For our spring edition, we are featuring Cesar Vallejo, an operational supervisor at Mountainview Lodge long-term care home.
Originally from Mexico, Cesar and his family moved to Kitimat in 2015 from Surrey, where they had lived since 2007. As Cesar explains, although he enjoyed the beauty of the Lower Mainland, he didn’t appreciate the long commutes. “My last job there was in North Vancouver. And so that was a really long distance,” says Cesar. “When there’s no traffic, it takes maybe an hour. But when there is traffic, it takes an hour and a half, up to two hours. I remember getting home and not having any energy anymore. It was already too late, my kids were already in bed. It just wasn’t practical for us.”
After Cesar went back to school to train for a different career, he and his wife began looking further afield for work opportunities – and that’s when Cesar was offered a job in Kitimat. Though they didn’t know exactly what to expect, Cesar and his family decided to take the plunge and go for it. “Kitimat offers lots of really good job opportunities.” says Cesar. “This is something that we didn’t have in the big city. And so we didn’t want to miss that opportunity. This is how I got to Kitimat.”
Cesar was also attracted to Kitimat by its affordable housing. “I remember when we first moved to Kitimat, we had to rent a home. And it was a little bit expensive, but the job opportunities that we have in this town make it possible for you to stop renting and consider buying a home. We were able to purchase a home almost right away.”
Nonetheless, it took Cesar a little time to get used to living and working in Kitimat. “When we came here to this town, I was a little bit lost because it was just a new environment,” Cesar says. “The life that I was used to having was gone. Instead of travelling or driving for two hours, coming to work now takes five minutes, it’s a five minute walk. Instead of spending all this time on the highway, I can be with my family and have more of a work/life balance. So it almost seemed as if this was not a real place. Just, you know, getting home in five minutes was not something that I would have expected before. That was in a way a bit surreal.”
In his role at Mountainview Lodge, Cesar has discovered work that can be both personally and professionally rewarding. “What I do enjoy is having that interaction with the residents,” he explains. “I get to see a lot of changes that are positive for people who are vulnerable and need the care that we provide. It brings me a lot of joy and it makes a difference at a personal level, being there for them. When I see a smile on the residents’ faces, when I know that the team is happy and they’re working together, that’s something that money can’t buy. So I have a lot of respect for the people that I work with. I’m very fortunate to work with a group of people that really care. It’s an amazing team.”
But it’s the community spirit of Kitimat that has really made a difference to Cesar’s life. “My wife and I fell in love with Kitimat,” says Cesar. “We felt very welcomed by the community. You don’t feel like a stranger. One of the things that I remember from living in the big city was that we never really met our neighbours. Here in Kitimat going to the store is a social event. You see coworkers, friends, neighbours, people that you know. And that makes you feel like you belong to this community.”
The whole Vallejo family has embraced the Kitimat lifestyle. “We, my family and myself included, we’ve all adopted different hobbies now,” explains Cesar. “We never used to go camping and this is something that we do now. We also enjoy having bonfires and barbecues and playing cards and watching movies together. I like to ride my bike, I like to go fishing. I don’t have a lot of luck when I go fishing, but just being by the river, just being by the water, it’s a nice feeling being there. So I will say that the lifestyle is more active and people have time to do things that people in the city don’t or cannot afford to have because of their busy lives.”
And even though Cesar is originally from a country with a much warmer climate, he and his family are not put off by Kitimat’s very different weather. “On a rainy day we still go for walks, that’s not going to stop us from being physically active,” he says.
For people pondering a move to Kitimat, Cesar is full of encouragement. “If they’re considering a place that offers better job opportunities, personal growth, a safer environment, and a better lifestyle, definitely consider Kitimat,” Cesar says. “It offered us many things that we were looking for. Kitimat has a lot of positive things, things that we now have time to take for granted. And many things that people are looking for.”
Having lived in Kitimat for almost ten years now, Cesar is grateful for the life the town has given him. “My two sons, when they came here, were three and four years old. So they’ve been raised in this town. For me, being with my family, that’s very important, and this is something that I didn’t have before. We found ourselves with more time as a family. And I think everyone was happier. Kitimat is home.”
