More Money Podcast - 050 Immigrating to Canada & Life in Retirement - Audrey Moorhouse, My Grandma

Episode Date: May 18, 2016

For this episode, I interview my grandma Audrey, my dad's mom. She has an incredible story, though she may disagree with me. Sometimes it's hard to realize how much stuff you've accomplished and experienced when it's your life, but that's why I love having this podcast. Not only did my grandma immigrate from Scotland to Canada in the 1950s and start a new life with her young family in her early 20s, she was also a teacher for her entire career and was able to save enough to retire at 62. I've never really heard her story from her before this episode, so it was a real treat talking with her, I hope you enjoy it too! Long episode description: My grandma Audrey grew up in Insch, Scotland, a village located outside the city of Aberdeen. Growing up as a woman during that time, there weren’t as many options for work as there are now, but my grandma followed her passion and had a long career as a school teacher. Both my grandmas were teachers funnily enough. When she was in her early 20s, she got married, had my dad (Derek), and moved with her young family to Vancouver, BC, Canada. They bought a house and she was able to find a teaching job fairly quickly, two things that are near impossible nowadays. Seriously, if she had kept her house in Vancouver all this time, it would be worth millions! After a few years in Vancouver, they moved to Terrace, BC, and my grandma continues to live there along with my aunt (my dad’s younger sister) and my two cousins. My grandma has been living the retired life for the past few decades and now spends her time gardening and painting water colours. She painted this lovely postcard-sized painting of the BC coast for me before I moved to Toronto, I still have it in a frame in my living room (thanks grandma!). This episode is the first time I’ve ever heard my grandma’s story from her herself. Over the years I’d hear things from my dad, but one of the great things about having a podcast is it gives me a reason to sit down with people and let them share their story with me. I am so grateful my grandma let me interview her, and I definitely plan on interviewing a few more family members soon too! Sometimes it’s the people closest to you who have gone through the most incredible things. Maybe this episode will inspire you to pick up the phone or email one of your family members so you can hear their story. Who knows, maybe you’ll learn something! Shownotes: jessicamoorhouse.com/50 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, hello, hello. You're listening to the Mo Money Podcast, Episode 50. And I'm your host, Jessica Morehouse. Thank you so much for listening to this episode that is with my grandma and me. My grandma, Audrey, she is my dad's mom. And she is originally from Scotland and immigrated to Canada in the 50s. She lived in Vancouver for a little bit and then she moved with her husband and my dad and my aunt to Terrace when they were very, very little and has been living in Terrace, BC ever since. I wanted to chat with my grandma because I always kind of want to know a little bit more about her story. And also, she's been retired for the past, I guess, a couple decades. And I just kind of wanted to get her take on how do you do that? I really,

you know, being a millennial, I don't know a lot of retired people. So I'm always kind of curious what that's like. How is it living on such a strict budget and living through retirement? So we kind of chat about all that stuff in this episode. Before I kind of dive in, I just wanted to highlight or mention a few things that we touched on in this episode, but I don't think we really give a background on. So just so you kind of know the full story, my grandma Audrey immigrated from Scotland to Vancouver, BC, Canada when she, very young in her early 20s. And I believe my dad was about three years old. And they lived in Vancouver for a little bit and then eventually moved up to Terrace, BC, which is northern BC, kind of near Prince George.

And yeah, so my grandma was a teacher. She eventually also had my Aunt Lisa, which is my dad's younger sister. And my Aunt Lisa has two young girls, Chantel and Cassandra. And I believe Lisa and Cassandra still live in Terrace and Chantel lives in Vancouver now. As for my grandma's husband or ex-husband, my grandpa, I never really knew him at all in my life. So that's why I don't really mention him in this episode. So I don't know his story besides the fact that they moved to Terrace so he can open up a bakery because he was a baker. And it was called the Blue Ribbon Bakery. And he did lots of like fun Scottish pastries, which is kind of cool.

But it's also part of the reason that my dad does not really like – he doesn't have much of a sweet tooth because I think he ate too many sweets when he was a kid. And now he kind of, he just can't go there anymore. So, yeah, so that's kind of just a little bit of a backstory. And the rest we will talk about in this episode. Okay. So I'm excited to chat with you because I've actually always really wanted to know your side of the story and your history. Because you have a, I mean, you've lived a very fruitful, interesting life. So I think I'm excited because I don't know.

I don't think so. I'm not too sure about that. Oh, I don't. I think so. Well, I was born in a really, sorry, I wasn't born there. I was born in Inch, Scotland. I-N-S-C-H. It's a very small village.

