It’s been a little while since I last posted. Just about two months, which is, I guess, the exact amount of time it takes to pack up 2 decades of life in Toronto and resettle out home in rural Nova Scotia.

Wow, is it ever some nice out here. (If you live here, you know what I mean. And if you don’t, have you considered moving?)

I’ve settled in remarkably fast. In some ways, it’s like I never left. My dialect and accent are coming right back. And the gentler pace of life suits me down to the ground. Years of rushing around in the city have given way to calm, quiet, easy days. I do a little work. I write some songs. I bring in wood for the stove. I go play cards with my grandmother. I shovel snow. I cook supper. I watch Republic of Doyle. I tweet. I go to bed and sleep like a rock.

For me, it feels like I’m undertaking a rehabilitation: detox from the pressured, go-go-go of city living. Don’t get me wrong, I loved living in Toronto. I loved running around, doing a million things, seeing a million people. But I got worn out. And some of the harsher aspects of the city started to get to me. I didn’t feel like I could continue to live there and still be the person I want to be or have the life I want for myself.

I chose to simplify. Living here, I can afford to work less, which means more time to be creative, more time to contribute to the greater good, more freedom, more breathing space.

No question, it was still a terrible wrench to leave. I miss a lot of people. I wish a bunch of my Toronto friends and family could have moved out here with me. And, I miss a few things, too. Mostly lunch specials. (Hey, Salad King! Hey, Ritz! Hey, Pho Linh!). But, what Nova Scotia’s south shore lacks in diversity of restaurants, it more than makes up in friendly people and pristine forests and beaches. And when others tout the cultural advantages of living in Toronto, I have to smile. Don’t they realize that I can go down to the Fire Hall and enjoy incredible, award-winning live music — for 20 bucks or less?

It seems I’ve landed in Paradise. It’s good to be back home.