of Man – so green!

For the last six months or so, in the aftermath of the extensive home purging, Chris and I have talked a lot about lifestyle choices and what we want. We’ve come back to the idea of trying out small town living several times. Now, admittedly this was with the idea of moving some where with a much lower cost of living. The Isle of Man actually has a fairly high cost of living. But it’s balanced out by a very attractive remuneration package from Chris’s new employer that provides a living allowance. It’s not the scenario that we imagined but we’re still getting a chance to try small town living. Small town living on an island!

Here are a few comparisons between Vancouver and our new home:

Cost of Living

You can check out the cost of living info here at Xpatulator to find your city.

  • Vancouver – World Rank: 51
  • Isle of Man (Douglas) – World Rank: 37

We can expect Household Goods, Transportation, Miscellaneous Items (stationary, dry cleaning, etc) and Restaurants to be more expensive. So limit eating out, be thrifty with the toilet paper and iron our own shirts.

Population

We’ll be living in or near the capital city of Douglas.

  • Vancouver/Metro Vancouver: 600,000/2,500,000
  • Douglas/Isle of Man: 20,000/80,000

Yep. This is going to be a big one.

Other fun stuff to look forward to:

  • driving on the other side of the road
  • Henry learning to speak with a British accent
  • Fell Running
  • Snaefell Mountain. Could be our new Grouse Grind!
  • meeting Jo in person!

I know there are a few commenters/readers from the UK and Ireland here. Anyone been to the IOM and have a review?

  • A bit late to post but I just had to say congrats!
    I’m an American living in Scotland (my husband is Scottish). I love the UK, it’s great! I hope you have a good time.

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  • Hahaha! Love it. I read an article a while back by Tsh Oxenrider of SimpleMom.net on simplifying. She recommends taking the “we’re moving overseas” approach for deciding what stays.

  • Hi Rachel–Just found your blog and LOVE it. I try to live simply ad frugally but feel inconsistent about it. Your site is very motivating. We live in NYC and just sold our car in prep for a relocation to Amsterdam. Same deal, husband’s job. We have a 3.5 year old son.

    I lived in the (former) British West Indies about 15 years ago and found that driving on the left wasn’t as tough to get used to as I thought. The thing that helps is that the wheel is on the right so your perspective on the road is the same (althogh first and 5th are reversed, but somehow that was ok). And, when I returned to the states I only drove on the wrong side once! (for about 2 seconds in my parents’ rural neighborhood so no harm).

    I wish I could remember my move prep plan, but I suspect it would be entirely different now anyway; different climate, having a kid, being 40+ instead of 20 something.

    Good Luck!

  • This is actually the first entry of yours I’ve read (Hello!) after finding you through Sara Janssen and Francine Jay. I’ve just begun my minimalist journey, and it’s very likely that my husband and I will be moving to Wales next May. We have a bit more time than you, and will be moving from the states (Florida) but I’ll definitely be following your move closely!

  • I used to live in the UK with my English born husband. My favorite years have been those years I was in England. Your post about moving to the Isle of Man made me think of three things:
    1- my husband’s stories about going to the Isle of Man with the Boy’s Brigade and the boat nearly capsizing during a storm
    2- the motorcycle race held there(we used to watch it on tv)
    3- and The Fast Show skits that aired while I lived in England….if you want a bit of a giggle:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX8Dg4nW7lU

    Enjoy! Looking forward to your future posts after the move!

  • Oh what luck! I only discovered your website about two days ago and the first post I read is about this! I live in Belfast and since I was younger we have always spent days in the Isle of Man – it’s lovely to go for a day trip and the boat that gets you back and forth is easy as pie to get (when its on!)

    It’s a lovely island and it’s full of really friendly people – I’m sure you’ll enjoy exploring it :)!

  • How cool that you already have some awesome resources for this new adventure in your blog readers? Unlike all the earlier commenters, I have never been to this part of the world so can’t wait to hear about your adventures and how you make do with the big move.

  • Thrilled to hear you are coming to the Isle of Man, and looking forward to reading all about it! As a UK reader, I can’t believe how many of you are coming here to the UK and excited about it :). There seem to be plenty of us on this side of the Atlantic to give you a warm welcome – perhaps a convention of minimalists can be arranged! (we’ll bring tents!)

    • Hahaha! Love that idea.
      I was actually looking at attending a blogging conference in London in June. But we won’t know exactly when we are moving over for a while and it might be too much too soon. Maybe in 2012.

  • I can personally vouch for the isle of man, it’s beautiful and unspoilt, and just a 2 hour ride from Liverpool, what a small world!!
    Sharron x

    • I hear Liverpool is the IOMs go to city for shopping and to get some night life. Excited to visit!

