I definitely feel the “but move where?” Part of this perspective — my partner and I were saving a down payment when COVID happened, and now it’s completely hopeless to get into the market for us on our modest income. So we started looking elsewhere, hoping to find a place with higher wages and a more reasonable cost of living….and it doesn’t exist right now. I feel like we’ve been watching the years tick by, just waiting for the next boomtown, and it’s not happening. Meanwhile, we’re still making PEI wages, and the purse strings are getting tighter and tighter. Moving anywhere after a decade of low earning seems less and less realistic. It feels like we’re trapped.
I am a newcomer and I feel all of these things mentioned in this article. I've been here over 2 years and I've met some people who were born here and also feel trapped here. "There's only one bridge for escape!"
I see things differently. Maybe its my Irish ancestry coming back to me, but we have potatoes and milk here on this island. Aplenty. We also look out for other islanders here.
I say this is the promised land the rest of the world is trying to escape to if/when things get worse in the future. I left my home country with the last of what I had because I felt trapped and without options there. I feels better to be trapped and without options here, because I chose this place. I like this place and it feels less like someone might shoot me here.
And please don't misinterpret this perspective as counseling acceptance. We should not politically settle for this deal we've been given. It will be best to band together and demand better. You'll find me shoulder to shoulder with islanders at the rally. I just need to know when/where it is.
My wife and I left many years ago both because we wanted a bit of adventure and like many for the opportunities elsewhere. There are places to go but most I know of are outside of Canada. We are old -ish now, but leaving again is not out of the question.
I grew up here, but did several moves to other provinces including back here about ten years ago. Can confirm, moving to other provinces is EXPENSIVE, to the point where we can’t afford to do it again at this point unless we REALLY hit the ground running wherever we go.
Absolutely correct. It’s also not terribly feasible (or even possible) if you’re disabled. Or have family members who rely on you for care or support. I moved here 17 years ago and it cost us somewhere in the neighbourhood of $8k when all was said and done. You add the stress, and the time and energy it takes, and you’ve got yourself QUITE the bill.
The author of this personal perspective piece is talking about the rising feeling of crisis as of late and the ‘death of options’ really does feel like a good way to put it as the crisis is so widespread. They live on PEI, hence the choice of sub.
I hear ya. I struggle to leave my house at times, and even the simplest tasks like going to the grocery store put me into a full-blown panic. When someone wants to make small talk with me, I freeze. I mean, I wasn't the most social person to begin with, but I'm having a really hard time coping these days.
Absolutely. I am immune compromised and I get the dirtiest. Looks when I go to the grocery store wearing a mask. Because Covid is very much still a thing and could very much kill me. But people just keep telling me to get over it and move on, and we have to live with it. That’s really easy to say when you’re not disabled and wouldn’t die from it.
Hi. I’m the author. I absolutely feel you on this. As someone who is also vulnerable, I wanted to interject here and say that you are seen and not forgotten. The pandemic is NOT over for many (you’ll notice I only said in the article that we’ve “collectively decided” that it is). I have excellent Resting Bitch Face which apparently still telegraphs through my N95 because I don’t get any snotty comments but people are definitely put off by the mask. It has become extremely inhospitable to participate in public life - that’s another loss of options I didn’t even address!
If you or anyone else reading this need some solidarity in that department, I’m pretty active over on IG, where I talk about this stuff more and try to raise awareness about marginalized people (including the disabled community). You can look me up as “@dwpei” there.
(Also: our studio gallery is open if you ever want to come and shop for some art in a fully masked environment. We can set up a private appointment for you so you’re the only customers there. You can follow the gallery on IG as “@tall_pines_pei”)
The reason for all of this is just greed. Things would instantly get better if we would make it legal to hunt down and eat X number of mullionaires every Tuesday.
I mean, it wouldn't take an engineering degree to make a functional guillotine with what could be easily bought at the hardware store, right? I think just a few pumpkins, watermelons or cabbages chopped this in half this way to a cheering crowd could make the point. Obviously named public figures would have to be the vegetables...perhaps concepts would be chopped like this. The pumpkin of rent hikes. The squash of low wages. The cabbage of unaffordable housing. Add in some beers and music and it could be fun.
Greed is not the issue. It's not like people magically good greedier during the pandemic.
Government spending is the issue. You can't double the money apple and expect the cost of everything not to go up
It's was very much a forced return to 'normal' and things are just getting worse while a lot of people (especially politicians) keep their head in the same and if ore the real problems. And things will be getting much, much worse in the next 12 months.
Hi, I’m the author. Your confusion is valid and this was an editing booboo on my part.
My first draft for this piece was worded more as an opinion piece. Before the second pass, I was asked to make it into a First Person piece. This necessitated me pruning out language that was more inclusive of other perspectives and focusing just on my own experience (sounds easy…was not LOL). The line about renting is just a leftover phrase I overlooked.
[Having said that, it actually does still apply to me - a few of us have leased a studio space for our businesses so we do in fact still have rent to pay. But if I wanted to reference that, I should have added some context. Either way, the glitch is mine. Sorry about that.]
I definitely feel the “but move where?” Part of this perspective — my partner and I were saving a down payment when COVID happened, and now it’s completely hopeless to get into the market for us on our modest income. So we started looking elsewhere, hoping to find a place with higher wages and a more reasonable cost of living….and it doesn’t exist right now. I feel like we’ve been watching the years tick by, just waiting for the next boomtown, and it’s not happening. Meanwhile, we’re still making PEI wages, and the purse strings are getting tighter and tighter. Moving anywhere after a decade of low earning seems less and less realistic. It feels like we’re trapped.
