An enviable arrangement

Chris Bell and Nancy Trotman are maxing out their West Kootenay experience and enjoying all aspects of a unique lifestyle

1 of 3Nancy Trotman and Chris Bell pause for a moment during a hike in Italy. — Photo courtesy Chris Bell

2 of 3Chris Bell and Nancy Trotman enjoy having easy access to the ski hill near Rossland, B.C. — Photo courtesy Chris Bell

3 of 3This is the view from the deck of Chris Bell and Nancy Trotman's summer home in Nelson, B.C. — Photo courtesy Chris Bell

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Chris Bell is a financial consultant who laughs a lot when he talks about his living arrangements. He and his wife, Nancy Trotman, work out of Castlegar, B.C., and when they go home at the end of a winter day they head for their condo at Red Mountain ski resort in nearby Rossland. In summer, though, they go home to their waterfront apartment in Nelson, B.C.

It started with a coffee bar

Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Bell and Trotman were living in Kelowna, B.C., when they decided to start a business in Castlegar.

“We saw opportunity here,” said Bell. “Twenty years ago Castlegar was young, evolving and growing—and it had no cappuccino bar. We moved here to open a business, and we found a life.”

The couple's coffee venture, Artistic Aromas, went well. Bell and Trotman made great friends in the community, and they enjoyed modest financial rewards and a rich and happy lifestyle. After three years, though, with new financial goals, the couple were working full time in other businesses as well as running the coffee bar. Committed to parenting their daughter, Nikki, they needed to cut back their work hours, so they closed the cappuccino bar.

Over the next 15 years, Trotman worked for Ford in Trail and Nelson, and then for Toyota in Nelson. Three years ago she started a new career as a mortgage broker. Bell did some consulting and worked for a variety of organizations including Slocan Forest Products, the Castlegar Chamber of Commerce and Columbia Basin Trust.

“Then Bernie (Krueckl) and I finally decided—after talking about it for a long time—that it was time I joined him in business,” Bell said. “I’ve been with KFS (Krueckl Financial Services) for eight years now, and been an owner for four.”

Downsizing, sort of

When Nikki started university in Victoria four years ago, Bell and Trotman decided to downsize, and bought a condo in Rossland.

“A year later,” Bell said, “we fell in love with an apartment in Nelson, right on the lake, and that’s when it all started. Both of these places came fully furnished and there’s no maintenance—we just move in and out with our 20 boxes of personal stuff. It’s a little unconventional, but it’s a lot of fun.”

The joys of multi-centred living

Bell said that it’s a pleasure to be in Rossland in the winter. The energy is high and positive, and everyone is excited about the ski resort’s planned 1,000-acre expansion onto Grey Mountain.

“It’s about to become one of the largest skiable terrain resorts in North America,” he said. “The expansion to Grey Mountain will really put Rossland on the map.”

Bell also has good things to say about Nelson, citing the city's many restaurants and shops, and the arts and entertainment.

“There’s something here for everybody, and it’s a fabulous place to live,” he said. “Castlegar is still very much our home base, though. We volunteer here, my business is based here and it’s where we raised our daughter, so we have lots of friends and community interests. It’s a wonderful place to do business.

“I really feel like we get the best of the three communities. We love them all, and we’re fortunate to be soaking up all that the West Kootenay has to offer.”