WoW friends

I got to meet a couple of guys I used to play WoW with. One was our tank/mage (depending on which raid and group comp we are talking about), and the other was our ret paladin.

And it was really awesome! Mage/tank is from Asia and was in Vancouver and Whistler with his partner, and ret paladin lives in Vancouver and neither of us was really sure why we had never met in person before.

Ret paladin had all this gossip regarding Vancouver's elite as he toured us around the city, so that was fun to hear, and the weather was absolutely amazing, something like 14 degrees and sunny. Pretty much the perfect weather to visit the city in, as it is a beautiful city, especially when the sun is out (which isn't, let's be real, a common occurrence in Vancouver). The male servers at gay bars are pretty much model level gorgeous. We had dinner at an amazing vegetarian restaurant (which had vegan options), where even the carnivores I know would have enjoyed the food, it was that good.

And then I hung out with my brother's girlfriend the next morning, before she had to work and I got on my way home.

All in all, a good weekend.

But OH MY GOD, did it make me realize how much I miss living in a real city. I feel homesick for it now. The transit that works, so I don't have to have a car to get anywhere! The restaurants that are actually decent and plentiful and have more variety than pizza and North American (gross) Chinese food! The entire feel of a city, its bustle and movement!

It is an almost physical ache now. I don't hate living in a small town as much as I thought I would, but I am chafing, and visiting Vancouver made me realize exactly how much I am chafing. But I love the people I work with. The job will be the same everywhere, I know this, and once I have a tax season behind my belt I can pretty much get a job everywhere (especially since I think I will be able to get good references), but I don't want to leave my coworkers. I want to take them with me everywhere I go. But that isn't realistic and it makes me sad.

But Vancouver doesn't seem like an option. In order to afford it, I would have to live more than an hour commute (once you factor in shitty Van traffic) outside the city where the work would be. Not so practical.

But since I would never choose to live in Alberta (as in, the only way I would reside there is if I was kidnapped and held prisoner), that means the only real options for living in a city are 1) Vancouver, or 2) Toronto.

And I hate to say this, but I really am honestly thinking about Toronto (or GTA, I guess). My inner BC hippie says "no," but my inner accountant says, "higher pay!"