DREAMS COME TRUEON THE EAST COAST FOR VANCOUVER NURSE

BY MARGARET HOEGG
Rachelle fell in love with Nova Scotia while visiting on an East Coast bike trip.
Something told her to stay a while, so she applied for a job in Lunenburg. She got the job, intending to return to Vancouver after the contract. Seven years later, she’s still here. “The job just turned out to be wonderful,” said Rachelle. “I had great colleagues, I had great connections, and had the opportunity to continue on by extending my contract and then eventually it became a permanent job.”
As a nurse, she has found lots of job opportunities in Lunenburg County, and that’s what’s allowed her to stay. She has worked in the community with Public Health, in the hospital, in the college setting, and now works for a non-profit. Her current job with VON takes her all over the county. She said, “I’ve met a lot of really interesting people. I’m always quite amazed at how kind people are and how friendly and open they are. It’s been really lovely.” Rachelle reached out to the local triathlon club before moving here. “It was so wonderful because it was a group of people who met regularly who were very welcoming,” she said. “It’s really riding into a new life easy to meet people once you make a little inroad - it seems like
it just blossoms from there.”
These connections led her to some unique opportunities, such as wooden dory racing in Lunenburg harbour and building her own kayak by hand. She also bought a cottage on Cherry Hill Beach and now owns a house on the LaHave river with her husband, who she met here.
Owning property on the water was, she said, “a dream come true considering where I lived in Vancouver. That would have been such a pipe dream.”
Rachelle is continually amazed by how easy it is to access the water. “Just being able to be on the water in so many ways,” she said, “and it’s not just for people who have a lot of means to own a membership at a boat club...that part I love.” She found herself invested in the success of the place she quickly grew to love and enjoys watching the community grow. “You know you really see the growth and you think this is so exciting to be part of,” she said. “It’s that sense of, let’s grow this place!” “I would say I’m glad I took the risk of moving across the country for a temporary contract,” she said. “I literally expected to be here for nine months, and I haven’t been able to tear myself away. So, taking that chance was the best thing I did.”