Meet the neighbours

Moving to a new community can be a bit uneasy. It has been a little over two years  since we moved to the country side in a village called Morin-Heights. Making friends has been a slow process because not everyone is so eager to welcome you into their group. The first year we arrived I still had my job in the city; so between work, traveling time and my usual household occupations I did not have much time to reach out to make new friends.

However, because of our dogs we were able to meet some of our neighbors and after posting an ad at the village store, we found this great lady who not only loves dogs but is turning out to be a good friend as well.

The first year flew by, we were so busy with getting settled and other stuff that I never really had time to feel lonely. But, in the second year I lost my job, my first thought was: great I will be able to do all the things I love, and I did, and still do. However, I am a people person and I like socializing, I suddenly came to the realization that I did not know that many people in my area, every time I wanted to see my friends or do an activity I would have to drive over an hour to get there and drive back home afterwards and I would have to organize something for the dogs if I was to be gone for more than 6 hours.

It is always a bit scary to fit in a new place and try to make new friends. Most of us have gathered friendships over our life time and are not always that open to make space for new ones. However, when you move far away from you friends and family, somehow you have to start reaching out and build a new network of friendships. Otherwise, it can get very lonely. 

Fortunately, every year our dog sitter and a bunch of her neighbors get together and throw this summer bash, this year was our second year attending and we met more wonderful people. The funny thing about this gathering is that the one thing everyone has in common is living in the same village. Some have been living all year around while others are only doing the part time thing, weekends and vacations. They all have different backgrounds and come from different places. Not too many are born here. It is a bit strange at first, most of us know a couple people and somehow we gather in little groups and find a click that resembles us.

During the evening I gravitated towards a couple of ladies that share some of the same interests, it is amazing how easily you can connect with people when you find a common ground. When we got to talk about art we just couldn't stop, as it turned out we like to paint and draw, we shared our personal approach to attacking a blank canvas, talked about different classes we took and how we benefited from them. They told me about some local artist's association that I should join, and we talked about the local book club that never has any space open for new members and that we should start our own and invite all the people on the other club's waiting list.



I still miss the city from time to time, especially the revolving doors we use to have when the kids were home. There was always something happening, friends and family coming in and out. I thrived with it all, the array of services available, courses, activities, almost everything was walking distance. Very different in the country side, you need your car for pretty much everything and there are less choices around.

However, this place and time has allowed me to take hold of my life, I have come to realize that you don't have to be busy all the time, that taking it easy and smelling all the different aromas the country air has to offer can be very invigorating. Also, it gave me time to work on some personal projects, and time to realize how much I enjoy writing.

For this new year, I feel ready to meet more neighbors and open my heart to new friendships.