lindamchugh

londonuk why??

Shard

Could you elaborate on that TT?

Tony_Tiger

Sure. I found living in Calgary more progressive. In general I found people more positive. I found it a more 'can do attitude'.
Back home (im from West London) I recall going to buy a pint of milk and a newspaper from the newsagent and I nearly got into a fight with the local chavs.
I have a very mixed group of friends and family and I found the attitude quite self defeating and miserable. I thought maybe its just family and friends, but living abroad I realised it was more than that. It was also the people I worked with, people I met in pubs and sometimes people in my community.

I met a close friend of mine. He went to Australia and I came to Canada. We sate down and compared notes. We both came to similar conclusions.
That being said, I had a friend here(Calgary) that moved back to London after two years here. He did not like it here.

didnotbother

I lived in Canada for about 6 years and I didn't like it, I married a First Nations girl and eventually we seperated then moved back to good old Blighty. I moved back because I was homesick, and missed the footy, and I couldn't stand hockey.

Overall I found that Canada lacked culture and the pubs were just too boring for me, and I just couldn't find anything to do after work that I enjoyed. So I took up hunting and that's where I met my wife and learned to live like a frontiers man at the weekend when I wasn't working, and decided to stay. But the call of home was always loud.

I was in the process of getting my citizenship but decided not to bother signing it and posting it as I didn't want to be a British/Canadian/dual National. I am semi retired now and still go back to Canada occasionally to see my wife whom I'm still fond of, and to work on the odd surveying project in the oil and gas industry. I also work in other countries too, but after a few months of being in canada, I just want to go back home.

I have just come back from working in Brazil to spend Crimbo at home in rural Derbyshire and my wife is coming over this weekend to spend Crimbo with me. There is nowhere on this earth like Blighty at Christmas time. Out of all the countries that I have lived and worked in, Blighty is the nicest and the best place I have ever lived, second to that is is the US, then Germany, and spawning from American forebearers. Some English folks can't believe that I can say that, probably because of the myth of things being better when you live abroad.

But after living there because my dad was in the US Air Force my best childhood memories are in Blighty, as are my adult memories. And being a footy fan its the best place to be for it. Also if I eat out, I only tip if the service is good and not the usual 15% that is expected to be parted with like in Canada and some parts of the US, whether the service is good or not.

All I can say is, if you can hear the call of home, then respond to it and don't kid yourself pretending that you can't hear it!

Novocastrian

I've just put "Blighty" into google maps and it says "Try another search term".

Shard

Great post. Are you actually American or British? I wonder if your disillusion with Canada reflects the place you ended up (Alberta?) as you do like the US. Or perhaps it's just the Canadian climate. Welcome to BE by the way.

Oink

Americans are much nicer to Brits than Canadians, maybe that's it.

Mallory

And Brits are much nicer to Canadians than Americans. Funny old world!

Shard

Those are two remarkably good observations!

didnotbother

Just goes to show that google is still a prototype and shouldn't be trusted. Especially by educated folks.

didnotbother

I'm actually British, although I was born in the good old US when my mum and dad were on leave from the US air force, it didn't automatically make me an American citizen by default as rumour might otherwse suggest. And as I have spent most my life in Blighty, its where I feel the most comfortable due to the British lifestyle and friends I have and folk that I know there.

I can put up with the climate in Canada in summer, and in the winter my wife and her family showed me how to cope and be comfortable, and how to do it very cheaply indeed by living off the land. But the lack of after work culture is just too empty for me, the pubs lacked atmosphere, Canadians are too reserved and retiring, most of the food in the restaurants were below par with anywhere else I have been, the lack of excitement was depressing me making me wish I would rather be back in Blighty.

Although I do prefer the US over Canada as a place to work, live, and visit, because it feels like another place that isn't British or trying to connect with it. Yet it stemmed from the same culture and further developed its own cultural identity and ideas. But at the same time for me it has more to offer and I don't get as homesick because I can still watch footy on tv, or spectate local club matches. I can also do this anywhere else in the world but feel like I can enjoy an atmosphere what Canada seems to lack. So now I only ever go to work there and visit my wife, and knowing that I'm not stuck or tied there makes me feel content.

Almost Canadian

Are you married to Deltadeliquent?

Novocastrian

It's rare that I find you amusing. But very good indeed.

MarylandNed

My experience was the same. I moved back to the UK after living in Canada for 7 years. I lasted 2 years in the UK. I also got fed up with the chavs. They'd be hanging out in the local playground when I took my 2 young daughters there. They were foul-mouthed and intent on vandalizing the place because there was nothing better to do. And it was the same wherever I went in the UK. Playgrounds and parks full of chavs, litter, graffiti, broken glass, dog crap, etc. I also got fed up with the general level of aggression. It was rare to go out at night without seeing some argy-bargy. You only had to accidentally look at someone the wrong way in a pub/club and you could be in for trouble. The binge drinking culture was amazing. Too many people legless and/or throwing up. I mean you definitely see some of that everywhere but it just seemed to be particularly rife in the UK. There were a list of other reasons for me leaving the UK. There are lots that I miss about it. Mostly friends/family, football, fish & chips, certain beers & pubs, and easy access to the rest of Europe. I enjoy visiting but I don't know if I will ever go back there to live - at least not while I still have kids at home.

Rosie Lee

You certainly sound like the voice of experience.