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Moving back to UK from Canada

Moving back to UK from Canada

Old Sep 29th 2017, 3:37 pm
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Default Re: Moving back to UK from Canada

Originally Posted by MarylandNed
You can't find a pub where you can walk in and order at the bar? I did that all the time when I lived in Toronto.
No, not at all. You have to wait to be seated, then given a menu. If you dont want food the service is awful. Plus, if i sit at the bar i need to tip for paying over the odds for a pint. No thanks.

Walk in, order, pay the amount it costs and take seat where you like. That's the way it should be
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Old Sep 29th 2017, 5:53 pm
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Default Re: Moving back to UK from Canada

Originally Posted by jsinco
No, not at all. You have to wait to be seated, then given a menu. If you dont want food the service is awful. Plus, if i sit at the bar i need to tip for paying over the odds for a pint. No thanks.

Walk in, order, pay the amount it costs and take seat where you like. That's the way it should be
That's the way it works in North America, you tip almost everyone in the service industry. Even if you sat down and got waitress service, the barman would still receive tips as the serving staff give a percentage of their tips to the bar staff, dishwashers etc.

Going back to the bar situation, I can walk into my local pub where there is no hostess at the front door. Go straight up to the bar, order a pint, tip him a loonie, and then find a seat.

Once I have a seat, I rather enjoy the waitress service for the rest of the evening.
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Old Sep 29th 2017, 6:09 pm
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Default Re: Moving back to UK from Canada

Canada is one of the most urbanized countries in the world. Most of the population lives in a few cities dotted along a band an hour and half from the US border. Income tax is high because of double dipping between federal and provincial plus, there's a ton of secondary taxes that nibble away at your salary. So unless you're farmer or don't want a job you have to live in or around a big metro center. Plus, its naffing dull. In terms of lifestyle between Edinburgh and Toronto I think it's a no brainer.
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Old Sep 29th 2017, 6:28 pm
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Default Re: Moving back to UK from Canada

Originally Posted by jsinco
No, not at all. You have to wait to be seated, then given a menu. If you dont want food the service is awful. Plus, if i sit at the bar i need to tip for paying over the odds for a pint. No thanks.

Walk in, order, pay the amount it costs and take seat where you like. That's the way it should be

Tipping is customary - that's just part of life in Canada. But there are loads of places where you can walk up to the bar and get a drink. I used to frequent the Rose & Crown and the Duke of Kent at Yonge & Eglinton.

Last edited by MarylandNed; Sep 29th 2017 at 7:26 pm.
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Old Sep 29th 2017, 6:39 pm
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Default Re: Moving back to UK from Canada

Originally Posted by jsinco
Hello all

I moved to canada in 2010, to Toronto, since then i have a good job with a good pension, married and have a good house. I am however always homesick and miss Scotland. I was born in edinburgh and moved over when i was 25, and now i need to convince my canadian wife to move.

I am tired of it here, its overcrowded, taxes are getting crazy and driving is really really frustrating.

I miss the little things about the UK - the landscape, being close to the ocean, less overcrowded and simply going to the pub for a pint and ordering at the bar.

I will have to give up a lot and its seems crazy so im wondering if anyone has regretted moving back or can give me advice on this

thanks

Joe

As a few other posters have said on here....I think its Toronto thats your problem....its an in your face, crowded, big city, and its not for everyone. I enjoy my visits to Toronto for various reasons, but I couldn't live there now. Canada is a huge country, I think relocating in Canada may be something to try first...

Im not saying that you will, but many people that move back to the UK often regret it, and you have to consider your wife too? Seriously try the Maritimes, or a more rural part of Ontario. If I am honest I enjoy city and country, but they are like two different worlds.
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Old Sep 29th 2017, 8:16 pm
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Default Re: Moving back to UK from Canada

Originally Posted by Oink
Canada is one of the most urbanized countries in the world. Most of the population lives in a few cities dotted along a band an hour and half from the US border. Income tax is high because of double dipping between federal and provincial plus, there's a ton of secondary taxes that nibble away at your salary. So unless you're farmer or don't want a job you have to live in or around a big metro center. Plus, its naffing dull. In terms of lifestyle between Edinburgh and Toronto I think it's a no brainer.
Finally someone who understands how much we are taxed here. one of the reason i moved here was to pay less taxes, but its not much different from the UK.

I also think Toronto is dull, if you go about 2 hours (4 with the traffic) you get to a nice forrest. If you go 2 hours from Edinburgh you get to the highlands, seaside, another large city.

Transit also bother me, in scotland i could travel by train everywhere. There are no trains outside the GTA here, I cant go to Muskoka by train or to Port perry for a day.
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Old Sep 29th 2017, 8:22 pm
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Default Re: Moving back to UK from Canada

Originally Posted by jsinco
Transit also bother me, in scotland i could travel by train everywhere. There are no trains outside the GTA here, I cant go to Muskoka by train or to Port perry for a day.

Have you heard of Via Rail? For example, you can take a train from Toronto to Montreal.
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Old Sep 29th 2017, 8:28 pm
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Default Re: Moving back to UK from Canada

Yes I have, an over priced service that runs slower than steam trains, and I want to get outside cities. Hence Muskoka, No via trains run anywhere but major cities.
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Old Sep 29th 2017, 8:39 pm
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Default Re: Moving back to UK from Canada

Originally Posted by MarylandNed
Tipping is customary - that's just part of life in Canada. But there are loads of places where you can walk up to the bar and get a drink. I used to frequent the Rose & Crown and the Duke of Kent at Yonge & Eglinton.
Not just in Canada. Last night on the ferry from Amsterdam back to Newcastle, I ordered (at my seat) a pint of Guinness which cost 4.99 euros.

