“I previously lived in Centretown from about 2016 until about 2020 in a really cute apartment. What attracted me and my partner to live there was obviously the convenience and the vibrancy that the downtown offered. We definitely had a lot of friends in Centretown. Our careers were down here. We just really enjoy the scene and walking around.

That all changed during COVID. We were in lockdown. Basically all that stuff went away. We had been saving up to eventually buy a home, but weren’t really sure when that might be. And COVID kind of presented an opportunity for us. But all that we could afford was out in Orleans. So we took the plunge and moved out to Orleans.

COVID was also a difficult time. My father was diagnosed with ALS. And it essentially renders you eventually paralyzed completely until it kills you. So during that time living out in Orleans, I was going back to my hometown to help care for my dad. My dad had a huge hand in renewing my home that was before he was diagnosed. We made a really nice home, but throughout COVID and those changes and eventually my dad passing, we just figured that we weren’t really happy living out in Orleans.

We loved our home, but we were kind of craving that community that Centretown area offered us. We made the decision that we were going to sell our home and just be happy and rent for a bit until we figured things out. Maybe if we could afford to buy a home in Centretown. And that’s what we did.

Last November, 2023, we moved into our apartment back into Centretown and have been just getting into the groove of things, reestablishing our roots, discovering the community, seeing how it’s changed even since COVID, some for the good, some for the worse. But it feels really great to be back downtown and it’s closer to our jobs. We definitely see how our lives have improved. Substantially, we’re a lot happier.

We’re doing more things, we’re more connected to each other and also just our community and I don’t know, it feels like we’re finally thriving after a really long period of COVID, my dad’s illness. And it definitely feels like we’re living for ourselves.

So being back in Centretown feels like home. It feels like my people and I’m really happy to be here and yeah, be around my friends and my family.”

Kay Doyle @_theigkay : Centretown Resident

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