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06/18/2005: "no thanks, Uncle Sam"

Recently my wife and I had a good sit-down to talk about some of the issues surrounding my current professional situation, and thereby our collective livelihood. One such topic was the issue of moving for a job, which we've agreed for a while is a good idea for the right job. However, it needed some clarifying, and when we did that something fairly major dropped out.

Ever since my dismissal back in 2002 I've been open to the idea of relocating anywhere in Canada or the USA. I've had an interview in California, been considered for positions in Texas, and Washington state, had discussions with companies along the Western seaboard, and even gone so far as to try to worm my way into getting hired by companies in Ohio, Arizona, and Michigan to name a few. As of Thursday, June 16, 2005, however, I am no longer open to relocating to any location outside of Canada.

That's right, I'm closing the door on the 49th parallel. We simply realized that if we moved to the USA, we would not only lose all our friends locally, but be that much farther away from all of our exteneded family located throughout Ontario. My wife's parents live in California, but the chances of ending up there are pretty slim, and we'd still be losing out on her aunt and uncle, my aunt and uncle, and the rest of my family as well. Visiting people would become an expensive, time-consuming task that would eat up all my vacation time (and then some, likely) instead of being just a few hour's drive away.

That's not the only reason I'm not going to go there. If I end up moving to Vancouver, it's not a much different situation than moving to (for instance) Kentucky, as far as visiting family goes. The one aspect of moving to the States that I simply can't avoid is that I don't want to. There is nothing about the USA that really enamours me, especially with the current administration. Every time I hear about someone moving down there from Canada I always hear of the nightmare it is to get a Social Security card, which is a hard prerequisite for getting just about any kind of credit, whether for leasing a car, renting an apartment, anything. It's a hassle I simply don't need.

So, my job search has become quite simplified. Canada only, and Ontario preferably. Realistically, I haven't elminated all that much potential from my search. In the past 3 years I could count interviews I've had for US-based companies on one hand, and might still be able to count the number of companies interested in me from the USA on two. (I might need another foot, but that would be it.) Compared to the number of interviews I drove to during my last job search, the US simply isn't producing that much interest in me. Can't say I'm disappointed.

I'm glad to know that Canada will remain my home for the forseeable future. While I'd like to stay in my current community, or at least in South-Central Ontario, or at least Ontario, I'm at least comforted that I'll still be in Canada, no matter where my professional life takes me.