And then I moved to an even smaller village, I think, inland. And I was there until I left for college. Where did you go to college? I went to college in Aberdeen, which is Big Port City. And I spent three years there. And it was very interesting. It was great to get out in the world. What did you study in university or college?

Well, it was a teaching course. Okay. And it was at a teacher's college. I didn't actually go to university. It was separate from the university. And if you wanted to teach high school, you went to university first and then did your last year at the teacher's college. But I was going to be a primary intermediate teacher. So I went to the teacher's college and did three years there.

Why did you want to become a teacher? First of all, I thought I wanted to be a nurse about my third year of high school, then found I didn't like blood very much. And then I decided that teaching sounded like a good idea. And I just pursued that. And I'm glad I did. I've always enjoyed teaching. I hear horror stories sometimes now.

Yeah, I think teaching, just the whole industry has changed a lot since like just in the past 10 to 20 years I mean there's a lot of ins and outs and ups and downs about it and it's you know you're either cut out for it or you're not I think and it's I think I was and I've enjoyed it and really glad I took the course, you know. But when I came to Canada, I had to take a couple of courses because, you know, coming from one system to another, you had to sort of just justify who you were. And when your dad was just a baby, I was taking an English course.

No, it wasn't an English course. Sorry, it was a psychology course. And teaching full-time. And doing essays on the weekend. And trying to get going with a two-year-old. Oh, wow. It was heavy going. Oh, yeah, that sounds like a stressful time.

But survived it. And then when you're, oh, I taught at David Lloyd George School down just off Granville. You'll know where that is. Yeah, in Vancouver. Yep. And I taught there for, what was it, three years, I think? Yeah, I think it was three years before I came up to Terrace. That was a huge move for us, you know, because we opened a business,

and I didn't teach for a bit and then had Lisa and went back to teaching when she was three years old. So I've had lots of ups and downs and busy times. Yeah. So when, at what point did you, so you were a teacher in Scotland for a little bit and then you decided to move? About three years before your dad was born. And then we decided to make a big move. Things weren't good in Britain then.

There was a slowdown on work and lots of things going on and we decided that maybe we'd make a break and just go to a new country. I wasn't the one that initiated it. You were a good sport. I wasn't confident enough to do that. But we decided, okay, if that's what we were going to do, we'd do it.

I was very fortunate because I was in Vancouver for about, oh gosh, we came in March. And I had a job lined up by February the next year. Oh, wow. That's really great. Yeah, try that now. Yeah, no. I'm like that now and I had a really good principal, Mr. Buckley, and he was very kind and sort of helped me with all the things I didn't quite know about Canada and had to do right there and then.

Did you find, like, there were quite a few cultural differences? Did you find it really tough to kind of get comfortable here? Yes, I think a lot of it was coming from a small place, too, you know, and to the big city. I mean, I had done three years in Aberdeen, of course, when I was in college, and it's pretty big, but Vancouver is even bigger. And, you know, just getting established in a new place too, you know, we had to rent. And then finally, we bought a little house down on just opposite Sir Wilfrid Laurier, just off the street. And once we had, you know, our own place and that, it was a little easier.

And luckily, I mean, you know, there was no language difficulty or anything. So that made it a whole lot easier. But, yeah, there were differences, you know, that made a few faux pas here and there, but made it through. Yeah, for sure. It's just kind of, it's kind of funny that you mentioned that you bought a house in Vancouver when you were there. Cause I'm like, oh man, had you kept it or you stayed in Vancouver? Well, actually the last time we, I don't think it's there anymore, Jessica. It's, it was on West 59th. Oh yeah. And right opposite St. Wilfrid Laurier School.

Oh, wow. And Churchill was just up from there, you know. And we paid $11,900 for it. No. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. And we checked on it, oh, maybe about, oh, might have been about 10 years ago. And the lot itself was, what was it, 300,000 or something? Probably a whole lot more now in the location, you know, because it was near Oak Street Park. Oh, my gosh. No, guaranteed that lot is probably worth a million dollars.

Exactly. And your dad used to love visiting his little friend on the next street. And they got up to a few little scrapes, the two of them, once in a while. And his best friend's name was Tony. And Tony and he got into little things they shouldn't sometimes, but they survived. Dad seemed like he was a bit of a rascal.

