Since he-who-shall-not-be-named was elected in November, Mark and I are often asked why we chose to leave Canada. We get raised eyebrows when we tell local Bostonians where we’re from. We get comments like “wow, I wouldn’t have done that.” It’s a time of uncertainty and fear in the US and its obvious that people are feeling it. While we understand why we get the responses we do when we say we’re from Canada but choose to live in the US, it can be disheartening and a little annoying.
Why did we choose to move to Boston (Brookline)?
It’s pretty simple. Mark was given a wonderful opportunity that would greatly benefit his professional growth. I wanted this opportunity for him and I was ready for a change anyway. I was ready to leave Toronto several years ago. We both knew the move wouldn’t be without its challenges. Moving to the US was always a possibility because of Mark’s field of work, and we talked about the pros and cons many times. In the end, we chose this adventure together!
It’s only been a couple of months, and we can honestly say, we’re pretty happy here! We like our little town. It’s clean, safe, and friendly. Our apartment is finally feeling the like home we envisioned. We’re very close to all things Boston and can get to them via train or walking, no problem! I even found a great community of parents via Facebook and Mark and I have already attended one of their events.
You’re choosing to have a baby in the US when you could have it in Canada?… Wow.
Yep. We’re doing it. Yes, we understood what we were giving up, regarding healthcare expenses, when we moved here. The pros of this move outweighed the cons, and we’ve made peace with our decision. The system here is complex. There are a lot of layers to it and it’s incredibly overwhelming at times and getting good health coverage here is expensive. We’re making it work. The upside is, we’re getting what we pay for. We’re getting excellent care and we know that our little one will be well taken care of right from birth. Canada’s healthcare system is great, but it’s far from perfect. It would be nice if people would remember that before judging us for choosing this path.
Mark and I are happy to talk about our moving experience and how we like living here so far. When we ignore the politics and the healthcare stuff (this can be difficult at times), it doesn’t feel much different from living in Ontario, Canada! No country is perfect, am I right?
We understand that there are people living in the US who would love to live in Canada if they could. We also understand that Mark and I benefit from being white, English-speaking people and don’t for one second take those privileges for granted. Our lives are good, they’re pretty easy compared to many others, and we acknowledge that. When it comes down to it, we have little to complain about.
We’re all just trying to do our best to live our lives well, and we go about it the best way we know how. Our decisions are our own. What we choose to do may not make sense to everyone, but it doesn’t have to.
A
Call her Andie 