Still Homesick after a year!
Jan 23rd 2014, 7:56 am
#92
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 992
Re: Still Homesick after a year!
As a footnote: since moving here 3.5yrs ago I have developed a full blown anxiety disorder so medication and counseling for the foreseeable future.
Guess I have to think myself lucky really as 100yrs ago there was none of the medical/mental health care we have now. No counseling etc., you just got on with things.
Guess I have to think myself lucky really as 100yrs ago there was none of the medical/mental health care we have now. No counseling etc., you just got on with things.
Hope you get better soon. Do you think it was all related to Calgary/Canada?
Apr 17th 2014, 1:27 pm
#101
Part Time Poster
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Worcestershire
Posts: 4,219
Re: Still Homesick after a year!
I really hope the best for everybody feeling homesick! it is a truly awful feeling.
It is quiet an interesting topic the subject of whether the grass is actually greener. And the way people can turn out blissfully happy and never look back or end up horribly miserable.
It does seem the case that the older and more settled you are the more difficult it is to move successfully. Of course personality has a huge influence too.
It might help to imagine all the positives of your new life instead of focusing on what you miss.
The UK is getting terribly overpopulated, polluted, and competition and price of schooling mean the quality of those are falling and becoming less accessible. The public services and healthcare is also at breaking point. Crime at least by my opinion is getting much worse too.
British humour is unbeatable but I thought Canadians were a close second in world comedy
Dan Ackroyd, Jim Carrey, John Candy, Michael Cera, Michael J fox are some awesome Canadian funnymen/actors that come to mind.
In Canada you live in the 2nd largest country in the world with something like the population of Wales! The countryside and space is almost unparalleled. A country that spans 6 time zones (I think?). Most people I think will admit it is for the most part a very beautiful country too.
The people and country are stereotypically very friendly and relatively peaceful shall I say. A stereotype which from my experience has been true, at least compared to other places. Crime is low relative to the size of the country.
Winters in my opinion are brutal, but at least they're exciting. Not like the constant grey cold depressing drizzle in the UK for 6 months of the year. You can do awesome things like skating, skiing, hockey etc in your own back yard! And then much of Southern Canada gets great summers, sometimes 35 C with a lot of sunshine days depending on where you are.
Canada is world wide renowned to have lovely autumns.
My point was there's pro's and cons to both places. And I know it's all too easy to look at only the cons of where you are now and the pro's of where you want to be when you are feeling homesick.
It is quiet an interesting topic the subject of whether the grass is actually greener. And the way people can turn out blissfully happy and never look back or end up horribly miserable.
It does seem the case that the older and more settled you are the more difficult it is to move successfully. Of course personality has a huge influence too.
It might help to imagine all the positives of your new life instead of focusing on what you miss.
The UK is getting terribly overpopulated, polluted, and competition and price of schooling mean the quality of those are falling and becoming less accessible. The public services and healthcare is also at breaking point. Crime at least by my opinion is getting much worse too.
British humour is unbeatable but I thought Canadians were a close second in world comedy
Dan Ackroyd, Jim Carrey, John Candy, Michael Cera, Michael J fox are some awesome Canadian funnymen/actors that come to mind.
In Canada you live in the 2nd largest country in the world with something like the population of Wales! The countryside and space is almost unparalleled. A country that spans 6 time zones (I think?). Most people I think will admit it is for the most part a very beautiful country too.
The people and country are stereotypically very friendly and relatively peaceful shall I say. A stereotype which from my experience has been true, at least compared to other places. Crime is low relative to the size of the country.
Winters in my opinion are brutal, but at least they're exciting. Not like the constant grey cold depressing drizzle in the UK for 6 months of the year. You can do awesome things like skating, skiing, hockey etc in your own back yard! And then much of Southern Canada gets great summers, sometimes 35 C with a lot of sunshine days depending on where you are.
Canada is world wide renowned to have lovely autumns.
