The Lovely Lisa and I are settling into our new home this week. We met the couple that lives on the other side of our semi-detached house on Friday: Brian and Deirdre. My first impression of them was pleasant enough. They seem a nice couple and their kids are polite and friendly. Yesterday morning though, Lisa told me a story about them that absolutely floored me.

The gentleman we bought this house from has a daughter with a severe peanut allergy. If you or anyone in your life suffers from this, you know how challenging it can be to manage. So much of what we eat contains peanuts. And in this girl’s case, even the smell has the potential to trigger a catastrophic reaction.

We know this because Deirdre asked Lisa if anyone in our family has a food allergy. Hearing that we don’t, her face lit up. “Finally,” she said. “We can eat granola bars again.”

Out of respect and care for their neighbour, Deirdre and Brian have not brought a single food item containing peanuts into their home for over 20 years. This strikes me as incredibly considerate; almost heroic in that understated way so many Canadians have about them. I feel like we’ve won the next-door neighbour lottery.

In fact, I woke up this morning with two new homes. Today’s economy is now part of Sun Life Financial’s exciting new content site called Brighter Life. If you’re viewing today’s post in its old location on sunlife.ca, please bookmark my new home page.

Not much will change here, content-wise. My mandate remains the same. I’m thrilled with the redesign that’s come with the move, but for the most part this blog will continue to be about me trying my best to make sense of today’s economy, in Canada and around the world.

You will see one small change. Beginning this Friday, the Today’s economy media pack will be replaced by Brighter Life likes. Like the old media pack, it’ll feature links to great traditional and social media content. Its focus will be broadened though in keeping with Brighter Life’s editorial mission. Watch for links to stories, videos and more on money, health, family, working life and retirement. I can’t wait to get started on it.

I’ve got great neighbours here too. My friend and former colleague Dave Dineen is filing a wonderful blog called Dave’s retirement journey that I think you’ll enjoy. It’s a fun and informative first-hand account of what retirement looks and feels like these days. I’m also a big fan of Brenda Spiering’s Simply put column. Brenda, who is editor of Brighter Life, breaks down complex issues with an impressive plain language style. Both are worth subscribing to.