Creemore, Ontario, Canada
Out of context: Reply #22
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- exador10
thanks ideaist...
I suppose the big question would be, is freelancing your thing? and if so, do you mainly work via the web? If that's the case, and you mainly would need access to Toronto for client meetings etc, you could easily live in a place like Peterborough (or wherever) and only venture into the city once or twice a week (or less depending on how often you book meetings).
When i was freelancing a few years back, i generally only needed to be at a meeting about once a week or so, and the rest of the time i could have just as easily been in Timbuktu.....in a sense, other than those meetings, it really didn't matter where i was, so long as i had good web access....
upsides:
housing prices in smaller towns outside of T.O can be quite drastically different. As is rent.
less traffic.
less crime for the most part. better air. less noise. tranquility.
quality of life etc....
small town charm.downsides:
while some prices are lower, sometimes other things are not...I've heard that food/and or other living expenses can be a bit more than they are in or near the city...but mileage may very, as they say...small towns tend to roll up the sidewalks by 5pm....so if you're looking for a nightlife, look for a university town...otherwise, you're spending the evenings in, remembering fondly how you used to go out in the evenings to college st or queen st...now you watch latenight talk shows and feed your cat.....
'the company you keep'...
big cities and the gta in general..you're gonna find more 'fellow travelers and potential collaborators ...other designers etc...toronto QBN drinks .....whatever...
small town drinks can (and often do) include dudes in skiddoo jackets drinking Molsen Canadian that think you (a designer) are a 'fag' in need of a punch in the face.
thankfully small university towns generally include bars and pubs that attract a more intelligent clientele ....If Creemore looks like it can sustain you living wise, creatively, mentally, and whatever else...then you're wise to seriously consider it....but as with everything else in life, 'time spent in reconnaissance is never waisted'.....research, research, research.....
NB:
if you are single, and unattached, consider that as well....life in the big city may be nuts, but it's also 100% more likely to allow you the chances to meet potential girlfriends/boyfriends etc, that share your interests....small towns (of course) also have members of the opposite sex, but unfortunately, the good ones tend to leave town at age 18 (as we all did) to go off to university or college....the ones that stay behind (not all of course, i'm just generalizing here) tend to have a lot of baggage, no ambition, made interesting vocational errors in highschool, or are already attached to their highschool sweethearts and are currently raising 2.3 mullet heads at home....this is of course, as i mentioned, just a generalization, but be warned..if you're unattached, your likely hood of meeting your soulmate in a small town is seriously reduced....by a factor of about a million....
on the other hand, if you are attached, and your significant other is also of the opinion that a chance of venue to a small town is exactly what the doctor ordered, then that's just one more point in the 'upsides' column...
NB2:
just a note here about parents etc....and also a bit of a generaliztion..but one based in (atleast my) reality....if you've settled down, have a serious girl or guy, and are either married or looking to be in the 'family' way....then you should be aware that most girls like to be somewhat close to their mom once they've had a child (or are in the latter stages of pregnancy). you really do need some kind of support group or whatever when you have a small child or baby..and inlaws are pretty much the best for that sort of thing....if you can be close to either your folks or hers, it just plain helps. if however you're 2 hours from either, that means, basically, you're on your fucking own, and there's pretty much no help from anyone aside from the two of you....and i can say, after having two kids of my own, that that is a pretty hard road to hoe....you need help...sometimes badly, lol....so if you're a long way from family and friends, it doesn't reallly matter how great the house is, or the local art scene or the hills and valleys or whatever, you'd trade it all in just to be near some one you know.....(fortunately for me, my wife and i live in mississauga, about 10 minutes away from her folks, which was a MASSIVE help when we had our kids)
anyhow, sorry for the rambling..hope some of that makes atleast a bit of sense....
cheers!
ex