Yes that's right, i cannot beleive it myself but we have been here 8 months now and i truly don't know where the time has gone but i thought it was time to update all on my time so far so here goes:

Well at times it's been stressful but overall i wouldn't want to go back to my old life and i must say i have no real yearnings to return to the UK although it would obviously be nice to see the family.
I think i said before that it was quite a shock in the early days when we realized how much money we were spending on setting up our new life but thankfully that has settled down now and i'm earning so the bank is not being continually drained anymore. I'm not earning mega bucks, in fact i am probably earning about the same in dollars as i earned in UK pounds but we do own 2 vehicles and a house and don't owe anybody anything and my monthly tax is way lower than in the UK so net pay is better than expected.

Even though we don't pay a mortgage it's amazing how many costs there are to consider each month and car insurance is one that most people find expensive compared to the UK. We currently have a Jeep Liberty which costs $1700/Year and a 2 door Cavalier which costs $1000/year, compare that to a Ford Ka at around £250/Year fully comp and it's a bit frightening at first.

So far we have enjoyed skiing every weekend, we have met some wonderful new people (Canadian and British) we have been out to Halloween parties, Valentines dinner, New Years party and into the neighbours on Boxing Day we spent many a time swimming in the lake during the summer and riding down Silver Star mountains bike trails, we've had a long weekend in Vancouver and i cannot remember the last time we had any real rain to speak of. We've had more snow than expected and yes i did get fed up shovelling the ruddy drive but we've just had 7 days of sunshine and blue skies and even though it was 6 degrees today it felt like summer.

We have had a few moments where things haven't always been good and i think there were days when we thought, "jeez what else can go wrong?"
We have been horrified at the cost of prescription drugs and lately at the cost of dental work without insurance and after having an accident in the Jeep our premiums will go back to basic later in the year. Likewise browsing for a cheap bottle of wine is near impossible and don't even get me started on the cost of flights back to the UK but as i have said before all this is relative to how much you earn and whether you have a mortgage or not so all in all i wouldn't change a thing right now as life seems good.

Now when is Primark going to open a store out here, i'm getting short of clothes.

I am so glad things seem to be working out for you and your family.

I hope we will get there, too, one day.

Good post. Nice to see things are working out well for you.

Hi Printer (we're a month more than you). Glad to hear that things are panning out nicely for you all - best wishes

Great post, printer. Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear things are going well for you.
x

Thanks for posting

Thats what we like to hear. The 'everything is great' stories. Good luck to you all and hopefully, we will be able to say the same when we get out there.

Thanks printer, glad things are working out - we're only two months behind you in the 'new Canadian' stakes; still settling in Vancouver after landing in September.

Mind, it seems so much longer than only six months, we've done so much (new house, jobs, education, driving licenses, paperwork, trip back to the UK, blah blah), amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it!

I'm sort of glad we landed when we did: most of the initial problems and stresses occurred over the dark and wet winter months; whilst that made them especially bad at the time it now means we're emerging into a beautiful Spring time with things more or less running smoothly and a great new year in prospect. Can't wait for our first summer (although I'm still enjoying the skiing!)

Anyways, all the best,

Iain

Thanks for the wishes everyone.
Yes it is nice to be able to post good stuff as there is always plenty of doom and gloom stuff for those that want it.
Like i said it hasn't been a complete bed of roses but when you weigh up the good and the not so good it seems that the good wins hands down.

Happy to hear you are all settling into Canadian life, full of the normal ups and downs.

Thanks for sharing a positive and realistic post.

Rob

Glad to hear you are settling in! We (I think) flew over on the same day as you so we are also 8 months in to our Canadian adventure. I still feel like I have learned something new at the end of every day - do you think that eventually fades?!

Hope the OK is bathed in sunshine for you (not that I am jealous...!!)

Here in NB there are plenty of good Aussie wines that I used to get in England and they tend to be pretty much what I paid there. $11 for Chardonnay or $14 for Shiraz.

Hardys wines appear to be the same good deal for the price as they were in England and if you don't mind a Rose, Jackson Triggs White Merlot isn't bad @ about $9.

Are the prices much more in BC?

No i expect the prices are similar but it is relative to earnings. As i said i earn approx same in dollars as i did in pounds so paying $14 for a bottle of wine would be like paying £14 and that for me would be "special occasion" stuff. I'm not a wine boff so a Tesco £2.99 Valpolicella was good for me.