As I am sure most of you know we’re moving to Toronto. It’s a big move and the decision wasn’t made lightly. We’ve known for a while that one day we’d leave Fredericton, the big questions were when and where. One of our biggest concerns was accessibility of family. With respect to distance Calgary would be perfect, thing is, neither of us are particularly fond of Calgary.
A couple of months ago I was made aware of an opportunity to work with my friend Ash doing iOS development at 500px, a Photography startup that is turning out to be a fast mover in the Toronto startup scene. Megan and I talked it over, and even planned for a week as if it was already a done deal, just to see how we felt about it. We we’re both excited and terrified. With a baby on the way being close/accessible to family was a big deal for both of us. On the flip side of the same coin we couldn’t imagine leaving the support of the friends we love so much while such a big change was happening. So we shelved the idea with an eye to revisiting it in 12 – 18 months.
Roughly a month later we were floored with the news that Megan had had a miscarriage. We’ve dealt with this in our own way and everyone has been really great about the fact that we don’t really want to talk about this unless it’s in private and on our own terms (Thank You). Things also started getting uncomfortable at work, I don’t want to speak ill of the guys at Lashpoint, it was fun a lot of the time and I am very grateful for the fact that they took me back after the last job I took fell through. It was becoming more and more apparent that I was not a good fit within the company, they made their money doing one type of work and I was keen on doing something different.
We came back to the idea of me finding work doing something more to my tastes and that I might find rewarding. So I started looking, and as it turns out the position at 500px had not yet been filled, so I applied there and with the mobile team at Radian6 in Halifax. And I waited. While I waited I looked for other positions in other parts of the country including Vancouver and Winnipeg (Calgary’s gross). I had an interview with 500px and I waited some more. Bob found me a couple positions in Victoria that I was strongly considering applying for if both applications failed to net me a job, despite the bitter taste consulting work has left in my mouth.
It’s certainly not news now that I got the position at 500px. And I love it. I have been here for just over three weeks and have had a blast doing what I’m doing, I even (especially?) love the occasionally exasperating technical challenges. My first day John, our engineering team lead, made a comment about ensuring quality before any thing ships, I didn’t catch what else he said because I was squeeing to loudly inside my own head for anything external to it to make an impression. Everyone says these things and I occasionally get nervous that I’m going to get torn out for spending the time on getting something exactly right. Hasn’t happened yet and I’m starting to doubt that it will. For the first time in a long time I love my job.
That leaves Toronto itself. Toronto is loud and busy. Twenty year old me loves it. I am, thankfully, no longer twenty years old, my appearance and not so occasionally my behavior not withstanding.
That being said there’s something here for thirty year old me too, he just has to dig a little harder. Despite the warnings of hipsters and soccer moms, I really enjoy the Annex, an area just north of downtown. It too is busy, but it’s a different sort of vibe that reminds me of Cook Street or Osborne Villages in Victoria and Winnipeg respectively. Anything you could want is nearby including quiet traffic calmed neighborhoods, I think this is where we will live while we’re in the big TO, especially since neither of us care to drive while we’re here.
I’m looking forward to making Toronto home, but it’s going to take work and we’re definitely going to miss the friends we left in Fredericton.