Canada/Costa Rica - Are We Traitors?

Apropos of absolutely nothing, I was recently accused of “detesting Canada so much - the country that gave you the ability to live your current life style”. This was based on the totally erroneous and inaccurate assumption that - “if there was a crisis in Costa Rica, like the corona virus (sic), massive earthquake or some other disaster, you would not want to come back to Canada?” 

First, I don’t detest Canada - this is an out and out lie. Never have I said this. To say that this is how I feel based on nothing at all is totally outrageous and, quite frankly, makes me angry.

I like to poke fun at Canada, especially Ottawa where I was born. I can do this because I am a Canadian citizen. Canada’s weather stinks - but everyone knows that. Canada is an amazing country - and many people want to immigrate there with good reason.

Secondly - our current life style was not handed to us by Canada. We both worked hard for many years. We earned the life style we are living.

Both of us paid our taxes for years and years. We still pay Canadian taxes even though we live in a foreign country. So whatever Canada may have given us, we have given back many times over. We have never been a drain on the system. In fact, not living in Canada makes us less of a burden on the system then people who live there.

It was a lot of work and planning to make our dream come true. It appears that some people feel threatened or are jealous by what we did - left the country we were born in to move, sight unseen, to a country they had probably never heard of. The fact that it was a very successful move, for us, causes them more unease. Could they do the same thing? Or do they use Canada as an excuse to never have to find out if they could or not? They wave the flag and hide their fear behind it. They accuse us of detesting Canada. That is an insult. We must be traitors.

What is so wrong with wanting to try living in another country?  To experience a new culture, new language, new food, different climate, different people ..... what does this have to do with Canada? It’s a wonderful thing to take this journey into the unfamiliar. We have come a long way and are now not the people we were when we left in 2011. You may not recognize us - our viewpoints, our world beliefs. We discarded possessions and old ways of thinking and freed ourselves. We meet people here who are cut from the same cloth. They may move here permanently, or spend a few years exploring and then move on to another country and adventure or, they may choose to return from whence they came. It’s all good.

The culture of living in the same country, the same province, the same city, the same municipality and even the same house for years on end is something I cannot understand. But that’s just me and more power to those who live this life style. It must be comforting for them and I would hope that they are doing exactly what they want to do. 

In Costa Rica there are not yet any recorded cases of coronavirus. In Canada, I read that there have been several. If a case or cases did occur here, why would I choose to jump out of the Costa Rican frying pan into the Canadian fire?

With regard to massive earthquakes, I have already experienced one in Costa Rica. It measured around 7.5 and rattled on for a significant period of time but without any significant damage. Should I fear another and decide to return to Canada for that reason ..... oh, but wait, I cannot return to Vancouver. As you know, the "big one" is long overdue.