Single working mom Odette Karlsson and her son Cody in Lacombe, Alberta, the place they relocated from Kitchener, Ontario (Images by Amber Bracken)
The client
Odette Karlsson, a 45-year-old group residence supervisor, and her children: Lily, who’s 17, and Cody, who’s seven
The funds
$300,000
The backstory
In 2018, Karlsson was residing the single-working-mom life. Lily and Cody lived together with her in a three-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse in Kitchener, whereas Jaidyn, Karlsson’s grownup son from one other relationship, had simply left the nest to attend college in Ottawa. To help her youthful children, Karlsson juggled three jobs: as an academic assistant through the faculty yr, in a transitional residence for individuals with mind accidents within the evenings, and as a respite employee on weekends. Cash was extraordinarily tight—after which got here two meniscus tears, which despatched Karlsson on long-term incapacity depart in the summertime of 2022. “I used to be financially destitute,” she says. “I used to be utilizing my bank card for groceries, solely paying off the minimal each month.”
By the tip of the yr, Karlsson resolved that life in Ontario was fully unsustainable—she’d already visited her financial institution a number of occasions, searching for loans and a second mortgage to remain afloat. “I used to be on edge on a regular basis,” she says. After a lot misplaced sleep, she concluded that the one potential means for her to settle her money owed and obtain her lengthy standing objective of being mortgage-free was to discover a new residence in a less-expensive market.
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Like many Canadians, Karlsson first entertained the thought of an Atlantic transfer, the place properties have been exponentially cheaper. However, after some on-line exploring, she discovered that the majority of these low worth tags got here with one other expense: large journey occasions to main cities. Final spring, throughout her analysis section, Karlsson phoned up an previous work colleague who’d simply relocated her household to Spruce Grove, Alberta, a bed room neighborhood outdoors Edmonton, positioned quarter-hour from the town core. A fast google revealed tons of reasonably priced housing choices between Edmonton and Pink Deer, the place Karlsson already had two cousins.
To Karlsson, life out west supplied the growth she craved. If her Kitchener townhouse bought for $730,000, as anticipated, she’d nonetheless have $300,000 to spend on a brand new residence, one in a quieter city with higher prospects for full-time work—and perhaps even a main-floor bed room for her growing older father, Denis, who, at that time, was residing on his personal in Oakville. Karlsson would possibly even have the ability to afford some nights out in town with associates for dinner and dancing. A little bit of freedom, lastly.
The hunt
In Could, Karlsson advised her cousins of her imminent arrival and booked a solo flight to Edmonton—and per week at an area Airbnb—to start her search. After some irritating realtor delays, she determined to lease a automobile and scout obtainable listings on her personal, beginning in Pink Deer. A 3-bedroom residence, listed at $300,000, caught her eye, however it turned out to be a 20-year-old mannequin with previous carpeting and dated wood furniture Karlsson didn’t but have the funds to switch.
The Karlssons’ new neighbourhood in Lacombe is peaceable and clear, with just a few eating places close by
From there, Karlsson headed north to wash, quiet Lacombe, inhabitants: 13,000. She rapidly noticed a three-bedroom, two-bathroom freehold townhouse. It had just a few issues going for it: it was positioned in a new-ish subdivision (inbuilt 2020), a close-by plaza had just a few interesting eating places, and, most significantly, it was in the marketplace for $260,000. “I believed, I’d like that $40,000 to go in my checking account as a substitute of into the home,” Karlsson says.
Throughout a exhibiting the following day, Karlsson advised the itemizing agent she didn’t precisely love a few of the residence’s finishes. In response, the realtor advised her of a nook unit—with the identical variety of bedrooms—that will be extra to her liking. It was nearly to hit the market. Karlsson liked the brand new unit. She adored the Spanish-inspired tile within the entrance entryway, the open-concept residing space and the back-deck walkout, which she imagined at some point would possibly overlook a fireplace pit. The basement wasn’t completed, however the residence’s excessive ceilings and trendy decor made the area really feel roomy. “All of us hand around in our bedrooms anyway,” Karlsson says.
Karlsson entered a bid of $260,000, roughly $5,000 lower than asking; the again garden was patchy and half-dead, because of the present homeowners’ canine. They countered with $262,450, which Karlsson okayed. She’d take possession in August. “I used to be ecstatic,” Karlsson says. She celebrated the take care of a dinner out in Pink Deer together with her cousins—soon-to-be fellow Albertans.
Odette and Cody beautify easter eggs collectively of their Lacombe residence
Karlsson returned to Kitchener and rapidly tied up her free ends. Her townhouse bought for $700,000 inside per week of itemizing, and he or she employed a transferring firm to ship the household’s belongings to Lacombe. She additionally took Cody and Denis on a few brief, last-hurrah street journeys round Ontario—one to go to Jaidyn in Ottawa and one other to go to family in Thunder Bay—earlier than heading to Alberta with Cody by automobile. (Lily flew out just a few days later.)
Karlsson was planning to purchase beds the day Lily’s flight got here in, however her plans have been interrupted by a cellphone name from her sister, telling her that Denis had handed away. “I didn’t understand how sick he was,” she says. “His perspective was so nice through the journey.” She left the keys to her Lacombe residence with certainly one of her cousins and flew again to Ontario with Cody to attend Denis’s funeral. He had gifted his Toyota Venza to Lily, so the three of them drove again to Alberta as a household.
The Karlssons rapidly planted new roots in Lacombe. Karlsson discovered work as a bunch residence supervisor, one job whose wage permits her to avoid wasting $1,200 each month. “I’m incomes greater than I’ve ever made in my profession,” she says. “After I acquired my first pay cheque and I noticed I had no debt and no extra mortgage, I used to be like, ‘Woohoo!’ It’s been a complete reduction.” Lily discovered a job of her personal—a part-time gig at Wendy’s—whereas Cody’s large venture has been skating classes on the native sportsplex.
Karlsson has just a few enjoyable methods to spend her newfound free time: on nights out, dancing with associates at ’80s nights, hitting up mom-and-pop eating places and unwinding with the youngsters over Nintendo Change matches or on day journeys to Alberta’s many points of interest. On a latest go to, Jaidyn accompanied them to Banff and Lake Louise. “I hope at some point he comes out right here, too,” Karlsson says.
