Originally Posted by teacher1000

Yeah, I know there are options out there for home buying if you move outside of London. However, from living here, and driving around "potential" areas to move to, I have noticed that there isn't that much going on outside of large cities. I know there are big towns, one of the towns city centers that I really liked was actually haha hereford. It had a BIG and nice city center and it seemed like a nice place, but it's soooo incredibly far away from anything. I've not ever been to Kent to be honest, and I'm sure that it's lovely (I knew a work collegue who lived there) but my heart is set on Canada.
The drug thing, I still don't get. My boss brought her dope to WORK with her. That to me, is ridiculous. In the 25 years that I had lived in Canada prior, I had never come across anyone bringing their drugs with them to work, no matter how "acceptable" smoking pot seems to be.
It sucks to be teaching in England right now. Especially in London. My husband works from 7am till about 930 at night, every night. He works in an outstanding school, and is basically forced to live up to those standards. It's terrible. Not only that, but the government(s) will eventually get their way, and public sector pensions will in the next 10 years be erradicated. I'm pretty sure he's ready for a change.
Like I said, I have no personal interest in staying in England. After 4 years of living here, I can say, i've given it a fair chance, but it's just not for me.

Originally Posted by teacher1000

exactly, to each their own. Home is where the heart is!

Originally Posted by teacher1000

Yeah, I know there are options out there for home buying if you move outside of London. However, from living here, and driving around "potential" areas to move to, I have noticed that there isn't that much going on outside of large cities. I know there are big towns, one of the towns city centers that I really liked was actually haha hereford. It had a BIG and nice city center and it seemed like a nice place, but it's soooo incredibly far away from anything. I've not ever been to Kent to be honest, and I'm sure that it's lovely (I knew a work collegue who lived there) but my heart is set on Canada.
The drug thing, I still don't get. My boss brought her dope to WORK with her. That to me, is ridiculous. In the 25 years that I had lived in Canada prior, I had never come across anyone bringing their drugs with them to work, no matter how "acceptable" smoking pot seems to be.
It sucks to be teaching in England right now. Especially in London. My husband works from 7am till about 930 at night, every night. He works in an outstanding school, and is basically forced to live up to those standards. It's terrible. Not only that, but the government(s) will eventually get their way, and public sector pensions will in the next 10 years be erradicated. I'm pretty sure he's ready for a change.
Like I said, I have no personal interest in staying in England. After 4 years of living here, I can say, i've given it a fair chance, but it's just not for me.

Originally Posted by Almost Canadian

Hereford is a city. Please tell me, how would the "things to do" differ in, let's say, Hereford as opposed to Vernon B.C. (similar population size), except for the obvious climate based things?

Originally Posted by Almost Canadian

Hereford is a city. Please tell me, how would the "things to do" differ in, let's say, Hereford as opposed to Vernon B.C. (similar population size), except for the obvious climate based things?

Originally Posted by teacher1000

It also has places inbetween like miss, guelph, burlington, ancaster etc, which have their own shops/entertainment etc.

Originally Posted by dbd33

Mississauga, Guelph, Burlington and Ancaster have entertainment? I suppose they do, in the same way as Ealing, Harrow, Romford and Croydon have enterainment, but the one set of satellite towns is no more an entertainment mecca than the other.

Originally Posted by teacher1000

yes, i guess it's just preference and layout. So, for me, I prefer the former.

Originally Posted by teacher1000

Well for example, if I lived in hereford, chances are I wouldn't be seeing any bands play anywhere. If I live in Toronto for example, there are MANY MANY MANY different venues upon which I can go to see indie bands play.
Each city will have their own slight differences. Hereford was lovely, but it's totally rural. Hamilton, is one hour/ maybe a bit less away from both niagara falls and toronto. It also has places inbetween like miss, guelph, burlington, ancaster etc, which have their own shops/entertainment etc. I guess the fact that the GTA is clustered together makes it a bit more appealing, there is more to do. Plus like I said, I am from there, and my family and friends are there, so that also provides social stimulation which I wouldn't get anywhere else.

