Move from P.E.I. to Alberta doubles earnings of family

With two full-time jobs, no mortgage and the kids out of the nest, Kim Bradshaw Ellsworth and her husband could have easily stayed on P.E.I., but they decided it was time to seek opportunities elsewhere.

"I think something had to give. The economy was definitely playing havoc with my business. I'm self employed,"  Bradshaw Ellsworth, who ran a Montessori school in Summerside, told CBC News.

"We don't have a lot of expenses but we just wanted to do something different."

The Ellsworth family pointed the car west, and one son still living at home went along. The destination was Edmonton. Their two other sons were there: one in the workforce and the other starting university. 

"We packed a suitcase with some clothes and that was it," she said.

"So from here on in it is starting from scratch for sure."

The move gives the family a chance to be together again, which made the decision to go easier.

Bradshaw Ellsworth's husband, a Red Seal auto mechanic, got work on his first day in town. So did their son, and soon after that Kim found new work in the child care industry.

"Double, close to double," said Bradshaw Ellsworth when asked how much more they are making in Alberta.

The family does plan to return to P.E.I. They closed up and winterized the house they own, and when the time comes they will retire back home.