Saying bye to Montreal

April 24 2024

I’d like to think when I’m the one leaving, I have the upper hand. I’ve had the time to mentally prepare myself for every farewell I have to bid. But realistically when you’re sentimental and anxiously-attached, no matter how long you know in advance about your departure, saying each of your goodbyes is a pin prick in the back of your throat, and you are left dragging it out for months. I can’t help but be terribly misty-eyed as I think: What if I never sit in the sun on Parc Avenue at 3pm on a Friday again? What if that was the last time I experience snow in April? It can go on forever. It just depends how nostalgic you are. 

Preparing to leave Montreal has been a mix of both having the upper hand, but also painfully slow and dragged out for me. I’ve known since July 2023 that I was planning to make my exit, I just didn’t know exactly where I wanted to go. But let me make it clear: it’s not because I don’t like it here in Montreal; in fact, I love it. I just needed a change of scenery and a fresh start. I’m not ready to nest and I know well that Montreal isn’t going anywhere and I can always come back if I need to. 

Right now, I’m writing this from the Sunshine Coast, and I have been here for two and a half weeks. Unfortunately for me, I already miss Montreal. How am I going to leave this July?

As I learn to say bye to Montreal, I remember all my years here: the good, the bad, and the ugly. But what I really try to remember are all the pivotal moments in which things changed: big or small, and how I relished in those. Maybe things changed for the better or worse in those split seconds of my life, but I remember that I learned to cope with the ever-changing nature of life as a young twenty-something. And Montreal was the perfect backdrop to do that in. I know I will carry that same ability with me as I move into this next chapter. Significantly farther away, but I will hold Montreal close in my heart. 

The first time I made a big move was when I moved from my hometown to Montreal, and of course. That was a long time ago now. One of my first friends wrote me a goodbye message in my yearbook that said: “Sophia, you will go very far in life, but don’t ever forget where you came from”. I’m happy that I also came from Montreal. ❤