America
I had a wonderful weekend in Nanaimo with my dear friend “Dolly Iris”.
I love coming home to spend time with old friends. The older I get the more I realise how important loved ones are to me and I know that I can’t afford to take them for granted. I consider my friends my number one priority in life.
Which makes answering the next question very difficult.
Ever since I announced that my US citizenship went through everyone’s been asking me not if, but when I plan on moving down there. My kneejerk reaction is to laugh and tell them I have absolutely no intention of moving down there in the foreseeable future.
I have a good life up here. I have wonderful friends, I live in the most beautiful spot on the planet, I have a great apartment and housemate, my job is good, and it’s really nice to have lived in one place for so long. I think I’ve lived here, at my current address, longer than any other place in my life. I’m very stable and secure.
Comfortable even. But yet, I’m not content and I know exactly why.
I’m a journalist – that’s what I’m meant to do in this life. I can feel it right to my bones and when I’m not being a journalist I feel like I’m stuck. Trapped in a rut. I don’t feel like there’s much farther to go as a journalist in this city. If I want to advance in my career I might have to consider a move elsewhere. At least for a short period.
You really do have to take risks to get ahead in life. Well calculated and thoughtful risks. I feel like I need to step out of my comfor zone to advance in life. Not right away, but eventually I’ll have to do it.
CBC would be a great fit for you Nathaniel. OR you could try your toss at some provincial, maybe national magazines.
Vancouver is a fine place to have a career if you are able to a) get a job at the Sun or the Province and b) be satisfied working for those companies. It’s also a great place to work if you can get into the CBC and actually advance.
More difficult, however, is actually getting hired by those organisations. The reality is that most journalists move away for a while and come back when a job is available. This is precisely why I left.