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The friends you make in a mountain town

"It'll be so easy to make friends—it's such a transient town; everyone's in the same boat." That's the phrase I kept hearing over and over when I decided to move to Whistler.
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Living in a resort town like Whistler means sharing unique experiences with the friends you make here - but it also means getting used to those friends coming and going. PHOTO SUBMITTED

"It'll be so easy to make friends—it's such a transient town; everyone's in the same boat."

That's the phrase I kept hearing over and over when I decided to move to Whistler.

Usually that statement would be accompanied by, "I hear there's a lot of Australians there," or "It's pretty much just a bunch of ski bums who came for winter and stayed for summer."

I mean, they weren't completely wrong.

However, there are a few important facts those well-intentioned words-of-wisdom-givers conveniently left out. First of all, they forgot to mention what kind of friends you'll make in this town.

With family often thousands of kilometres away, the friendships you form here can turn into so much more than a group of people to grab an after-work drink with.

The casual acquaintances you meet up with in the lift line quickly become the people you call for a boost when your car battery dies in the cold. They're the people who you celebrate birthdays, Thanksgivings and Christmases with; who make sure you stumble home safely after a big night, who never hesitate to share their favourite spots on the mountain.

They're the people you endure tough climbs and appreciate mind-blowing views with, who you can complain or laugh about life in a mountain town for hours on end with—sentiments your family or friends back home might not understand. They're the people who comfort you after a breakup or injury, who you turn to for advice, who know your coffee order, who come sit in a cold arena to cheer you on when your beer league team makes it to the finals, who take care of your pets when you're out of town. They quickly become your people—after all, Whistler tends to attract the good ones.

That could be why it's so difficult when some of those friends inevitably leave town.

The other fact those advice-givers forgot to mention? Whistler's transient nature might mean an endless stream of new arrivals looking for new friends, but it also means goodbyes are just as frequent.

You eventually grow used to the two-year-long revolving door of new coworkers or neighbours here on working holiday visas, and an ever-growing list of longtime locals who decide they'd rather chase waves than snow, who follow their hearts or career ambitions to the other side of the globe, or decide that the cost of living in Whistler has finally tipped the scales in their hometown's favour.

In the past four years, I've been to countless going-aways—words I never would have thought to use as a noun before living in Whistler. In the past week alone, I've been to two.

No matter how happy you are for a friend embarking on their next chapter or how accustomed you've become to people coming and going, there's always a slight sting of disappointment when your favourite riding buddy or your most reliable coworker leaves.

Sometimes you don't know whether your paths will ever cross again. In other cases, the friendships are strong enough that you know you will, but you just don't know when or where (or, sometimes you know that person well enough to know that Whistler will lure them back in a winter or two). Either way, feeling that sting enough times can trick you into believing that making friends with someone who the federal government will kindly be kicking out in two years' time isn't worth the effort.

After all, I think we can all agree that saying goodbye is never a fun experience.

But through the countless goodbyes living in Whistler has forced me to say, I've learned that it feels far worse to dwell on the disappointment of another departure than to focus on feeling grateful for what that friendship offered you.

Sure, some of these friends will move on and create new lives elsewhere. It's no question that it takes more work to make a friendship function in different time zones than it does when you live a few minutes apart—sometimes, a friendship will stay pretty steady despite the distance, and sometimes that friendship might fade into nothing but fond memories and a supportive Instagram comment here and there. But even if a friendship fades, that doesn't negate the very real connections and memories you once made.

So cherish the friends you make in this not-so-little mountain town and the experiences you're lucky enough to share with them. Try your best to keep in touch with the ones that leave, but don't beat yourself up if you don't. Be open to welcoming new ones into your circle.

And, most importantly, always remember to look on the bright side: Racking up the goodbyes in Whistler also means racking up people to visit and couches to crash on across the globe. After all, it's not goodbye; it's see you later, right?