Is it really better in Canada?
Sep 25th 2010, 5:10 pm
#92
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Location: Guelph, ON (formerly Glasgow and Anglesey)
Posts: 53
Re: Is it really better in Canada?
No-one is "moaning" about online shopping and the internet, simply noting the things that are better in the UK and the things that are better in Canada, which is what the topic was about.
Sep 25th 2010, 5:14 pm
#93
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 30
Re: Is it really better in Canada?
it was a wink you know...
tongue in cheek and all that. Mebbe its just that I'm old enough to remember a time without mobiles and internet so to me they are not really an issue of whether somewhere is 'better' or not. I spend too much time on the net as it is, need to get out more..
tongue in cheek and all that. Mebbe its just that I'm old enough to remember a time without mobiles and internet so to me they are not really an issue of whether somewhere is 'better' or not. I spend too much time on the net as it is, need to get out more..
Last edited by alanw22; Sep 25th 2010 at 5:20 pm.
Sep 26th 2010, 3:43 pm
#94
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Posts: 55
Re: Is it really better in Canada?
We are in the position of waiting for out TWP,and our feelings are the same as some on here, we both have good jobs,no mortgage a holiday home etc, and we are still up and down with the "are we doing the right thing" question, well are we? so what we have decided is that yes we are absolutly going to do it and treat it as a big life adventure, we are keeping the houses and renting them out but we are selling everything else, the kids are 8+9 so will benefit with a real life lesson and if it all works out great, if it doesnt then we come back and carry on from wence we left. We dont want to be 10 years down the line with the girls at uni thinking what if. Yeah it might cost us a few quid but big deal, we will just have to work a little harder to get it back.
I think sometimes you have to take yourself out of the comfort zone to push your life forward.We are doing it because we have been given an oportunity that we simply have to take and the girls are that excited about going we couldnt not go now!!!
I think sometimes you have to take yourself out of the comfort zone to push your life forward.We are doing it because we have been given an oportunity that we simply have to take and the girls are that excited about going we couldnt not go now!!!
Sep 26th 2010, 8:24 pm
#95
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Joined: Jun 2010
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Re: Is it really better in Canada?
Cherry Jam
Is it really better in Canada? The key thing here is why you are going there. Are you leaving the UK and going to Canada because of push or pull factors? If both then which one more so?
The answer you seek lurks within this question!
Is it really better in Canada? The key thing here is why you are going there. Are you leaving the UK and going to Canada because of push or pull factors? If both then which one more so?
The answer you seek lurks within this question!
Sep 26th 2010, 8:58 pm
#96
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Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 95
Re: Is it really better in Canada?
What a philosophical answer to my question! A great point.
In our case I would say it is probably a bit of both. That is what makes it so difficult...however, I think the push factor is the strongest.
Thank you for making us all pause and think for a while...
Sep 26th 2010, 11:42 pm
#97
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Joined: Sep 2002
Location: London Ontario
Posts: 453
Re: Is it really better in Canada?
Hi Cherry Jam
I was one of the opinions you quoted. I am still here in Canada and have not in fact been back to the UK since 2004 when we moved here. We are all now Canadian citizens and love living here. It can be very difficult at first. Knowing it will be and then experiencing it are two different things!
I thought about the comments I made regarding Canada and while I still agree with them to a certain extent, I have adjusted to living in a different country and a different culture. Differences can be very subtle but they are definitely there.
Both countries have a lot to offer and no matter where your kids are educated or the health service that you have, a lot of your contentment comes from the life you create for yourselves, the attitude you have towards it and how you choose to raise your kids.
In my opinion, Canada has a lot going for it just because of it's climate, resources and variety of places to live. I don't think Canadians make the most of their country because they don't really have to. They are not particularly innovative thinkers. There is a lot of nepotism when job hunting and one of the most common phrases I have heard is "that's the way we've always done it".
