Yeah i remember when we moved to byron 14 years ago everyone in my wife's family (she is from london) said it was too far out haha. Now it just another overpriced suburb. I honestly cant even remember wanting to go downtown these days except to go to the bike shop "towheels" for supplies. Everyone used to be friendly and I would even leave my doors unlocked sometimes and only realize in the morning.
I still feel privileged to have the life I have but theres a reason I left south africa and wanted to start a life in canada. It was to live in a place where I wouldn't have to look over my shoulder constantly or worry about my family.
I do feel that there is more pushback from the people though. I think people are tired of sitting idle and being walked all over. My sister's live in the UK and boy I hope we dont get to that point but we dont seem very far off
Well, that was sort of our feeling about it, and hey, it's not like Byron is a shithole, it's still nicer than most areas of London, and some have gotten downright unlivable (so I've heard). Again, that's why we were so adamant on 50 acres minimum. We were just sort of done with people. Ironically Today I was down with the neighbor building a barn around a lumber saw, so we can make our own lumber...the price of everything is INSANE and since we live in the trees, why not make lemonade. Everyone knows everyone out here, and strangers get confronted or worse. To me the deal in London was: We pay police out of our taxes, and police keep us safe. Now, the police only protect politicians and criminals, so they broke the deal. There's more police in London than in all of BC, there should be ZERO crime, like zero, but they're more interested in knowing if you've made any mean tweets, or have too many people in your house at Christmas. No thanks.
We sit in the creek in the summer here...we have 10% humidity, so a 30deg day you can wear a jacket, but the 40 deg days, you put a plastic chair in the creek and trout swim around you. Salmon too if you're there the right time of year. We're top of the mountains so the water is incredibly clean. Neighbor is the rancher's son, I put in an order today for half a cow (have you seen the price of BEEF??). Since he's an owner he doesn't have to pay his dad, I just pay him his costs and inconveniences, I'll have a full freezer for less than $1000. Part of the reason I was helping him with that barn, as it was truly miserable work.
That's the thing I never got, (and likely because I never lived outside of a city), but the rural folks do a lot of business with each other. Who's got this, who needs wood, where is a good trailer... If you get in with the locals, they know how to make things happen. You answer the call when they need help, and they help you. It's so incredible and alien from my city experience. I met a guy today who's going to bring me a bunch of maple-syrup/pork/moose sausages this weekend. He bagged a MONSTER moose and it filled his freezer, now he's handing it out. Another guy brought me a duffel bag of weed "I heard you liked a joint now and then". It's WILD. Exceedingly tiring, but WILD.
think about that scene below, we're SITTING IN the creek, we're drinking out of the trunk, shooting guns, smoking a little home grown, some tunes playing in the summer heat. No ministry guys coming along to check our fishing licenses, fining us for dare putting rocks in the creek (or worrying about finding needles in it, it REALLY is like I remember London in the 70s.
Unfortunately, it has to hit people hard where they live before they start voting different, that's the simple truth, and now with the absolutely insane amount of immigration, I just don't think Canada will ever look like Canada again...so I'm making MY Canada look like how I remembered it. lol. Geez, glad I'm a mod or I'd be warning myself for rambling
Even the basement here, it's all re-done in "70's Canadian Ski Chalet".
If you get tired of playing pac man, there's video pinball, and if you tire of that, time for a lightsaber battle. I even got a ninja slushie machine, that will make LIQUOR-WEED slushies! I mean....I CANNOT recommend "fucking off to the mountains" enough. I really can't. Built almost all of it myself too, the ceiling, bar, arcade machine, etc. to keep costs reasonable (I'm not rich after paying for this place that's for sure) It's also part of the reason I don't have time for a reef tank, they simply take too much time dedication, and I'm just doing "all of it all the time".
I'm going to be documenting a lot of this on my youtube, I've been building sets, doing scripts, getting cameras and lighting. Going to make it really something, a channel about men just having fun again. Launching Jan 2026, I want people to know they can just reject the garbage that society dumps on everyone and just make your own reality. Everyone is miserable all the time, because we believe all the rotten news, all the price hikes, and job layoffs, and it gets to us, even if we're not the ones getting laid off. I say enough is enough. I mean they killed Star Wars and made Indiana Jones a simp, at what point do we just reject all that crap and do our own things?? Reef people are exceptionally clever people, those tanks aren't easy to succeed at. We're the ones most geared towards manifesting our own realities.
