I usually love this neighbourhood...

But lately it's been driving me nuts.

This place has everything. A gorgeous huge park with a lake and a river, a sailing club, and a smaller park with swings all within a 5 minute walk. Tons of bike paths and cross-country ski trails for the outdoorsy types. For the city folk, you can walk to the shopping mall and movie theatre. There's easy access to the highway and for families, there's a school so close I can hear the bell ring from my living room. Perfect.

The problem is that it's a moderately old neighbourhood (1960s/70s) with a very elderly population. In fact, most of the people that live on my street had their houses built for them and still live there. I've since found out this makes house flippers tent their fingers and laugh maniacally. I know this first hand because 3 times this year I've gotten my heart broken.

See, since we moved in 12 years ago, I've wanted some "cool kids" to move in. An energetic young couple with kids my own kids' ages. Maybe even a dog. The mother would stay home and we'd get together for tea in the mornings and vodka shots in the afternoons. Scott and the dad would talk about motorcycles and fix things. The kids would throw sticks with the dog and play road hockey together. We'd all be each others' bessie mates. This is my fantasy.

The reality is that when the elderly neighbours move on to greener pastures, the house is for sale for all of a day and swooped up by a cool couple. I always bring over a cake and get all excited about my potential new friends. Then the bulldozer rolls up. These houses are prime targets because the previous residents didn't renovate at any point so they have the original kitchens and baths. My new "friends" will stay for a few months putting in jacuzzi tubs and granite countertops then move out with $50,000 profit and my still beating heart. It's getting so that I didn't even introduce myself to the last couple that moved in. They were gone in 3 months anyway. Good riddance. And you know who moved it to take their place? An older but not quite elderly couple whose kids were adults who moved out. Poop. My shot glass is getting dusty.

So now there's a new couple on the block. Very young with an infant. That's how I know they're not going to flip. Who would do that with a baby in the house? I see the dad pushing the stroller and/or walking the dog every day. His name is Mike and his Boston terrier is named Sloane. I haven't met his wife yet but I'm still a bit gunshy. I'll wait on the cake and vodka for another couple of months.

kxx