The Next Step in Life's Journey
Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at 5:11AM In the time-honoured tradition of life-changing moments accompanied by a personal blog post, this one is mine.
Ever since my wife and I have been together, we have discussed the idea of relocating overseas; preferably, to a country with a climate that suits our preferred lifestyle. Once we had a family, this topic of conversation came up more frequently. Overall, we felt that it would be difficult to us to move once our children were in school. If we were ever going to relocate, now would be the time.
That stated, my wife and I have decided to follow our dream by moving to Australia.
My wife and I had talked many times about relocating to Australia. My wife is originally from New Zealand and I had previously lived in Melbourne for nearly three years. During my time there, I fell deeply in love with the country and its culture. I remember feeling very comfortable there. To me, Australia is very similar to Canada (i.e. Commonwealth background), except it’s much warmer.
If you read the description about Australia by the Canada’s Centre for Intercultural Learning, I think you’ll find that Canada and Australia have much in common from a cultural perspective. Of course, both countries suffer from its share of stereotypes:
Needless to say, these stereotypes aren’t entirely accurate.
My wife and I will miss Canada a great deal, especially our friends and family. However, we see this move as the next step in our life together and we’re tremendously excited about our future overseas.
It is our goal to be settled in Sydney later this year. That stated, my last day at Microsoft Canada will be September 16, 2011. At this point, I’m not yet ready to disclose details about my next endeavour but rest assured, I’ll still be heavily-involved with the Microsoft development stack and the technical community.
Reader Comments (10)
Best of luck to you, John. I've appreciated having you in the community.
Canada is losing a great Canadian! You will be missed. I expect a warm reception if I'm ever in the land down under! Went there when I was 18 and I loved it! Your post is bang on. Australia is just a warmer Canada with more alcohol....wait a minute..... (to be continued)
Great news John but sadly seeing you leave. Best luck to you in the next endeavour. You will be greatly missed.
Cheers.
Our loss, their gain John as we are certainly going to miss you here. You have always been a respected straight up shooter in the technical community. Best of luck down under.
Take off!
John, thanks for spreading the awesomesauce flavour in the Canadian development community. Best of luck in your future endeavours. You always added colour to your presentations, and - I'm sure - inspired and participated in the post-lecture/conference consumption of many a 2-4. You'll have trouble finding timbits and a decent hockey rink, but good to hear you're chasing your dream.
I look forward to hearing of your next venture; best of luck to you in it.
Cheers,
-jc
We're going to miss you up here. Few people do as much as you for the Microsoft community up here in the frozen north. Really glad to hear you're following your dream though.
Congrats on your impending move. I know it's been a long time in coming. I'm sure that it will be a huge adventure for you and the family. You'll definitely be missed by the Canadian development community. All the best, down under!
John, thanks for all of your help over the years. Best of luck to a great guy.
John, you will be truly missed on the West Coast. But I don't blame you. Sydney is gorgeous. I almost bought a flat last time I was out there as a second home. It reminds me a lot like what its like here in Vancouver.
Best of luck. Let's get together for coffee and coding at the Sydney Opera House next time I am there!
Going to miss you in Canada John! I guess I'll have to visit you in Australia :) Best of luck with the new adventure!