For those of you who have not been following the saga, I moved from Montreal to Toronto recently.
With the exception of four years in the middle somewhere I had lived my entire life in Montreal, and as I was quite happy there it will come as a bit of a shock to those who do not know me that the final decision to move to Toronto took about three minutes to come to, three days after the idea first came to me.
My reasons are numerous and infallible and nobody seems to disagree that it was not the right move, but that does not make some things more or less difficult to cope with.
Moving is, under the best of circumstances and even over the shortest distances, quite the trying experience. Moving to a new city in a new province can be, I have found, a harrowing experience long after the boxes are unpacked. I offer a number of examples:
1) In Montreal getting a haircut was always a simple matter of finding (and often making) the time to go. I have had a relationship with my hairdresser for the past couple of years, and she was always happy to see me, always knew how I liked my hair, and knew that flirting with me would get her a nice tip. When I decided to get a haircut today I got into my car and realized I did not have a clue where to go. I eventually decided that the mall has everything, and though it is not a very good haircut I did eventually get one... no flirting though, and praise be to someone for that.
2) I did not get to be as big as I am by not enjoying a good meal, and in Montreal I am in my element. I am generally not a fan of restaurant chains, preferring the personalized service you get at Moishe’s or Gibby’s to the contrived atmosphere of Ruth’s Chris (the steak is better too). In Toronto I am told there are some decent non-chain restaurants, but so far with the exception of Chinatown (where I have still not found the restaurant I want to go back to) and a Greek restaurant where my friend works, I have only found chains. The search will continue.
3) Getting my driver’s license and car registration may be much cheaper here than Quebec, but it was no picnic. In order:
a. To register an automobile you need to have Ontario insurance (not completely unreasonable);
b. To get Ontario insurance you need an Ontario driver’s license;
c. To get an Ontario driver’s license you need to waste a day at the Drive Test centre;
d. Once you have your license you can then open a file with an insurance company, who need to drive you nuts for three days before telling you that they need a letter from your previous insurance company and from the licensing board in Quebec... none of which happens at the snap of your fingers.
e. After they have all of that they will insure you, and you can go to step A and register your car in Ontario.
Of course grocery shopping is not much different, though to be honest it is bigger here. Stores seem to be better organized, more accessible than in Quebec. It is also a lot easier to be served in English... That will not need getting used to. Sales people are also polite... that will.
I am sure that I have only scratched the tip of the iceberg, and that there will be plenty more differences to come. Moving is not meant to be easy or inexpensive. If it wasn’t stressful and harrowing and all that we would never stay put, so maybe the difficulties – large and small – are part of a bigger plan to make sure we really put a lot of thought into relocating... and not just pick up and leave at the drop of a hat!
Now if you’ll excuse me I am going to try to find a decent cafe.