Cottage Country

Since moving to Canada, I've heard this term a lot. Coming from California... when I hear the word "cottage" I think... countryside... far away... mid west. What does it mean for here? Areas surrounding major cities usually set on lakes. There are a lot of lakes and rivers around where we live. EVERYONE I work with either has a cottage or rents one. It's a big deal. One of my new co-workers has a cottage built in 1918 complete with working outhouse (meaning only an outhouse for them to use - EW). It's very strange to me coming from an area where you don't usually hear of people "going away for the weekend". Mostly you hear of big camping trips or in the winter trips skiing, etc. You can easily go to the beach of course... but, even working at Amgen, you never heard of people going away for the weekend. It was vacation or nothing.

Here... every weekend people plan to drive up to their cottage. It's not just reserved for Amgen either... in line at the grocery store I heard a woman talking about her cottage and at the bank. I think eventually Ian and I will set up a cottage fund. =P It's been suggested that he and I rent in various locations to get a feel for different areas. The best part is that it isn't too terribly expensive. Renting depending on the area goes from $700-$1000 per week and if you buy, a decent, smaller sized cottage on or near lake can run about 100k (this is according to a co-worker who just bought one). Fixer uppers are even better... I think it would be fun (Ian probably wouldn't!) to find a cottage in need of "some" repair and fix it up on the weekends. Well, one can dream~