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Life In Cape Breton
When I was taking the real estate class in Halifax back in February, professionalism was emphasized in oh so many ways.
We were encouraged to be honest in all our dealings and to do our best to ensure that our clients behaved ethically as well. Professional behavior extends to our fellow realtors, too. All good stuff. Then there was talk about how to dress professionally. We were to dress like professionals. Men were encouraged to wear dress shirts and ties and business suits to look professional and women were to dress in the female equivalent. We women discussed where to shop to find good dresses and lovely suits, etc. Again, all good - if you live in the city.
In Cape Breton, dressing professionally means tough slacks like chinos, waterproof footwear and fresh socks, plus extra layers of clothes because you never know when a chill wind will blow up. Everything we wear needs to be machine washable. You can't be Type A about your car, either, when a clien'ts exuberant dog climbs back in all wet from a dip in the ocean.
The last two weeks we went out with clients to look at properties, touring old, dank farmhouses that harbour all kinds of wildlife and insect life. We were climbing up and down hills in the woods, sometimes pulling ourselves up slopes by hanging onto tree branches. We tromped through swampy fields, across creeks and bogs. Yesterday, walking along a rocky beach we all of a sudden hit a patch of rocks that sank into thick, brown, sticky mud the color of melted milk chocolate that oozed up over the tops of our shoes. Yes, even the shoes went into the washing machine last night. Good thing we weren't dressed in business suits, business pumps and pantyhose.
This is the reality of being a realtor in Cape Breton and it's all good.
