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Finding Happiness: Carine Atmeh embraces her new city

Posted: July 19, 2024

Carine Atmeh thrives on adventure and challenge, seeking out the positive wherever possible. “There's no happy place, we create our happiness out of where we are," says Carine of her outlook on life. It is an attitude that has served her well since she and her husband, Abdo, moved their family from Lebanon to Halifax.

Carine, who grew up in a village in the south of Lebanon, loves her homeland and being surrounded by family and friends. But, the region’s instability eventually convinced her and her husband to move to Canada in search of a more stable future for their boys, Luka and Joe. “Education and health care in Lebanon is quite good. But it's the unstable situation, the political problems, and sometimes even security that we were worried about. We want them to have a better quality of life.”

The decision wasn’t simple since Carine and her husband already had successful careers and built their reputations in Lebanon. Carine speaks Arabic, English, and French, has a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Saint-Joseph University of Beirut (Lebanon), and has worked on projects around the globe for multinational companies.

After moving to Halifax in July 2022, Carine spent the first few months helping her family settle in and taking courses to learn about the job market here. It’s something that she says all newcomers should consider because having technical expertise on a resume is only one part of finding a fulfilling job.

“It's not about the technical expertise – it's the same one plus one equals two anywhere – but it's how you apply your soft skills that's different. And that's what you need to align your skills with the demands of the Canadian workplace.”

When Carine was ready to search for a job, she already knew what types of roles she wanted to pursue. She contacted Halifax Partnership’s Connector Program, which helps newcomers and recent grads build their professional networks. “That's one of the things I appreciated: that they understood what I wanted, and they immediately connected me to the right people.”

Carine was eventually hired by Barrington Consulting Group, where she is a senior consultant. It’s a role that has enabled her to use her technical background, combining education and training and her business skills to allow her to connect with people and learn what clients and businesses need to succeed.

Nova Scotia has been welcoming to them as newcomers, says Carine. “Even if you go to the grocery store, people are always smiling. They open the door for you. If you seem lost, people just offer help.” Now that they have settled in, Carine would like to do some volunteering in her new community and is looking to become a Connector in order to help other newcomers establish a network here in the same way that Halifax Partnership helped her.

Carine says her family loves to spend time outside, enjoying nature, discovering the province, and even venturing out in the snow.

“I'm embracing what the city has to offer me. And trust me, there is plenty, and we are really very happy that we're here.”

She misses her family and friends in Lebanon, but Carine is looking to establish new traditions – like celebrating Thanksgiving, Canada Day, Halloween, and Victoria Day, to name just a few.

Carine wants her children to grow up knowing about their homeland and being proud of their heritage. Her oldest son, 17, has his own memories about Lebanon that he won’t forget, says Carine, but it’s more challenging for her youngest son, who is just six years old. “I don't want him to forget. I want him to be proud and say, ‘I have two homes. I have Lebanon, and I have Canada.’ And that's what he says.”

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