Vic Caldwell – Chatham

After chatting to a young Canadian fellow I had never met, my ride pulled into the driveway, before I typed ‘talk to you later’. Six and a half years later, and I am an immigrant, and a permanent resident of Canada. My husband - Bruce Caldwell, a Chatham native is a successful family business owner, and this is one reason among many, as to why we chose to stay and reside in Chatham.

Prior to my arrival in Canada, I was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. I have a strong Greek heritage, and due to my parent’s diligence, I am fluent in both written and verbal form. In 2001, I graduated from the University of Western Sydney with a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and Film, and in early 2004, I graduated with a Masters degree in Creative Writing. This would also prove to be the year of immense changes. I visited Canada for the first time during December of 2004 and experienced my first white Christmas. A polar difference from the sun-kissed-barbeques-on-the-beach Christmas I had become accustomed to. I actually prefer the 4 degree Celsius temperature than the 40 degree heatwave, on Christmas Day. For me, moving to Canada and specifically to Chatham was the most logical choice. I had just completed my post grad studies, and I was working on my University campus, in a myriad of roles. During this point in time, Bruce was beginning the construction of his family business, and so the decision was not a difficult one to make. We were not going to continue having a long distance relationship, with the occasional and expensive trip back and forth. It was the right time to move forward, and so I did. We did.

Upon arrival in late July of 2005, we had commenced proceedings with my Immigration status. For us, this journey in itself has been the most trying and most challenging, by far. What was supposed to take nine months, took almost three years. On the bright side however, I made use of my writing skills and almost instantaneously became an expert on addressing immigration and legal matters.

Since my permanent residency in Canada, finding employment within my creative field in Chatham has unfortunately been sporadic. This is also quite the continuous challenge I have met living in Chatham. Despite the lack for a creative market, I have been successful with the various freelance projects I have worked on in the past five years. I have also worked in Administrative fields, so at the end of the day, I have acquired more experience. For me, developing my career as a Writer is vital, and through diligence and perseverance I know that I will be successful in achieving all of my goals. I don’t believe that by living in a smaller community that I should be disadvantaged in any way. In my field of work, it is up to me to create the opportunities, to write that piece of fiction or nonfiction, etc. Therefore, challenges can be met and successfully overcome. It is a natural and healthy part of life.

I think the most surprising element about Chatham, is the sense of safety I feel. This is a fact I certainly did not expect and was noticeable right from the beginning. It still surprises me to this day. Living in a major city comes with one’s safety often compromised, along with high crime rates. So for me being able to go for a walk in the evening, on my own and without fear is really quite something. It’s these small but significant things which I think most of us take for granted. Another surprising factor is how people in the Chatham community are polite and genuinely warm. Now I’ve realized this only extends to smaller cities, because that’s definitely not the case in Toronto. It’s actually quite funny because I’m used to the big city aloofness, so when such respect and warmth is demonstrated, it never ceases to take me by pleasant surprise. These are just some of the things that make me feel content about living in Chatham. But the relentless cold winters, the occasional rampant raccoon and the humidity levels in the summer are a whole another story!

As a newcomer to Canada and to Chatham, I feel that in spite of the many challenges that both my husband and I have had to face, there really isn’t anything that we would do differently. I believe that by being true to one’s self and having the strength and courage to embrace change, as well as any challenge that comes forth, is crucial to living well and successfully. Getting involved within the local community is also key to establishing one’s self and meeting new and interesting people, who could very well turn out to be a lifelong friend.