Non-Premium #37361

Cosy Family Home-Away-From-Home

House • Victoria BC Canada

    5 Guests  
    2 Bedrooms  
    4 Beds  
    1 Bathroom  
    1 Car space 
  Primary home

Exchange types accepted

  Simultaneous  
  Non-Simultaneous  
  Non-Reciprocal & Globe  

Statistics

Listed  September 2024
Views  312

General overview

We love our cosy home! We have put lots of effort and love into making it functional for a busy family with young children but also making it an uncluttered and attractive place to unwind. Our home is a 1950's character house with coved ceilings and squeaky hardwood floors, and comfy family-friendly furniture. We love our large, shady backyard and our sunny deck, which are the perfect places to hang out as a family in warmer weather. We have loads of books, beautiful artwork and thoughtfully decorated corners inside and out, but everything is also child-friendly, so you can relax.

The space

Our living room has a wood-burning fireplace, tons of books and easily accessible (but hidden in baskets and behind doors so you don't feel like you're in a kids-only space!) toys like Lego, magnetic tiles, train sets, matchbox cars and more. Comfy couches with seasonal throw pillows, lots of cosy blankets and a TV make this an easy room to relax in. The master bedroom is an attractive and peacefully decorated retreat with handmade sliding barn closet door, a queen-sized bed and lots of natural light. The second bedroom is cosy and cute but not overly "kiddie" if your family members are older. There is a bunk bed with two twin-size beds and a slightly smaller single child bed (it's about a foot shorter than a twin). Dress-up costumes, children's books and more toys are stored in here. The bathroom is recently renovated and lovely, with a heated floor, low-flow toilet, bathtub and adjustable shower head. The kitchen is clean, freshly painted and very functional with new stainless steel appliances and lots of natural light. I am a semi-professional baker so the kitchen is very well stocked with just about any cooking and baking equipment you could possibly want! The dining room is attractive with a table that seats 6 comfortably. We also have a shelving unit there with art supplies that you are welcome to share. We also have an optional office space that we can provide for long-term exchanges. Please let us know if you would like this space made available and we can chat about what you would need in that space. Currently it has a convertible sitting/standing desk and office chair, but it could possibly also be set up as a child's bedroom or nursery if needed. We love our outdoor space! We have a large deck off the kitchen with a charcoal BBQ and outdoor furniture which gets loads of daytime and evening sun and a large, fully-fenced in backyard with a stone patio and propane fire-pit, outdoor dining table with bench seating, a trampoline (with safety net), lots of grassy lawn and outdoor toys such as balls, frisbees, and sporting equipment. We also have a laundry space in the basement that is clean, neat and functional, with a full-size washing machine and separate dryer.

Guest access

All of our living spaces are on one floor (up 7 steps to the front door) and just our laundry room is downstairs. You have full access to our entire living space and laundry room, plus the deck and backyard. We rent out two suites to single, quiet tenants downstairs. You don't share any access points, yard space or rooms with our tenants and there is no way they can access the main living space. We just ask that you are sensitive and mindful about the amount of noise you make early in the morning and late at night, particularly in the downstairs laundry space as that space shares a wall with each suite. Our sound-proofing is very good but heavy door slams and loud footfalls can be heard downstairs. Voices at reasonable talking volume don't carry. You likely won't hear much, if anything, from the tenants when you are upstairs though, so don't worry about that!

Features


Washer
Washer
Dishwasher
Dishwasher
Clothes dryer
Clothes dryer
Oven
Oven
Microwave
Microwave
Coffee machine
Coffee machine
Fridge
Fridge
Iron
Iron
Heating
Heating
Air conditioning
Air conditioning
TV
TV
WiFi
WiFi
High Speed Internet
High Speed Internet
Bathtub
Bathtub
Smoke alarms
Smoke alarms
Fire extinguisher
Fire extinguisher
Bed sheets
Bed sheets
Towels
Towels
Workspace
Workspace
Fireplace
Fireplace
Toys
Toys
BBQ
BBQ
Garden / yard
Garden / yard
Deck / patio / courtyard / terrace
Deck / patio / courtyard / terrace
Bikes
Bikes

Travel Styles

    Long term
    Adventure
    Budget
    Family
    Sport and leisure
    Foodie
    Relaxing
    Eco
    City
    Beach
    Culture
    Hiking
    Cycling
    Good public transport
    Golf

House rules

    Suitable for infants under 2
    Suitable for children ages 2-12
    Pets not allowed
    No smoking

Allergens

    Cat free
    Dog free
    Carpet free
    Smoke free
    Fragrance free

Dates of Availability

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Neighbourhood

Our home is in a family-friendly residential area with lovely neighbours and several parks, schools and playgrounds within walking distance. We are on a quiet street where the neighbourhood kids ride bikes and play street hockey. We have an active community on our street and we all look out for and help each other.

Getting to my home

You can get to our home from Victoria International Airport or the Swartz Bay BC Ferries Terminal by driving, taking a taxi or the bus. It will take about 25 minutes if you are driving yourself or taking a taxi, more by bus as you'll need to transfer once. The number 31 bus goes right past our street. You can also come from downtown Victoria if you arrive via the Coho Ferry (from Port Angeles) or the passenger ferry from Seattle (The Clipper) or via HarbourAir float planes from elsewhere on the island or Lower Mainland. It's about a 15 minute drive or taxi ride from downtown Victoria or a longer bus ride.

Nearest airport

Victoria International Airport (YYJ) and it's about a 25 minute drive away.

Getting around

Our house is in such a convenient location to explore the wonderful city of Victoria as well the equally delightful, more rural, Saanich Peninsula. We're about 15 minutes to either downtown Victoria or out to the Saanich Peninsula, and 25 minutes to the gorgeous and charming town of Sidney (near the airport and ferry terminal). We are a 5-8 minute drive from several different walkable community hubs, with grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops, and stores of all kinds. Our home is also ideally situated to quickly get to gorgeous parks, hikes, hills, beaches and more (many within 5-10 minute drive). Taxis and Uber operate easily around our neighbourhood and we are right on a couple of bus routes that run buses several times an hour for most of the day.

Map of Approximate Location

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Feedback

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Katrina

Hello! I am Katrina, a 30-something mum of 3 young children and wife to Jason. We love to travel and we also love to host people in our home, so we are hoping People Like Us will be the perfect complement to our family's interests! We highly value creating a cosy, clean and attractive home for our guests to enjoy and always get comments from friends about how much they love being in our space. We are very intentional about creating memories and shared experiences for our kids and also exposing them to different cultures to hopefully help them develop a deep love and responsibility for people around the world, no matter how different they are!
Travelling group
LGBTQ+ friendly Remote Worker
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Desired Destinations

Mar 1, 2025 - Aug 31, 2025 (Flexible)
"We would like to be in Great Britain for 6 months (between May-Aug 2025). We would happily do 1 long-term exchange for the entire time or 3 or 4 shorter-term exchanges to cover that time span."

Mar 1, 2025 - Aug 31, 2025 (Flexible)
"We would like to be in Great Britain for 6 months (between May-Aug 2025). We would happily do 1 long-term exchange for the entire time or 3 or 4 shorter-term exchanges to cover that time span."