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covid job swap

“After a year and a half working from home, it was like I’d slipped into the Matrix”: This bank exec left her corporate job for a career in politics
City

“After a year and a half working from home, it was like I’d slipped into the Matrix”: This bank exec left her corporate job for a career in politics

"Every time I'd changed jobs, I always had the assurance of job security and a paycheque. This time, I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go."

“I’d break down in tears as soon as I got home”: Why this nurse left the profession for good
City

“I’d break down in tears as soon as I got home”: Why this nurse left the profession for good

"I was skipping all of my lunches and breaks, and I still couldn't get everything done"

I gave up my career as a TD executive to become a florist
City

I gave up my career as a TD executive to become a florist

"I’m earning $17 an hour as a junior designer"

When Covid cancelled his gigs, this burlesque artist transformed a converted barn in Prince Edward County into a country cabaret
City

When Covid cancelled his gigs, this burlesque artist transformed a converted barn in Prince Edward County into a country cabaret

"I'm waiting for the day when we can have a big sweaty dance party"

“I spend 10 hours every day quilting”: Before Covid, he couldn’t sew. Now he sells his designs on Instagram
Memoir

“I spend 10 hours every day quilting”: Before Covid, he couldn’t sew. Now he sells his designs on Instagram

Justin Yong's one-of-kind quilts have turned into a booming side hustle

“We work the canning line until 4 a.m. some nights”: How an ex–government employee and a data manager opened the brewery of their dreams
Memoir

“We work the canning line until 4 a.m. some nights”: How an ex–government employee and a data manager opened the brewery of their dreams

"People were posting photos of our beers and I was in tears. I held up my phone, like, 'People like us! They really like us!'"

Stories of radical pandemic career swaps
City

Stories of radical pandemic career swaps

These Torontonians turned upheaval into an opportunity for reinvention

“Covid was the push I needed to start my business”: This ex–marketing pro launched a line of artisanal hand sanitizer during the pandemic
Life

“Covid was the push I needed to start my business”: This ex–marketing pro launched a line of artisanal hand sanitizer during the pandemic

"There were days I was like sitting in my living room, surrounded by Pantone swatches and hating my life"

“I kept thinking about all the surgeries being postponed during Covid”: This ex–construction CEO is building surgical units out of shipping containers
Memoir

“I kept thinking about all the surgeries being postponed during Covid”: This ex–construction CEO is building surgical units out of shipping containers

"Each unit has two rooms, two anterooms and a nursing station, as well as its own HVAC system so there’s no cross-contamination"

“It started with a midnight snack”: These roommates launched a cookie company during the pandemic
Food & Drink

“It started with a midnight snack”: These roommates launched a cookie company during the pandemic

"Our first day, we ended up baking 300 cookies in 15 hours"

“By the end of the first month, we’d made triple our rent”: This ex–PR pro teamed up with her mom to open a Korean restaurant during Covid
Memoir

“By the end of the first month, we’d made triple our rent”: This ex–PR pro teamed up with her mom to open a Korean restaurant during Covid

"People thought we were crazy for opening a restaurant during Covid"

“It felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders”: When this flight attendant got laid off, she started her own design business
Life

“It felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders”: When this flight attendant got laid off, she started her own design business

"After 10 years of shift work and flying between time zones, my sleep schedule is back on track"

“My sales were doubling every month”: This former IT sales guy swapped careers to start his own sports gear line
Life

“My sales were doubling every month”: This former IT sales guy swapped careers to start his own sports gear line

When Lars Mueller was laid off from his job in IT sales, he left his Toronto condo, moved back in with his mom and turned his his side hustle into a full-time gig.

“I used recipes from my great-grandmother’s handwritten cookbook”: This receptionist gave up her job to become a takeout chef during Covid
Food & Drink

“I used recipes from my great-grandmother’s handwritten cookbook”: This receptionist gave up her job to become a takeout chef during Covid

"I spent all of September working on recipe development: I cooked and ate butter chicken every day for weeks"

“I was a pub owner, now I’m a farmer”: When Covid killed her business, she reinvented her life
Life

“I was a pub owner, now I’m a farmer”: When Covid killed her business, she reinvented her life

"My pockets weren’t deep enough to sustain the pub while it was shut down. I had to start over from scratch"

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Private School Directory

The Independent and Private School Directory Spring 2022
Private Schools

The Independent and Private School Directory Spring 2022

Big Stories

This man would like your attention
City

This man would like your attention

I was forced into an arranged marriage at 17
Memoir

I was forced into an arranged marriage at 17

Toronto’s first family of cheese
City

Toronto’s first family of cheese

25 Reasons to Love Toronto Now
City

25 Reasons to Love Toronto Now

Inside a high-stakes flight from a crumbling country
Life

Inside a high-stakes flight from a crumbling country

The twisted mind of a serial romance scammer
City

The twisted mind of a serial romance scammer

What should the post-pandemic workplace look like?
City

What should the post-pandemic workplace look like?

How director Domee Shi turned Toronto into a pastel Pixar wonderland
Culture

How director Domee Shi turned Toronto into a pastel Pixar wonderland

How I learned the horrifying truth about my biological father
Memoir

How I learned the horrifying truth about my biological father

Inside a $4-billion family feud
City

Inside a $4-billion family feud

Fifteen mesmerizing photos that reveal the lives of Torontonians in the 1960s and ’70s
City

Fifteen mesmerizing photos that reveal the lives of Torontonians in the 1960s and ’70s

Behind the scenes of an $11-billion subway war
City

Behind the scenes of an $11-billion subway war

Dispatches from the weirdest university year ever
Life

Dispatches from the weirdest university year ever

<em>Toronto Life&#8217;</em>s top longreads of 2021
City

Toronto Life’s top longreads of 2021

Fired for being female
City

Fired for being female

The winter hater&#8217;s guide to loving winter
City

The winter hater’s guide to loving winter

Inside the hunt for Christine Jessop&#8217;s real killer
City

Inside the hunt for Christine Jessop’s real killer

The 50 Most Influential Torontonians of 2021
City

The 50 Most Influential Torontonians of 2021

How an army of volunteers inoculated Ontario
City

How an army of volunteers inoculated Ontario

This man is the Jeff Bezos of the international drug trade
City

This man is the Jeff Bezos of the international drug trade

Great Spaces

Inside Massey Hall&#8217;s three-year renovation
Culture

Inside Massey Hall’s three-year renovation

Best Dressed

Toronto’s Best Dressed: Trish, Mac &#038; Matty Matheson, the ultimate nonconformists

Toronto’s Best Dressed: Trish, Mac & Matty Matheson, the ultimate nonconformists

Toronto’s Best Dressed: Fashion director George Antonopoulos

Toronto’s Best Dressed: Fashion director George Antonopoulos

Toronto’s Best Dressed: Fitness model and anti-blogger Sasha Exeter

Toronto’s Best Dressed: Fitness model and anti-blogger Sasha Exeter

Toronto’s Best Dressed: Brian A. Richards, potential future face of fashion in Toronto

Toronto’s Best Dressed: Brian A. Richards, potential future face of fashion in Toronto

Toronto’s Best Dressed: Artsy supercouple Jeffrey &#038; Lucia Remedios

Toronto’s Best Dressed: Artsy supercouple Jeffrey & Lucia Remedios

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