We’re Moving!

It’s official, we’re moving. After four and a half years, the time has come for Nick and I to say goodbye to Christchurch.

While we’re both delighted about the move, it wasn’t an easy decision to make. Life in Christchurch has been incredible. We’ve made amazing, lifelong friends, grown immensely in our careers, and achieved a few personal milestones along the way. We bought a house! We got married! And we managed to fit in some travel and higher education. New Zealand has been good to us and we know it’ll always be here. It’s Nick’s home and my adopted home. It’s a place that feels familiar and easy, but we’ve realised that we need to move on to keep growing and challenging ourselves.

We initially moved to Christchurch because we felt stuck professionally and set some lofty career goals for ourselves. I’m ridiculously proud of Nick and everything he has accomplished for the city, procuring electric scooters, developing accessible transport and resilience strategies that continue to draw people to the city centre. This city still has a long way to go, but we both feel grateful for the opportunities we’ve had during its revitalisation thus far. Reflecting on what I wrote prior to our move even makes me slightly emotional (or maybe it’s just the weight of moving across the world for the fourth time):

“Nick’s new job will allow him to influence Christchurch’s rebirth through public transport and accessibility. Having the foresight to envision a lively, vibrant community, Christchurch is projected to be a cycling city where people gather in the town centre.”

I am super close to my family and living on a different continent than them has always been challenging. I started feeling the pull of home as soon as I turned thirty and Nick’s been very supportive of that.

So, when are we leaving?

We’re leaving this April. I know, so soon…

What about work?

We’re both going to be freelancing to start. A lot of my work is done remotely and I have a few projects that will take me through to May or June. Nick has been asked to continue contracting as well, so we’ll continue contracting and our consulting work until we settle somewhere more permanently.

Where are we moving? 

We haven’t settled on a specific destination yet. My family’s in Saskatchewan, so living in the prairies would mean being that much closer to home. We LOVED living in Toronto during our early twenties. It’s such a vibrant, dynamic city and the financial centre of Canada. It’s where most people in my industry like to base themselves. There’s a certain level of hustle that keeps you on your toes and makes life exciting. Plus, Nick has lots of friends who work in Transport and Urban Planning, so it’s an obvious choice. Vancouver is also appealing for the lifestyle it offers. Living near the sea is something we truly cherish and it’s a direct flight to New Zealand. Vancouver’s a lot more laidback than Toronto, so the transition from life in Christchurch would definitely be more seamless in that sense! Not to mention, the weather’s more mild and winter is more bearable.

If you have any suggestions on where we should base ourselves, we’d love to hear them! And as always, thanks for your support!

Photo by Ana Galloway