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My plane touched down at the Edmonton International Airport on a chilly evening in December 2005. I’d expected snow, but not like this. In the cab, I wondered how the driver managed to stay on the highway without seeing the painted lines on the road. It was a world away from the gentle dusting of snow we’d get in Brighton, England, where I’m from.

It was a chilly start to my life in Edmonton, but I quickly warmed to the city. I’d come to Canada with my girlfriend, who had Canadian citizenship and family in Stony Plain, a town just outside of Edmonton. But even when our relationship ended, I wanted to stay. I’ve lived here now for six years and I’m happy. From the beginning, I was struck by the friendliness of Edmontonians. It still amazes me that strangers chat with one another at bus stops and line-ups at the grocery store. At home, you rarely make eye contact with people you don’t know and, if someone stops to chat with you, you question their intentions. Here, people are friendly and open.

In a physical sense, the city is open, too. In Brighton, everything is on top of each other, but here, there’s room to breathe. I like urban living, so I’m happy living downtown, where I can walk everywhere – including work. I’m a recruitment consultant at the Design Group, specializing in the oil and gas sector. I love my job, the people I work with, and the sense of community in Edmonton’s core. Most of my friends – a mixture of Canadians and ex-pats from England – live here, too.

There are tons of things to do here and all within arm’s reach. There’s a multicultural culinary scene downtown, as well as plenty of shops, bars and pubs, and festivals. There’s always something to do in my neighbourhood, and I tend to stick close to home.

Of course, I’ve done the quintessential Canadian things since I moved here, like skiing and skating. I wasn’t really keen on everything (like cross-country skiing, which is definitely not my cup of tea), but I discovered that I really like camping. It’s something people just don’t do in England, but here, almost everyone camps. So, in the summer time, I go camping with friends – and family, when they visit. I really enjoy the wilderness around Banff and Jasper. The Rockies are incomparable.

I went back to Brighton to visit family recently and was struck by how quickly things move there. Even in Edmonton’s downtown, the pace of life is much more laid back, and I’ve really adapted to that. In fact, I’ve become so acclimatized to my new city that when I’m in England, driving’s pretty treacherous: they really do drive on the wrong side of the road, there!

I don’t know where life will lead me, but I’m open to the possibilities – and here in Edmonton, there are many.