For the first time on Relocurious, we’re exploring relocation through the unique lenses of individual members of a family.
When Darren joined the Canadian Foreign Service, it set in motion a series of international moves that would shape not only his career, but the lives of his wife, Heather, and their children. Across three episodes, we speak with Darren, Heather, and their son Nick individually to understand how the same relocations were experienced from three very different vantage points.
Darren moved for work.
Heather moved as a partner.
Nick moved as a child — before he was old enough to choose.
Together, their conversations reveal the nuance, complexity, and emotional layers of family relocation: questions of agency, belonging, identity, sacrifice, and adaptation. What does it mean to share a life in motion? And how differently can the same experience be lived and remembered?
Part 1: A Life in Motion – Darren’s Story
In this first episode of the series, we hear from Darren.
Darren’s story of relocation began long before his diplomatic career. Having grown up between countries, movement was already part of his identity. Later, after teaching in Malawi and Canada, he joined the Canadian Foreign Service.
Rather than one defining move across borders, Darren’s life unfolded through a succession of postings — from Canada to the United States, Honduras, Ghana, Egypt, and beyond — before eventually returning to Canada.
In this conversation, Darren reflects on:
The importance of shared decision-making
The trade-offs embedded in career-driven mobility
The challenges of feeling a sense of belonging in each new place
The ongoing longing for a place you no longer live
His perspective offers a thoughtful look at what it means to build a life shaped by service, movement, and responsibility, and how those choices ripple through a family.
About Darren
Darren Schemmer grew up in Canada, Germany, and the United States. After teaching in Malawi and Canada, he joined the Canadian Foreign Service in 1989. He served abroad in Egypt, Honduras, Kenya, and at the Organization of American States, and later as High Commissioner of Canada to Ghana and Ambassador to Togo.
Since retiring from the federal government in 2014, Darren worked for three years as Executive Director of Simon Fraser University International and has served on the boards of four non-profit organizations. He and his wife now live in Vancouver, with their three sons and two grandchildren nearby.
