Moving to a new community: Take the first steps

It’s been almost 5 years since Michele and I moved here to Pointe-Sapin, although we’d already had a foot in this wonderful place when we bought our current home in fall of 2014. We have family in various parts of NB and we’d visited so many times that we were able to tour other people all around the Maritimes well before we’d ever even moved here, so we were already well-attached to the place.

I can’t say enough good things about Pointe-Sapin, as the people here have been so kind and welcoming – you simply couldn’t ask for more. However, as is the case whenever someone moves to a new place, you have to make some effort if you want to settle in properly.

When I first moved to Bawlf, AB back in 1995, the best thing I ever did was to join up with one of the area’s rec hockey teams. I had a lot of fun with the guys I met – both on and off the ice – and I made friends for life. Certainly helped me find my footing in that new community.

Then, when we moved here to NB in 2019, we knew we were moving to a French-speaking locale. Not being fluent in the language, we were eager to fit in and show our respect for our Acadian neighbours, so we prepared accordingly. We did things like have “suppers in French,” where we would invite our French-speaking friends over and converse in French best we could.

I also coached basketball in French in the Alberta Francophone games for 3 years and I was even on the executive of the local Franco-Albertan society – all in preparation for living among people who spoke French as a way of life.

Took a bunch of different French lessons when we moved here, too. Turned out that the French here was a bit more challenging than most of what I’d learned, but it didn’t mean that I’d stop making the effort. I love that I can live my life partly in as many as 3 languages (Ukrainian being the 3^rd) on any given day!

However, the challenge of language in a new community can easily be offset by making oneself available in other ways, such as volunteering to help at community events or just showing up and supporting things that matter to the people around you.

The mistake that some people make when moving to a new community is that they expect people to beat their door down just to say hello. And that may happen in some cases but, if you’re not willing to make an effort yourself, don’t expect miracles.

Moral of the story: if you want to belong, then start belonging. How well it ultimately all goes will depend on the community, but it’s up to you to take the first steps.