Moving On #2

There are only two options for me in terms of living closer to my adult children. Well actually there are three, but the third choice is not, more the pity, mine to make. One of my two kids could decide to move to where the other lives. Then, while I would still have to move, the choice as to where I moved would be obvious. However the possibility of my daughter moving west or my son moving east is so far removed from reality that all of us living in the land of Oz is more likely. Of course they could both move to a central point, but none of us have a desire to move to Winnipeg.

My two choices are Sudbury, Ontario and Duncan, BC. While I suspect that most people would assume that where I wanted to live out the rest of my life would be a no brainer; that any one in their right mind would prefer to live in Duncan as opposed to Sudbury. But they would be wrong.

Sudbury has a number of attractive aspects to it. It is not the dreary, scrag covered hillside,  moonscaped town it use to be. In 1972, Inco built a new refinery smoke stack. That ensured that the toxic sulfur dioxide would no longer rain upon the ground and thereby upset the pH balance of the local lakes and destroy the vegetation (the fact that those same pollutants fall somewhere else doesn't seem to bother anyone in Sudbury). Sudbury has, in the last 40 years or so, turned into a reasonably attractive city. Nothing can hide the fact that the city is built on solid rock. There are streets that twist in strange directions to avoid a sudden upthrust of rock) and there are rows of houses that look as if they are perched, somewhat insecurely on the hard, dark nickel bearing rock.

The weather may be Sudbury's biggest downside. Winter can be cold, there can be lots of snow and in general it lasts for months and months. The blackflies and mosquitoes are present for what feels like an almost an equal number of months.

There is not much of a downtown core. It is not for the lack of trying, There are restaurants, a few stores and lots of offices. I think people would like to make their downtown attractive but the buildings even when they were new, were at best, uninspired designs. Thirty or forty years of pollution later, the buildings are tired looking, dirty and quite frankly rather unwelcoming. The retail side of a vibrant downtown core has either gone out of business or has moved to one of the numerous strip malls or large indoor malls scattered well away from downtown. But on the side streets there is a glimmer of hope, a sense that things could be changing; that there are entrepreneurs who are innovative and creative; who are prepared to try something new. It could be interesting to see that process unfold.

Sudbury does have beautiful lakes, including the one at the center of the city. There is a great science center, lots of shopping, good music including some great concerts, some decent restaurants and a vibrant multicultural life for those of middle or Eastern European heritage. While their Saturday market is not large, it has some potential. The people that I have met seem to be kind, friendly people.  The hills are now  covered with grasses and small birch and popular trees. One hopes that in a hundred years much of the majesty that must have been Sudbury might be returned. There is much to look at and enjoy. If one likes the outdoors - it is perfect place to live.

Most importantly, my daughter and two of my grandchildren live there.  The kids have been a joy to watch grow up. It would be great fun to live closer to them and to be able to cheer them on as they play their sports and become the wise and capable adults I know they will become. My daughter has always been a great daughter, a wonderful teacher and even a better friend. I can't imagine a better person to support me in my elder years.

Sudbury, while it is not the ideal place has much that attracts me.