In Who’s Your City, Richard Florida focused on the US. Now we Canadians have an opportunity to tell our story. From The Creative Class Exchange:
Now, I’d like to ask for your stories about Canadian cities Tell me about the place you live. Why did you pick your city or region? How did you go about picking it – what was your strategy? What other kinds of places did you look at? How has that choice affected the rest of your life? Your job or career? Friends, family, or romantic interests? Fulfillment and fun? Real estate jackpots or money pits? Would you do it differently next time? What cities and regions are on your radar for the future and why? That’s it. 100 or 200 words, on any or all of those subjects. 300-500 words could be even better.
Ten years ago we chose Sackville, NB (pop. 5,000) as our home. I was taking early retirement from the military and I had the choice of moving anywhere in the country. I wanted to work in the field of educational technology and a position was available at Mount Allison University, so I started at the Centre for Learning Technologies. The job went away several years ago but we have stayed here.
The university, a hospital, proximity to an airport; coupled with small town living and reasonable real estate prices attracted us here. We have stayed because of the lifestyle, friends and the now the ability to work at a distance because of the Internet. Without the Net, we would not have stayed, as there are not a lot of good work opportunities in the area.
Photo of Sackville’s “famous” Mel’s Tearoom by Chris Campbell
It’s obvious that the Internet is an integral part of my work, so how has living far from any major urban centre affected my life? First of all, I have been involved in many aspects of our small town and could volunteer myself to death if I wanted to. I’ve had opportunities to be on a hospital board, work with a wildlife institute, get a renewable energy investment co-op started and lately help launch a community supported agriculture initiative. It’s the advantage of being in a small pond.
I also have been pushed to look far beyond our local area for work and professional development. Had I lived in a large metropolitan region I might have been able to find enough work locally and just been satisfied with that. Living out here in Atlantic Canada I’ve had to look far and wide for opportunities, hence my blog and my involvement with international groups and issues.
I would like to stay here, as it’s been a wonderful town to raise our two boys. Once they decide to leave home we may move but I don’t foresee a move to a mega-city. We live on a major rail line and even if gas prices go through the roof, rail travel to Montreal or Halifax would still be a good option. If we ever got our Commons going (maybe, who knows) then it would be one more reason to stay.
