Life|Travel

Why I Left Canada For Guatemala

And why I will never go back to live there again.

Iva Ursano
5 min readJun 15, 2024

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Photo purchased from Depositphotos.

It was September 2015. Winter in Canada was coming soon. I had downsized from my one-bedroom apartment in Sudbury, Ontario, to living in a tiny basement bedroom that a sweet Christian woman offered to me for free.

She knew I was leaving soon and let me stay at her house so I could save money to move. At the time I moved into her house, I still had no idea where I was moving to.

I just knew, without a shadow of a doubt, I was leaving Canada.

The catalyst for my move

After I left my abusive relationship in 2012, I knew I had to start making radical changes in my life, in all areas of my life. The path I was on was destructive and killing my mental health, self-esteem, and self-confidence.

Years of in and out of abusive relationships had taken its toll on me. 2013 was the year of self-discovery, healing, and growth. None of which I had ever done before.

Part of my healing involved volunteering at a homeless shelter. It was there I felt free, joy and so much love.

After 1 year, I became the team captain and was there every day, mostly just visiting with the patrons. I loved…

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