Hello world travel fans!

Today for our informative update, it’s time for a little info on Canada! Did you know for instance that tea-friendly, Granny-loving, English-wannabe city, Victoria is the capital of British Columbia? I didn’t until we visited. Don’t say you never learn anything reading this blog!

Despite its status as the North American capital of overpriced cream teas, Victoria is actually quite a cool place - having interesting cafes, boutique shops and a small, but characterful Chinatown (more of a Chinavillage, but hey). The biggest bonus to us just now, however, is the FREE internet (remember folks, cheap is good, FREE IS BEST!) we can get by hooking up our borrowed (in other words, temporarily FREE!) laptop. This is especially useful as we have quite a bit of time on our hands (because we’re being incredibly lazy at times so have plenty of time to check out things like emails, football results, celebrity gossip (not really…). Anyway, because it’s free, we’re taking full advantage.

Anyway, today, we got as far north as Nanaimo. We reached here by way of Chemainus which is apparently world famous for its murals. We found it to be a quaint little place with nice tearooms (where we lingered over our tea and snacks to escape the freezing cold!).

In the next few days we’ll be exploring more of the island and experiencing more of what is on offer here. We’re already thinking that we’ll need to come back at some point because we don’t really have enough time to do the whole island justice - but I’m sure we’ll be back in Seattle at some point.

Hello world travel fans!

Today for our informative update, it’s time for a little info on Canada! Did you know for instance that tea-friendly, Granny-loving, English-wannabe city, Victoria is the capital of British Columbia? I didn’t until we visited. Don’t say you never learn anything reading this blog!

Despite its status as the North American capital of overpriced cream teas, Victoria is actually quite a cool place - having interesting cafes, boutique shops and a small, but characterful Chinatown (more of a Chinavillage, but hey). The biggest bonus to us just now, however, is the FREE internet (remember folks, cheap is good, FREE IS BEST!) we can get by hooking up our borrowed (in other words, temporarily FREE!) laptop. This is especially useful as we have quite a bit of time on our hands (because we’re being incredibly lazy at times so have plenty of time to check out things like emails, football results, celebrity gossip (not really…). Anyway, because it’s free, we’re taking full advantage.

So the first stop on our tour of Vancouver Island after Victoria was the little town that could: Chermainus. In the 1980’s the town’s mill closed its doors and left the town without a major industry to support it. Faced with bankruptcy, the town turned to art for salvation and offered up the town walls to muralists. This decision proved to be the town’s salvation as now thousands of tourists visit to see their famous murals. We stopped there on our way up the east coast of the island between Victoria and Nanaimo.

When we got there, the first thing that struck us was the freezing cold weather. We later found out that many Canadians come here during the winter because of the mild climate! Although when you hear that it’s common for the mercury to tip -30 Celsius this time of year you can see why - it was a balmy +2 degrees here. Our time in Chermainus was spent trying to escape the cold (or perhaps warm?) weather by grabbing breakfast in a local cafe and tea in a local tea room. Everyone we spoke to in Chermainus was really nice and friendly and we had a great time talking to local people and trying to ignore the cold. Luckily it wasn’t too cold to indulge in a spot of our favourite pastime - dog stalking!

We walked down to the waterfront and managed to track down a few dogs with owners willing to stop and talk. Our favourite was a 3 month old German Shepherd whose feet, tail and ears looked like they belonged to a much older dog. She’ll grow into them though. We also stopped by local tea-room “Twisted Sisters” which was recommended by our Lonely Planet guidebook. It was started up a few years ago by twin sisters as “something to do”. They were very impressed that they’d made it into the Lonely Planet and were very grateful we told them - apparently they didn’t know already! Having tea there was a complicated matter as they have over 200 (ish) varieties (or varie-teas - ho ho). The vanilla earl grey I had was pretty good - although I think I prefer Dilmah. It was nice to try though.

In the next few days we’ll be exploring more of the island and experiencing more of what is on offer here. We’re already thinking that we’ll need to come back at some point because we don’t really have enough time to do the whole island justice - but I’m sure we’ll be back in Seattle at some point.

While staying here in Seattle and snatching glimpses of Kirsten when circumstances permit has its appeal, unfortunately its appeal is not so great for the new parents - who understandably want a bit of time and space. So we’re planning to head up to Vancouver Island in Canada. We’ve been told that Vancouver island is lovely and there sounds like there’s plenty to do - so we should be alright.

