If you stop labelling Ottawa a city, you can appreciate it that much more. I've lived here for (gulp) a whole seven years now and it's taken me this long to realize it. I don't know if I love living in Ottawa, but I don't think it really matters at this point. Perhaps I would prefer living in Toronto or New York, but who can say? I have a lot to thank this city for - my career, meeting my husband, my degree, our condo, a stable income, yada yada. Two years ago I could not get enough of ragging on Ottawa and sometimes the resentment still lingers. I wonder if I made the wrong choice after graduating. I stayed here because I was offered a relatively well-paying, permanent job. It was the obvious choice. I didn't have a long-term plan. I just knew I needed full independence (no way would I move back in with my parents) and financial stability and here I am.
If I did live in Toronto or New York, I would be taking a huge risk. I chose a degree in communications, which isn't terribly lucrative. Plus, when I graduated I had no idea what I really wanted to "do" with myself. I am not particularly talented in any one area. If had a strong talent as a musician at least there I could get into the scene in an urban capital and try to "make it". But even then I wonder. I can't remember who said it, but there was an artist who said that the people trying to make it in New York were a dime a dozen and what is more important, spending your whole life as a waiter, putting all your money into rent, hoping to one day find success? Or putting in a lot of hard work and proving yourself to the world, even if you are from some small town no one has ever heard of?
My whole take on Ottawa now is, I have the stable, steady income, a simple lifestyle and I know I'm a creative person. Now all I have to do is buckle down, work hard and prove myself to the world.
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