Originally Posted by Cyan

It's clear that some people here can't separate the idyllic setting of Vicar of Dibley from the reality of living in the UK.

Originally Posted by dbd33

Mississauga, Guelph, Burlington and Ancaster have entertainment? I suppose they do, in the same way as Ealing, Harrow, Romford and Croydon have enterainment, but the one set of satellite towns is no more an entertainment mecca than the other.

Originally Posted by TheBear

I arrived in Canada back in July. I have loved it here from the get go. Yes I get annoyed at a few things, like we are totally ripped off here on certain items, the TV is total rubbish (thank goodness iPlayer is now available here) and the 401 makes the M25 look like a quiet country road full of polite thoughtful people, but I know that this place is way better than the country I was born in and lived in for 43 years. Going back at Christmas totally confirmed this.

England is a DREARY OVERPRICED CHAV INFESTED DUMP.

I saw the sun for about 10 minutes for the whole of the week I was there. I was gobsmacked at how small my friends houses felt after getting used to sizes here. The aggression and general look on people's faces was depressing. I had a group of drunken chavs pick a fight with me on Christmas day. Everywhere looked a bit run down and worn out. Lots of stuff was expensive, and especially houses still. Even villages that I once thought were cute just looked grim.

The only thing I miss about the UK is the wonderful friends and family I have left behind, but with time, hard work and patience, I will develop a good social network here.

Basically, I couldn't wait to get home...Canada.

Originally Posted by teacher1000

People in England berate their own country!!!! Do you not read the Gaurdian??? If you did, you would see, that there are MANY people who are dissatisfied with living here. The financial system is in the **** because of corrupted bankers who took peoples money and just ****** it away. They are talking about pension reforms that are absolutely outragous to those that work in the public sector like my husband. About 2 million people decided to strike from the public sector last month including me and my husband as a show of just how unhappy people are. Don't even get me started on britians educational system and just how screwed up that is. Unemployment is at the highest level it's been at since 1994. AWESOME.

Um, have you EVER been to London? it's a complete ****hole. God, just go into Tottenham, or Hackney or Walthamstow and they would make burlington look like fantasy island. I've come home to my flat with notices on the door saying to be careful when going out as some bloke had been stabbed in the neck the night before. Actually come to think about it, in my area alone, there have been at least 5 or 6 murders since I've been here and countless assults. It's not even safe to walk outside at night time.

You're right, I have't been EVERYWHERE in England, but I've been to enough places to know that it's not for me. I've been to all the surrounding towns in Oxfordshire. Such as Buckingham, Whitney, Faringdon etc....I've been over to Hereford, Brighton, Newbury, Bishops Cleeve, Bath, Windsor, Birmingham, Bristol, Maidenhead, and all the parts of London. So, although I've not see EVERYWHERE, I've driven to a fair amount of places, and the british countryside is obviously MUCH nicer than London, but still, my desire is to be with my family and friends, in the best country in the world, save maybe norway.

Honestly, If the UK was so fantastic, why did you move to Canada? Wait until you move back and see all the reforms and bullshit they have implemented through the Conservatives over the year and a half. David Cameron has made sure that the divide between the rich and the poor will continue, your kids will not get their free college/uni like they had before, you'll have to work until your 68 in order to retire and by then, there probably won't be such a thing as a pension to collect when you're finished.
Public transportation is out of this world expensive. England has the most expensive public transportation in all the world. You would think charging people an arm and a leg, you would make sure the bloody trains are actually air conditioned/comfortable/less cramped, but no, all they care about is stealing your money, **** customer service, that doesnt even exist here.

I'm pretty sure in the last 3 years you've been missing in action over in Canada, you've clearly missed one hell of a lot of **** that has been flying over in this country. So, before you get all high and mighty about me berating England, you better have a read of what's really going on here and inform yourself.