I used to judge people who chose to leave Newfoundland for work. Then I had to leave, too [Video]

This First Person column is written by Lindsey Harrington, a Nova Scotian with roots in Newfoundland. For more information about the CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ.

In the fall of 2016, I forced the trunk of my rust-encrusted hatchback closed. The dishes rattled and the garbage bags of bedding shifted. Anything that couldn’t fit — like the kitchen table from my childhood — was sold off on Kijiji to pay for gas. Hopefully, my sold-off possessions would find a better home than I could provide. 

Surveying my St. John’s neighbourhood for the last time, I sighed. I had sneered as my high school classmates disappeared, heading west for jobs in the oilsands, and turned up my nose when my siblings left Newfoundland for employment in Nova Scotia. I considered them turncoats and traitors, lily-livered and weak. Leaving was a choice — one I would never make, I hadn’t hesitated …