"Country Roads ..."

I suspect I've successfully alienated both of my readers, so this will be primarily an exercise in personal journaling.

We're thinking of moving back to Saskatchewan from Calgary.

Of course, that's the abbreviated version. We first moved out here when small-town Saskatchewan had no workable job opportunities for us - so we packed up, took a chance moving to cow-town (5 short years ago), and have had a fair amount of success finding work, buying a decent home (thankfully, just before the big boom of the last couple years). Calgary is my favorite Canadian city (and I've visitted most/many of them). Its proximity to the mountains (and other adventurous opportunities), its moderate weather, its work opportunities (not just for us, but for our growing kids), several family members who we otherwise wouldn't see much of, have all given us great satisfaction in living here. Add in that my politics feels more at home here than much of the rest of Canada, and it seems like a great situation. Furthermore, we're making some great friends out here, who we would surely miss not seeing as much as we currently do.

The factors that are pulling at us to return include seeing, on a regular basis, everybody we miss (family and friends), and 'cashing in' on the quick equity build-up that Calgary housing prices will have given us. Moving to another Calgary (or area) locale wouldn't give us as great a return on this. In particular, I found/find it difficult with missing my grandparents since we've left Regina 10 years ago. Their aging, and accompanying physical decline (especially the death of my grandmother this Autumn) have given me pause as to whether I've really had the right priorities. Of course, my family needs to survive, and although we're managing much easier than we had been in Saskatchewan, we're not rolling in money enough to retire, or anything like that.

Given the above, we're not in any rush to change things from what they are, but the thought is rolling around. Not only that, but we do pretty regular MLS searches to see what the opportunities are (not to mention the houses that my brother-in-law keeps finding for us, curiously close to their home in Saskatoon). The (non-)prospect of job opportunities is a huge deterrent (less work-friendliness, I think). Just to let y'all know what's up, and to invite your thoughts...