In saying all of that, I enjoy living in Canada and have adopted it as my own country. I don't see us moving back to the UK. It is not a place to be poor however. We are fortunate in that we both have good jobs and can afford to live in a lovely area in comfort. If we didn't have those, Canada would be a very different place!
Overall I enjoy the climate, the ability to have a lovely house and swimming pool (still feels like a novelty each summer!), less traffic (depends where you live), more sporty lifestyle for children, more family oriented society and the fact that we are living our adventure.
I miss being closer to extended family, the vibrancy of the UK, the closeness of other European countries and cultures and living in a country where people are more down to earth.
All in all though, Canada has become our home and we enjoy living here. It may well be better for us. We had a great life in the UK, but would have always wondered "what if?" if we hadn't moved. We were fortunate that it worked out well despite our rocky start.
I was one of the opinions you quoted. I am still here in Canada and have not in fact been back to the UK since 2004 when we moved here. We are all now Canadian citizens and love living here. It can be very difficult at first. Knowing it will be and then experiencing it are two different things!
I thought about the comments I made regarding Canada and while I still agree with them to a certain extent, I have adjusted to living in a different country and a different culture. Differences can be very subtle but they are definitely there.
Both countries have a lot to offer and no matter where your kids are educated or the health service that you have, a lot of your contentment comes from the life you create for yourselves, the attitude you have towards it and how you choose to raise your kids.
In my opinion, Canada has a lot going for it just because of it's climate, resources and variety of places to live. I don't think Canadians make the most of their country because they don't really have to. They are not particularly innovative thinkers. There is a lot of nepotism when job hunting and one of the most common phrases I have heard is "that's the way we've always done it".
In saying all of that, I enjoy living in Canada and have adopted it as my own country. I don't see us moving back to the UK. It is not a place to be poor however. We are fortunate in that we both have good jobs and can afford to live in a lovely area in comfort. If we didn't have those, Canada would be a very different place!
Overall I enjoy the climate, the ability to have a lovely house and swimming pool (still feels like a novelty each summer!), less traffic (depends where you live), more sporty lifestyle for children, more family oriented society and the fact that we are living our adventure.
I miss being closer to extended family, the vibrancy of the UK, the closeness of other European countries and cultures and living in a country where people are more down to earth.
All in all though, Canada has become our home and we enjoy living here. It may well be better for us. We had a great life in the UK, but would have always wondered "what if?" if we hadn't moved. We were fortunate that it worked out well despite our rocky start.
Sep 27th 2010, 12:03 am
#98
Still alive
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Posts: 28,994
Re: Is it really better in Canada?
Not a rant but more the truth. As a Canadian I never gave a shit where you were from. So you emigrated from UK? Big ****ing deal. So did my parents. You're not any more special than the immigrants who made your country home.
So are you going to be doing this every day after you move or will you have to work for a living? My husband and I moved to a very beautiful area of BC but rarely got a chance to stand marvelling at the frozen rivers. We had jobs and housework and the rest of it.
It's only sunny during the summer. WA winters are a lot like lower mainland winters - lots of rain and temps in the single digits. As for roos? You don't get many of them in downtown Fremantle.
As for the question "Is it really better in Canada?" No. It's not better, it's not worse, it's just different.
You know those moments where you exhale deeply because you're so relaxed? I had one of those on my first trip to Canada when I went out to the mountains with my mate and my fiancee. We were stood by a frozen river, it was pretty warm for the time of year (-10) and it was perfectly quiet other than the sound of water under the ice.
I don't often get that sort of thing in the UK and I really value it.
I don't often get that sort of thing in the UK and I really value it.
It's only sunny during the summer. WA winters are a lot like lower mainland winters - lots of rain and temps in the single digits. As for roos? You don't get many of them in downtown Fremantle.
As for the question "Is it really better in Canada?" No. It's not better, it's not worse, it's just different.
Sep 27th 2010, 7:11 am
#99
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,099
Re: Is it really better in Canada?
