Moving back to UK from Canada
#31
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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 0
Re: Moving back to UK from Canada
I think comparing Bournemouth to either St Catherines or Brarrie is quite a stretch.
#32
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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 0
Re: Moving back to UK from Canada
To the OP. Halifax or St Johns might suit you better if you were to stay in Canada. Both have a good Pub and Restaurant scene. However there are some drawbacks to both of these cities compared to Toronto and Southern Ontario.
#33
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.
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.
#34
Best Place on Earth- LMAO
Joined: Dec 2004
Location: BC
Posts: 571
Re: Moving back to UK from Canada
Once upon a time there were a lot of passenger train lines in Canada. I think there used to be a trainline up to Collingwood, ON for example. There was even a train line that went up to Grouse Mountain in Vancouver. After WWII passenger rail transport was scaled back massively due to the rise of the car.
This is the only G7 country which doesn't have a dedicated passenger rail track. CN Rail freight trains get priority on the track which causes delays. There are finally plans for VIA to build a dedicated electric passenger train line in the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto corridor.
#35
Re: Moving back to UK from Canada
Once upon a time there were a lot of passenger train lines in Canada. I think there used to be a trainline up to Collingwood, ON for example. There was even a train line that went up to Grouse Mountain in Vancouver. After WWII passenger rail transport was scaled back massively due to the rise of the car.
This is the only G7 country which doesn't have a dedicated passenger rail track. CN Rail freight trains get priority on the track which causes delays. There are finally plans for VIA to build a dedicated electric passenger train line in the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto corridor.
This is the only G7 country which doesn't have a dedicated passenger rail track. CN Rail freight trains get priority on the track which causes delays. There are finally plans for VIA to build a dedicated electric passenger train line in the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto corridor.
#38
Re: Moving back to UK from Canada
In the UK, the traffic density and driving behaviour is getting worse year by year. Housing density of new developments is getting tighter with smaller room sizes and now miniscule plots. Service in general is terrible and getting worse. Brexit seems to have brought out some nasty thinly disguised racist overtones back into the mainstream.
Our recent experience of Canada (Ottawa burbs) is a hugely refreshing change. Drivers are generally very polite, you can actually use cruise control! Service is very good / excellent (Mrs H is still in shock!). Sure the new developments are 'cookie cutter', but still larger rooms than new UK houses, and at lower prices - plus the earlier developments still have good lot sizes. Of course house prices vary wildly with Toronto and Vancouver being silly 'hot spots', but there are other cities in Canada other than these two!
#39
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2012
Location: Calgary
Posts: 962
Re: Moving back to UK from Canada
My town is already heavily congested with traffic still present on my road at 10 pm but the houses continue despite local protests.
It's a stress to do anything around this area now and it's just getting worse.
It says it an when the locals strongly object to every development yet they all still get built. So much for democracy!
#40
Re: Moving back to UK from Canada
The area of the island of Great Britain (alone) is 209k sq km.
The area of the largest of the great lakes is 82k sq km. The combined area of all of the great lakes is 244k sq km. So perhaps that is where this misunderstanding comes from
The other one I hear is the GB is the same size as 'Newfoundland' (people saying this usually mean the 'island' itself). Again, incorrect. The island of Nfld is 108k sq km. Now the area of the province of Nfld and Labrador is 405k sq km. Perhaps that is where this comes from.
But yes, absolutely agree that UK with nearly double the population of Canada and a relatively tiny land area makes it a pretty crowded place. One of my reasons for leaving! The most useless accessory on a UK car is cruise control (with turn indicators being left off the accessory list for BMW's and Mercs!)
#41
Re: Moving back to UK from Canada
I always like to use the 5m in Alberta vs 65m in UK comparison.
#42
Every day's a school day
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: Was Calgary back in Edmonton again !!
Posts: 2,667
Re: Moving back to UK from Canada
I would agree. But of course to each his own!
In the UK, the traffic density and driving behaviour is getting worse year by year. Housing density of new developments is getting tighter with smaller room sizes and now miniscule plots. Service in general is terrible and getting worse. Brexit seems to have brought out some nasty thinly disguised racist overtones back into the mainstream.
Our recent experience of Canada (Ottawa burbs) is a hugely refreshing change. Drivers are generally very polite, you can actually use cruise control! Service is very good / excellent (Mrs H is still in shock!). Sure the new developments are 'cookie cutter', but still larger rooms than new UK houses, and at lower prices - plus the earlier developments still have good lot sizes. Of course house prices vary wildly with Toronto and Vancouver being silly 'hot spots', but there are other cities in Canada other than these two!
In the UK, the traffic density and driving behaviour is getting worse year by year. Housing density of new developments is getting tighter with smaller room sizes and now miniscule plots. Service in general is terrible and getting worse. Brexit seems to have brought out some nasty thinly disguised racist overtones back into the mainstream.
Our recent experience of Canada (Ottawa burbs) is a hugely refreshing change. Drivers are generally very polite, you can actually use cruise control! Service is very good / excellent (Mrs H is still in shock!). Sure the new developments are 'cookie cutter', but still larger rooms than new UK houses, and at lower prices - plus the earlier developments still have good lot sizes. Of course house prices vary wildly with Toronto and Vancouver being silly 'hot spots', but there are other cities in Canada other than these two!
#43
Re: Moving back to UK from Canada
Well, I only drove around the south coast but, last week, it was an absolute joy to be on well surfaced roads with fast moving well driven vehicles and an 'orrible shock to get back to driving around Toronto. It may be that these things are getting worse in the UK but it'd take decades to get down to the standards seen here and, by then, the Canadians will be even worse at driving.
#44
Re: Moving back to UK from Canada
i disagree ...driving etiquette in Canada leaves a lot to be desired compared to the UK..nobody seems to understand the basic rules of the roads..indicators are obviously obsolete in Canada because nobody uses them...people think nothing of swerving across 4 lanes of traffic at the very last second to get to the exit..also i thought you were suppose to stop at red lights ...and do even get me started on how to use roundabouts?!
Drive from, say, San Diego, to Toronto and, as soon as you cross the border it's obvious why people in Canada pay ten times more in car insurance than people in the US. Oh, and Canada produces Chryslers, vehicles with steering so vague that even if the driver wanted to choose a lane, he or she would not be able to stick with it.
Gah!
#45
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2014
Location: Done with condescending old hags
Posts: 1,194
Re: Moving back to UK from Canada
I long for the day Britain follow's BC's lead, and makes being in the overtaking lane when you're not overtaking a driving offence!