Whenever I travel, I am reminded of one thing above all others, I love the Pacific Ocean. I need to live near the ocean because, without it, I feel out of place. Even when I lived in England, although I was near the Atlantic Ocean, I missed the Pacific — enough that it was the one thing I asked of my Dad when I returned to Victoria, to drive along Dallas road with the windows rolled down, breathing deep. That said, I could probably adjust to the Atlantic, in time.
I spend a lot of time pondering, “if I couldn’t live in Victoria, where would I live?” Elsewhere on Vancouver Island is probably our number one choice. San Francisco is also very high on the list. Seattle or Vancouver to a (much) lesser extent. The brief time I spent in Puerto Rico convinced me I needed to return (I have not… yet). The East Coast also has its allure though I am not sure how I would fare in the winter months, being such a sheltered sissy. The UK (in general, as most of it is pretty close to the ocean or at least water) used to be high on my list but the politics and economics there scare me more than a little these days. The same is true of the US, of course, but the constant media contact tends to lull my brain into thinking our countries are similar.
Realistically? Leaving Canada is pretty unlikely at this point unless Mike and/or I were offered a kick-ass job with a budget for relocation.
And so, I peek at job listings outside our borders from time to time. Today, Librarything posted a listing for a social media manager-ish job. It looks like something I could mostly do — some of the face-to-face would be a challenge; I’m outgoing via the screen but tend to shrink back in social situations. It’s in Portland, Maine, somewhere I never considered but never wrote off either. It’s only 5 1/2 hours from Montreal and it’s not too far up the coast from another place I had considered: Mystic, Connecticut.
Back in the months just before I met Mike, I had applied for and been accepted to the summer internship in museum studies at Mystic Seaport. I chose Mike over maritime history and while I do not in any way regret it, I had been very excited about it at the time. The only flaw in that particular plan? I get nervous and seasick on most boats.
So for now, we will stay where we are — Mike and Kiddo are happy here too — but I’ll still peek at those job listings and other opportunities from time to time.
Just in case.
I’ve been to Mystic! The Coast Guard Academy was the location for the 2008 Military Operations Research Society’s annual symposium. I’m not a US citizen and have no security clearance, so most of it was closed to me. My friend Joe and I had more fun going to places like New Haven and visiting the Submarine Museum at Groton.
Weirdly enough, months later we had an office Xmas party with random gifts for people, and the completely random gift I got was a guest-sign-in memory book from Mystic Seaport!
But I would never want to live anywhere other than Victoria, if I had the choice. If working wasn’t required then sure, someplace else – I like your list of alternates.
I love the region we live in! I think you benefit from being in a larger city (my town SUCKS – especially when it comes to crafting). But the water, and islands, and beaches…
I can’t imagine moving anywhere else at the moment. Of course as you mention the economy here is a bit dodgy, so I would be completely daft to give up my good paying job that I love for something else. Also, having just dealt with the immigration nightmare – I don’t recommend it!
Yeah, giving up a steady income is not an option at this point — I’m also not terribly keen on immigration. I had always considered the UK because my maternal Grandfather was born there so there is a type of visa for which I am eligible, albeit one with a bucketload of paperwork and strings attached. As I mentioned though, it’s not nearly as enticing these days.