We now live in Ontario

This fact alone gives me reason to write several posts (e.g. about the wind turbine protesters!) but I currently am too busy writing job applications so they have to wait. But a few quick remarks can be made. 

It's so much greener here, it rains more too but I am so happy about the green. Even when I left Edmonton a month ago it was not anywhere near as green as Kitchener-Waterloo is still now. K-W is much smaller than Edmonton which is great for walking and cycling - in only my hubby did not have a flat tire already. The old neighbourhoods looks so cosy with their old front-porched houses and tree-lined streets. I like it. The new neighbourhoods look similar to Edmonton's with wider streets, no trees along the street and not as cosy houses. I have spotted lots of cycle lanes on the roads and there are trails like the Ironhorse or Laurel Trails that also connect parks.         

Our new apartment is in a high-rise (6 floors) and there's some concrete in the construction. It seems that keeps the building warmer since we have barely used the heating, actually less than half an hour per day, and the apartment stays at around 20 C. The windows are two separate panes again and absolutely lousy. One of the windows has not been caulked and during a stormy night it was "raining" in our bedroom. Hopefully the contractors come soon. 

I am very disappointed that none of the supermarkets here sells organic produce. They do have packaged organic food but no produce. Even at the Farmer's Market organic produce is rare. Thanks to Pfennig's we will be receiving an organic box though starting next week and I look forward to it. I also found an organic food store in Kitchener's city centre but regularly shopping there will only be convenient if I was to find a job in that area. 

Yesterday I came across the Waterloo-based organisation World Accord  that amongst other things currently  runs a Sustainability Tour in the area. The competition is about to finish but reading about it I found out about businesses in the area that stand out for their environmental commitments and buying/ living local policies. Very interesting! 

Last but not least I recently came across Living Cities, a company that started out in 2008 in Kingston (hey, we almost moved there!) and is now expanding into other parts of Ontario. They developed products and run programs that encourage local food production, which also benefits the environment of course. I am thinking about applying for a job with them but the job would not start until April 2012 ... unfortunately that's 5 months from now and I could do with the money earlier. I am sure I would enjoy this job more than any other one I have applied for.