      • Yes, it’s certainly a shopping mecca, and lots of culture and places to visit, the nightlife is pretty good too. How very exciting!!!
        Sharron xxxx

  • I actually just exclaimed out loud when I read where you were moving to!
    I’ve never been there so can’t comment on the actual island but how exciting that you’re coming over to the UK!
    I agree with what Laura says above – a lot of landlords rent furnished over here and, especially on an island, they might assume you want that.
    Oh, gosh, can’t wait to hear how this progresses.
    Karen
    (Scotland)

    • Thanks, Karen. We’ll be visiting Scotland this summer for sure. If you see two tall lost Canadians, with a toddler, driving on the wrong side of the road – that’s us! =)

  • You’ll be a stonethrow away from me too! :))

    Get Henry to watch ‘Charlie and Lola’ or ‘Peppa Pig’…big hits with the kiddies over here. 🙂

    Will you be able to rent an unfurnished house/flat? Landlords on the British Isles tend to rent furnished properties, but seeing as we are still in recession, you might be lucky and persuade the landlord to take away all unnecessary furniture.

    • I know! I remembered your email and went back to check where you said you were from. We’re hoping to visit Dublin this summer as the ferry runs there.
      Hoping to rent a flat but I am told it’s best to keep an open mind about furnishings. There are limited options so we’ll probably go with the one in the best location with the best space for us – regardless of furnishings.

  • Oh, that site doesn’t list Minneapolis! I think it’s quite affordable though =)

    Can’t wait to hear all about your move, so exciting, hope you’re able to keep up the blog!

    • Oops, should have looked at it more closely. I think it just ranks high cost of living cities. Seems like we just can’t get away from expensive living =(

      Hope I am able to keep up the blog too. It will be fun to document it all, the selling, what we store, what we take. And we’re still paying off debt and I find writing about it so motivating.

  • That’s so exciting! We were American expats in Edinburgh, Scotland during my husband’s PhD years. Now we are American expats in Saskatchewan. I’m also very into living minimally. What an adventure awaits you there–and you will be in a great spot to take advantage of low cost travel. I know there used to be a website/message board for Canadians in the UK. That can be an invaluable resource and a way to meet other expats once you arrive.

    • Small world: I have visited Edinburgh twice and stayed with different friends that were taking PhDs at the university.
      Looking forward to meeting expat and locals – it will all be pretty new to us. Chris has spent a lot of time touring through the US, I’ve moved around Canada a fair bit and traveled in Europe a lot, but this will all still be quite foreign for us. Even with the leg up on English being the native tongue.

  • Been to Edinburgh twice and both times stayed with different friends that were Canadians attending the university. One was a young family and they seemed to really like it. You will have a great time!
    I thrive in cities too. So does my husband. But we’re going to try this out. Douglas is small but very walkable which is our most loved part of city living.

  • Thanks, Jenny. I’m getting all day-dreamy about green countryside.
    Close is relative – way closer than I am now but still a ferry ride and drive away. We email a bit and they were already planning a trip to the Isle of Man for the summer – yeah!

  • So exciting! I lived in Wiltshire (further south and in the middle) for a year and it was beautiful. Never made it to Man though.

    Anyway, I just wanted to say don’t worry about the driving. The British have a love of single track roads, so most of the time you don’t need to even think about which side of the road to be on! Once you’ve been there a few months though, you should pick up a copy of Bill Bryson’s Notes From a Small Island. You’ll pee your pants, it’s so accurate 🙂

    • Thanks for the reading recommendation. Bill Bryson is great!
      Driving: I’m a bit nervous about it. We are, sadly, going to buy a car there (employer gives a car allowance and you actually have to use it for a car – not bikes and bus fare) and I’m going to force myself to actually drive it and get the hang of it. I could see myself just letting Chris drive and continuing to walk everywhere. Of course, that is a good strategy to stay in shape =)

  • Hi! Scotland is beautiful – we’re excited to travel a bit more through there. My parents are from Glasgow (well, near there) and we have family up that way. We’re hoping for at least one visit there this summer.
    Any advice on the move is welcome! We will have a relocation specialist from Chris’s employer that will help us with a few things. I believe there is a small budget to ship things and I’m already considering what is dear to us and worth the hassle to ship. Mostly small stuff. We won’t know until we are there if we are renting a furnished or unfurnished home. Doesn’t really matter because there is no logic behind shipping furniture – way too expensive!
    I’m working on writing out our plan and will be sharing it here. Would love to get feedback from someone that has done this before. I moved a lot in my 20’s across Canada but this will be my first international move.

  • Thanks, Natasha. We’re not sure how long we will stay – 3 to 5 years? More if we like it.
    Finances: no, we didn’t see a financial planner before getting out of debt. I think there is a lot of value in talking to a third party and creating a financial plan. As for how we paid off so much: we do have a good income but we were also really luck with a great tax return, a small inheritance and we sold A LOT of stuff (including our car). We dropped our monthly bills by $1000 through paying off debt, canceling cable, not having car insurance, etc. We’re now paying things off at a slower and it’s challenging to stay motivated. Getting into budgeting and creative ways to earn income (mostly selling stuff for me) have helped me keep going. My advice: get creative on ways to cut cost but don’t deprive yourself too much. Think long term. There may be a lot of hassle in moving but if it starts to save you a few hundred a month it’s worth it. Good luck!

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