With crime and violence mounting in Jamaica, it seemed like the ideal time to return to Canada. Even with the memories of the cold, it seemed like the right decision to make. My family and I had decided that it would be the opportune time to leave. It was sad leaving, a feeling that hits right to the core. Its like a child going to school for their first day, with tears streaming down their cheeks, wondering if Mommy is deserting them. That is the feeling you get when you leave your home country to go to the unknown, even if it appears known. You never know how the cards will play out. Though you hear stories of Jamaicans who are doing very well, too often you never hear the other side of the story. You never hear how cold it really gets, or how you are treated like a fifth class citizen, or even how the color of ones skin determines whether you get a job. The reality is that you have to live in the country for a long time to really know if its for you are not.

Having returned to Canada, the first real challenge is finding somewhere to rent. One should know that in Canada you cannot rent/lease a place without a credit history. The thing is, to get a credit history, one must have a credit card, and must be spending on that credit card to have a history of your credit. In my case I had a credit card from 2003, which was good, but not so good. The problem is that you need to be spending on your card to improve your score. I had spent on my card, and I decided to pay the minimum monthly amount, which is a huge mistake. I ended up missing two payments, and that messed up my credit history. On top of that, I also had a departmental store card, another huge mistake. You will find that in Canada, every department store wants to offer you a credit card, just to be nice, not. So I ended up owing like $20 on this card, and it turned out that they failed to give me this information. So the $20 turned into $120, by the time I got back to Canada. So when I landed in Canada, the bank had revoked my credit card for owing two payments, crazy, yes I know.

So with no credit card and with my credit score shot to the moon, it was going to be a tough challenge.....