Whipping out a 5 euro note, I magnanimously told the (Dutch) waiter that he could keep the change.

We both had a chuckle.
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Old Sep 29th 2017, 9:39 pm
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Default Re: Moving back to UK from Canada

Originally Posted by jsinco
Finally someone who understands how much we are taxed here. one of the reason i moved here was to pay less taxes, but its not much different from the UK.

I also think Toronto is dull, if you go about 2 hours (4 with the traffic) you get to a nice forrest. If you go 2 hours from Edinburgh you get to the highlands, seaside, another large city.

Transit also bother me, in scotland i could travel by train everywhere. There are no trains outside the GTA here, I cant go to Muskoka by train or to Port perry for a day.
yep i would choose Edinburgh over Toronto everyday of the week..i agree about the pub situation and transit..traffic not so much traffic in the UK is the pits esp in the summer
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Old Sep 29th 2017, 9:52 pm
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Default Re: Moving back to UK from Canada

Originally Posted by jsinco
Yes I have, an over priced service that runs slower than steam trains, and I want to get outside cities. Hence Muskoka, No via trains run anywhere but major cities.
There are other trains.

http://www.agawatrain.com/

http://www.sinfin.net/railways/world...a/ontario.html

http://www.traintraveling.com/canada...x.html#ontario

Maps / Rail Atlas

Last edited by Siouxie; Sep 29th 2017 at 9:57 pm.
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Old Sep 29th 2017, 10:39 pm
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Default Re: Moving back to UK from Canada

Originally Posted by jsinco
Yes I have, an over priced service that runs slower than steam trains, and I want to get outside cities. Hence Muskoka, No via trains run anywhere but major cities.
Buses do though. I know you can get a bus from Toronto to the Kawarthas expect you can to Muskoka too. If you are homesick, I totally understand that, but I did have a chuckle when you said you wanted to go back to the UK because of overcrowding in Canada. Toronto is busy, but not very far out and it's really quiet. We are in a rural area about 20 mins outside Guelph, an hour to Pearson airport. There are no traffic or overcrowding issues here. It's a 6 minute walk to our nearest neighbour.
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Old Sep 29th 2017, 11:57 pm
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Default Re: Moving back to UK from Canada

I've known several people who moved back after 3, 5, 15 years because they missed "whatever" in the UK so much ...................

and then regretted leaving Canada, because the UK they moved back to was not the UK they left, friends had moved on, and they realised what they had left behind.


Take an unpaid leave of absence, if possible, go back for 3 months with your wife, and see how like living back there vs visiting for 2 or 3 weeks. The decide whether you still like it as much "back there" .............. and whether your wife would be willing to live there.


Travel around Canada and see what the rest of the country is like


and realise that Canada is a huge country, with a small population hence cannot support a transit network such as you think you are missing.
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Old Sep 30th 2017, 10:07 am
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Default Re: Moving back to UK from Canada

Originally Posted by scilly
I've known several people who moved back after 3, 5, 15 years because they missed "whatever" in the UK so much ...................

and then regretted leaving Canada, because the UK they moved back to was not the UK they left, friends had moved on, and they realised what they had left behind.


Take an unpaid leave of absence, if possible, go back for 3 months with your wife, and see how like living back there vs visiting for 2 or 3 weeks. The decide whether you still like it as much "back there" .............. and whether your wife would be willing to live there.


Travel around Canada and see what the rest of the country is like


and realise that Canada is a huge country, with a small population hence cannot support a transit network such as you think you are missing.
Very sound advice. I have lived in 5 different countries (UK, USA, Sweden, Belgium and Germany). Each place has its Pros and Cons. When I lived in the USA I missed a lot of the things you mentioned back home, e.g. Enjoying a pint in a country pub, walking down country lanes listening to the wildlife chirpy away. However, after being away for 3 years and returning, I remembered WHY I left in the first place. Grey skies, depressed looking people alway moaning about something, train delays (especially around London) etc etc etc

FYI...we were in south west Ontario for the last 2 weeks. Toronto is a great place to visit, but not so great to live. (a bit like London, UK). We found St Catherines and Barrie to be similar to Bournemouth in the UK. Both St Catherines and Barrie are near a lake, they are large enough to have all the amenities close by and only 1-1.5 hours from Toronto and the International airport.
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Old Sep 30th 2017, 10:49 am
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Default Re: Moving back to UK from Canada

Originally Posted by glendem4
Very sound advice. I have lived in 5 different countries (UK, USA, Sweden, Belgium and Germany). Each place has its Pros and Cons. When I lived in the USA I missed a lot of the things you mentioned back home, e.g. Enjoying a pint in a country pub, walking down country lanes listening to the wildlife chirpy away. However, after being away for 3 years and returning, I remembered WHY I left in the first place. Grey skies, depressed looking people alway moaning about something, train delays (especially around London) etc etc etc

FYI...we were in south west Ontario for the last 2 weeks. Toronto is a great place to visit, but not so great to live. (a bit like London, UK). We found St Catherines and Barrie to be similar to Bournemouth in the UK. Both St Catherines and Barrie are near a lake, they are large enough to have all the amenities close by and only 1-1.5 hours from Toronto and the International airport.
I haven't been to Bournemouth for donkey's but I was in Eastbourne this week. For scenery, amenities, cultural life, architecture and the sense of youthful dynamism, it's far better than Barrie. Bournemouth must be comparable in terms of things to do, it even has a football team. Barrie did have one the largest marijuana factories ever discovered but that's gone now. It does have the ugliest high street I've seen, just edging out Cambridge Ontario, but I don't know what else distinguishes it from Scarborough or Mississauga except a less convenient location. I would choose Edinburgh over Barrie.
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