There's No Place like HOME!
User Story
I grew up in Edmonton and for the first 42 years of my life, I lived near Edmonton’s beautiful river valley where I took advantage of both indoor and outdoor sports.
I am fortunate to have had a progressive career in Information Technology and then went back to the University of Alberta to pursue a MBA at the tender age of 35.
I moved away from Edmonton in 1994. Job opportunities took me to Vancouver for two years, Korea and Philippines for 11years, US for one year and finally, Trinidad for one and a half years. During that time I had many life lessons and great experiences that included experiencing tropical climates, scuba diving, sailing, and swimming in 29 degrees blue waters. I enjoyed experiencing the different cultures, lifestyles, flora and fauna (including some interesting bugs). I made many great friends along the way – people from all over the world and all walks of life. I found that the life of an ex-patriot is very different; you meet interesting people and you always seem to stand out in the crowd.
So now I’m back in Edmonton and after a great summer, the winter is approaching: shoveling snow, warming up the car, rediscovering winter sports, such as hockey, skiing, as well as indoor recreation and all the other fun stuff.
Over the 17 years while I was abroad, I was asked where was home. Edmonton was always the answer. Funny how that is. I’ve lived in a lot of exotic places, but my family is all here, my best friends are here and even with some new additions, the city is still the same. The important things are still here from the Eskimos to the Oilers to going to summer festivals to golfing with mosquitoes to living in the much cooler climate. We have it great here in Canada: an affordable health system, reasonable traffic, wide roads, a high standard of living and a relatively safe environment for our families. It’s not like that in many of the places I have been.
Edmonton is home. This is where my roots are and it’s good to be back. Now I am getting ready to experience my first full winter in 15 yrs. This is where I want to be.
Where Next?
There's No Place like HOME!
After traveling the world for the past 17 years, Jim now lives in west Edmonton with his partner Jenny. Their four children have generated four (soon to be five) grand children. He is now looking forward to his next challenging opportunity as a project manager with a focus on IT Infrastructure.
He has many good people helping to find such an opportunity, including the fine staff at Harcourt Recruiting Specialists who promoted this article.
