I had no idea what to expect when we moved to Toronto. I had never been. Rusty had visited here a few times before, but he isn’t much with descriptive words.

People told me it was beautiful, clean, and very similar to Chicago (which is where I grew up). I imagined in my mind that it would feel very different from the U.S. The only thing I knew for sure is that we would have snow.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when I realized Toronto was pretty much exactly like Chicago. Ontario is very much like Illinois, and Kleinburg (where we live) is pretty much identical to any Chicago suburb. I was craving different, but it wasn’t very different from what I already knew. Yes, different from California, but not from what I grew up with.

But then we visited Montreal and that changed everything.

My husband and I decided we want to make sure we see as much of Canada as we can while we are here. Carter has been begging us to take a train somewhere, so we decided Montreal would be a perfect little vacation spot to celebrate our anniversary and spend some quality family time.

A few of my new Canadian friends have warned me about generalizing all of Canada into one category. It make sense because the west coast of the U.S. is certainly different than the east coast, but in my opinion, the center of the U.S. is all pretty similar, so I didn’t think Canada would be much different. I certainly didn’t think that a 5 hour train ride would transport us to an entirely different dimension.

I honestly kept forgetting that were still in Canada, that we didn’t get on a plane and fly to Europe. Although a majority  of the people we crossed paths with spoke english, french was always written and spoken first. Old Montreal is filled with cobble stone roads, gorgeous old buildings, sidewalk cafes, and the cutest ice cream parlors on every corner. I was in love.

We took the kids hiking, biking, and to play at a nearby playground. We took a ferry to a nearby man-made island. The exploring we were able to do was endless. The kids did amazing with all of the walking and we all had an amazing time.

This is the Canadian experience I imagined, this is the change I had desired. I highly recommend visiting Montreal, especially for those of you that would love to get to Europe, but you just don’t see it in your budget. I’m sure we will be back before we leave Canada.

I sometimes wonder if moving would have been easier or harder if there were bigger changes to our regular life. I think to myself, maybe the extra expense of living in Toronto would feel more worth it if it didn’t feel so much like living in Chicago. Who knows. I can tell you this, I certainly wouldn’t turn down the chance to live in Montreal or at least have an extended stay to see what that town is really all about. And, I am definitely excited to see more of what else Canada has to offer. This country is our new home and we have so much more to explore.

Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.

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