Vacuosity

The big question

The idea was to come back from Winnipeg and make a decision about whether we're going to move there. Unfortunately, Amy and I are still in two minds about it. It wasn't great enough to say we have to go, on the other hand it wasn't bad enough to say we can't go.

After discussing it with many locals, the two major drawbacks, winter and mosquitoes, both seem a little hyped and not so bad in reality. The job prospects look good; I got a lot of interest. And, while the houses aren't really $20 000, they are cheap, even for big, nice ones.

Winnipeg is very small, however. I mean small. We drove the entire city in one day, through practically every community. What's cool is that highway 101, called Perimeter Highway, circles the entire city. To get from one side to the other, just jump on the highway and zip around, instead of going all the way through. I think that goes a long way towards preventing traffic difficulties in Winnipeg, since there didn't seem to be any. There was a rush hour on Friday afternoon, but I think it lasted only about 30 minutes. I must say, though, that the fact that you can get onto the highway, drive as fast and hard as you can, exhaust your gas tank, and still be no farther away, seems like a bad omen. I am reminded of what one young boy in dreads and ultra-baggy jeans said to me: "Visit, but don't stay too long, or Winnipeg will suck you in. Then you're trapped and you'll never get away."

As I discussed it with a co-worker today, he pointed out that Winnipeg is tremendously isolated. It's at least 10 hours in any direction to get anywhere. That's a little frightening; you are sort of stuck unless you can afford to fly.

On my way home though, I thought, "Sell our place, buy a nice home, pay off our car, live debt and mortgage free, and work for one of the premier agencies (there are some good ones) in Winnipeg... that's nothing to complain about." Never mind the fact that the government is going to pay Julia to operate her recruitment advertising business for almost a year. Sweet.

I do know there's a week or two ahead of me in which I will vacillate wildly. Go, don't go; risk it, play it safe. The funny thing about living in Toronto is that we don't really do much. We stay at home in a city that has an unprecedented amount of possibility. but the idea of moving to Winnipeg, where there is so much less available to you, worries us. There's a comfort level in knowing that if we wanted to go do something, we could.

I have learned over the years, to trust my gut. I don't always know the reasons why I feel a certain way, sometimes I just do, and there's no way to deconstruct that. Right now, my gut thinks it's right, and I'm inclined to agree.

posted by David @ 9:48 p.m.