Recently we heard about an intriguing program called Servas which tries to match up travelers and people who want to host travelers. It’s all about trying to promote cultural and political understanding between people all over the world. We looked up a Servas person in Seattle and met up with her today to find out a little more about the program. We need to look into it a little more, but sounds like a great idea.

It looks like we’ll be up early tomorrow so I’ll keep this short.

P.S. Happy birthday Dad! (’alles Gute zum Geburtstag’ says Babelfish)

Input from Trace:

KIRSTEN IS PRECIOUS!!!!!!!!

We’re now back in Seattle. We were only 3 hours late in the end and got to bed by 1:30ish. We woke up about 11:00 and by 1:00 we were walking into Bart and Lauren’s house.

First of all we were struck by the dogs - literally - they flew out the door like a tsunami. Luckily we were ready for them and managed to avoid being knocked over. Finally, having extricated ourselves from Karma and Dexter we managed to get upstairs. It was then that Lauren appeared with Kirsten - who was asleep.

Seeing Kirsten for the first time was amazing. To be honest, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. She looked so cute in her little purple hat and wrapped up in her checkered blanket.

Lauren was only too glad to let us hold her (happy to have a break perhaps?). Luckily she stayed asleep for an hour or so which gave us a chance to catch up, re-live the drama of her birth and eat Red Mill burgers (yum!). After a while, Kirsten started to stir and we finally got a look at her (and she got look at us too).

I’ll get Trace to post something here soon so she can share her opinions and insights - but in the meantime, suffice to say that we’re here safely and doing well so far.

by John Everitt

Belgium is situated at the western edge of Europe, bordered to the north by the Netherlands, to the east by Germany and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and to the south and the west by France. Belgiums’ location has made it the economic and urban nerve centre of Europe. The climate is generally mild and changeable. Languages in Belgium Linguistic and culturally, Belgium has three Communities today, based on language: the Flemish Community, the French Community and the German-speaking Community. Belgium has recently increased in popularity for foreign ownership due to the head quarters of the E.U being based at Brussels.

This has resulted in rising property values, especially close to Brussels, although less expensive property can be found in the countryside. There are no restrictions on Foreign Ownership. Real Estate Prices in Belgium Range varies, for example: From around £170,000 for a villa / house From around £60,000 for a flat / apartment From around £130,000 for a Maison de Maitre/Townhouse

Locations for buying real estate in Belgium Antwerp is the largest Belgium city with a population of 500,000. Brussels is popular with government workers, to the East, being popular for young commuters and residents. East and West Brussels tend to have larger English speaking areas. Living Costs in Belgium Living standards are high in Belgium. Freehold property near to Brussels is generally twice the price compared to the U.S equivalent property.

Buying real estate in Belgium A sales agreement is binding from day one - the notary will issue a deed which completes the sale. Put your signature under a sales agreement and you have to come up with the Euros - it is often misunderstood that if you sign a sales agreement with a 10% advance payment (common practice) that you can get out of it if your loan isn’t approved or that you only lose 10% if you don’t go ahead with the deed after all. Make no mistakes - you are owner the moment you sign the sales agreement! If you sent a proposal, the moment it has been counter signed by the seller for the agreed purchase price, you are officially the owner of the property. All particularities, including loan approval, building or renovation permits, etc, have to be mentioned as a suspensive condition in the sales agreement. In such case it is also advisable to hand over the advance payment to the notary, another common practice, who will keep the money until the signature of the deed (which doesn’t allow any suspensive conditions).

The property transaction should always be officially registered with the governmental authority within four months of conclusion. Solicitor / Lawyer A Belgian solicitor/lawyer or notary should be used to draw written contracts for submission to the public notary. Fees The costs involved in buying real estate/property in Belgium are generally quite high. Property registration should incur duty of 12.5% for land and buildings is payable by the buyer. V.A.T is charged at 21% on buildings less than two years old with the same rate applicable for the renovation of old buildings. Notary fees will cost between 0.1-0.5% of the properties value. V.A.T is also applicable for foreign Real Estate investments at the relevant rate of their country.

Property Tax Tax is payable on the deemed rental value of the property which is dependent on the location and use of the property as set in the “Cadastal Register”. National rates are between 1.25-2.5% and municipal and provincial surcharges also apply. Mortgages Mortgages are available from various banking and mortgage providers. Repayment terms and the rights of the mortgager will be agreed within a written contract before a sale is agreed. Capital Gains tax is chargeable on all income from the sale of Real Estate which includes non-resident companies and is liable at the basic rate, which would be 40%. These guidelines are meant for guidance only and describe a straightforward purchase scenarios. However this information is not meant to replace proper legal advice, which we always insist you take.

