A new life up north

I recently arrived in Canada as a newcomer and started a new life in Montréal, Québec. Perhaps I should say “returnee” instead of newcomer, because moving to Montréal is like coming full circle for me. I first arrived in 1999, young and naive, and went to college here. Twenty five years later, I’m a different person - I’ve grown up, had a child, built a career, bought and sold houses, lived and worked in 11 countries, and started wearing reading glasses as I approach middle age.

Coming back to Montréal after all these years feels like coming home. But home is a new place - not only has the city changed, but I am seeing it with fresh eyes as a fresh person. To quote one of my favorite writers, Anaïs Nin, “We see the world not as it is, but as we are.”

I’m starting this blog to share my day-to-day personal observations of my new life in Canada. Canada is a big place and I don’t purport to know it all. I do know that there are tremendous variations in landscape, culture, and society from one region to the next (and I hope to explore many corners of this incredible country). My goal for this blog is to share my own lived experiences and perspectives.

This is my story of my Canada.