My name is Nick. I am an international student from Ontario studying in the state of Ohio. I moved to Ohio after my father passed away, and my God parents took me in for a place to live while I attended college. They gave me a few years with them so I could get my feet back on the ground. Now I am doing ok, I have even recieved some scholarships, one from our Dean and one from the Board of Trustees, whatever I do I just want to make my father proud of me, and I want to get this degree for him becasue I know its what he would of wanted for me.

Right now I am doing a B.A in psychology and I hope to go to podiatry school. I have always wanted to do something humanitarian with my life and at Bowling Green I fould the field that I want to go into. But it won't be easy with all these strict federal aid rules and employment regulations which took me by surprise, but "where there is a will there is a way," and so far the way is being provided for me to get an education and a good one.

nick r., Bowling Green OH, Ontario
March 22, 2006
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I was going to Confederation College in Thunder Bay when I met my wife of almost 5 years now, over Christmas in 2001 over the internet. I took a bus down here to Houston in March of '01 and we got married in July of the same year. I adopted her son and we have a baby girl together. I currently work at Foster Wheeler.

I have stayed in Houston these 5 years and haven't gotten a chance to go back to Ontario to see any of my family. I hope to be doing so next Christmas so my son and daughter can see what real snow is like. Not like the 3mm's that feel here in 2004 and caused major accidents.

I read about this site in the London Free Press which I read every lunch hour, to catch up on what's going on up in the Great White North. So, I figured I would give it a try.

Gary W., Katy TX, Ontario
March 22, 2006
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I was born and raised in Ottawa, however moved to Virginia when I was 18 after my Father was transferred by his company. It's now been about 9 years and I have to say that I still miss Canada each day. I'm currently preparing to move down to Orlando to train to be a Commercial Pilot, with the hopes of going back to Canada as a pilot for Air Canada. I still have many friends in Ontario, Alberta, and BC and miss being able to see them as often as I would like to.

Richard Y., Fairfax VA, Ontario
March 22, 2006
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Originally from Ontario, I moved to Tampa, Florida for graduate school after getting my Zoology degree at U of G. I wanted to get as far away from the snow as possible (fortunately my family loves coming to visit me) -- and now get to experience the *joy* of hurricanes every year!

Now that grad school is wrapping up, it's time to decide where to go from here. My Oregonian boyfriend is not keen on staying in Florida for much longer (he's been begging me to finish this degree already!), and I'm not really looking to go back to Ontario (but am also getting tired of Florida--it's not necessarily the paradise it's made out to be), but it's hard to find a job in my field in a place where we want to live. There are some interesting things out there -- but in the oddest places!

So, we'll most likely stuff our dog, our cat, and a few other random pets in the car and make the long drive up to the Pacific coast of the US. Oregon's a lot like home -- without the raging blizzards.

We'll take it on the fly and see what happens from there...

Shannon A., Tampa FL, Ontario
March 22, 2006
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Wow! A site for Canadians in the States! It's a lonely life down here sometimes - it's great to have connections.

I'm from Calgary - born and raised, as was my father. My mother's family is mostly in Nova Scotia. I moved to Omaha originally in 2000 - thanks to my high school sweetheart who reconnected with me earlier that year. Contrary to popular opinion, Omaha is not flat - it's built on a series of hills. I went back to Canada in August of 2001 to visit my mother, who was ill, and got stuck due to an immigration snafu. Gordon brought the kids back, and we brainstormed on other ways to get back together.

I ended up back on a student visa, so I've been a full-time student since January of 2002. My kids and I just this February got our permanent residency cards, after enlisting senatorial help.

Anyway, what I miss most about home are: Air Farce, Canadian music, Safeways, Canadian Tire, the Rocky Mountains, good chocolate, Kernels Caramel Corn, Kraft Peanut Butter, and Slurpees (there's no 7-11 in Omaha). Plans are to move back eventually, but for now - here we are! I try to go back at least once a year, but last year it just didn't happen. This year, I'm hoping to go both east and west for weddings.

Great to find this site - thanks Calgary Herald! I look forward to staying connected with all of you.

Donna S., Omaha NE, Alberta
March 22, 2006
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My name is Caron and I am a proud Canadian and Torontonian who is temporarily living in Florence, Kentucky, U.S.A. I've been here for 4 years, but I'm desperately hoping to return to my beloved country.

In 2002, I relocated to the U.S. with my American husband. Why? My husband is an engineer and we thought locating another teaching position for me would be easier than finding another engineering one for him.

I obtained my Bachelor of Sc. and Bachelor of Ed. from the University of Toronto. I taught two years in Toronto DSB, 3 years in Waterloo DSB, and 1 œ year in Peel DSB.

