I Left a Small Canadian Town for Scotland—and Found Myself

By Océanne Houle

I was nineteen when I moved abroad from a small French-Canadian town east of Ottawa.

At the time, I thought I had my life figured out. I planned to move to Montreal for university, get my degree, land a stable job, and eventually move back to my home town. But somewhere along the way, I realized I was following a version of life that didn’t actually feel like mine.

I kept thinking about Scotland. 

The mountains. The sea. The feeling I’d had while visiting the year before — more alive than I’d ever felt. I couldn’t let it go.

So eventually, I stopped trying to convince myself to stay comfortable and started applying for a visa instead.

Before I knew it, I was boarding a plane alone with no real long-term plan, heading toward a country where I barely knew anyone. It was terrifying. It was exciting. And somehow, for the first time in a long time, it felt right.

When I arrived in Scotland, everything felt surreal. I woke up in a small village surrounded by misty air, old stone buildings, and accents I could barely understand.

I remember sitting alone in a coffee shop on my first morning there thinking: Did I actually just do this?

The unfamiliar becomes familiar

There were moments of loneliness. Moments of homesickness. Moments where I questioned everything and wondered whether I should go back home.

But little by little, I settled into life in Scotland. It never stopped feeling foreign, but the unfamiliar became familiar.

I found work. I met people. I explored the Highlands on my own. I learned how to build a life from scratch.

Over time, I created a circle around me — coworkers, flatmates, friends from the local pub, people who slowly became family. Before long, what once felt overwhelming had simply become part of everyday life.

Somewhere along the way, I changed too

Living abroad forced me to become independent in ways I never expected. I learned how resilient I could be. I learned to trust myself. I learned that growth is uncomfortable sometimes, but necessary.

One of the moments I remember most was hiking alone in the Highlands. Standing on a mountain ridge, completely alone, I realized I was happier than I’d ever been in my life.

Not because everything was perfect.

But because for the first time, I felt fully connected to myself and the life I was building.

What living abroad is really about

That doesn’t mean moving abroad magically solves everything. It doesn’t. Life abroad is still real life — work, bills, routines, difficult days, and uncertainty.

But it also gives you something difficult to find any other way: perspective.

You discover what matters to you when everything familiar disappears.

You discover who you are when no one around you expects you to stay the same.

My best advice

Today, Scotland feels like home to me. Canada always will too. But moving abroad gave me the chance to build a version of my life that feels deeply, genuinely mine.

If there’s one thing I would say to anyone dreaming about living abroad, it’s this:

You don’t have to have everything figured out before you go. Sometimes you just have to trust yourself enough to take the leap.