As a food and cycling fan, Welding Engineer Sean Hubberstey has found his mecca. The Waterloo native moved to Windsor with his girlfriend Erin after university to start his career, and in the process discovered his calling.
“I like cooking and cycling the most after work,” said Hubberstey, a welding engineer at CenterLine Windsor, an international automation-process giant. “With all the farms and greenhouses in Essex County, we have found local hookups for vegetables, and greenhouse vegetables through the winter. And there are ethical meat farms nearby, so there’s really good food.”
Exploring Opportunities
Besides cooking their own fare, Hubberstey and his girlfriend Erin spend time enjoying the smorgasbord of restaurants locally — and across the river in Detroit. Part of the fun for Hubberstey is exploring — in urban landscapes or in Essex County, almost completely surrounded as it is by water.
“I’ve done a lot of cycling in the county,” Hubberstey said. “Sometimes I just go out in random directions. All of the waterfront is really great. And, of course, there’s across the river in Detroit.”
In order to enjoy the offerings on both sides of the border, however, Hubberstey has a career to thank.
Which brings him to his work in research and development at CenterLine, with about 1,000 employees across nine facilities at its world headquarters in Windsor. The company also boasts plants in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Romania, India and China. In business for more than 60 years, CenterLine delivers state-of-the-art technologies
and processes that assist customers with manufacturing around the world.
Hubberstey helps ensure the lightweight materials used for vehicle manufacturing have enough strength.
After completing six co-op placements to earn his engineering degree in Waterloo, Hubberstey chose Windsor — given high-tech CenterLine provided opportunity at the centre of the action.
“The automotive industry is very centred in Michigan,” Hubberstey said. “So being across the river in Windsor is definitely the place to be.”
Of course, a great career wouldn’t be enough if it wasn’t paired like fine wine with a great lifestyle. That’s why Hubberstey gave Windsor a four-month test run before deciding the cost of living, landscape and cultural amenities north and south of the border made sense.
“News reports today are all about how housing prices in Toronto are insane,”
he said. “Housing prices in Waterloo have also skyrocketed into something that doesn’t make sense for someone my age. In Windsor, you can buy a house for an attainable amount of money.” Better still, you can choose from liveable neighbourhoods, including downtown Windsor and Old Walkerville. “People say, ‘Why did you move to Windsor,’” Hubberstey explains. “And I say, ‘Have you been toWindsor? ’There’s a lot of character here. The people and the community have been great to me.”
For more information on Windsor-Essex please visit their economic development YouTube channel found here.
If you are interested in residential real estate in Windsor-Essex, please visit the Windsor-Essex County Association of REALTORS® website here.
For more information about a career at Centerline please click here.
