Monday, June 30, 2008

Pro's and Cons

Vancouver -

- wait it out some more...perhaps another year or two until something comes up.
- probably no paid move
- stay with the big company which is like a roller coaster of love/hate with dh
- higher housing prices. I will most likely need to work to help us afford life in Vancouver without having to stress about money all of the time.
-family is there. 
-years of friendships are there
-beauty of the land
-diversity of people
-lots of traffic and hell commutes
-lots of people congestion, graffitti, more crime
-higher competition for schooling/college/university for the kids (yeah I know...that's 13 years to go, but still)


Alberta (Calgary)

-no provincial tax
-lower housing market (although a move to Calgary would be close to that of Vancouver market)
-not sure about paid move to Calgary, but it may be likely
-stay with current big company - many colleagues that dh is familiar with and has networks with
-same pay
-no family
-one set of friends and a couple of my friends from long long ago ( does that count? I don't know if I want to reconnect closely with my "crushes" from 20 years ago)

Alberta ( where we are now)
-stay at current job, same pay
-roller coaster each week, each day of love/hate the job
-great school
-a few friends but nothing I feel strong connections to
-can be a stay at home mom for as long as I want to
-cold long winters
-no place to explore without driving for 2-3 hours
- lack of parks, trails ( I mean nature things, not the paved bike trails throughout the neighbourhoods)

Nova Scotia 
-a 10 hour drive to Montreal, where dh's family is
-closer to dh's parents who would more likely come and visit more frequently, because they are always visiting the other family in Montreal
-way cheaper housing market (we could easily be mortgage free, although we would like a few extras in our new home such as a swimming pool)
- can live on a huge plot of land for inexpensive.
- can live on a lakefront if I wanted to
-can live on oceanfront, if I wanted to
-smaller town, smaller community which I am really liking.  I like the smaller town feel of the community we are in right now...except it's very wisteria lane'ish here, and if you flush the toilet, your neighbour can here.   God, don't let me know that they have heard me fart. 
-major exploration to be enjoyed in the maritimes...the cabot trail, all of ns coastlines...a drive through new england areas for vacations...A new area to explore, which we LOVE to do.  We have really had a hard time with that here in Alberta.  We love to go for drives and discover new places, parks, areas..here we drive in any direction and get farmlands...which can be beautiful, but there's no destinations.  
-spectacular scenery, year round.  OMG my favourite month of October in the Maritimes would be a sight to see!  The maples would make me cry!
-areas rich in history and culture
-rainier weather
-cold, wet winters; cold, snowy winters
-fog
-new company to work for.  Lots of autonomy and decision making without massive red tape to get through.   National operations position, a promotion
-a new position means lots of extra work in the beginning while he gets to know the people and the business. (this would occur in any new job, but I'm sure this would be moreso in a new company)  More travel in the beginning across Canada (which we could tie in with visits to Vancouver when he goes)  But more travel, which I'm not a fan of.
-fresh seafood!








3 comments:

  1. Anonymous 10:07 AM

    Um, it looks to me like you've decided. Mortgage free? Acreage? Beautiful scenery? All the lobster you can eat? I'd go to Halifax, personally.

    Although I have to tell you, you wouldn't use a pool that often.

    And don't worry about being disconnected from friends - just try to keep us away! Ha ha!

    Reply
  2. Sounds like you have already made up your mind. Take the adventure. Life is too short. We will miss you of course.

    Theresa

    Reply
  3. Anonymous 5:38 AM

    You got to check out this article on iKeymonitor software. Its astonishingly good.

    Reply

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