Your host

Philippe was born in Annecy, in the French Alps. When he was nine years old, he moved with his family to the Bahamas. The move, which was only supposed to last eleven months, stretched into six years. The family then settled in Montreal, where Philippe completed a master's degree in computer science at McGill University. After a brief stint in the private sector, he landed the job of Director of Systems for McGill's computer science department. In September 2006, Philippe left that job for good to devote himself to his project.

The project

Les Chalets du Lac Grenier is the realization of a dream: getting closer to nature.

It all started, as it does for many of us who live in the city, with weekends spent at his parents' cottage to clear his head. The fresh air, walks in the forest, drifting along the shore by canoe, or sharing long, joyful meals with family and friends all felt good there. Small escapes, taken a few times a year, to recharge away from the city, obligations, and everyday stress.

Time passed and, one day, having saved enough money, Philippe bought a small piece of land on a lake with the dream of building his own cottage there. It took more than a year and a lot of effort, but a small log cabin was eventually built. He started spending more and more time in the country.

Then another piece of land, much larger, came up for sale near his country home on Lac Grenier, in Chertsey — and another project began to take shape. Could he really imagine living in the country full-time?

He ran the numbers, raised the funds, and bought the land. The bank helped finance the project: building several fully equipped cottages, with all the comforts of city life, in this beautiful setting, to rent to people who wanted to spend a peaceful stay in the country.

At first, he kept his job in Montreal. But a few years later, he finally took the leap: he left Montreal to settle permanently in the country.

To this day, Philippe — who traded a master's in computer science for mastery of a snowplow tractor — still lives far from the city and runs his project with as much passion and enthusiasm as on the first day. He splits his time between administrative duties and work on the estate, and especially enjoys the chance encounters with city dwellers who, like him, came for the draw of nature and quiet.