My point was there's pro's and cons to both places. And I know it's all too easy to look at only the cons of where you are now and the pro's of where you want to be when you are feeling homesick.
The UK isn’t over populated, in fact if you look at population density in related regions in Canadian cites in many cases they have a much higher density, and the vast open areas just aren’t populated at all or even visited so don’t really factor in, a quick look at the easter traffic jams will show you Toronto is a bigger mess than London…
Public health care may be at breaking point in the UK but sadly it still further up the table than most if not all of Canada, which is serious shame, but can be put mainly at the way is run and funded…
Again this comparison to populations and land mass without factoring in 25% of Canada lives around Toronto Golden horse shoe, and the rest strung out along the US border
To be honest vast parts of Canada are not so much beautiful, but very much the same.. not un pretty just too much of the same thing that it quickly becomes boring… in fact in my opinion some of the most beautiful parts of Canada are almost devoid of people or even visitors (Yukon,NWT)
Last I looked Crime for Canada was on par for most western nations, but only seems low if you compare it with just the US
Yes winters are brutal, and the commute isn't what I’d call exiting, sometimes terrifying, ask my Canadian farther in law, last night every adjective used to describe snow was a swear word.. and at least in the Uk the weather is such that you can do outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, climbing all year round, plus for many outdoor type that like active pursuits not sitting around a pool anything above 25c is getting a bit hot, for One I found the limited period between winter and summer for fun activities quite limiting, and that the skiing was sub par to the European sites and f**king freezing on a bad day
Both places have pro and con’s
The weather in Canada may or may not suit you, but unless you live in Vancouver you’ll feel this on you fuel bill, I currently pays less in a badly insulated UK rental with Uk fuel prices £120 , than I did in a very well insulated Canadian house with cheaper fuel $340.. this goes for another items too property taxes are similar $3700 to £1200, car and house insurance £120 to $420 as we all know Canadian house are much cheaper to buy, but generally cost more to maintain
In my opinion, there is bugger all between the two if you have a good job, you have to weight up the very small differences and factor in what really really suits you best and what negatives will grow and grow until you hate them…..
In my world there were no positives big enough in Canada to offset the winter commute!!
Apr 17th 2014, 1:49 pm
#102
Forum Regular
Joined: Dec 2013
Location: Regina
Posts: 278
Re: Still Homesick after a year!
Let’s pull this apart gently
The UK isn’t over populated, in fact if you look at population density in related regions in Canadian cites in many cases they have a much higher density, and the vast open areas just aren’t populated at all or even visited so don’t really factor in, a quick look at the easter traffic jams will show you Toronto is a bigger mess than London…
Public health care may be at breaking point in the UK but sadly it still further up the table than most if not all of Canada, which is serious shame, but can be put mainly at the way is run and funded…
Again this comparison to populations and land mass without factoring in 25% of Canada lives around Toronto Golden horse shoe, and the rest strung out along the US border
To be honest vast parts of Canada are not so much beautiful, but very much the same.. not un pretty just too much of the same thing that it quickly becomes boring… in fact in my opinion some of the most beautiful parts of Canada are almost devoid of people or even visitors (Yukon,NWT)
Last I looked Crime for Canada was on par for most western nations, but only seems low if you compare it with just the US
Yes winters are brutal, and the commute isn't what I’d call exiting, sometimes terrifying, ask my Canadian farther in law, last night every adjective used to describe snow was a swear word.. and at least in the Uk the weather is such that you can do outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, climbing all year round, plus for many outdoor type that like active pursuits not sitting around a pool anything above 25c is getting a bit hot, for One I found the limited period between winter and summer for fun activities quite limiting, and that the skiing was sub par to the European sites and f**king freezing on a bad day
Both places have pro and con’s
The weather in Canada may or may not suit you, but unless you live in Vancouver you’ll feel this on you fuel bill, I currently pays less in a badly insulated UK rental with Uk fuel prices £120 , than I did in a very well insulated Canadian house with cheaper fuel $340.. this goes for another items too property taxes are similar $3700 to £1200, car and house insurance £120 to $420 as we all know Canadian house are much cheaper to buy, but generally cost more to maintain
In my opinion, there is bugger all between the two if you have a good job, you have to weight up the very small differences and factor in what really really suits you best and what negatives will grow and grow until you hate them…..
