Comments on: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

By: kevin

kevin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:56:39 +0000

There is no city like Montreal on the planet! That being said you can make it very workable in other citites. Nothing is permanent! You can always move back, and although there was a large exodus of my friends leaving Montreal a few years ago, we have slowly been working our way back after stints in various other cities. The only way to truly appreciate how great Montreal is, is to leave for a few years. I’ll also point out that of course you would have had a bad experience in Ottawa, I mean the two cities are not even comparable. At least with San Francisco/Silicon Valley you would have had friends your own age and people with similar interests. Yes Montreal is great, but you can have great experiences outside of Montreal as long as you pick your cities carefully, and your friends will always be your friends regardless of distance. (and you meet new really great friends btw) If you ever make it out here, give me a ring. I have plenty of friends who would love to give you a job. You should catch up with Eddy Del Balso and get his perspective on it. (it may be less bias than mine) (I also lived in Vancouver up until recently, and I can so without hesitation that, Vancouver is a great city, and one that I would also consider settling down in)

By: Alex Taimuri

Alex Taimuri — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:06:17 +0000

Skrud, your honest convictions echo my thoughts, and Im sure, a lot of us young engineers just starting off our career. But I think life is all about change, and adapting to change is a quality we all must have to survive, and even better, to strive. You are at a point right now where you are single (meaning not-married..right?) and with no children/family. This is the time to go out and discover the world and harness your skills and experience. Adapting to change is no easy task, as you encountered in Ottawa, but once you have a family, this will be the biggest limiting factor to your career. I can't speak from experience, but all the older guys at my work say the same thing. So my advice would be to take any opportunity RIGHT NOW to see the world and do it up, before your life gets more complicated and more focused to your future family.

Last thing. Adapting to change can be FUN if you make it fun. Go out and try something new and out-of-the-ordinary! Use some creativity man!

By: Julien

Julien — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:50:41 +0000

I understand what you are saying budy, I made the move to elsewhere (Pittsburgh, Houston and TO so far) with the same company and whenever work is a pain I have missed my age-old friends. If you ever decide to leave Montreal there is only one solution, don't sit on your couch and go see people, force it to happen, I fully realized that after 6 month of being away, and I taught I was quick witted! I am lucky enough to be in a program at work which involves other young people like me I don't have to start a social circle from scratch.

I still wonder if I will ever find friends of the like I have made in the past, but I keep hoping. As Kurt said it makes coming back even better.

By: Kurt

Kurt — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:50:36 +0000

You've got it just right Skrud. The pros and cons are easy to lay out, it's acting on it that's the tough part. After having moved to Victoria six months ago, I've realized that there comes a time we need to move on. Our friends will always be just that, friends, and we can always stay in touch. Every one of them is gonna move on sooner or later, and in my case, I was happy to be one of the first to leave. Makes homecoming that much more exciting.

And you're right about now being the time to start your career before you get old and crotchety, bitter and unmotivated. As much as I hate TO (if you happen to end up there one day), it'll be that much better with a Skrud in it.