When our daughter was 6 months old, my husband and I ended our lease in Vancouver, put our stuff in storage, and moved across the country to live with my parents in Toronto from early July to mid-September.
I grew up in Toronto but moved to Vancouver in 2010. Since starting my career and meeting my partner, I’ve only returned to Toronto for a week at a time, usually over the holidays.
However, our parental leave gave my husband and me the unique opportunity to spend a significant amount of time in my hometown.
We’d be able to see friends and family for more than a rushed dinner and, most importantly, we’d give my parents the opportunity to bond with their first grandchild.
Courtesy of Riana Ang-Canning
Living with my parents had lots of perks
Living in my parents’ basement — which is essentially its own separate apartment, besides shared laundry — meant having a convenient base to hang out with all of our Toronto friends and family. We also got to save on rent since we had ended our lease in Vancouver, and my parents allowed us to move in rent-free!
They invited us to share family dinners with them each night and scavenge their kitchen for leftovers for lunch, which was not only a nice way to hang out with my parents but also really cut down our grocery bill. All we had to take care of was our own breakfast and snacks.
Since we didn’t bring a car, we were very fortunate that my parents let us borrow one of theirs, which saved us a lot of money on car rentals. We also use their backyard, which was an awesome perk for our dog, who we brought with us.
There were some drawbacks to living at home, like a lack of privacy
While living with my parents had many positive aspects, there were also a few growing pains.
Needing to coordinate schedules with the rest of the household — such as when they could do laundry so that it wouldn’t wake our daughter, or when we could borrow the car while still making sure everyone could get to work — were logistics I hadn’t thought through ahead of time.
Courtesy of Riana Ang-Canning
To their credit, my parents were very good about giving us our space and went out of their way to accommodate us. Still, as two introverts, it was tough to be so social and not have the complete privacy we were used to.
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Plus, my parents live in the suburbs of Toronto, which means we couldn’t do the things we were used to doing back in Vancouver, like walking to shops, cafés, and restaurants.
Courtesy of Riana Ang-Canning
Seeing my parents bond with their granddaughter was priceless
Would I want to live in my parents’ basement for the rest of my life? Absolutely not. And I’m sure they wouldn’t want that either.
But for one summer, the pros more than outweighed the cons. Thanks to them, we made so many special family memories during our daughter’s first summer.
My parents were there for big milestones — her first tooth, first time trying solids, and first hints that she was ready to crawl — but the best part about living with my parents was watching them interact with their granddaughter every single day, which is something I would never trade.
Seeing her smile with recognition whenever her grandparents walked into the room — and seeing them light up, too — was such a wonderful feeling. I loved watching as they scooped her up, taught her peek-a-boo, or took her for a walk around the backyard.
Courtesy of Riana Ang-Canning
All of those things made leaving Toronto that much harder. It’s always difficult to say goodbye to loved ones, but even more so when you live on the other side of the country with a baby who is constantly growing and changing.
Who knows? Maybe this summer will inspire us to spend more time in Toronto or convince my parents to spend next summer with us in Vancouver!
