Movers & Shakers: In Conversation with Jonathan Burrello

Few people have collected as many hometowns as Jonathan Burrello. Born in Upstate New York, Jon has lived in Kansas, California, South Korea, Spain, and now Montreal, accumulating stories, friendships, and the occasional bizarre roommate along the way. For this edition of Movers & Shakers, we spoke with Jonathan about moving across continents, the possessions he regrets leaving behind, and why home has less to do with geography than the people around you.

TSM: What's the first place you ever lived on your own?

Jonathan Burrello:

"I moved to Kansas to go to school for a couple years."

Jon grew up in New York's Mohawk Valley and headed to McPherson, Kansas after high school on a scholarship.

"When I first got there, it was nighttime and I thought there was a city because I saw lights. Then in the daytime I realized it was an oil refinery. At night it looked like Gotham City from Batman."

The move marked the beginning of a lifestyle that would eventually take him around the world.

"I brought a huge trunk with me, a suitcase, and my laptop. That kind of started me living out of a trunk."

TSM: What was the most embarrassing thing you moved with?

Jonathan Burrello:

"I had a baby blanket."

Not just any baby blanket, either.

"It was this ratty yellow blanket with holes in it. My mom kept saying, 'You can't take that with you forever,' and I was like, 'Oh, I'm going to.'"

Jon brought it with him to college and kept it for years.

"It smelled like home."

TSM: Who was the worst roommate you ever had?

Jonathan Burrello:

"I lived with a cult leader who had anger issues."

The roommate arrived shortly after Jon moved to Montreal.

"He was this Kyrgyzstani guy who wanted to run self-love group therapy sessions. It was a very strange situation."

While the details are best left to late-night conversations rather than a company blog, John describes the experience as one of the most memorable living situations of his life.

"It was wild."

TSM: Is there anything you've left behind that you still regret?

Jonathan Burrello:

"Absolutely."

The item wasn't valuable. It wasn't practical. It wasn't even particularly useful.

It was a giant wooden Babar the Elephant wall display rescued from a closing Barnes & Noble in Los Angeles.

"My roommates all had posters and decorations, so I bolted this giant Babar display to the wall."

When it came time to move overseas, there was no way to bring it along.

"I was devastated. It was huge. There was no chance it was making the trip."

TSM: Did you ever move because of a relationship?

Jonathan Burrello:

"A couple of times."

A relationship helped draw him to California after Kansas, while a different crush inspired his move abroad.

"There was a girl I liked who moved to China to teach English. I didn't follow her there, but it made me think, 'Maybe I should leave the country too.'"

That decision eventually led him to South Korea.

His move to Montreal, however, was motivated by friendship.

"I met Wassim in Korea and we became really good friends. After he moved to Montreal, I'd visit whenever I came back to North America."

Eventually those visits became something more.

"I met his friends, started doing comedy, and realized Montreal was actually a pretty cool place."

TSM: What was your move from hell?

Jonathan Burrello:

"Leaving Spain."

Jon had built a life in Madrid. He was teaching, performing comedy, writing plays, and producing shows when a dispute with the school running his teaching program changed everything.

After helping organize fellow teachers who were upset about payment issues, he found himself effectively blacklisted from future opportunities.

"I thought I was staying. Then I found out I had to leave."

The departure was sudden and complicated.

"It was a very rough exit."

TSM: What's the place that has felt most like home?

Jonathan Burrello:

"It depends on the season."

Montreal currently holds that title, but not without competition.

"In the summertime, Montreal is a great place to be. In the winter, I'm fantasizing about Madrid and Los Angeles."

Still, he feels something in Montreal that he didn't find elsewhere.

"Culturally, I vibe with Montrealers more than anywhere else I've lived."

TSM: If you had ten minutes to pack one box that represented your life, what's going in it?

JohJonathan Burrello:

"My laptop, scanner, and Cintiq."

As a cartoonist and creative professional, his tools are non-negotiable.

Beyond that?

"My box of pens."

And perhaps most importantly:

"A little plastic woolly mammoth."

Why?

"I just like it."

TSM: What does 'home' mean to you now?

Jonathan Burrello:

"A place where I have people with whom I feel fully comfortable being myself."

After moving between countries, cultures, careers, and communities, Jon's definition of home has evolved considerably.

"When I'm with family, I love them, but I'm probably running my personality at about thirty percent."

For him, home is less about where you live and more about who allows you to be your authentic self.

"I think anywhere could be home if it has that."

Want to see more of John's work? Follow his comics at Big Insane Happy and catch him performing stand-up comedy in Montreal and beyond.