It's About Quality Of Life

It has been once again suggested that I might move closer to my children if I want to see them more often. Prima facie that seems like a sound idea. Alas, it's the devil in the details that throw a spanner in the works. Were I able to move there while retaining all I have built here in Calgary, that would be wonderful. Alas, I cannot. As with any change, there are things to be gained and things to be left behind. There are several areas where this is true for me, several challenges which make any sort of move extremely difficult.

First there is the housing issue. I have a wheelchair accessible apartment directly across the street from a major shopping center and immediately beside a city transit stop. To sell my place here and move to Abbotsford would entail spending at least another $50,000 to $250,000 for an apartment there. Renting is no better; there are absolutely no accessible apartments for rent anywhere in the Greater Vancouver or Fraser Valley regions, no matter what the price.

I could go into a home, but it would mean going into a government facility, one where I would get no choice as to where I live. I could conceivably be place in a location even farther away from my children, like Prince Rupert! In addition, government home care facilities are notorious for their poor quality of care, be it in BC or Alberta.

Secondly, I would be moving from a province which, although not tops in general health care, is a world leader in the field of ALS. My own neurologist is currently leading one of the most innovative and hopeful studies for a drug to treat this horrible disease. The only ALS clinic in the Vancouver region is in downtown Vancouver, more than an hour from Abbotsford with no availability of transportation to and from. My medical care would be worse. My Home Care would be more costly. My quality of life would suffer substantially.

Thirdly, my financial situation would take a real hit. BC provides far lower assistance levels for people with disabilities such as mine. While not generous by any stretch, Alberta's AISH supplement provides me with a few hundred dollars more each month as opposed to the BC supplement. My quality of life would suffer substantially.

Fourth, the general cost of living in BC, especially anywhere near Vancouver, is much higher. You would need around 5,863.36C$ in Vancouver to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with 5,000.00C$ in Calgary (assuming you rent in both cities). That, in addition to the drop in financial support, would really put me behind, seriously impacting my quality of life.

On top of all of these things, I have built a pretty strong support network here in Calgary. That defnitely would not follow me to BC. I would move to a place far away from friends, except for those who live in BC. It would be unlikely that I would live close to my children; more likely I would still find myself a distance away.

While I am unhappy about not seeing my children or grandchildren as much as I would like, the bottom line is that relocating would simply be too costly and would most likely end with a reduced quality of life, and possibly even a shorter life span. I complain, but I am not likely to change anything.