So we’re moving to Charlottetown from Toronto

The last couple months have been very quiet on the travel blog front. This year has been very quiet aside from a couple cruises and family priority trips! However it’s all been on a path for the last 18 months about changing our work/life equation and it’s culminated in us making the decision … so ….

We’re moving to Charlottetown from Toronto!!

Yep! Seriously!!!

In telling people here in Toronto, there have been a number of common questions

1. Why are you leaving Toronto? A traveller like yourself will get bored and want to kill himself
   • Well not really. I accept that there is not as much apparent diversity in Prince Edward Island. I will miss having readily available, excellent and even world class Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Hakka, <Insert other country> food in PEI.  I might miss the visible diversity of a world class city like Toronto. However cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Toronto are actually now developing into urban centers designed to destroy your work/life balance.
   • Moving to PEI, in many ways will us help to break the shackles of being in Toronto. It will also allow us to travel as a family to other places at off peak times which will be cheaper in the long run
2. Are there jobs in Prince Edward Island?
   • Honestly, I don’t think there are a lot of jobs on the island outside of fishing, farming and tourism.
3. If there aren’t a lot of jobs in PEI, how will you live and make an income?
   • My job as a tech consultant allows me to live a fairly location fluid lifestyle. It’s one of the best things about being a consultant.
   • D*’s a phenomenal teacher but she’s looking at doing other things.
   • Real estate is a possibility.
4.  Aren’t you afraid of the winter there?
   • If we lived in the Caribbean, we have to cater for hurricanes. If we lived in Central America, we have to worry about earthquakes. If we lived in the US, we have to worry about tornadoes, winter, hurricanes, earthquakes and Republicans.
   • We’ll get a wood stove and warm up. There is also electricity on the island and food and things that everywhere else in Canada has. Next question!
5. I heard prices are super expensive for food and alcohol?
   • I can’t lie … food and alcohol is ridiculously expensive compared to Toronto.
   • On average, prices for groceries are about 35-40% more in PEI than in Toronto.
   • There is no Costco on the island. There is one in Moncton … we’re going to do a trip every 6 weeks.
   • I’m also going to be growing my own herbs, so I can cook what I would like and not pay 4$CDN for 3 Habanero peppers … seriously!
6. What about missing all the great shopping in Buffalo?
   • Got that covered too. We’re going to ship everything to Maine. Amazon and every other provider ships to Maine.
   • Maine is a longer drive from Charlottetown.
     • Charlottetown to Bangor : http://distancebetweenplaces.net/us/1859288-Bangor-Maine-to-Charlottetown-PEI-Canada
   • Maine has a lower sales tax than Buffalo ala New York
     • Maine has a 5.5% general, service provider and use tax (raised, temporarily until further notice from 5% on October 1, 2013. The tax on lodging and prepared food is 8% and short term auto rental is 10%. These are all officially known as “sales tax”.
     • The combined sales tax in Buffalo, for example, is 8.75%. In New York City, total sales tax is 8.875%, which includes 0.375% charged in the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District (MCTD).
7. What about all your friends in Toronto?
   • We’re in our late 3o’s with children – we see each individual set of friends every couple months.
   • There are good friends we have not seen in a year.
   • We visit our friends in different cities.
   • You don’t base an economic situation on your friends.
   • Friends understand and will accommodate. If they don’t … then fuck ’em anyway.
   • Friends can also visit us in lovely Charlottetown. We’re doing them a favour by moving, so we can give them the experience of PEI.
8. What about seeing your family in Trinidad?
   • I’ll see them as often I see them now. It’s one extra transfer on a flight.
   • There are direct flights from Charlottetown to Toronto.

I’ll continue adding questions to this list and then probably start a separate section of the blog to chronicle this new travel journey.