He was, but he hasn't changed all that much. He's still the little guy in there. It's a nice neighborhood. You know, the little guys in there. Oh, my gosh. But it was a nice neighborhood, and the people we got to know were really kind and generous and included us in a lot of things. And that helped a lot, you know. And then, as I say, I was working so much and that.

And you just, you know, you're young. You muddle through somehow. Yeah the director of the greatest showman comes the most original musical ever i want to prove i can make it prove to who everyone so the story starts better man now playing in select theaters so coming from scotland to vancouver and then moving from Vancouver to Terrace, we see that must have been also a huge change. I can't even, because I mean, just the winters alone must have been a big shock. Well, very similar to the winters I grew up with. Maybe milder, a little milder up here, because I remember back in the 50s, and we had one really bad winter. And it was so windy that, you know, things were, some of the outer buildings where I lived, the roofs were blowing off.

And you tried to go around the corner and you blew back. So, you know. Wow. That's when I was in high school. And, you know, it just brought back a lot of things, you know, when we came up here. The winters up here aren't too bad. We have the odd, you know, we'll get the Pineapple Express here. And you'll have a

couple of weeks when it's a little bit iffy. But once that's gone, you know, we don't have really hugely bad winters. You go by how much you shovel up here. I guess you get used to it. I'm still not

really used to the Toronto winters. They still get me every year. I think every time they mention Toronto I guess you get used to it. I'm still not really used to the Toronto winters. They still get me every year. I mean, they're not. Oh, I think every time they mention Toronto and you have some real dealings. Oh, my gosh. Well, you know, it hasn't been super consistently bad, but it's just when you think it's all good. And it was actually quite warm, I think, back in maybe March or February or something like that. And then the next week it dropped down to like minus five.

And you're like, I thought we were done. Oh, I know. Well, this is the thing, you know, with me, my rhododendrons are all out up here and well, they're not fully out, but there's another week they'll be completely out. And we've had azaleas in town for quite a while. So, you know, it's beginning. We're later this year than usual.

So usually it's a couple of weeks before this that things are blooming. But nothing compared to Vancouver. Yeah, no, that's true. I do miss Vancouver's weather. My cherry tree in the backyard is, I noticed the petals were blowing off today. So did you ever miss Scotland? Did you ever want to move back? Did you ever get homesick? Never really wanted to move back, Jessica. But yes, you do feel homesick. I think a lot of it is, especially if you're pressured or anything, you know.

And there's always pressure when you move. You sort of get this sort of longing to go down a certain road and the road isn't there, you know. So it's a little bit nostalgic that way. But I've been home twice, I think. Yeah, twice. But it was a long time. Like, your dad was about 16, I think, the first time we went home. Yeah, you told us about that.

Yeah, and then I went again when I retired. So, but, you know, it would be nice to go back, but I'm not a traveler. I get very sort of uptight if I'm traveling, so I probably won't go back. Yeah. But you've kind of made your home in Terrace, and that seems like that's where you want to be. Yeah. But you folks should all try to go, you know, because it is very different. Yeah.

And Anna's been close. Yeah. No, we actually really, really want to go. We're going to Paris. IB. Yeah, no, we actually really, really want to go. We're going to Paris. I'm excited. Yeah, so I'm very excited. I'm excited for you. I'd love to go there, too.

It's been on my bucket list, and it was just one of those things where there's so many places I want to go, especially I'd love to go to Scotland. It's just so beautiful there, but I'm like, well, I feel like I kind of want to go to Paris first. I find it very different if you do go to Scotland because everything I always joke when I come back, everything shrunk, you know, because we're so used to the mountains up here in Paris.

We had hills in Scotland that we thought were really high. And then we went back, and they are not high at all. So, I mean, the highlands, yes, but not where I lived in Lambsden. So, yeah. Yeah. No, that's definitely on the plans to do kind of an England-Scotland trip. You've done a lot. You know, all of you have traveled more than I have. But I think you really should,

especially before family comes and that, because the opportunity isn't there after that, or not as much. Yeah, it's definitely harder once you start having little kidlets. Though it's not in our plans anytime soon, so I think we still have a few more years to get some traveling. I think you guys are a lot smarter than my generation were, because it was almost expected of you to be married

by the time you were 21 or 22. Well, yeah, things have changed just so much since then, right? Yeah, I was married at 21. And that I wouldn't do that again. Yeah. You know, yeah. I'm going to have opportunity. But, you know, I think it's better to live your life a little bit.