In my world there were no positives big enough in Canada to offset the winter commute!!
The UK isn’t over populated, in fact if you look at population density in related regions in Canadian cites in many cases they have a much higher density, and the vast open areas just aren’t populated at all or even visited so don’t really factor in, a quick look at the easter traffic jams will show you Toronto is a bigger mess than London…
Public health care may be at breaking point in the UK but sadly it still further up the table than most if not all of Canada, which is serious shame, but can be put mainly at the way is run and funded…
Again this comparison to populations and land mass without factoring in 25% of Canada lives around Toronto Golden horse shoe, and the rest strung out along the US border
To be honest vast parts of Canada are not so much beautiful, but very much the same.. not un pretty just too much of the same thing that it quickly becomes boring… in fact in my opinion some of the most beautiful parts of Canada are almost devoid of people or even visitors (Yukon,NWT)
Last I looked Crime for Canada was on par for most western nations, but only seems low if you compare it with just the US
Yes winters are brutal, and the commute isn't what I’d call exiting, sometimes terrifying, ask my Canadian farther in law, last night every adjective used to describe snow was a swear word.. and at least in the Uk the weather is such that you can do outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, climbing all year round, plus for many outdoor type that like active pursuits not sitting around a pool anything above 25c is getting a bit hot, for One I found the limited period between winter and summer for fun activities quite limiting, and that the skiing was sub par to the European sites and f**king freezing on a bad day
Both places have pro and con’s
The weather in Canada may or may not suit you, but unless you live in Vancouver you’ll feel this on you fuel bill, I currently pays less in a badly insulated UK rental with Uk fuel prices £120 , than I did in a very well insulated Canadian house with cheaper fuel $340.. this goes for another items too property taxes are similar $3700 to £1200, car and house insurance £120 to $420 as we all know Canadian house are much cheaper to buy, but generally cost more to maintain
In my opinion, there is bugger all between the two if you have a good job, you have to weight up the very small differences and factor in what really really suits you best and what negatives will grow and grow until you hate them…..
In my world there were no positives big enough in Canada to offset the winter commute!!
Nov 9th 2014, 12:19 pm
#104
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Dixie, ex UK
Posts: 52,447
Re: Still Homesick after a year!
To circle back on Mike's observations on Canada, and the large areas that are sparsely populated, it isn't like the UK doesn't have its own relatively large sparsely populated areas, notably Scotland, much of northern England, and large chunks of Wales, Devon, and Cornwall, not to mention a good bit of East Anglia. ..... In fact half the population of the UK lives within 100 miles of Charing Cross, and of course a good bit of the area of that circle is in the North Sea.
That other cities have the same problem doesn't mean it isn't true. 
Nov 9th 2014, 2:49 pm
#105
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2009
Location: Somewhere in Hamilton, ON
Posts: 4,307
Re: Still Homesick after a year!
To circle back on Mike's observations on Canada, and the large areas that are sparsely populated, it isn't like the UK doesn't have its own relatively large sparsely populated areas, notably Scotland, much of northern England, and large chunks of Wales, Devon, and Cornwall, not to mention a good bit of East Anglia. ..... In fact half the population of the UK lives within 100 miles of Charing Cross, and of course a good bit of the area of that circle is in the North Sea.
That other cities have the same problem doesn't mean it isn't true.
That other cities have the same problem doesn't mean it isn't true.
London UK is something like 3000/km whereas Toronto is only 800/km... Thereabouts anyway. Puts things in to perspective!