My wife, Stephanie, and I are getting closer and closer to our dream of living in this wonderful paradise, but this journey was not a short one. This is our story.

My Curaçao story started in 1976. My mom moved to Curaçao to marry a great guy and start the next chapter of her life. I was 8 years old, and the island made an impression on me that never diminished. In fact, it just grew and grew. For the ten years my mom lived there, I would visit 3 times a year for as much as 8 weeks at a time. My two brothers were born in Curaçao, and we have aunts, uncles, cousins, and made many, many great friends in our time there. My stepdad and his awesome wife live there as well.

My mom and brothers moved back to Canada, but our friends and family remained. In the years following, I would continue to travel to the island and my connection to the people, culture, nature, and especially the sea just got stronger and stronger. I had lived in 2 different Canadian cities for parts of my life, but Curaçao was like a second home for my whole life. I always knew I wanted to live there, and now that I’m close to retiring, my dream is getting closer every day.

When Stephanie and I met, she hadn’t travelled much, and really didn’t love airplanes. We had travelled, but it would take her days to feel comfortable anywhere we went. Then we went to Curaçao. Stephanie felt comfortable day one. Since then, we’ve been back, many, many times and her connection to the island has evolved to match mine. She is now sad when we have to come back to Canada and misses Curaçao when we aren’t there. Even the plane rides are more tolerable for her when the destination is this amazing island.

On one of our trips to visit our family, I decided to propose. In typical “me” fashion, I forgot the ring in Canada, so I ended up proposing with a little beaded sea horse ring I bought for $8 at the Sea Aquarium gift shop. Once she realized I wasn’t kidding, she accepted!! (whew)

When we discuss our future, it just doesn’t seem right unless it’s in Curaçao. It’s our dream, and our true home. We can’t wait to take the next step and actually make the move.

We know many of you have great stories of how you ended up in paradise, too. We hope ours has made you smile.

Mike and Stephanie

Curaçao4Canadians.ca