Some FAQ's I'm getting about the move

Why Canada?

Because I can. Both of my parents are immigrants to the U.S., and one is from Ontario. Thanks to that parent's foresight with paperwork when I was born, and Bill C-37 in Ottawa, I hold Canadian citizenship.

For the past few years, as the household teen approached finishing high school and starting university, I'd been thinking about my post-childraising options. Should I stay in this neighborhood, which I love? Or find some place where I can grow a garden? Stay in town? Or move to the inner suburbs? Head back to the Pacific Northwest? Since my old neighborhood in Seattle has been obliterated with mid-rise condos and upscale retail, should I look elsewhere in town? Further afield, like out in the Peninsula? Differently afield, like Chicago, where I know a few people?

Or even further afield?

I've looked at my finances, and the numbers allow it. As a Canadian citizen, I'm authorized to work as soon as I land there. With our savings and my earning potential, we shouldn't hit too many hurdles with the mister's immigration paperwork. This is a huge open door for me and the mister to walk through.

TL;DR: carpe diem.

Why St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador?

The mister and I developed a list of criteria for figuring out exactly where in Canada we wanted to spend the next (last?) large chunk of our lives. St. John's ticked more ticky-boxes than anywhere else.

The actual, specific criteria are largely personal, or political, or in any event beyond the scope of this blog.

Why blog about the move?

A friend is writing about packing up her own household and moving to Laos. She's moving herself, her spouse, and her two kids with seven suitcases. Period, end of.

She posted that entry about the suitcases almost literally while I was on the phone with a professional international moving company, making an appointment for an estimate to ship some 2 tons of my precious, precious belongings to a rock in the middle of the ocean. Though I'll never get myself down to seven suitcases -- my friend and I have pretty wildly different circumstances surrounding our moves -- I'm blogging to keep myself honest, keep my eyes on the prize, and do some mindful, intentional, and serious downsizing with this transition.