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Leaving Winnipeg: the commentary

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 08/19/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

A column by a 20-something about youths leaving Winnipeg only to find themselves being pulled right back again was something our readers couldn't leave alone.

THAT gives me an idea for a great city motto:

"Winnipeg! It Sucks You Right Back In!"

Print it on postcards. Haters can just cut off the second line.

-- Woofers

I left in 1995 after finishing my degree at the U of M. I waited for the opportunity to come back but it never came within the time frame I set for myself.

Jump forward to 2012, and Winnipeg has become a different place from the one I left. The '90s were not a great time for a graduate looking for a career in Winnipeg. I just came for a short visit and was impressed with what I saw. From the new airport, downtown housing and all of the other new construction projects under way, Winnipeg is starting to feel like a city going places. Although it is to late for me and my family to make it back, I think that the opportunities abound for those graduates wanting to make a mark.

-- zeddhead66

WINNIPEG is a fine city for some people and more power to them; it just wasn't for me. Life is too short to live somewhere you're not happy. If you have the ability and the desire to move somewhere you're happier, then do it. I did and it was one of the greatest decisions I've ever made.

-- kanuck989

COMING back to Winnipeg is like going back to an abusive spouse or a dead-end job. It's quite a tragedy, really, that these people couldn't break free and put down roots in a place that nurtures growth and a positive outlook on life.

-- Canada first

I find it funny how many people complain about Winnipeg and do nothing about it. At least if you left it would have a decent argument.

Complaining while living in Winnipeg proves one of a few things:

-- You can't afford to live anywhere else.

-- You can't even afford a bus ticket out of Winnipeg.

-- You can't get a job anywhere else.

-- You don't have the cojones to actually move out of your parents' house.

-- You actually like Winnipeg, but you just like complaining with the bandwagon.

I left Winnipeg in 2001 and came back a couple of years ago. Got great work experience in another city, met my wife there and moved back so that she could stay home full time with our children. I have a great job and a nice house in an established neighbourhood close to work. Life couldn't be better and I am glad to be back.

-- Sputnik

THERE will be another column like this in a few months. Someone will move back cause they love V.J.'s burgers or maybe it will be Jeanne's cake or some other really good reason. There is no other place in the world that does as much navel-gazing as Winnipeg.

-- saskatoon

ENOUGH with the idea that living in Winnipeg is cheap or too cold, or that there aren't enough opportunities, or the mosquitoes etc. Winnipeg is unique. Its uniqueness brings to people a certain type of toughness, happiness, openness, gratitude, that only when you leave are able to appreciate.

-- Allen Ortega

THIS is a feel-good story indeed. Winnipeg and Manitoba indeed have good points -- not crowded, great access to nature and a low cost of living.

But as a former Winnipegger who spent most of his life in the city, staying was just not a possibility for me. Winnipeg's economy is not technology based and didn't give me a future after studying for a bachelor's then master's degree in computer engineering at the U of M. It was leave or work on the roadside -- literally. Here in Silicon Valley, my salary is literally three times what I could have expected in Winnipeg. Yes, it is crowded and housing is two to three times the price of Winnipeg, but we all need to retire and build a nest egg (and your home is an asset). Also the self-esteem of being able to do what you want is a big matter as well.

I have lots of family and friends still in the city and likely will for the rest of my life, but sadly, when I compare their state to my own, I know it was the right decision to leave.

-- CAJetsFan

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 19, 2012 A10

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