House of the Week: A Perfect Riverfront Getaway

Why do lakes and oceans get all the love?

Price: $634,900Details: 1,800sq/ft. 3 Beds, 2 Baths, 1/3 acreNeighbourhood: Sardis, BCThe Skinny: I don’t know what it is about this house that grabs me. Sardis, just outside of Chilliwack, is hardly a tourist hotspot nor is it isolated enough to really get away from it all. The house is neither modern, nor classic—it’s a sort of generic new build with no discernible style. The land is beautifully situated on the banks of the Chilliwack River, but the property is relatively small at 1/3 acre. There’s a tonne of great decking. It just seems so awesomely livable that I keep imagining myself escaping here for long weekends.The Pros: The home is brand new and seems manageable. It’s not too big, but it has a sweet little guesthouse. There’s an outdoor, above-ground hot tub—not normally my fave—but here it works, probably because it has a killer view of the river, as does a great outdoor fire pit. The Chilliwack River has great fishing and there’s some solid romance of strolling out your back door, fly rod in hand and catching dinner. This just seems like a place that you wouldn’t have to worry about as a second home.The Cons: This isn’t cheap for a smallish chunk of land two hours from Vancouver, especially given the relative small size of the house. As our pals in Calgary know all to well, living on a river is great right up until the year that it’s a nightmare. Staining that decking is going to be a bi-annual nightmare as well. And this is a new build without classic lines so it looks as good as it’s ever going to look right now.The Verdict: I just sort of love this place. The area around Chilliwack is often overlooked but it’s among the most scenic in the Province and I love that I can zip into town and see a movie and shop at a grocery store if I so desire. For this amount of money, you’re not getting livable oceanfront anywhere near Vancouver and you definitely aren’t getting a solid new build.See the entire listing here.The Enderby Open Air Market and Cliff Avenue Pedestrian Market happen every Friday, and I love the mix of local crafts, the BEST chocolate and organic vegetables. I usually buy my produce there from my neighbours, the Green Croft Gardens and Curly Willow Farm.This area is amazing for hiking. The Enderby Cliffs trail has a great view and a well-kept path.As soon as it’s warm enough, I’m all about swimming, swimming, and more swimming: I hit Gardom Lake in early summer, then Mara Lake in mid-summer.I love everything about the Shuswap River–boating, floating and canoeing. In August and September it has plentiful sandy beaches that are like paradise.We have two favourite restaurants: Tanuki Sushi House in Armstrong has fantastic, real Japanese food, and the New Bombay Grill has very good authentic Nepalese food.