Yeah. And I think, you know, it was just, you know, in your generation and my parents' generation, it was a little bit more kind of the thing to do to get married early and start a family young. And I think because I lived through that as a kid, as much as I loved having young parents, they had more energy and it was great. I also saw the things that they had to sacrifice. And that's one thing that I just didn't really want to do. So, you know, I'm like, I definitely want to have a family one day.

I think I'll regret, you know, looking back and not having one possibly. But I also really didn't want to have some of the same regrets as my parents. Like they weren't able to travel because they had a family really young and it's only in their kind of 40s and 50s that they were able to do that. And I'm like, oh, I don't want to wait that long to do some things that I want to do. So, but I mean, there's, you know, pros and cons to delaying having a family. So it's what it is kind of thing. Yeah, well, each to his own, you know, as I say, with me, it was a whole different thing. It was sort of getting away and being on my own sort of thing.

And, you know, the family I grew up with and that. And just a lot of things. Yeah. You know, just looking back, I wish I'd traveled because I'm sorry I didn't. Yeah. Yeah. Because I'm not a good traveler now. I get anxious.

Yeah. Mm-hmm. Not a good traveler now. I get anxious. Yeah. Kind of curious because I don't really know anyone that's retired besides you and my grandpa. So we must seem absolutely ancient. No, that's not true. I'm just, what fascinates me, especially because you've been retired for a little while now. Well, since I was 62 and I'm 18 now. Wow. That's crazy to me. That's crazy. How did, like, how does, like, in my mind, I am really focused on obviously saving for retirement, but my mind, I can't wrap my mind around not working for like 20, 30, 40 years and just living off of money I've saved. How do you do that? Like what, like how do you make sure you don't, you know,

accidentally spend too much? I'm very careful, Jessica. I wasn't always this way. A lot more of a spendthrift in my younger years. But since we came to Canada, I've had to be very careful anyway. And I've always sort of just worked with what I had, you know, sort of thing. And now, well, before just the year I retired, I think I changed everything to monthly. So most of the things that I have in my accounts I have to pay, I pay monthly. So it's automatically, most of them are taken out of the bank.

So, you know, my check goes in. Bye-bye to all these things and whatever's left is mine. But, you know, and I've managed pretty much to live within the pension, except, as they would say, with this having to do the roof and things like that yeah the little things that pop up on the car i mean i bought a car back in 2007 i guess so it's uh it's getting old no but anyway um that was a little harder for me this because i put what did i put i think i was paying 300 and something near 370 a month or something plus the insurance on it. And, you know, that was a bit of a strain, but I knew I had to do

it. So I'm careful. Yeah. What kind of things besides, you know, I guess being very strict with your budget and that's something that I try to do. I was really good at budgeting and being really strict when I had absolutely no money and just moved out just because I really had no choice. I'm like, well, if I want to save up some money, I have to be really diligent. And then after a couple of years, you kind of get a little lazy. And now I'm kind of getting back to that strict budget thing just because I want to see if I can do it again. But what I'm curious about is what kind of things do you do to like save money or just, I don't know. I feel like especially my generation, we do kind of sometimes try to take the easy way out or spend money just for convenience sake.

But what kind of things do you do to make sure that your dollar stretches as far as it can? Well, because I'm on a limited budget, I pretty, as I said, I pretty well know what my accounts are every month. And I know what my leeway is. And I don't travel much. And a lot of friends do. So if I'm traveling, and I've been lucky because Lisa's been with the airline. She's not in the airline any longer. So I will have to pay full fare now. That's too bad. But I've been lucky that way.

And I've only gone down, say, once a year to Vancouver and that and so on. But usually I'm very conscious of where my budget is and what can be done and what can't be done. So pretty much live within it. Yeah. I think it's kind of keeping it simple is the key. Yeah. within it yeah i think uh it's kind of keeping it simple is the key yeah and that was episode 50 with my wonderful grandma audrey thank you audrey for letting me record our conversation for my podcast i really appreciate you sharing some of your uh life story with me for this episode and i hope you out there enjoyed listening to it.

If you also want to kind of get the take from my grandpa, I record an episode with him back last year in 2015. And you can find that information if you just go jessicamorose.com slash 29. Thank you again for listening. Now you'll definitely want to make sure you come back here next Wednesday for episode 51, which is my interview with the amazing Gail Vaz-Oxlade, personal finance expert, TV host, author, wonderful woman. You'll definitely want to come back here. Make sure if you haven't already, subscribe to this podcast on iTunes so you do not

miss it. And on that note, I will see you next Wednesday. This podcast is distributed by the Women in Media Podcast Network. Find out more at womeninmedia.network.