Why Europe?

I had been looking for the right Masters degree for a few years now. The right Masters for me that is.

I had a few things in mind, it needed to be useful and it needed to interest me. At first I only looked at the University of Toronto, Ryerson University and York University. All fine institutions right in the city where I live. As much as their courses had great reputations they didn't quite fit me.

Last year I went on my bi-annual trip to Europe. Usually I try and hop to a few countries but having done quite a few on past trips I thought I'd stick to one region this time. Italy...with a quick hop to Barcelona at the end.

I spent time in Rome, Florence and Venice before flying to Barcelona on a US$50 flight via Iberia. After Florence I thought- this is my city. I could live here. People are nice, the city is nice and clean, lots of things to do, temperate climate...basically the grass was greener - literally - until I got to Barcelona.

Barcelona is my city! Multicultural (and has been for centuries by nature of it being a port), well networked subway system and an incredible bike-sharing system for the residents. The architecture...oh Antoni Gaudi ...what drug were you on that led you to create such fantastically weird yet exquisite pieces of architectural art....and of course...the food...the delicious sea food paella!Mmmmm!

My first day there I was with friends, they went off on their own tour the next day and I discovered Barcelona on my own. I had read about this Fat Tire Bike tour- you just show up at a designated spot that you read about in the tour books and whoever shows up by 10:15 am then gets led to the bike shop to get fitted for bikes and assigned a tour guide and off we go!

I think there were about 20 of us, winding through the narrow streets of Barcelona's intricate and culturally rich Barrio Gotico "Gothic Quarter". All of us who had obviously not been on a bike in a while- trying to get used to the bike and keep up with the tour guide. Desperately ringing out little bike bells hoping that people would move. According to the tour guide people know that bikes have the right of way. Although it was hard to get out of that Toronto mentality where the pedestrian is never at fault. However it was an adventure weaving unsteadily. It was a nice hot day. It was fun!

We would stop at various tourist points and our South African-living in Barcelona in a 3 bedroom apartment for 1000 Euros 10 minutes from the beach with his girlfriend who owns a bar on the beach - would tell us amusing tales of history.

From him I learnt that the residents of Barcelona need pay only 28 Euros a year to use the public bikes for half hour periods and any longer they would be charged a nominal amount. I frequently saw lots of city vans transporting bikes to either refresh the racks with more bikes or remove some to make space for more to be locked in by users. Fascinating!

So, who wouldn't want to live there! And for all those who are saying, oh you're just seeing it as the grass is greener...perhaps..., but I have lived in 5 cities on 3 continents across the world. I am well aware that each city has it's pros and cons. But I also think that some people's pros might be other people's cons and vice versa. (I will write a whole other blog on the reactions of some of my Toronto friends and acquaintances on my decision to try and move my life elsewhere).

When I came back from this trip I was really depressed about the work life balance (or rather imbalance) of Toronto. Don't get me wrong, Toronto is probably one of the only cities in North America I would actually want to live in, all things considered. However, it is not me, at least not at the moment.

This time I found it really hard to get out of the funk. What was my future here in Toronto? Sure I had a young event management business that I aimed to grow at a steady yet positive pace...but what else? All my goals were work related and I worked so hard to live for my 15 days vacation. It didn't seem fair.

I decided to figure out a way to move to Europe at least for short periods of time. At first I thought I'd do the teaching English thing. I did my research and found out that unlike the prospects in the Far East, there was no money to be made doing that in Europe. However, you could live a lean life and still truly experience the culture and still afford to travel around Europe at least. So if it was for the experience and culture and change I was looking for, I didn't care about making a ton of cash.

But then the voice of reason set it - aka The Parents. My Dad reminded me of what we all worked for to have what we have in Toronto. He reminded me that I can't just go flitting off without a plan. He was supportive, but undertandably concerned about his only child going off into a world that none of us really knew that well and had no connections in terms of friends or family. My mom reminded me that I had been looking to do a Masters....so why not combine the two. That woman is brilliant. Sometimes I wonder how she didn't manage to become Queen of the world.

A Masters in Europe...Eureka! And so began my search for the right program in Europe.