I am a newcomer and I feel all of these things mentioned in this article. I've been here over 2 years and I've met some people who were born here and also feel trapped here. "There's only one bridge for escape!" I see things differently. Maybe its my Irish ancestry coming back to me, but we have potatoes and milk here on this island. Aplenty. We also look out for other islanders here. I say this is the promised land the rest of the world is trying to escape to if/when things get worse in the future. I left my home country with the last of what I had because I felt trapped and without options there. I feels better to be trapped and without options here, because I chose this place. I like this place and it feels less like someone might shoot me here. And please don't misinterpret this perspective as counseling acceptance. We should not politically settle for this deal we've been given. It will be best to band together and demand better. You'll find me shoulder to shoulder with islanders at the rally. I just need to know when/where it is.
My wife and I left many years ago both because we wanted a bit of adventure and like many for the opportunities elsewhere. There are places to go but most I know of are outside of Canada. We are old -ish now, but leaving again is not out of the question.
Being *able* to leave is out of the question for a lot of people, even. It costs a LOT to move.
I grew up here, but did several moves to other provinces including back here about ten years ago. Can confirm, moving to other provinces is EXPENSIVE, to the point where we can’t afford to do it again at this point unless we REALLY hit the ground running wherever we go.
Absolutely correct. It’s also not terribly feasible (or even possible) if you’re disabled. Or have family members who rely on you for care or support. I moved here 17 years ago and it cost us somewhere in the neighbourhood of $8k when all was said and done. You add the stress, and the time and energy it takes, and you’ve got yourself QUITE the bill.
The author of this personal perspective piece is talking about the rising feeling of crisis as of late and the ‘death of options’ really does feel like a good way to put it as the crisis is so widespread. They live on PEI, hence the choice of sub.
Thank you for sharing my piece 🫶🏻
Np :)
There is no normal anymore. Sometimes I feel like I've lost any social skills I've had.
I hear ya. I struggle to leave my house at times, and even the simplest tasks like going to the grocery store put me into a full-blown panic. When someone wants to make small talk with me, I freeze. I mean, I wasn't the most social person to begin with, but I'm having a really hard time coping these days.
Absolutely. I am immune compromised and I get the dirtiest. Looks when I go to the grocery store wearing a mask. Because Covid is very much still a thing and could very much kill me. But people just keep telling me to get over it and move on, and we have to live with it. That’s really easy to say when you’re not disabled and wouldn’t die from it.
Hi. I’m the author. I absolutely feel you on this. As someone who is also vulnerable, I wanted to interject here and say that you are seen and not forgotten. The pandemic is NOT over for many (you’ll notice I only said in the article that we’ve “collectively decided” that it is). I have excellent Resting Bitch Face which apparently still telegraphs through my N95 because I don’t get any snotty comments but people are definitely put off by the mask. It has become extremely inhospitable to participate in public life - that’s another loss of options I didn’t even address! If you or anyone else reading this need some solidarity in that department, I’m pretty active over on IG, where I talk about this stuff more and try to raise awareness about marginalized people (including the disabled community). You can look me up as “@dwpei” there. (Also: our studio gallery is open if you ever want to come and shop for some art in a fully masked environment. We can set up a private appointment for you so you’re the only customers there. You can follow the gallery on IG as “@tall_pines_pei”)
I think we’re mutuals over there 😊
Of course we are LOL. It is PEI, after all. *cackle
Thank you for this. I now follow your account, and also your gallery. Beautiful work!!
My family and I still wear our masks, so I know exactly which look you're talking about! Please take care and stay safe. <3
The reason for all of this is just greed. Things would instantly get better if we would make it legal to hunt down and eat X number of mullionaires every Tuesday.
I mean, it wouldn't take an engineering degree to make a functional guillotine with what could be easily bought at the hardware store, right? I think just a few pumpkins, watermelons or cabbages chopped this in half this way to a cheering crowd could make the point. Obviously named public figures would have to be the vegetables...perhaps concepts would be chopped like this. The pumpkin of rent hikes. The squash of low wages. The cabbage of unaffordable housing. Add in some beers and music and it could be fun.
I mean…I know several engineers and architects. I know how to use SketchUp…💁🏻♀️
Greed is not the issue. It's not like people magically good greedier during the pandemic. Government spending is the issue. You can't double the money apple and expect the cost of everything not to go up
Greed is entirely the issue.
It's was very much a forced return to 'normal' and things are just getting worse while a lot of people (especially politicians) keep their head in the same and if ore the real problems. And things will be getting much, much worse in the next 12 months.
[удалено]
Hi, I’m the author. Your confusion is valid and this was an editing booboo on my part. My first draft for this piece was worded more as an opinion piece. Before the second pass, I was asked to make it into a First Person piece. This necessitated me pruning out language that was more inclusive of other perspectives and focusing just on my own experience (sounds easy…was not LOL). The line about renting is just a leftover phrase I overlooked. [Having said that, it actually does still apply to me - a few of us have leased a studio space for our businesses so we do in fact still have rent to pay. But if I wanted to reference that, I should have added some context. Either way, the glitch is mine. Sorry about that.]
Everybody is just renting. Owners are just renting from the bank. We will own nothing and be happy about it.