So if you’re here, you’re likely thinking about moving to Spain at some point. I know this, because that’s my end goal as well. Maybe not forever, but likely for a year or more. One of the first hurdles you may encounter is opening a bank account. Once you have a long-term stay visa or a temporary residence in Spain, you can open an account as a resident. But there are certain advantages to having one sooner. For example, I thought moving larger amounts of money from Canada to Spain would probably be much easier when I am actually physically present in Canada, so I thought opening a bank ...

In just a few weeks, I’ll be boarding a plane and making the roughly four hour trip to Ontario (seven if you count a quick nacho stopover in Calgary). As I’ve indicated on Facebook, my plan is to move to Hamilton, Ontario for probably a year or so, mostly to work with Dale on some projects at BraveNewCode. Without a doubt I’m looking forward to a new change, as I originally moved out here to Chilliwack to help get BraveNewCode off the ground, something that happened nearly five years ago. In terms of logistics, Ontario is actually quite a bit better for me. It’s closer to Europe, which ...

Today marks the two week mark before I’m officially homeless. It’s the first big milestone for my adventure, and I’m looking forward to finally hitting that point. I have about 80% of my apartment boxed up, with only the kitchen to go. I’ll slowly box up the remainder this week, and hopefully start transferring everything into storage next weekend. Tomorrow my landlord is bringing some people over to look at the place and hopefully rent it out. He hasn’t seen the apartment in about six months, so hopefully he doesn’t find anything wrong with it. I’m counting on getting my full damage ...

It’s strange living in my apartment right now. I have half of the place boxed up, and am slowly selling the rest of it off. Even though my bed is still set up, it doesn’t really feel like home anymore, so I’ve been sleeping on my couch in the living room. That couch was one I bought back in 2001 in Ottawa, and we’ve been through a lot together. When I leave this place it’s going to its final resting place at my sister’s house, but it’s been a comfy companion for the last ten years. My bar stools sold tonight, as did my entertainment unit. In terms of large furniture, that leaves ...

Well, after nearly 13 years, I’m finally back home. It’s been quite the rollercoaster ride really, looking back over that period of time. I left Chilliwack back when I was 18 years old to attend university. When I graduated, I moved myself across the country and spent a few years in Ottawa working in the high-tech sector out there. Then I moved back home and did a bit more school, and finally ended up at CounterPath, where I have spent the last five years working away. The move was pretty uneventful thankfully. My dad came out in the morning to help, which was totally appreciated as it turns ...

I left Vancouver yesterday afternoon to head into Chilliwack and pick up the keys to my new apartment. On the way, I stopped and met a really old friend of mine from high-school, and we had a few beers and a plate of nachos. I have to say, it was a rather strange feeling being in my apartment all alone after the landlord left. I sort of just stared around at the empty apartment, trying to digest just how I felt. Without a doubt, I am excited. I am definitely looking forward to what the next year or two will bring, and to enjoying life at a slower pace for a while. I spent the night at my dad’s ...

Just waiting for a shirt to dry, and then I’m heading into the office for my last week of work. Hard to believe it’s coming up so soon to be honest. I have a few meetings this week where I’ll finalize the hand off on a few of my projects, and then I’m done. On Wednesday night (two days!) I’ll be heading out to Chilliwack and getting the keys for my new place. I haven’t even really thought that far ahead yet, but somehow I’ll end up out there and my car will stay there going forward. I haven’t even really begun to pack yet, so this will be interesting. I’d like to take my laptop ...

In just four days, I get to swing out to Chilliwack and grab the keys for my new place. First thing I’m looking forward to is turning the heat on in the new apartment, as it was pretty cold there when I swung by for a visit in December. My furniture is supposed to be delivered on January 20th, but I think I’m going to put the call in to deliver it on the morning on the 15th or something. I have to leave work a bit early on the 14th to make it to Chilliwack in time to do the walk-through on my place, but I’d like to do that part myself and meet my landlord as well. I’m planning on leaving ...

My mom reminded me tonight that at this time in exactly two weeks, I’ll no longer be in Vancouver. The time sure has gone quickly. I actually get the keys to my new apartment on the 15th, so I might head out on the night of the 14th and grab them in person. I’ve been slowly organizing things in my current apartment, and strangely enough, I really don’t have that much stuff here. I’ll probably load up my car on the 14th with all my valuables and drive those out to Chilliwack myself. I also need to find my Shaw cable modem, which apparently I’m to bring back to Chilliwack for them to reactivate. ...

On Monday I made the trek to Chilliwack out from Vancouver. The timing was actually perfect, since the roads were fairly bare when I left Vancouver, and are now pretty clogged up with snow. It’s been snowing off and on here in Chilliwack, but at least driving around is feasible. The forecast is currently calling for rain for the next few days, followed by more snow probably on Monday. That basically means I’ll be making the journey back into Vancouver sometime this weekend, hopefully before the next wave of God’s winter-fury hit’s British Columbia. So far, it’s been a very relaxing time ...

The landlord let me have the key to my new apartment for a few hours this morning. Traveling from Chilliwack to Sardis was a bit tense as there’s so much snow. But once we got there, I had a little bit of time to inspect my new place. Here are a few shots. First, a shot of my office (on the left), and the living room (right), completed with gas fireplace and 12 foot ceilings. A shot of the living room from the dining room. A shot of my step-mom in the kitchen: A shot of the ensuite bathroom and the walk-in closet. I’m definitely looking forward to moving in. Only a few more weeks. ...

Yesterday morning I found myself in Pacific Center mall doing a bit of shopping for Brennen’s daughter, Kaede. I ended up getting her this pretty cool Canucks shirt (thanks to Beth for the idea): I ran into Ianiv in the mall, and we ended up chatting for a bit. One of the things I’ve been debating for quite some time now is moving out of the downtown core. My first choice is somewhere on the North Shore, hopefully fairly close to the Seabus (since I work downtown). Whenever I’m out that way, it just seems more community oriented, and easier to get around than downtown. My second choice ...