Retiree Stories

Rhonda & Jim McDougall
Newcomers 2004, Calgary, Alberta

"Retirement is part of the Journey, not the destination."

In early February, 1979 a weekend escape from Calgary's brutal weather changed Jim's and my life forever! We had flown to Sidney, B.C. where, in the middle of winter, we found roses and pansies in bloom, green grass and robins everywhere! Over the 2-day getaway we fell in love with Vancouver Island in the "off-season" and before the return flight to Calgary we had made two decisions. The first was that, if possible, Jim would retire from AGT (Telus) in 1986, at age 55 and the second was that we would strive to make Vancouver Island our home.

We began to plan: we took retirement seminars and started to search for our retirement location. We'd heard about the winter rainfalls on the Island so in 1982 we began taking our annual vacations in December/January to experience the weather and found it didn't bother us. Jim was happy-- "At least we don't have to shovel it!" Oh, how we love to complain to our Alberta friends/relatives that we must use our "blossom blower" to clear the driveway in the spring.

In late December, 1986 we left our jobs (AGT and Dome Petroleum) in Calgary to begin our life as "retirees". Sooke was home for the next 17 ½ memorable years. After the initial adjustment period we became involved in the community: we were busy salmon fishing, going to the gym, doing volunteer work, hobbies, walking the beach with our dogs and spending time with friends. I co-ordinated cultural homestay programs for Japanese and other visiting students. The years rolled by and we bought a used 31 foot class A motorhome, which we named "Arvy". In the summer and autumn of 1999 we travelled across Canada, through the southern States and up the West Coast. A dream of full-time RV'ing ended. This was a trip of a lifetime but commitments brought us home to Vancouver Island, Canada's "paradise", at the end of October.

Over the past few years health issues made it necessary to sell Arvy, the boat and finally our home. We'd lived in Sooke longer than we'd lived anywhere but we knew the time had come to move on to the next phase of our journey. We wanted to remain on Vancouver Island but didn't know where so we started surfing the net for information and this is where Campbell River first shone! The web site, well designed and so informative, portrayed an open and forward-thinking city. The "Retiree's Project" certainly drew our attention and we directed a few questions to their e-mail address. (retiree@crcn.net) We got the message: "Newcomers are welcome here!"

We drove up to Campbell River, toured the city - and were impressed. Jubilee Drive is an appealing gateway to the city, especially in March when the trees lining the road are in full bloom! The city is laid out in an organized manner: for example, Dogwood, Alder/South Alder and highway 19A run parallel to the ocean and any one of these wide streets leads to downtown. The miles of "Sea Walk" invite everyone to walk, bike, roller blade or wheelchair alongside the ocean and enjoy the awesome views including the Coastal Mountains, the Islands and the passing cruise ships! People are friendly. The city is clean, there are several shopping centres, a good transit system, many churches, parks, green spaces and a sewer system is in place. There are private fitness centres as well as the SportsPlex, which offers programs for everyone at very reasonable rates. If you're over 50 there is an active "Happy Wanderers" organization that offers activities to help keep us young at heart and mentally fit. Volunteer organizations abound and a well-organized Volunteer Centre co-ordinates volunteers and organizations. After-hour education opportunities exist and there are plans for "Elder College" courses to be offered in the near future. The city has a hospital, medical and dental facilities. WestJet flies to and from Comox's new terminal. The future looks bright. We bought a house and moved in on June 1/04

In summary, after a 17 ½ year detour we have arrived home!
And every day the journey continues.