Blogging from Saskatchewan…
December 2, 2008 General, Regina, Saskatchewan No CommentsRegina is where I now call home so the focus of this neighbourhood blog will be on Saskatchewan - at least for as long as I’m the sole blogger. I’ve only lived in Saskatchewan for all of 4 days now, but I look forward to sharing my experience both here, and on neighbourknowledge.com.
Quite honestly, I hadn’t really given Regina much thought before I was presented with the opportunity to work here, but I know the reaction both in Toronto and here was shock as to why anyone would move from TO to Regina. I’m sure if I would have decided to uproot and move my family to Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal or even Halifax I wouldn’t have received the same reaction.
Personally, I was ready for a change, and as corny as it sounds I was really impressed with the general upbeat disposition of the Saskatchewan people I met during my decision process - there’s a lot to be said for being around happy people. Looking for a lifestyle change for quite awhile, the move to me doesn’t feel as dramatic as it apparently does to the outside world: the province is one of the few economically sound places in North America right now, the people still lack the arrogance of the (former) “have” provinces, the sun shines a lot, there is no road rage, and despite a surge in prices over the past couple of years housing is still relatively cheap.
Ok, so it is land-locked, flat, cold, lacking a large urban core, and relatively treeless (I believe I will forever appreciate trees not only for their foliage but for their role as barrier to the wind!). That being said, I think the positives have more of an impact on day to day living then the negatives. I lived in a community on one of the Great Lakes in Ontario and I didn’t find myself going for a dip very often, and let’s face it cold is cold - in the winter we had to start our car 20 minutes before pulling out of the driveway in Toronto too. I’m not sure whether -15 degrees, is much better then -40…but we’ll see.
Mine is only one perspective, but for those that are interested in what life is like in our boom province, I will keep this blog and neighbourknowledge.com updated from the windy, chilly prairies to share my adventure.
At the end of the day I’ve lived in a number of places in Ontario other then Toronto, and my sense of loyalty is as a Canadian, not necessarily an Ontarian, Torontonian or Saskatchewanian. So, as a proud Canadian if I can shed a different light on an unsung city - indeed province, than it makes the journey all that more worthwhile.