About the Author

So apparently Seattle is under a deluge and it’s going to be tough getting there. Is that going to stop us?

Um… not sure. Find out soon.

We’re currently in Sacramento waiting for the train going north. As soon as we find out, it’ll be up here (or at least as soon as we can get back in touch anyway…).

Wish us luck!

Over the last few days we’ve really settled down here - which is both a good and bad thing. It’s good because the last time we really settled down anywhere for longer than about a week was back in Port Macquarie (April 07) but a bad thing in that we’ve kinda got out of the habit of traveling. We’ll soon be shaken back into the travel groove by our upcoming 3-day rail jaunt across the North American continent.

It’ll take us the best part of a whole day and night to get out of the great state of Texas and then it’s plain sailing into Los Angeles. There’s then the small matter of a trip up the west coast into Seattle. Last time we took this train was a similar time last year and everything was covered in a thin dusting of snow and looked lovely. Unfortunately we were about 6 hours late and arrived in the middle of the night. Therefore we decided to book a hotel this time and we’ll not have to rely on anyone to pick us up - whatever time we arrive.

Anyway, while looking through this PC here in Houston, we found a stash of old pictures that we’d left last time we visited (I think that was before facebook) so I’ve now put them up online. They include some old pics of the Clerk Street flat…

As well as some pictures from our early travels - most notably pics from the Queen Mary and some from Florida - like the pictures of wild manatees that we were so happy about seeing.

Anyhow, if you want to see these old photos - they’re listed here for your convenience:

Queen Mary II (Southampton - Ft Lauderdale, Florida)
England ‘06 (before & after Nick & Sarah’s wedding)
Moving out ‘06 (leaving Clerk Street)
Last day of work (my final day of Microsys employment)
Manatees ‘06 (Florida’s manatees - various locations)
London ‘06 (we stayed in Nick & Sarah’s flat while they were on honeymoon. Mostly of Mr. Cat)
Florida theme parks ‘06 (Disney & Busch Gardens)
Highland Wildlife Park ‘05 (& a few flat pix)
USA ‘05 (Our trip to see Tracy’s grandmother)

Since the 28th, Bart and Lauren have been getting used to living with 1 extra person around.

This is the first of what I’m sure will be many videos of Kirsten:

Ain’t she cute?

by John Everitt

Austria is located in central Europe; it joined the European Union in 1995 and entered the European Monetary Union in 1999. Up until Austria’s entry in to the EU there had been a number of restrictions on foreigners owning homes in Austria with permission needed from local authorities.. However, these laws are to be reviewed to fall in line with the rest of Europe. When considering purchasing a property in Austria it is a must to remember that overall the costs associated with property in Austria are higher than any other country in Europe.

In addition, the cost of living in Austria generally is higher than any other country in Europe at the present time. Property Prices in Austria Guide Prices vary, for example: From £50,000 to £79,500 for a studio apartment From around £70,000 to £93,500 for a 1 to 2 bedroom apartment From £80,000 to £111,000 and up for a 3 bedroom apartment Detached homes from £180,000 to £250,000 Where to buy Austria boasts some of the best ski areas in Europe and as such these areas are popular with foreign buyers, especially as holiday homes. The main areas of population in Austria remain around the Innsbruck, Salzburg and Vienna regions which make up about 70% of the total population. Fees payable The standard usually works out at approximately 10% of the sale price; Property transfer tax of 3.5% Notary fees around 3-4%. Property registration around 1% Stamp duty 0.5-1% Land registry fees averaging a payment of around £300 to £420.

Taxes Will be between 0.5-1% of the properties assessed value and should be lower than the market sale value. Wealth tax of 1% of your net worth irrespective of your resident status is charged for Austrian property owners. Finance Can be arranged through either international brokers or from an Austrian bank for both residents and non-residents with variable interest rates and payment terms being available.

These guidelines are meant for guidance only and describe a straightforward purchase scenarios. However this information is not meant to replace proper legal advice, which we always insist you take.

About the Author
John Everitt is a consultant to Globespan European property portal. Please visit our estate agents directory and this Austria property buyer’s guide