Family comes first: Ryan Snoddon takes on new role with CBC in Halifax
It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since my wife Annie and I packed everything we owned in a tiny Honda Civic and drove halfway across the country to St. John's.
I assured my mom that we would only be gone for a year or two, tops, and then we'd be back. Little did I know.
How quickly one year turned into two, then five and now 10 years in this amazing place we've been lucky enough to call home.
And now, the time has come for a change. My family and I will be moving in June to Halifax, where I will still be working with CBC as a meteorologist.
I'll be covering the weather for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick's programs, and for CBC's Atlantic Tonight. [That means you'll be able to see me each weeknight at 11:30 p.m., 11 o'clock in most of Labrador.]
It's a professional move, to be sure, but a driving factor was our wish to be close to Annie's family.
We came to Newfoundland and Labrador for the storms and adventure, but we stayed for the people, the rugged beauty and yes, the storms too.
So. Much. Weather.
Hurricane Igor, tropical storm Leslie, massive blizzards, wicked wind storms and weeks of RDF … I knew the weather would be wild, but wow!
I've learned so much as a meteorologist and gained a lifetime of weather experience in a decade.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador has been a wonderful place to grow as a broadcaster and the entire team has been amazing to work with.
It sounds cliche, but I have truly loved coming into work every day and we will be leaving here with life-long friendships.
In the community, everyone has been so kind and welcoming to me, Annie and more recently, our two boys. We can't thank you all enough for that.
It's easy to envision staying here forever. However, as our boys grow, so too has the importance of having family in our lives.
As we all know, getting to and from this island is a challenge when the weather is active, which is often. Skype and FaceTime are great, but it's not quite the same.
A new opportunity for our boys
Truth be told, we've had Halifax circled for a couple of years now.
It's a beautiful, family-friendly city in a wonderful province, along the coast, where the weather is almost as crazy as here, only with a longer spring and summer. (Haha.)
Annie was born and raised in the city and continues to have a wide family network there. My family is in Ontario, which is driveable, or at least a shorter flight.
Annie and I were both raised surrounded by family and have fond memories of frequent family gatherings and spending weekends and summers playing with our cousins.
The chance to give our boys the same opportunity is something that weighs most heavily in this decision.
It was the most difficult decision we've ever had to make, but in the end it's a fantastic and rare opportunity to move to another great city in Atlantic Canada while remaining with the CBC.
We just had to jump on it.
It's going to be really hard to say farewell over the next few weeks, but really we're excited for the next chapter in our lives.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for letting me into your homes.
Don't worry: I will not be a stranger.
