weener

Just been reading a ar ticle on the web thet 40% of people who emigrate from the UK (not just to Canada) return home to the UK wothin 2 years..

Wonder Why??

Iain Mc

Have a browse thought the "Moving back to the UK" forum on this site, that'll tell you all you need to know (admittedly you might have to use the search facility to find threads related to Canada, it's seemingly more of a Australia-bashing forum these days).

R2D2

How many of those were on a 12 month work permit ?

For the others, there could be a whole bunch of reasons. Culture shock, homesickness, couldn't find suitable employment, didn't match expectations, family crisis, family pressure, never intended to stay long term. I'm sure theres a load more possible scenarios.

MarkG

Yeah, I would imagine that a lot of people would be on short-term work permits which would skew the figures. Where I used to work ten years ago several people moved to America on work permits and a couple of them were back within a year... because they got laid off and had to leave. Both were trying to find jobs over there again last I heard from them .

weener

Both good points, 40% sounded very high to me, would of guessed more 10-20%........

burton bunch

It also suprises me how may people actually emigrate without FIRST spent time in their country of choice - absolutely amazing these people make the biggest move of their lives to another country without even exploring it first.

Most of the people who do this choose to go to oz and I think they go thinking that life with be all sea sand and sun and because they havent done their research they are bitterly disappointed.

Steve_P

Consider yourselves lucky that you live in a time were you can do this.

MarkG

True. My girlfriend said something about her grandmother being told about the delights of Canada before she emigrated only to end up in a freezing house on the prairies when she arrived, with no chance of returning to Europe.

I guess in those days when they had no choice about leaving they had to grin and make the best of it.

Linda P

When we decided to make the move to Canada we had never been there!

Crazy as it sounds, hubby had always talked about Canada, he then worked with a student nurse from Alberta who showed him the areas on the net, including the famous MLS that was it...he was hooked!!!

We decided that we would go for a year, rent the house out as a safety net, and see what we thought.

We looked at it as an adventure and if we liked it....we stay!!!!

We have not looked back since.....we have all loved it from day one.

Yes we miss our family, but we lived 5 hours away from them in the UK, so we didn't have them on the doorstep anyway.
Our day to day life is not that much different.....hubby works, I sort the children out.
We have never had family around us to take the children, while we went to the pub, this was not our life in the UK.
The children have other options open to them here, they ski, ice-skate, we go sledging, this on top of the things we could do back in the UK like walking, swimming etc. all this and we actually have money left at the end of the month, and we run two vehicles

It may not suit everyone.....but Alberta's the place for us

Linda

Calgal

I'm one of 'em!

ijmk

It surprises you because you can visit the country without visa. For all others, getting a visitor visa can be a big problem because they can suspect you in coming for a short visit and then trying to stay. But yes, for Europeans, it is really surprising. I would spend a couple of months first.

Steve_P

We were too but the first time was in 1956 and there was no such thing as recce trips.

We came "assisted passage" meaning the Canadian Government helped with the transportation costs.

Gezza

Some 5 years ago we left England for Canada. Did what you did, and had all you described, and in Calgary as well..With our 2 daughters skating and all....And in the end after some 3 years came back to U.K.
Here it is not rosy and we will probably move out yet again. Not sure where,though - addictive as it is. But the reasons why we had left Canada are still very clear in my mind. Some episodes with their Customer Service antics will never vanish from memory, I guess.The list is long and you could say subjective, 100s and 100s of things I could just not overlook in return for their unquestionable hike in the standard of living.
I wouldn't want to itemize.
Life just seemed really... about eating or driving somewhere.Vacuous.
I missed walking to shops and meeting people on foot and travelling by train as well.The one in Calagry felt almost like a tram. I missed the visual elements of places where people live and work i.e. the character of european Church buildings for example. And I definitely missed the English hymns over the postmodern french style ballads they sing in churches in Calgary. They were such a turn off. We are not British by birth. Horses for courses of course.

YYZlover

One of my best friends saw Australia on TV when she was 7 years old. She instantly started saving her pocket money so that one day she could go. About the same time I saw Niagara Falls and fell in love. I didn't start saving, though. I wasn't that smart. Still - I ended up in Toronto when I was 18.

My friend, a year older than me were supposed to go the year she turned 20 (same year I came back from Toronto) but never went. Well, she did eventually. When she was about 30 she finally made the leap, bought a round the world ticket and off she went. Half way through the trip she met a guy. She came back home to her family. First time I saw her after her return was her sitiing next to my hospital bed when I woke up from surgery. There she was with a big grin on her face telling me all about her trip.

She went back to Australia and the guy. Was gone for over a year this time. Returned home to family and friends, studied and then he came over and proposed. Both went back to Australia. They got married. She had two kids down there. Packed up the family, the cats, the car and came back to Europe. After a few years they had enough and in July last year, cats, herself, husband, the same car and now three kids, returned to Australia. Strange, when she left for the first trip I knew that she would never come back. Her spirit is in Australia. It is where she belongs.

I fell in love with Toronto that November night back in 1983 as the plane was descending. The city lights spread below us. My heart was pounding. I just knew I had come home. I went back to Europe in 1984 and every winter since - between November and March I have been an absolute miserable cow! Unlike my friend, it took me 20 years to return. Even my family said that I'd be gone for good this time. And they are right. My spirit is in Toronto. It's where I come alive. I have no choice but to do everything I possibly can to get my butt out there and not have to be a miserable cow. My family accepts that I have to do this.

My first trip to Los Angeles and on the return I was looking at the flight plan on the screen. Something told me we'd be flying over Toronto so I asked. They said no. A few hours in to the flight I had this strange feeling I needed to look out. Having en isle seat I took a walk down to an exit row and looked out. Within a second I was in tears. Below was Toronto. I was walking back and forth across the plane looking out. A flight attendant saw my tears and asked what was wrong. Somehow I managed to explain it was tears of joy "That's Toronto and it is the first time since 1984 I see it. That is my home!" The FA smiled and left me too it. Another FA came over with a drink. Apparently they were all talking about this crazy lady on the plane who was crying and walking back and forth across the plane asking for a parachute to go home.

Considering that having been to Toronto 5 times and that I still haven't gone down to Niagara Falls - I pretty much have to now. It's what drew me there in the first place.

ray1968

i'll bet a lot are those that go to Europe on a whim and then decide they can't be a**sed to learn the lingo etc and decide to go back