Not a rant but more the truth. As a Canadian I never gave a shit where you were from. So you emigrated from UK? Big ****ing deal. So did my parents. You're not any more special than the immigrants who made your country home.
So are you going to be doing this every day after you move or will you have to work for a living? My husband and I moved to a very beautiful area of BC but rarely got a chance to stand marvelling at the frozen rivers. We had jobs and housework and the rest of it.
It's only sunny during the summer. WA winters are a lot like lower mainland winters - lots of rain and temps in the single digits. As for roos? You don't get many of them in downtown Fremantle.
As for the question "Is it really better in Canada?" No. It's not better, it's not worse, it's just different.
So are you going to be doing this every day after you move or will you have to work for a living? My husband and I moved to a very beautiful area of BC but rarely got a chance to stand marvelling at the frozen rivers. We had jobs and housework and the rest of it.
It's only sunny during the summer. WA winters are a lot like lower mainland winters - lots of rain and temps in the single digits. As for roos? You don't get many of them in downtown Fremantle.
As for the question "Is it really better in Canada?" No. It's not better, it's not worse, it's just different.
Sep 27th 2010, 7:23 am
#101
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Re: Is it really better in Canada?
Sep 27th 2010, 7:31 am
#102
Still alive
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 28,994
Re: Is it really better in Canada?
I'll look forward to your upbeat posts in the Moving Back forum in a couple of years. The vast majority of words that leave my mind via mouth, pen or keyboard are realistic. It's one of the things which have made me a success in life.
Sep 27th 2010, 7:43 am
#103
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Re: Is it really better in Canada?
Sep 27th 2010, 5:01 pm
#104
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Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Fletchers Lake, Halifax, NS
Posts: 75
Re: Is it really better in Canada?
This is what im wondering just now.
Husband wants to go to live in Canada, and Im not so sure it will be a good idea.
He has 2 sisters in Canada, one in Ontario, the other in Calgary. They both love it and say they will never be back in the UK (they have both been there for about 2 yrs).
Brother in law says we will have a much better life in Canada, better quality of life, and more opportunities for the kids! When I ask him how his life is better in Canada than it was in the UK, he says look at the house I have, I would never have had that type of house in the UK!!!!! Its only a house!!!!!!
Me, I think life is what you make of it no matter where you are in the world.
Here in the UK, I personally think we have a good life - we both have jobs, I work because I want to not because I need to, only have a small mortgage, and we have all our other family and friends. To me this is what a good quality of life means.
But does my argument, please everyone in our family, no, they still tell me "Canada will be better for us, after all this place is going to the dogs"!!!!
Husband wants to go to live in Canada, and Im not so sure it will be a good idea.
He has 2 sisters in Canada, one in Ontario, the other in Calgary. They both love it and say they will never be back in the UK (they have both been there for about 2 yrs).
Brother in law says we will have a much better life in Canada, better quality of life, and more opportunities for the kids! When I ask him how his life is better in Canada than it was in the UK, he says look at the house I have, I would never have had that type of house in the UK!!!!! Its only a house!!!!!!
Me, I think life is what you make of it no matter where you are in the world.
Here in the UK, I personally think we have a good life - we both have jobs, I work because I want to not because I need to, only have a small mortgage, and we have all our other family and friends. To me this is what a good quality of life means.
But does my argument, please everyone in our family, no, they still tell me "Canada will be better for us, after all this place is going to the dogs"!!!!
Don't get me wrong we're not moving back anytime soon (just got our Citizenship in fact) but moving to Canada WILL involve sacrifices. The move here will cost a lot of money. The exchange rate at the moment is horrendous (I thought we got a raw deal at 1.98 to the pound!).
I'm lucky I now have a good job and to be honest I was lucky to have employment from the moment I arrived (bar a couple of months) so i can't complain. For all those who say it's much cheaper to live in Canada - no it's not.
Still glad we're here though...