So it's been ONE WHOLE YEAR since we moved to Alberta, and oh what a year! So many changes, wow. It's been so long since I last wrote anything, that I feel overwhelmed with all there is to say and speechless at the same time. The summer was busy and a bit of a blur, but lots of fun. School started and the girls have adjusted well and are happy - that will be another post on it's own. This post is gonna be about me and my life in Calgary.
I love this city!! For one, the physical layout - it's so open and easy to get around. Rolling hills and then the Rocky mountains, set in the perfect place where you can see their beauty but don't feel trapped by them. Big wide roads with lots of lanes and minimal traffic. The proximity of shops - Sobeys (like Thrifty's) & Starbucks a 5 minute walk away, and bigger shops & the mall just a 10-15 minute drive. Rarely see a semi-truck on my routes (and ever since my car accident I've had a huge problem with them. The congestion on Hwy 17 between Ladner & Tsaw was really bugging me). Fantastic festivals (including a Latin-American one), concerts and events, tons of kids programs (Lu just started Irish dance), adult programs (Zumba, hot yoga, Neufeld courses, kayaking, ski hill 15 mins away - to name a few that appeal to me) great restaurants & pubs and trendy areas (Kensington, Stephen Ave, 17th Ave) - again, all really easy to get to. There are beautiful huge parks with trails, many along the Bow river. Last week we found fantastic hiking trails where we felt like we were in the middle of nowhere, and we were about a 10 minute drive from our house! Then there's a brand new provincial park that just opened about 1/2 hour from us, that the city spent 5 years developing. We haven't even seen it yet but it's supposed to be awesome. We discovered Canmore this year (love it!) and still have Banff & Jasper & Lake Louise to explore (1.5 hrs from us).
The Weather. Well I'm just gonna come out and say it: I like the weather. Really really like it. Prefer it to Vancouver (ack!) What??? Snow and sub-zero winters? Really?? I KNOW! For one there's the sunshine, and I love the sun. I feel so much more energized and positive and content doing my day to day things when it's sunny. And there are blue skies here most of the time. It rains, but usually only for a couple hours and then that's it. Just enough to keep the grass green. As far as the cold, I actually feel less cold here which I must admit sounds very very strange. The explanation for this (apparently) is that the damp cold can chill you to the core more so than the dry cold. I find that for most of last winter, as long as I had on my gloves and a hat and the right layers, I was fine. Albeit NOT when it went below -20 which it did do several times, but usually only for a few days. Then we stayed indoors as much as possible. But it didn't last long, and was apparently the coldest winter Calgary's had in a long time. The rest of the time we could go for snowy walks, outdoor ice skating and tobogganing. I like the snow - driving in it I don't like, but really it only dumps snow half a dozen times each winter. It just sticks for a long time. They clear the roads pretty quick, and then as far as I'm concerned, the white snow just makes the outdoors even brighter. So I'm ok with it.
Financially it's a lot cheaper here: lower housing costs and no provincial sales tax to name a couple.
I have met some really great people in Calgary. It seems it's a city full of "transplants" - lots of people who've moved here from somewhere else. That makes it a city full of people looking to make friends! I know I've had to be a lot friendlier then I was in Vancouver, so perhaps that's part of it too. But I've started some friendships with some lovely people and that has been a turning point. Feeling connected to people took some time and effort, but the connections are there and starting to grow. The kids have made some nice little friends too, and it's fantastic being close to my sister and her family.
A lovely bonus is that we don't get sick nearly as often here, and when we do, the colds are much milder. Fewer colds = much happier household. Those of you who know Jose well will especially understand how wonderful a thing this is!! ;)
Of course there are drawbacks... namely friends & family. And those are huge drawbacks. Huge! New friends are wonderful, but there's something about friends who've known you for a long time, know your family, have been through major life events with you... I have some really amazing friends and family in Vancouver who I miss daily. We've had lots of visitors over the year which we've loved, and has really helped fill the voids (keep coming!!). The other thing I miss is the ocean. I love the ocean... walking along the dyke, hanging out at the beach, crossing the bridges into Vancouver and seeing the water. Oh and the smell of the sea - would love to breath that in right now. And the last biggie is not being to work as a doula here. I don't have the childcare support (namely my parents) I need to do it, so I've had to put it on hold for a bit.
Will this 2 year stint turn into anything longer? Probably. I'm feeling settled here and very comfortable. Will Calgary become permanent? Don't know about that yet. We'll need to see how we feel after a second winter, what job opportunities open up for Jose, whether my parents move out (they're thinking about it!!) and ultimately, whether we can call this city Home.
Much love to whomever reads this. xoxo
