Renovations in the wild and in the city
ReportLocation: Laval, Canada
We are a small family of 3.
My spouse, Marco is 60 years old and has a used vintage furniture shop in the Mile-End in Montreal for now more than 26 years. He just had renoviction notice and has to get out of the premises before October 2021. His furniture stock is piled up and he'll need help to move furniture around. He's strong and in great shape for his age but he's thinking about closing the store permanently instead of moving into another store in order to start preparing his retirement. He also has a house with 4 apartments (including an AirBnB) that needs a lot of exterior renovations (the balconies, the stairs, the backyard) and a country house that needs structural renovations. Before being a self thought wood builder, Marco opened a music studio that is still open today. He loves music, music instruments and vintage music gear. He also loves meeting new people and is a great cook!
I, Rebecca, am 26 years old and in the process of completing my bachelor's degree in administration. I will start working as real estate evaluator trainee this summer 2021 and I'm very excited. I always worked in customer services positions while going to school since I'm 16 and I really like keeping myself busy. I've been helping my spouse Marco at his furniture store in the past 5 years and I've gotten pretty good at reupholstering chairs and benches. I manage the furniture store social media platforms and web site, the AirBnB and I usually do the shopping and schedule the family activities. I enjoy watching series, walking, and I consider myself sportive but I haven't had a chance to practice sports because I'm too busy with all of my other responsibilities. Also, I love food and eating healthy!
Our little one Dina is a lovely 2 year old that has recently started day care. She enjoys being with mommy, doing crafts, playing outside, seeing friends and meeting new people.
Here are a few tips about the locations you will be visiting with us or on your spare time
The used vintage furniture shop located at 4872 Avenue du Parc is located in the Mile-End in Montreal, It is considered one of the most hip neigberhoods in Montreal. There's alots of local shops, cafes, restaurants, bakeries, bars and parks. It is close to downtown where all the summer exterior shows will happen like just for laughs festival, francos (french music festival) and the JAZZ fest! You also might wat to visit the old port where the old Montreal was constructed for the architectural values. The science center, the botanical gardens, the insectarium, the biodome and the planetarium are also fun activities that you can do while your visiting Montreal.
Our country house is situated in the Laurentians and is surrounded by nature there's many places for hiking big mountains and to practice water sports. The country house is surrounded with trees and is a 5 minute walk away from a beautiful river you can relax in. During week ends, sitting by a camp fire at night and talking with a fresh beer or glass of wine feels really relaxing when your surrounded only by the moon and stars. When at our country house, you will have the choice of staying in a private room or in our mini caravan.
There's also beautiful places to visit in Laval where our house is situated. There's a beautiful park called Centre de la Nature.
(We do not have a tight schedule so you can easily take 4-5 days off in a row to go visit the beautiful nature of Quebec)
Here is a list of the tasks that you will be proposed to help with:
- Moving furniture at the used furniture shop
- General maintenance (cleaning)
- Taking pictures of things to sell and post them online
- Helping with exterior renovations at our house in Laval
- Helping with structural renovations at the country house in Entrelacs, Qc
Here is what we provide in exchange of 25 hours of your time a week
- Your own private room including a bed, a desk, a chair, a dresser, a wardrobe, working clothes (balcony if you are one person)
- Shared bathroom with shower, bath, soap, shampoo, washer, washing detergent, towels, toilet paper, toothpaste, full kitchen with everything you need to cook and living room including a TV with lots and lots of free movies and series to watch
- All you need to bring is your personal belongings and we take care of the rest
For food, we provide:
- Cereals, milk, eggs, butter, toasts, jam for breakfast everyday
- 5 lunches
- 5 prepared supper that we eat together a week (usually includes salad or vegetables or both, meat, beans or fish and rice or potatoes, soup or a desert)
In exchange of a little extra work we can also provide money and/or a car for your spare time.
We are a great stepping stone to Montreal city living and we really hope you'll write to us with any questions you may have.
Cheers!
Rebecca, Marco and Dina
