I moved away from the city in 2005. I spent most of my life living near Vancouver, BC, Canada and then in 2005, I uprooted my family and moved to the southern interior region of British Columbia, Canada (near Alberta and the Idaho pipe). It was the best decision I have ever made in my life. If, however, you want to stay stressed, then fell free to stick with the big city rat race. Initially, I moved to a little town with 7500 people and then I moved even smaller and now I live in a tiny town with only 1800 people. There are only about 15-20,000 people in the whole trading area.
Now don't get me wrong, the transition was not easy. When I first arrived here it was a culture shock - big city girl meets small town cliques. Upon arrival, I was told by many that time doesn't move as fast as in the city so don't get your hopes up. Were they ever right! It's a whole different time zone, known locally as "Kootenay Time."
But four years later, I have slowed down and I have adapted and now I feel quite at home. I don't even have the desire to go back. Since leaving, I have only been back to Vancouver one time and I have ventured to other cities (Spokane, Calgary, Kelowna) only a handful of times.
There is less shopping, there are few attractions, there are fewer amenities, stores are not open all hours and the lifestyle is much more family oriented as a result. This is a very good thing. We are still busy, but not in the same high pressure way, and of course, the cost of living is much cheaper so we have far less financial stress as well.
All in all, what started as an unplanned, even reactive, move out of the big city has turned into a excellent stress-reducing life transition. I highly recommend it to everyone.
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