Laura Saunders loves the home her family has lived in for the past year and loves the amount she paid for it. The catch? It backs onto the former Douglas Creek Estates.
The former development site was occupied by Six Nations protestors in a clash that came to a head in 2006, after which the province purchased the site.
But the troubled location isn't a problem for Saunders. She says any danger from the occupation is in the past.
Her story is not the norm in a neighbourhood of residents who survived the blockades and tensions of the occupation. Her neighbours, still frustrated over what they say are plummeting property values, want compensation from the province for their losses.
But Saunders feels she got a deal.
In late 2007, the home now belonging to the Saunders was listed for $260,000, she said. It relisted for $230,000 a year later. When they bought it, they paid $217,000.
While she feels sorry for residents who suffered through the occupation -- including a former neighbour who awoke to animal intestines in her hot tub -- Saunders wants to stay out of the conflict.
"It has nothing to do with me," she said.
Caledonia was a place her family frequented -- her husband has taught taekwondo there for years. Since moving in, Saunders has set up an in-home day care and says only one set of parents raised concern about the location.
She happily allows the children to play in the back yard, where only a chain-link fence separates her property from the former Douglas Creek Estates, she said.
No one bothers her, and the dogs that run freely on former DCE property do not scare her, Saunders said, adding that most of them are puppies.
But many of her neighbours hope an out-of-court settlement between the province and a local family will mean compensation for those affected during the occupation. However, they say they have learned not to hold their breath.
Dana Chatwell and Dave Brown settled their $7-million suit out of court for an undisclosed amount last week. They claimed the OPP abandoned them during altercations with native protesters.
A potential class-action lawsuit involving many of the nearby residents and businesses is still seeking certification from the courts.
A handful of residents who are part of the potential lawsuit would only speak anonymously out of fear of reprisals.
During the height of the occupation, those living in the neighbourhoods adjacent to the site say they had little chance of selling their home. Sales are now picking up but property values have taken a hit.
At least two other residents on Thistlemoor Drive said they were new to the neighbourhood, and a house remains for sale by ReMax realtor Rod Frank. He said the home is "getting a lot of action" since being listed in late November.
He hopes it will sell for the $244,900 asking price.
Most properties dropped $10,000 to $20,000 in value since the occupation, he said.
But neighbour Taylor Warden estimates the loss is closer to $50,000. His family has lived in the neighbourhood for 13 years.
His family decided to opt out of the potential class-action lawsuit. He says he hopes the settlement will help residents, but money is not enough. He wants recognition of wrongdoing by the government.
Things seem quieter, but there are still conflicts in the community, he said, citing regular disputes between native and non-native high school students.
Kevin Rose and his wife Valerie bought their home in the neighbourhood nearly six years ago, before the occupation.
Their first child was just a week old when the power was knocked out by protesters in 2006. Valerie and their daughter fled to her in-laws while Kevin remained.
They said they opted out of the class-action lawsuit because they did not want to invest money into a cause that may not see any return.
All residents of Caledonia should be compensated, Kevin said.
Perhaps the family will move in a few years if property values increase, said Valerie, who used to work in real estate. But property values have a long way to go and houses are still selling slowly, she added.