This month we feature the story of how two of our residents came to live at The Ridge, and what they enjoy about our community, in their own words:
“We have lived in the Comox Valley for 20-plus years and had never been to The Ridge community until 2013 when we were searching for a geocache hidden in the woods just beyond Buckstone Road. Curiosity got the better of us, so we took the time to explore this otherwise empty space with recently constructed roadwork and just a couple of houses. We immediately fell in love with The Ridge, however, we were not quite ready to leave the beauty of our Comox neighbourhood.
“Fast forward a couple years and we had a friend convince us that we should build a home. It was not rocket science to know where it should be built. We both remembered that rural area with trees cascading over the roadway that would lead to our new home.
“We don’t think we could ever forget one snowy December night as we laid tracks in the freshly fallen snow, thinking that this tree covered road was soon going to be the driveway leading to our new home.
“We met with the developer Bruce Clapham to discuss the lot we had picked for our first house and at that time we found out the lot next to the park was available also. As we intended to build the first home for resale, it became obvious that the park lot would be our second build and future forever home.
“As we built our property, we often found ourselves walking through the community to observe the new homes being constructed. It was the genesis of getting to know not only our neighbourhood but our neighbours as well. The subdivision was growing but that seemed to only add new friends to the bonds we had already kindled. It is not uncommon for neighbours to be relaxing in their front yards only to be joined by friends for impromptu social gatherings.
“The neighbourhood children have tagged our rock garden “the magic garden” as it is filled with continually changing oddities. Watching them stop and search for something new lets us know you’ve done a good job creating “magic” for them. There have been many introductions at the magic garden that reinforce the notion we feel like grandparents to all the wee ones.
“The developer Bruce Clapham really cares about creating a community neighbourhood at The Ridge and has donated funds for our annual block party for the past two years. This event has brought neighbours together and has helped immensely to create bonds and make the community feel like a large extended family.
“We are minutes from town, yet it feels like we are living in a rural setting. There is no thru traffic here and no overhead wires to spoil our great views. We even got to watch the BC Day fireworks from our deck. We are glad that not everyone knows where The Ridge is, but if you’re lucky enough to find us, you will feel like you have lived here your entire life.
“So come on by for a visit and check out the ‘magic garden’.”