As we’ve moved and as we’ve explored the world, we’ve wondered: what makes a home? It’s a natural question to ask anew, around the time the nest has emptied. It’s also a fun travel game: could we live there? Some countries we’ve visited have felt more like home than others — why? Could we move there and call it home? When would that feel natural? Several families we know are thinking about big moves, or have already pulled the trigger; others have finished world adventures and returned. Among our friends at the same stage, the options are wider than they were during school years.
As we’ve settled into condominium living in Seattle, discussing many options all the while, we’ve made a plan. While we often thought we might go back to Ontario, we are going to stick to the Pacific Northwest, just extending our reach across the border. Starting March 1, Liz is back to being a resident of Canada, and a visitor to the US, instead of the other way round. There’s lots of details still to sort out, and lots of visits to Seattle in the future, but it’s now a done deal: our next base is Vancouver.
After casually exploring Vancouver options over the summer of 2022, we stumbled on a place in Gastown that didn’t quite fit the bill, yet was almost perfect. It’s an old warehouse, part of the history of the city, and close to art venues. The view from this new spot is rather industrial, sometimes noisy, but always interesting! To the left, there will be cruise ships docked all summer. The rail lines in front are always busy, with freight and people. Just beyond that, a heli-pad runs on the half-hour, and to the right, the port cranes are kept busy.
There are positives and negatives, of course. We are glad to have some family nearby, and friends just down the road a bit, but we’ll need to build up a local community again, just as when we first moved to the area, and again when we moved into Seattle. And the border makes for paperwork and details, still being enumerated. All told, we are both so grateful that this is even possible, and appreciate all the help from many corners, both personal & professional, that got us here.
For now, Dave is on his own timeline, as he’s still enjoying US-based employment, and will visit as much as he can. Liz is working on making the new place, lovely as it might be, feel like home, and will visit Seattle in return. It’s going to be weird, for a while, but eventually, this new place, like the places we’ve tried out before, will also feel like home.