Oh Canada! Northward Bound

First, the announcement for those who do not know: We are moving to Canada. 

Though it may seem sudden, this move has been in the works for several months. I have happily accepted my dream job as an Instructional Design Librarian for the University of Waterloo Libraries. This is a fantastic opportunity to spend my work life solely devoted to the issues of teaching and learning in libraries with a team and the resources at a large Canadian research institution to support that work.

While the opportunity to do what I have always wished to do, and only that which I have always wished to do, was tempting, the move is not purely about the job. In some ways, it is about the benefits I will have in the position including pensions, a 35 hour work week, more vacation time, a flexible schedule, free health care, and a significantly shorter commute. It is also about family. Living in Southern Ontario puts us within a single day driving distance of almost all of our families, much closer than the two days now required to visit most of our relatives. In other ways, this move is about options. We are in the process of applying for Canadian Permanent Residency and, assuming we are successful with that application, in 4-6 years we can apply for Canadian Citizenship. With that citizenship comes more opportunities, greater access to worldwide agreements within the Commonwealth nations, and a different cultural perspective.

Moving to another country is no small undertaking. We have had to submit to medical examinations, take English language proficiency exams, apply for background checks, submit our educational credentials for analysis, and work through seemingly endless amounts of paperwork to establish everything from cell phone numbers to bank accounts. We have been lucky to find a home rental in a nice family-oriented neighbourhood and are lucky enough to have movers supplied by UW to pack, load, and unload our goods.

How will all of this go? How will we adjust? What things to we love and what drives us crazy? Who knows. This is a huge adventure with high risk and potentially high reward. I want to document the experience and will be blogging about the experiences here. I hope you will follow along with me as we embark on this, the next chapter of our lives.

-Kari