Musings on Where to Raise Our Family

Greg and I are from the bookends of this country - St. John's and Vancouver. When we decided to leave Edmonton, we thought long and hard about where to go because both of our hometowns were appealing to us. In the end, access to policy work and an affordable (and colourful) real estate market won out and we packed our bags for St. John's. We moved into a little salt box in Fort William, and soon upgraded to a Victorian row house in Georgetown. With our son's arrival, we're continually rethinking the use of our space and our living arrangements. We have plenty of space for our family, but sometimes wonder if a little more or a little less would be better. We keep our eye on real estate listings in our 'next step' neighbourhoods -- Churchill Park, 'Elizabethtown' (aka North of Elizabeth) and Larch Park. And we debate whether a new city entirely might work for us in the future.

I love raising Thomas around my family and want very much to spend lots of time in Vancouver as well. But I also want him to see the world. Right now, I'm obsessed with committing to spend three or four weeks each year in a different foreign destination (my short list of destinations includes New York, Berlin, Copenhagen, Reykjavik, London, Paris and San Francisco). These experiences would be different than a typical vacation because we'd rent a flat and focus on adopting the daily life of a family there, not racing from tourist destination to tourist destination while staying in a hotel. This way, Thomas can see the world but also know the joys of having family close.

I think making other sacrifices - remaining a one car family, not buying a larger home, not buying a cabin - are worth it to have these sorts of experiences. How did you decide where to raise your child/children? Photo via Children with Swag.