Exchange Zones

Walk everywhere! Cheerful, charming 4 bedrm 3 bath character home & garden with playhouse in Vancouver(North Burnaby) near Simon Fraser University, downtown, shopping. No car needed! Tree-lined streets, popular neighbourhood with international ambiance. Walk to coffee shops, parks, playgrounds, pool, deli, butcher, bakery, produce and an abundance of restaurants. Gorgeous views of Grouse Mtn and "The Lions." Easy bus or skytrain to downtown in 15 minutes. The good life! A clean, safe and civilized town with lots of fun stuff for everyone. Why don't you come to our Olympic city?

This is Vancouver at its best! Walk or bike to all of the best shops and eateries. Stroll to the park and playgrounds, tennis, swimming pools, water park, track, library, hiking trails and beaches. Golf nearby.

Quiet leafy neighbourhood with schools (Gilmore Elementary - 2 minute walk; Alpha High School 20 min.walk) and universities & colleges nearby (20 min. to Simon Fraser Univ.; 45 min. to UBC, 20 to Capilano Univ.) Conveniently located close to the Transcanada Highway which means easy access to Grouse Mountain, Whistler-Blackcomb, Mount Seymour and Cypress as well as ferries to the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island (where Victoria, the capital of B.C. is located). Direct bus 30 minutes to downtown (or 15 by car) and skytrain (Gilmore Station) make commuting/exploring easy. Our secret little neighbourhood is called "Vancouver Heights" and has some old homes, mixed with new. Incredibly friendly neighbours and everyone seems to know everyone.

The house is a heritage home, built in 1927, completely renovated in 2003. It has 4 bedrooms (3 double beds, one single), three bathrooms, approx. 3,400 square feet. One bed and bath on the main, three bedrooms and two baths upstairs. Both kids have their own bedrooms but share a bath. Lovely views of the North Shore mountains from the living room, master bedroom and central computer area. The house is ideal for 4-6 people, but the house can easily accommodate 10 if you expect guests(if including 2 couches on main). The dining room table expands to seat about 10 people. (We have 12 here now for the Olympics with couches filled!) Two family rooms, one "formal" and the other is a sunny, open area attached to the kitchen.

A 100-year old cherry tree shades some of the yard and house in summer and the kids love the tire swing and playhouse(sleeps up to 6 kids). The garden has many fruit trees and berry bushes so there is usually something to pick and eat. A small vegetable patch is often planted at the back of the garden. We love gardening. We all have bicycles and helmets, available for your use. We have an older seven seat mini-van which we can offer you (I have to check about insurance though).

Whistler is our world class ski resort 1.5 hrs. drive from here. Beautiful any time of year and a must see. Stanley Park is famous for cycling around or walking, skating or running. It has a water park, the incredible Vancouver Aquarium, beaches, totem poles, restaurants, Beaver Lake and the Lost Lagoon. Van Dusen Gardens offer year-round beauty. Chinatown has great markets and the city has the best Chinese food in the world. There is wonderful food here from around the world. Lots of it in walking distance. Vancouver is a very dynamic city with lots of cultural events always happening.

Victoria, the capitol of B.C. is a short ferry ride away. We go there often and love the Empress Hotel for high tea and harbour area. Victoria has a distinctly British feel to it! Visit the wild coastline of Tofino and Uclulet for surfing (rent a wet suit). Mt. Washington is the ski area closest to Victoria. Other places to visit on Vancouver Island include Coombs (where goats live on the roof of a store), Qualicum Beach, Parksville, and many, many islands. We especially like Saltspring Island for its hippie/hemp and artistic flare as well as Hornby and Denmen Islands. There are lots of islands to explore.

Seattle, in the United States, is only 2 hours drive from here. Close to it is Mt. Baker for skiing in winter and trails and hiking in the summer. Inland from Vancouver is the Okanagan which is like British Columbia's Napa Valley (wine country). It is a beautiful part of the world. Come and visit! Everyone who comes here wants to move here.

We love the Grouse Grind, our famous hike in N. Van. which is like climbing stairs for an hour, but what a view afterwards, and you can have a latte or beer at the top to treat yourself. The skiing is great here and there are many choices. We prefer Grouse Mtn.because we love the cable car. We can be home in 25 minutes from the top of Grouse to our doorstep.

Our neighbourhood has lots of coffee shops (including Cafe Artigiano and Starbucks) frequented by lots of Italian, Greek, Croatians and Chinese. It is a real international place. A new French restaurant just opened (Chez Meme) so now we have food from every country. Other restaurants include the Peartree (world famous so make reservations) and Anton's where you will have to wait in line with everyone else. Two Thai restaurants, many Japanese (Toyotomi, Akira Sushi), Chinese, Pho Vietnamese, Turkish Donair,Lebanese, Ethiopian(Lalibella), Greek (Sfinaki's)and "Hamburger, etc" just to name a few close by.

We are a TV reporter and an economist/instructor with two girls ages 12 and 7. We have a planned one year leave-of-absence beginning Aug 2010 to Sept 2011 and our goal is to have the family learn French. We hope for a long term home/apt. exchange in France or to rent out our house furnished. Please contact us. We are open to your ideas.