Home / Life · July 10, 2017 9

Moving Back to NS

I think I always kind of assumed that I would one day move back home to Nova Scotia (NS). That’s where I spent the first 27 years of my life. That is where my heart is. That is where my family are. But lately I’m not so sure.

Last year I ordered free travel guides for most provinces in Canada and started planning out a trip across Canada. I was feeling particularly homesick and unhappy with where I was in life. I had always wanted to do a camping trip across the country and decided to start planning. I still haven’t completed mapping out my “bucket list” trip (which I will post once it’s ready) but it has gotten me thinking.

When I think about moving back home, I try to picture what my life would be like there. While I do like the idea of being able to go to the beach on a hot day, I remember that there aren’t as many hot days in NS as there are here in AB. I picture myself running into people I used to hang out with, but I haven’t talked to them in years so would they even be excited to see me?

I keep coming to the conclusion that the province is small and I start to feel bored. I remember taking a trip with my family from our home near Halifax to the tip of NS in Yarmouth. It was about a three hour drive which to a Nova Scotian is a long way to go and requires an overnight stay (at least for my family). But here in Alberta, we’ve driven three hours down to Calgary and then three hours back as a day trip.

I keep going back and forth about whether I like the fact that Alberta (AB) is so big or if I hate it. I’m jealous of my NS friends who can drive from province to province and then back home in a matter of days. I spent 6 hours driving to go camping and still didn’t make it out of my province! But at the same time, there is so much to explore here because it is so big. There are always events going on or new areas to explore.

Something I do NOT miss about NS is the weather. They get a lot of rain and snow back home. But here in AB, we get a ton of sunshine. And I love the heat. I just wish we had the beaches like NS does. Sure we do have some beaches in AB but they are lakes and not the ocean.

I was scared to come to AB when I first moved here because people always warn you that it’s so cold in the winter. And yes, while it does go down to -30C or -40C (or colder!) it doesn’t feel the same as the cold in NS because it’s not as wet. So I actually like the weather better overall in AB compared to NS. And my skin does too! Because of all the moisture in the air in NS I had pretty back eczema. But it cleared up completely since living in AB. It will occasionally come back but it’s usually if the weather is wet and it doesn’t last long.

The main thing I miss about being home is my family. If I could find a way to visit them easier (come on time travel) or convince them to come move here too, I would be completely content. The flight to visit them is long (5-6hours if you manage to get a direct flight. Longer if you don’t.) and it’s expensive ($500 if you find a deal, $1200 if you go at Christmas). My brother’s family keeps growing (up to 5 nephews now!) and I’m missing out on seeing them grow. I never even get to meet them until they’re already a year old!

But in conclusion, after living in Alberta for almost 6 years now, I am starting to picture my life here. Not necessarily in this exact townhouse, but hopefully in a nice neighborhood close to a park with some walking and biking trails.