The Best Move
Moving around can really enrich life in ways that were never thought to be imaginable. The uprooting of your lifestyle, making new friends, finding new jobs and mentors. Even getting to know the fun little shops and restaurants in your area.. The entire process is quite daunting if you ask me. My mother once told me, ever since I was a baby I've never liked moving. Pretty terrible considering my dad was in the Canadian navy, so we moved around a lot. I guess what I'm saying is, I cried a lot when I was young. lol. All I wanted was to find a cute place to call home. I didn't want to worry about moving or changing jobs. I enjoyed the thought of settling down in my comfort zone.
That being said, I've been with my husband for 6 years now. 3 years dating, and 3 years married. Out of the 6 years, we have moved 4 times. And you know what? I've learned a lot along the way.
I learned that it's important to get out of your comfort zone, and to get out there in the world. It forces you to discover new places, but most importantly, it allows you to discover yourself. Who you are, and who you want to be.
Some of the most invaluable things that I learned were honestly the ones that caused the most amount of pain. Growing pain. Because every time we moved, it was a complete change of lifestyle. I'm not talking about moves within the same neighbourhoods here.
We've lived in Ottawa for most of our lives, and it's the place we still call our home. After living together with roommates for about a year we decided to dive into home ownership. We went from sharing a space to owning our own home! What a luxury!
I will admit, this was an exciting move. We decided to move to the country to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The country was peaceful, and the sounds of nature were so rejuvenating. Our house was a century home with tons of character. To make it even more special, we decided to get married in our backyard there too! Living in the country was bittersweet. It exposed me to different healthcare environments, discovering at first hand the difference of strong community connections, and the struggles of resource availability. It was a totally different world.
Then the time came when we were trying to figure out what we wanted to do with our lives.
We've always kind of wanted to check out the Toronto life. I know, the complete opposite of the country! We just thought that we better take advantage of our young lives while we have it, and do some personal and professional exploring before settling down. We agreed that kids could wait.
So we moved again. This time the transition was very difficult. We both had to get jobs in Toronto before making the move, and we also needed to find a tenant to live in our house. My husband received a great job offer so he was the first one to go. 3 months later, we found a tenant. Meanwhile in all of this, I was still fiercely searching for a job. I was astonished how difficult it was for me to find work - I thought nurses always had jobs lined up.
So as my husband lived with a friend, I had no choice but to live with my parents back in Ottawa until I found employment. The cost of living is much higher in Toronto, so living off one salary was not going to be feasible.
5 months later we were finally reunited! I found a full-time job working as a community palliative care nurse - an experience like no other. I was exposed to many cultures and practices, and how they lived and supported each other was remarkable. Spoiler alert : most of these places were very, very sad environments.. More to come about this in future posts.
We rented a small apartment in The Beaches. It was such a gorgeous part of the city, and our dogs loved being so close to the water. Unfortunately for us though, the following summer took a turn for the worst. Toronto rentals were going up almost 30%. It was suddenly no longer affordable to live in The Beaches. Because of the intense price hike, and the fact that we were still paying a mortgage (even though we had a tenant - we were making maybe 50$ off of that) we had to downgrade. Severely.
So we moved again! Gosh this was awful. Yes we stayed in Toronto, but we moved to the complete opposite side of Toronto. We moved to a rough part of the city just a couple of blocks south from the forever infamous Jane and Finch. In all honesty though, it's not that bad. I mean, it helps that inside our apartment is nice, and it's practical being walking distance away from transit and stores, so that's a bonus.
Since moving to the West side, I had to change jobs (again) or commit to 4 hours per day commute time to stay at the community agency. No thanks! So I went job hunting again.
I managed to be fortunate enough to have an opportunity in the medical tech field, and contributing on a systems level. I've been able to contribute to the healthcare system in a way I've never thought I could. To be part of something so innovative and futuristic... It's honestly crazy to wrap my mind around it.
Beside the point here. Moving helped us grow because with each move we've had to change jobs, make new friends, meet new neighbours, find mentors.... It was exhausting. When I now look back on my life, I'm actually really thankful for the decisions that I have made. Even though I would have never imagined it this way, it turned out for the best I think. My husband agrees.
Had we not moved from Ottawa, I would have never been exposed to a multicultural scene, taken part in research initiatives, or be part of a large medical tech corporation. I would have never been able to truly distinguish between a suburban and city lifestyle, see what it's like to live in poverty or fortunate homes, and how all of that influences someone's healthcare journey.
Moving around and switching things up has made me feel wiser, smarter, and also learn to appreciate the things that I took for granted.
I'm glad I went on this life adventure. You never know what's out there for you.
