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I was born in New Brunswick and raised in Ontario. We would come to NB every two years to visit family. When i was thirteen, we went to the wharf to get seafood. Since it was a hot day, my Uncle suggested we go to the beach. All the times we had come, I didn’t even know the Ocean was there. It was massive, the waves were mesmerizing, the water was so warm! A real treat! I always told my Aunts I would move here when I was a grown.

When I was eight months pregnant with my first child, my husband and I took a spotaneous vacation to New Brunswick. The pace here is so laid back, no traffic, crime was zero to none. The people were so friendly. Worlds apart from Toronto. My mother was sure we wouldn’t come back.

My husband was in construction and Ontario was booming. He worked in a subdivision of 2500 homes. He just walked house to house. Then the recession started. We took the plunge to move across Canada with our two and a half year old and five month old girls. We also brought our nephew, two nieces and one of our nieces friends, to stay and visit for the first part of our time here.

It was like starting over. It was quite a transition. Nothing opened before 10. Everything closed on Sundays and Holidays. In Ontario I remember taking one minute of silence in the mall on Remembrance day. People in NB look you in the eye and strangers spark up conversations all the time. An elderly gentleman walked around the local grocery store chatting up my kids and asking me questions. I honestly thought he was a stalker. I almost left the store, and when I went through the cash, the cashier did the same. It was a big adjustment for me.

You have to understand, before we moved , we were in Oshawa, and there were reports of someone going around trying to pull babies from strollers! I lived in Scarborough when the Scarborough rapist was loose. So yes, I locked the doors of my house and my cars. I raised my kids to be street smart. They knew their phone number early. I pointed out all the neighbourhood watch houses. I taught them to scream fire not just scream if they were in any kind of danger. When my daughter went to University in Ontario, at least I felt better knowing she had some knowledge of city life.

The first time we went to Halifax, because it was a big city, we were advised to be careful because there is a lot more crime there. Now when we go to Ontario, we stay on the outskirts, we have family there. The morning news comes on and each Borough reports the amount of shootings, stabbings, abductions, beatings in the previous night… It is cringe worthy! Halifax is lovely!

Here we are 30 years later, same house, same phone number. Of the original 30 some families that were here when we moved in, there are 7 of us left in the subdivision.

Times have changed, Our community has grown, there is a little more crime. None of it shocks me, it is still way off from where I grew up. This is home.