Trying to choose allegiance to just one country has always been tough for meâwhich is why I call myself North American Darrell.
I was born in Canada, live in the United States, and I also have a studio vacation studio in Rocky Point, Mexico since 2017. In four short hours, I can be “home” in Mexico from my Mesa, Arizona home base.
After bouncing between places for so long and traveling the world, I stopped thinking of identity as a single flag and started seeing it as a mix of experiences.Â
When I travel and people ask where Iâm from, I usually say Canadaâwhich is true. It also tends to keep things simple and keeps conversations focused on travel instead of politics. Because letâs be honest: once politics enters the chat, the vibe changes fast no matter where you are in the world when Trump is involved.
Over time, Iâve learned something important about traveling internationally: people donât actually care where youâre from nearly as much as they care how you show up. Kindness, curiosity, and respect travel a lot better than passports do.
So, these days, I stick with what works:
Iâm North America Darrell
I travel often.
And I try to leave places better than I found them.
It just avoids a lot of unneeded drama!
The bottom line, Iâm proud to be American now and that should be okay as I love Canada and Mexico too! I have also fallen in love with many other Countries and would move to them all if I could.
Iâve spent more of my life in the United States than anywhere else. Life has a way of planting roots where you least expect it, and over time those roots start to feel just as real as the ones you were born with.
The complicated part has always been sportsâespecially when it comes to Team Canada.
Ever since I was a kid, whenever Team Canada played, it didnât matter what sport it wasâI was watching. Hockey, Olympics, world events⌠it was never just a game. It was identity, history, pride, and memory all wrapped into one jersey.
Thatâs why reactions can run so deep when politics are front and center!
When you grow up seeing certain athletes as symbols of your country, they stop feeling like individuals and start feeling like shared cultural property.Â
Take Wayne Gretzky for exampleâarguably the greatest hockey player of all time. To many Canadians, he wasnât just a player; he was part of the national story.
And when someone represents something bigger than themselves for long enough, people donât just admire themâthey feel connected to them. Maybe even a little possessive or in this case, extremely possessive.
The truth is that identity isnât a single flag. Itâs a collection of influences, loyalties, and experiences layered over time.
Wayne Gretzky was a great Canadian but also, a great American!
He reshaped the NHL expansion and American grass roots hockey like no one else!
Wayne Gretzky was once the biggest name in Team Canada hockey. He wasnât just a playerâhe was part of the countryâs identity. He played, he coached, and he later served as a general manager in some of the most important tournaments in hockey Canada history. For many Canadians, he wasnât just great.
He was Canadian!
Everything changed on August 9, 1988. I was 16 years old.
That was the day the illusion crackedâthe day sports stopped being just a game and started teaching me something about loyalty, identity, and how quickly being Canadian can become complicated.
Some moments in sports history donât just affect teams.
They stick with you personally, like a timestamp on your own life.
That was one of them as it was the day hockey changed forever in America!
Little did I know, I would experience the same change, just like another Canadian legend! 
Some people were disappointed and even angry when I moved on from Canada.
At one point, friends even jokedâhalf seriously, extremely angryâthat I wasnât allowed to cheer for Team Canada anymore. I too had betrayed Canada in their extremely warped perception!
Apparently, there are rules about loyalty that nobody tells you until you break them.
It felt strangely similar to how some people reacted to Wayne Gretzky after his turning point.
Not because the situations were the same, but because the emotion behind them were. When someone you associate with a place makes a different choice, it can feel personalâeven if it isnât.
Again, Canadians are angry, and it will get worse as it not “our game anymore” angle resurfaces after losing to the United States in the 2026 Olympics in Mens and Women’s hockey. Both games could have easily gone either way as it is a game of inches.
Trust me when I say, it hurts me more than anyone, I have to hear it every day from Americans who do not understand hockey.
You can read my immigration journey by CLICKING HERE.
Why Cebu and the Philippines Work for me:
$450/month rent
Amazing studio in a great area
Perfect JanuaryâApril cool weather window
A Launchpad to 200+ Islands
Asia Is Still Within Reach
 
 
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Click to read more on my Geoarbitrage goals
) can be a bit dramatic at timesâbut I can promise you this: when that train comes through within inches of you, it absolutely feels like a near-miss incident.
Please donât make me explain this again
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), Iâve genuinely loved writing.
on the map above. I got turned around and paddled further into the cove. I thought I was headed home, but was going the wrong direction, making my paddle home further.
