2econded-wit exception of:The Littlest Hobo

I'm not there yet but tend to think of it like this. If you emigrated to, say, Thailand, Singapore....somewhere like that, you wouldn't question that you were in a different country with a completely different culture. Okay, so Canada is an English speaking country but it's not England and can't, therefore, be compared. Just a thought.....

Isn't it due to it not being England that means you can compare it to England? You can't compare England to England

Cant argue with that logic


Perhaps "shouldn't be compared" would be better. Although you are going to anyway whether its a good idea or not.

Eh? I'm a bit confused by that but what I mean is just because we speak the same language, it isn't the same country.....

Yeah, I get it now

Fwiw, I knew what you meant.

1, when I look at the 3 bedroom fetched house that I could never afford in uk
2, nice new car to drive around in because we both earn double to uk wages
3, seeing the kids happy at school with lots of friends

How long have you been here?

Phew.....ta!

To quote Having some comfort food available in the house helps, in the early years these can be all you need to get through a wave of home sickness, as you stay longer you find they’ll be comforting just being in the cupboard, and not long after that, you’ll use it up and not bother to replace it.
I do keep a few favorite TV shows around, but for me BBC world and Top Gear is my cop out.
I will agree that my experience of most of my early expat meets in what were known ‘expat pubs’ were well populated by those who sort solace in familiar company, ( I would add that wasn’t the case for my one BE meet which was pleasant).

I suppose "fetched" is a spelling mistake but it's a challenging one. There aren't a lot of thatched houses in Canada so that's probably not it. Felched is the best approximation I can manage but I've not heard the term in the context of buildings, does it mean that the house once had urea formaldehyde insulation and it's been removed?

Funny, I don't think felching will help me feel at all settled. But then I'm quite old fashioned like that.

Hey, we are just over the water from you - Mersea Island.

Then my suggestion is to get a dog. A Canadian dog. It'll keep you busy, give you something tangible that's local to wherever you are and cause you to meet local people when they're feeling chatty.