Alexandra and Sam Crowe met in law school in Michigan. Both came to Michigan from different parts of North America - Sam, from Youngstown, Ohio, and Alex from Thornhill, Ontario.
“We were in the same classes for all of our first year in law school,” says Alex of their initial meeting.
“We started talking in our second year of law school,” Sam says.
They actually started to get closer during the summer after their second year. They would text and video chat to keep in contact while not in school.
“Sam has both a Canadian and an American law degree, so we did long distance while Sam pursued a degree in Ottawa and I was finishing up in Michigan,” says Alex.
Both went to Michigan originally because it offered the dual-degree program they were interested in.
“Sam had always wanted to move to Canada,” says Alex.
“I started playing hockey when I was a kid and I spent some time in Southern Ontario and really liked it,”
Sam tells me. “I wanted to spend more time in Canada and see more of the country. I came to Canada without any ties whatsoever.”
“I moved to Ottawa after finishing school,” says Alex, “then we moved to Thunder Bay together as there were more opportunities for articling jobs than there were in Southern Ontario.”
When I ask if they were worried about moving to Thunder Bay, or had any preconceived notions about the city, Sam tells me he felt at ease as the city reminds him of his hometown.
“I grew up in a blue-collar town that is similar to Thunder Bay. The biggest preconceived notion I had was that it’s really cold, and that proved accurate.”
“I think he was a bit concerned about me coming here,” adds Alex, “as I was used to the big city and I really love Toronto.”
“When we moved here we thought we would put a couple years cap on it and then move back to Southern Ontario, but we’ve been here for ten years now,” she says.
So what’s kept them here for a lot longer than anticipated?
“We’ve made great friends, and we love the work-life balance,” says Alex.
“We don’t spend our lives commuting, like in the GTA” adds Sam.
“We get to spend a lot more time at home with our kids,” says Alex.
Local spots they love include Bar Italia and The Stanley. Sam is an active hockey player, so he stops there when hockey takes him out to the NorWest Arena.
“I used to coach, and now I play on a league on Fort William First Nation,” says Sam.
“There’s a lawyer hockey team that plays weekly as well,” says Alex.
They have two sons, twins, who are three and a half and they are excited to sign them up for their first skating lessons this year.
“Living here has forced us to embrace winter,” says Sam.
Their kids have been helping with that, keeping the couple busy with activities like skating, sledding, and just getting outside to enjoy a frosty Northwestern Ontario winter.
