It wasn’t even a few days later when I got an email asking for an interview. That’s when I got my first chance to meet Jon, followed by Geoff and Ash, all from whom I immediately sensed a dedicated passion for the company they’ve built, the team they’ve assembled and the work they produce. This was exactly what I was searching for all summer, but there was one problem: I currently lived on what might as well have been the opposite side of the country. However, after what I’m sure was some interesting deliberation, they were willing to make it work for me. Later that week, I received the offer I could not

refuse.



Relocating to another city for a new job is hardly new, but doing it at the height of a global pandemic adds quite a twist. Together, we came up with a plan for me to be able to work remotely with my own machine, as well as on my own timezone, until such time that it makes sense to relocate to the west coast. For the record, I have always wanted to travel to the west coast. Knowing how much of an industry hub it is, I always pictured myself working there at some point… maybe not in such a permanent capacity right off the bat, but if Covid has taught me anything, it’s that we have to embrace new opportunities and avenues that life sets in our path. Since signing my contract, I haven’t looked back.

At the time, the team was working mostly remotely themselves, so I did not feel like I was going through this new process alone. As my first week began, I participated in daily zoom meetings where I got to meet the rest of my new team members including Carrie, Sarah, my fellow editors Fraser and Adam and our resident contractors Lindsay, Peter and Mike. But, I know there are others who I just haven’t had the pleasure yet. I still have lots of catching up to do, but it’s all proving to be more than I’d hoped for.

I learned how to best leverage my position in the east, which, more often than not, came in handy when it came to meeting deadlines. As I currently start my workdays 3 hours before the rest of the team, this has become a paramount advantage for delivering client projects first thing in the morning. As far as workstations go, 90% of the time, I’m not actually using my own machine at all, but rather controlling my workstation in Vancouver through software like Splashtop and Parsec (though I’d recommend the latter).

As an editor, responsiveness and ease of use are very important when almost every hour of my time is billable to a client or eating into a budget, but once you get used to it, the difference compared to a real machine in front of you is hardly noticeable. And yet, as daunting and strange as it all seems on paper, I’m exhilarated by it. It’s been close to three months now of daily remote meetings, screen-sharing and virtual one-on-one goal setting. Never did I think I’d be able to fully function as a remote member of a dynamic team like this one. But here I am, feeling both like I’m a part of something greater than myself as well as a kinship towards a group of people that I’ve never been less than a few thousand miles from. It’s been both one of the strangest, yet most rewarding experiences of my entire life and now it’s my weekly routine that has me excited to wake up in the morning. Though it’s come with its fair share of challenges, like not simply being able to tap someone on the shoulder to check in about a project, having three hours a day to myself with my own lunch break, or being virtually powerless if my workstation powers off in the office, the Noravera team continues to bend over backwards to adapt to the shifting tides and ensure that I’m able to excel in my new role.

I made the leap in February and luckily, everything went exactly according to plan. I’m excited to say that I finally met my team in person, settled into my new office, have begun exploring the west coast scenery, as well as my nestled into my new apartment in the West End of the city.

Moving across the country and adjusting to a new life is a hectic, confusing and anxiety inducing process for anyone, but nothing in life that's worth doing is ever easy. I'm far from alone in this process and having a fantastic group of creators, colleagues and friends waiting for me with open arms (metaphorically of course, with a mask on) has helped make it the best decision I've ever made.

-Nathan Isings