After working in Kentucky for 2 years, I resigned from teaching, but will definitely return to full-time teaching when I return to Ontario.

For the last 2 years, I have been returning to Toronto once a month. Despite living here for 4 years, I continue to feel incredibly homesick and daily yearn to be back home near my happy place, Toronto. Living and working in the U.S has been my life's greatest challenge.

Caron H., Florence KY, Ontario
March 22, 2006
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I am originally from a very small community named Tabusintac (on the north east coast of NB). It is actually world famous for salmon fishing and is absolutely beautiful! However, after graduating from nursing school in Dec 1994, nursing jobs were scarce and I was looking for a change.....boy did I get it....In April of '95 myself and a friend from school interviewed, got a job offer and decided to come to Texas....we drove the 3000 mile trip together (that was an interesting 3 days). Now 11 years later I am still working for the same company that brought me here - I am a Nursing Supervisor and also work in NICU.

I met my husband (native Texan) through a co-worker (now my sister-in-law)....we have been married for 8 years. We have 2 boys (Americans - working on dual citizenship for them) and I acquired a stepson as well. All my family is in Canada (NB and ON) and I miss them a lot - my husbands' family is now mine and they are GREAT! I will always consider myself a Canadian first but am seriously thinking about acquiring US citizenship as well....I do consider this my home and am very happy here.

We haven't been home since 2000 - so hard to travel with small children....my family has been to visit us about every other year. Although I do not miss snow and cold weather, I could do without the hurricanes and I'm not looking forward to possibly evacuating again this year!!! It was really awful not knowing what was going to happen and Rita really hit us hard....things are still not back to normal. I have traded "youse" for "y'all" and I do not get asked "where you frum" anymore.....NOTHING replaces ketchup chips, poutine, donairs, Tim Hortons' coffee and smarties!!!!! The perfect scenario - winters in Texas and summers in NB...

Rayelene H., Port Arthur TX, New Brunswick
March 16, 2006
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Hello fellow Canadians !

My wife and I are both products of divorces, one in Canada and one in the US ! Some time after our respective separations, we met on a divorce support website. After dealing with the weirdness of meeting online,we became friends, and we quickly determined that one or the other of us needed to move to be nearer to the other one. As you may surmise, I was the one that 'took the plunge' and moved south.

In my former life, I was a farmer in Ontario who (fortunately)managed to get a degree in Animal Science at the U of G. Believe it or not, this degree remains much in demand in the US, so after gaining offers of employment stateside I applied for a TN visa and moved to Vermont.

My wife and I were married in the spring of 2005, and we chose to relocate to her hometown of Franklin, TN. We are in the process of looking for a piece of land to build on as I write. I work for a biotech firm headquartered in Kentucky, and I spend most of my time travelling TN and the US southeast.

There are many things I love about living in the south, and the first one is that it is March 14th as I write this, and it is definitely SPRING outside !

Of course, all my family is in Canada, and while I get home as often as I can, it is not as often as I want or desire to.

Somebody from MS mentioned that they would be happier if there was a Tim Hortons on the corner, and a Swiss Chalet down the street....I heartily second this motion! I will add that I really miss the CBC....I can't believe I said that out loud !

Cheers to all !

Jason W., Colege Grove TN, Ontario
March 16, 2006
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My husband was born in Peterborough and his family moved to Buffalo, NY when he was an infant. After completing his education and military service he moved to Winnipeg to work in the Medical profession. We met, married etc. and he promised that I would never have to move to the U.S. After 17 years, and the great Medicare mess the only way that we could find job security was to relocate south of the 49th. When faced with this choice I had to make the big decision.We have been here 12 years. I have not been home nearly enough but try to make it at least once a year. I have visited relatives & friends in B.C. just to be in the greatest country on earth. I have very little family left in Canada or anywhere. My husband's family is still in NY. I must admit that my patriotism has grown immensely since leaving Canada!

M. Jacquline P., Montesano WA
March 16, 2006
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I have lived in Boston for the better part of 5 years and am originally from the Toronto area. I attended Guelph University, and then moved to Boston to get into the internet. I now work as an online marketing consultant and maintain several websites for fun.

My hockey blog was recently featured in the New York Times and has a daily readership of 500 people and climbing. I thought that might be sufficient online Canadiana to be worthy of mention. My friend created a graphic that we use on the site, which states that GoonBlog is "Proud to be Ameridan", as several of my co-writers are Yanks.

I love reading your newsletters. Keep it up, C2C!

David P., Boston MA
March 16, 2006
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