Goodbye England, Hello Canada
I wasn’t happy so I left my old life behind and moved to Canada for a fresh start. In a series of posts I’m going to share what went down including all the fears, doubts, struggles and how the journey helped me filter out what’s most important to me.
Life is about the journey not the outcome, take more risks and see where they takes you
Chapter 1: Why leaving was the best thing to do
Life had become same old
I was bored and needed to make a change. My life in Leeds had become way too predictable. I found myself doing the same things over and over again, living in the same city, walking past the same people, looking at the same scenery, working on the same projects at work. I wasn’t excited anymore. I needed to break out of my current routine, freshen things up.
But I didn’t know what to do next!
Chasing your dreams only works if you know the smaller achievable steps to reach them
As a designer I knew I wanted to solve meaningful problems but I hadn’t fully figured out what that actually meant. I knew what I was aiming for but I didn’t know the steps I needed to take in order to get there. The lack of clarity made it hard for me to decide my next move.
Find a new job? So much choice!
Job opportunities were popping up but nothing was taking my fancy. I couldn’t figure out what I wanted from any specific place. Each company seemed to have a different interpretation of what UX meant with so many different job titles emerging.
We are looking for a — Product Designer, Designer, UX designer, Interaction Designer, UX architect , UX unicorn, UI/UX designer, UI Designer…continues forever
No Results — ❌
I wasn’t getting anywhere. I was overwhelmed by the amount of choice that was laying in front of me I was struggling to find my next step. I even went to San Francisco for a holiday as an excuse to go meet companies hoping to find an answer.
Finding the perfect next step was like trying to find a needle in a haystack
I was sick of waiting for something to happen. I was getting more and more frustrated. I didn’t want to wake up in 6 months and be in the same position. I had all the energy but didn’t know where to apply it.
Why don’t you go to Canada? Great Idea — ✅
Mac Lugay enlightened me with the idea of going to Canada. I met her at a friend’s party. She told me all about how she made the move to England from Canada on a 2 year work visa and how I could do the same in reverse — This sounded amazing and she was amazing giving me so many tips and tricks of how I could make the move happen.
Canada was a country I didn’t know too much about, all I knew was Canadians loves bacon, maple syrup and Trudeau and they also have the world’s highest population of moose. It was an opportunity to have a fresh start and venture into the unknown.
I had no ties with Canada, it was a chance for a fresh start, experience everything from scratch and let the journey guide me
Getting my visa
Getting a visa was a waiting game and there were only 5000 spots, this was my main obstacle. I put myself in the lottery and told myself if I don’t get a visa I would go explore Europe as a plan B. Luckily I got my visa after 3 months of waiting!
Hey Mum, I’m off to Canada for 2 years…
Naturally my parents were freaking out when I told them. “we would feel more comfortable if you had a job secured instead of just going out there”. A few of my friends laughed at the idea “what the hell, sounds so random!”.
The bigger goal was to eventually settle down and find work but I had no plans from the offset, that was the risky part
I was scared of looking stupid in front of my friends, what would they think if I ran out of money and had to move back home prematurely! If I couldn’t find any work I would feel like I had let my family down. It would look like I wasted all this money and didn’t do anything productive.
Don’t doubt yourself!
I had my skeptics but I didn’t let them put me off. I had to remember I was doing this to make me happy. I didn’t have it all figured out but that didn’t matter
I had to think about myself and go experience what I wanted. I had no ties, no house, no girlfriend, my friends and family were all fit and healthy, I had no excuses. I had to embrace the freedom whilst it was still an option otherwise I would regret it. Only I was stopping me from leaving!
I wanted to embrace the freedom, be commitment free, live in new places and see where the journey takes me
I had nothing waiting for me at the other end and I wasn’t expecting anything. I knew the excitement lied in the things I didn’t know yet. I kept the job hunt in the back of my mind, I reached out to a few companies before I left to get conversations started but that wasn’t my focus.
Getting ready to leave
I set myself a deadline
I set myself a deadline of March 31st. I put things in place to make it harder for me to back out. I started spreading the word, planned a leaving do and booked my flight.
Saved my cash
In the build up I gave my mum a third of my wage each month, a place where I didn’t have access, to stop me from spending it. I paid my rent and bills at the start of each month which gave me a set budget for the rest of the month. I managed to save £5000 which was my budget.
Say bye before leaving
Relationships are the most important thing I didn’t want to have any regrets or leave anything hanging before I left. I gave extra notice at work to make sure I wrapped everything up. I made sure I visited all my family and friends before I left.
It was sad saying bye to family and friends but it felt right!
The journey begins…
March 31st had arrived. I was scared but excited to leave! I had everything in front of me. I had no deadline, no commitments, no plan, just an open mind, and a bag of clothes.
Key Lesson
Life is about the journey not the destination. If you’re stuck, do something that excites you, commit to it and don’t worry too much about the outcomes
I was no longer happy so I did something about it. I quit looking too far into the future, instead I kickstarted something that excited me in the present.
Next Chapter…
What it was like arriving in Quebec City on day 1 and what I learnt from the journey that followed.
