The North Door

A friend asked me the other day, "You still here?"

Born in St. Catharines, I went to primary school and junior high in the town of Merritton (now part of St. Catharines) and to the St. Catharines Collegiate and Brock University (also in St. Catharines). I've lived in Thorold, Niagara-on-the-Lake and St. Catharines. What characterizes most of these residences is not only are they all part of the Niagara Region but they are also within easy walking distance of the Welland Canal. Niagara Falls is always 15 minutes away by car.

I'm probably here by default. Never felt the urge to escape. Niagara is central, between Toronto and Buffalo, plenty of radio and television stations when I was young. My father's parents arrived here about 1914, and my mother came to St. Catharines in 1941 from New Brunswick. They chose to live here because they liked what they saw.

I still enjoy travelling around Niagara: driving along the Welland Canal, hiking the Bruce Trail or down the Niagara Gorge, visiting the shopping malls, and biking around Niagara-on-the-Lake, among many other things.

Also, available in Niagara is high speed Internet. What more would you want?

"--International airports at Toronto and Buffalo...," replied my friend.