For the first 18 years of my life, I had moved exactly once – and it was down the hill to a sweet house with a pool. I didn’t have to change schools or even addresses (thank you rural routes!) but at the time I thought that was a big deal. I liked my old house and had a ton of memories there – why would I leave that? Oh wait I was 10. Good reason.
Since turning 18, I have moved 11 times and the 12th is taking place today. Am I super flaky and get bored easily? Not at all – things just happen! In some cases, like the one I’m in the process of doing right now, it’s because I prefer not driving 500km a day for work and going even further into debt on gas.
Farewell old apartment…
In other cases when it comes to moving, it’s been to take advantage of other opportunities such as career advancement or having a sweet adventure. I know there are a lot of people out there who move more often than I do and to that I say it both sucks and is awesome to be you. Moving is a double edged sword – it’s annoying to pack your life away but it’s great to see something new and have the sense of wonderment that goes along with a new place.
Here are the three biggest moves I’ve made in my life:
Fort Hope, Ontario, Canada
Moving to Fort Hope was a challenge right off the start because in order to get there, you can only fly. Anyone not familiar with Canadian geography should know that Canada is freaking big and Ontario is almost 2x the size of France – I lived in the bottom but moved to almost the top. Fort Hope was where I taught for a year and endured the harsh winters, having my food flown in, dog fights, arson and more interesting things than you could shake a stick at. With all this in mind though, it also made me a more compassionate person and more dedicated to teaching than I was before.
P.S. The snow was there from October til May…
Sunshine Coast, Australia
Australia just seems like a dream until you’re face to face with a kangaroo on your lawn and you hear that crazy accent. I moved there for a year for school and on top of still being in debt from it, I got to have an adventure that I first thought about having back in high school from a student teacher. Sure, I could’ve played it safe and went to school back home like so many others do, but I would’ve missed out on all of that.
This was my walk home every day. Kangaroos beat deer every time.
Tokyo, Japan
There simply is no place like Tokyo.
By far and away the biggest move of my life took place right after finishing undergrad and a mere 1.5 months after meeting the love of my life, who I married five years later. Not only is Japan on the opposite side of the world, but the language, culture and lifestyle was unlike anything I previously knew – also I didn’t know anybody… and my company went bankrupt a month after arriving. That experience changed me, opened me up to a world of possibilities that I wouldn’t have known had I went straight to grad school. Some people used teaching to get to Japan, I used Japan to get to teaching – and it was totally worth it. Leaving Tokyo was incredibly difficult to do because I could have just as easily stayed longer and let the good times roll with my new friends, but I knew it was time to move on to the next stage in life.
Isn’t that what moving is all about?