Repatriate Me!

In comments to my posts here on facebook (posts are imported as notes in facebook) I’ve been asked a couple of times “Why Ottawa?” This is a good question and one that I don’t have an exact reason for.

Ottawa is not Winnipeg. I grew up in Winnipeg and while my family is there and I have some good friends with whom I am still in touch with (thanks to facebook) I am not interested in returning there. There would definitely be advantages to going back such as having friends and a small network to draw on as well as knowing what neighborhood to live in. However I just can’t get excited about living there.

I also lived in Vancouver and am not interested in returning. While Vancouver is a beautiful city and there is lots to do, I found it to be over priced and over rated. I can’t imagine that it’s gotten any cheaper with the olympics coming up. I also found that a lot of Vancouverites were rather snobbish about how great Vancouver is and it was so strong that it was really borderline regionalism which is just south of nationalism and one of my pet peeves.

Which brings me to Ottawa. I’ve lived in and traveled enough in Western Canada but haven’t been anywhere east of essentially Kenora Ontario. That’s a whole lot of Canada waiting for me to see. Ottawa provides a nice central location to make trips out East as well still being close enough to visit my family in Winnipeg.

I’m also very keen on visiting Montreal and Quebec City but don’t want to live there. Ottawa is close enough that it will be very easy to make the trip. Additionally I’d like to make a drive out to the Maritime provinces – I’d love to go to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and have distant family in PEI so that would make a great summer trip.

I also did some research and it indicated that Ottawa has a pretty good IT industry – something I’m interested in. Also there is a Korean community which is important for my wife. I’m pretty sure every major city in Canada will have one, but Ottawa has a pretty good one and the Embassy is there. I elimated Toronto just based on what I had heard about the cost of living and housing. Ottawa is relatively close though which means making a trip back to Korea won’t be as difficult as it is now when we visit my parents – 11 hour flight to Vancouver 2-5 hours layover and then a 3 hour flight to Winnipeg. Blah.. that bites.

Finally I’ve talked to a couple of people I know who have lived in Ottawa and they both said that they enjoyed it there. One of them is a good friend here in Seoul and is even considering moving back there a couple of years after I do. That would be good for both of us as our families get along really well.

I don’t have any one super important reason for choosing Ottawa but rather a number of small things that make it feel like it’s the right choice for me. Anyhow I’ll learn a lot when I make my scouting trip to Ottawa this coming summer.

Nov 27, 2009 Comments(2) Share on:

ottawa - repatriate - canada - planning

It’s interesting that in the last week or so everyone seems to be thinking more seriously about what the move back to Canada means for them even though it’s still more than a year and a half away. Both my wife and myself are concerned about getting jobs. This is a serious concern as by the time I return I will have been out of the country for 15 years and effectively have no job history.

Being 41 years old and looking for employment with no local job history is going to be fun. I have my web development firm CreateSean but in the last 18 months it hasn’t exactly been lucrative. I have built up a small portfolio and have learned a lot about web development and running a business in this time so am hoping that it will be able to sustain me once we get there. I’m currently working on a really large site that I’m looking forward to launching sometime around mid-December.

My wife is also worried about finding employment though I think with her bilingualism and people skills as well as her extensive history in business and middle-management she’ll be able to find work. It might take a little while, but I’m positive that she’ll find a challenging job that suits her well.

Yesterday my daughter, 7, was worried that she wouldn’t be able to watch her favorite program on tv when we get to Canada. It’s a Japanese import that’s dubbed in Korean – Doraemon. Anyhow we promised to buy a few DVDs for her before we return. I’m not too worried about that as she’ll find friends quickly and enjoy English TV once she picks up the language, which should happen relatively fast.

My son, 3, has no worries but echoed my daughters concerns. I“m pretty sure that’s mostly because he follows her in everything she does.

Other things we are thinking about are finding a neighborhood with good schools and a quality church.

Nov 24, 2009 Comments(1) Share on:

employment - children - ottawa - concerns - church

Today after Church I went for a walk to the bookstore, while my wife drove the kids home. On my way I crossed over Cheonggye Plaza and stumbed across the Lantern Festival. Fortunately I had my camera with me cause these lanterns are really something else. I’m going to have to go back at night to get some night shots – not sure how they’ll turn out with my point and shoot but I’ll try.

Anyhow enjoy the pictures.

There's more, keep reading

Nov 22, 2009 Comments(5) Share on:

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We ordered dinner in today from the same place that we ordered the Jajjang Myon last time. Again we ordered Jajjang Myon for the kids but this time I ordered Mapa Dubu (마파두부) Dubu is the Korean word for Tofu and I’m not sure what mapa means, but anyhow it’s spicy with tofu and some sliced chili peppers. Really tasty.

마파두부 Mapa Dubu

Nov 17, 2009 Comments(0) Share on:

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Today I talked with my wife about a scouting trip to Ottawa this coming summer and she says it’s a good idea. So last week of June or first week of July I’ll be heading to Ottawa for 7-10 days, probably 10 days. For financial reasons, I’ll be traveling alone, plus it will be easier than taking two jet lagged kids all over the place. They’d probably be bored to tears.

On this trip, I’m planning on scouting out various neighborhoods, schools, and housing markets. Of course I will be doing a lot of this online before I arrive, but online versus in person is completely different. I’ll also be able to talk to banks about what my chances for a mortgage are. Other things to do include checking out Korea town, the Ottawa chamber of commerce, learning more about registering my business. Most importantly I will be able to talk to a real estate agent in person, before shifting everything back to online communication. I’d really like to be able to have a line on a house just before or just after we plan on landing in Ottawa and securing a good real estate agent will be key to that.

I am also hoping to meet people in Ottawa that I have connected with online via this blog, message boards and twitter.

I’m sure there are several other things that I will need to do, but can’t think of right now. When I originally decided to return to Canada, I gave myself three years to get ready. It feels like I made that decision just last week, yet there is only 1 year, 7 months and 17days left. Time is flying.

In unrelated news I changed the header image – I think this is a big improvement over the one that came with the template I was using. I’m no designer, but I like it.

Nov 15, 2009 Comments(2) Share on:

ottawa - canada - planning