As most young adults, I find that a lot of my friends, myself included – talk about buying homes. Some friends have done it, some are thinking about it, and some can’t even stomach the thought of it (the last one being me). As a late bloomer who didn’t really have a career until he was about 25, I don’t have the funds. There’s that and also that I find that a lot of my friends who are able to buy homes live with an SO and have that double income without the kids. But even beyond that, I wouldn’t even know where to buy a home, even if I had the funds. I’m a free agent, I’m unattached. It’s also a bit ridiculous that I just moved recently and I’m already thinking of leaving this city. Toronto is fun and all but I’ve seen what the world has to offer and it’s a bit hard admitting that I’ve always imagined being somewhere else if I ever settled down with a family. Granted, I am still new here and I might love this city somewhere along the way.
Recently, I went to Montreal with some high school friends and I had a damn near perfect getaway. As we were venturing through this trip, I realized how much I enjoyed the city. The food, the nightlife, the cost of living compared to Toronto – on the surface it looked better. Shoot, if I stay in Canada, I might move to Montreal. It would give me motivation to finally pick French back up again. Not to mention that a lot of companies in my industry are working fully remote, so I can keep my Toronto job and still move to somewhere else, it would also be in the same time zone. Did I just convince myself to move to Montreal and have French speaking Cantonese kids? Screw Montreal, let’s take the leap and move to the south of France.
I think that the reality of all this is that I’m just dreaming. I think the truth of all of this is that I don’t have the answers and that living in Toronto/Ontario/Canada is just getting a little harder as the years go by. Inflation is a word that we love to throw around and it’s money that is the thing that makes me feel a little hopeless at times. Not that I was expecting one but my current workplace, just advised their employees that those who have been in line for a pay raise, probably won’t be getting one anytime soon. It’s tough – even the corporate entities in the world are squeezing their employees like they squeeze dollars. And I’ll say it, my endgame is actually to retire on the French Riviera. I went on a trip their last April and realized how much I loved it. I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind like a woman that broke my heart. But with how things are in the economy, it seems like that dream will stay a dream, rather than a goal.
The world is large, it’s expansive, and even worse – it’s getting more expensive. And as someone who never cared about money like that. It’s sad to see that things that should be goals – good goals to have and motivate you, are starting to look more like dreams. Since when was buying a villa in Europe as challenging as becoming the Pirate King. All I want to do is have my double espresso, with my pain au chocolat outside a cute coffee spot with the occasional cigarette (those aren’t bad for you in Europe and it’s my dream, I can do whatever I want). Maybe the economy as it is right now, as it’s trending will keep my wallet and my lungs untouched.
