Work
The main reason we came to Calgary in the first place is that Jahn and I both found work in our fields. With the differences between Ontario and Alberta in the job market, not only did we both find jobs, but we were lucky enough to find jobs that most likely wouldn't have been available to us (or, really, people our age) at home. Being here has given us experience (and I'd say in turn confidence) that we wouldn't have had the chance to get in Ottawa for many more years. We took on big responsibilities and it's been exciting. And along the way, we got the chance to work with great people.
Adventure
While it was a lot to take in at the time, there was also something very exciting about the adventure of moving right after our wedding to start life on our own. It felt like a bit of a throw-back to another era. At the same time, I'm so glad we had the forethought to realize the best (and easiest) time to move away and start over was then. It would have been easier to stay in Ottawa, but I'm so glad we made the choice we did. It was an adventure we took on together and it made us a stronger and more connected couple.
Stay-cations
Since we never planned to stay out west, Jahn and I have hit up as many Alberta attractions as possible. We've done everything from National Parks to World Heritage Sites to small towns and in-town tourist attractions. It's great that everything is so close to Calgary -- we visited most of these places on day or weekend trips -- which is definitely a novelty when you come from Ontario. For me, making sure to see as much of Alberta as we could helps me feel like we've really made the most of our time in our adopted province.
But the top reasons?
Location, location, location
The license plates in British Columbia say "The Best Place on Earth". I'm not sure they're wrong. Living in Calgary has not only given us the chance to explore Alberta, but also a chance to spend time in BC. When we were in Ottawa, the Rockies always felt so far (ok, they were far) and unreachable. But being here has given us the chance explore the Rockies a little and it's been amazing. The other beautiful opportunity being near BC has given us is the chance to spend time with my pretty amazing sister and her beautiful family in the Kootenays. There's a big age gap between us, so while she's always been part of my life, being here has given me a chance to get to know her in a different way and so I'm grateful. Knowing we won't be a day's drive from them anymore has been one of the saddest parts of moving.
The People
The worst part of moving -- hard to know where to start. How do you thank the people who have made up your family-away-from-family? We have been blessed to find so many wonderful people who have filled our time in Calgary with laughter and friendship. People have included us in their lives, their celebrations and their families so warmly we've never had to feel lonely. I couldn't have anticipated how many wonderful friends we would find here or how hard it would be to leave them. Thank you all so much; I'm not sure you'll ever know how much your friendship means to us.
A beautiful blog post. You captured so much of what's been so incredibly special about your time there. Love you, my darling.
ReplyDelete