British Expats

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-   -   Advice for a Canadian moving to England? (https://britishexpats.com/forum/canada-56/advice-canadian-moving-england-662705/)

el_richo Apr 7th 2010 9:14 am

Re: Advice for a Canadian moving to England?
 

Originally Posted by oconnorkerry (Post 8475598)
That's one thing I noticed and love about England - the place names!

Fingringhoe

rubberduckofdeath Apr 7th 2010 10:45 am

Re: Advice for a Canadian moving to England?
 
I don't think I'll be saying anything new here, but he's my 2p anyway.

England is not a bad place to live, it's just no longer what I want from life. England has a lot of culture and lots of nice places to visit. The biggest problems with this are that you never end up going anywhere because of traffic and the fact that everything's so bl**dy expensive now.

I think that in general, crime has been on the rise in most places in most countries so it's probably not too relevant to talk about that. I could move somewhere quieter with less crime if that's what I wanted.

There's simply not enough space in England / the UK. People are growing increasingly unhappy with the place because the general public are basically getting shafted day after day from every direction.

I know that moving to Canada is not going to solve my issues with the UK completely, but it will give me more of the things that I do want:

- more space
- less traffic when I want to get away from things
- less angry people everywhere
- cleaner streets, people having more respect for their surroundings

etc...

I wouldn't choose to live here, but it's better than many places.

Good luck whatever you do.

Atlantic Xpat Apr 7th 2010 11:44 am

Re: Advice for a Canadian moving to England?
 

Originally Posted by rubberduckofdeath (Post 8478531)
I don't think I'll be saying anything new here, but he's my 2p anyway.

England is not a bad place to live, it's just no longer what I want from life. England has a lot of culture and lots of nice places to visit. The biggest problems with this are that you never end up going anywhere because of traffic and the fact that everything's so bl**dy expensive now.

Drifting a thread, but is it really the case that everything in the UK is so expensive compared to Canada? With the obvious exceptions of property and gas (although the gas price is to an extent offset by more fuel efficient vehicles), are the daily staples of life -food, drink, clothing, energy much more expensive than Canada? I'd say not but then I haven't lived in the Uk for 5 years or more.

rubberduckofdeath Apr 7th 2010 12:43 pm

Re: Advice for a Canadian moving to England?
 

Originally Posted by Atlantic Xpat (Post 8478633)
Drifting a thread, but is it really the case that everything in the UK is so expensive compared to Canada? With the obvious exceptions of property and gas (although the gas price is to an extent offset by more fuel efficient vehicles), are the daily staples of life -food, drink, clothing, energy much more expensive than Canada? I'd say not but then I haven't lived in the Uk for 5 years or more.

Many people say that things are quite comparable now. Housing in the UK is a joke though, it has to be said. We're going to break £1.20 a litre on average across the country today for regular unleaded, too ;)

I don't expect Canada to be cheaper in every respect, but I do expect I'll be able to buy a home more cheaply in many areas and for that, I'll get something larger than I would in the UK.

oconnorkerry Apr 7th 2010 2:58 pm

Re: Advice for a Canadian moving to England?
 

Originally Posted by Alan2005 (Post 8477332)
Seems to me that the OP knows exactly what they are going to do and are just prevaricating.

Just when I think I know exactly what to do, my mind shifts. It's been really helpful hearing the opinions of UK natives who have lived elsewhere.

oconnorkerry Apr 7th 2010 2:59 pm

Re: Advice for a Canadian moving to England?
 

Originally Posted by el_richo (Post 8478348)
Fingringhoe

:eek:

oconnorkerry Apr 7th 2010 3:02 pm

Re: Advice for a Canadian moving to England?
 

Originally Posted by rubberduckofdeath (Post 8478531)
I don't think I'll be saying anything new here, but he's my 2p anyway.

England is not a bad place to live, it's just no longer what I want from life. England has a lot of culture and lots of nice places to visit. The biggest problems with this are that you never end up going anywhere because of traffic and the fact that everything's so bl**dy expensive now.

I think that in general, crime has been on the rise in most places in most countries so it's probably not too relevant to talk about that. I could move somewhere quieter with less crime if that's what I wanted.

There's simply not enough space in England / the UK. People are growing increasingly unhappy with the place because the general public are basically getting shafted day after day from every direction.

I know that moving to Canada is not going to solve my issues with the UK completely, but it will give me more of the things that I do want:

- more space
- less traffic when I want to get away from things
- less angry people everywhere
- cleaner streets, people having more respect for their surroundings

etc...

I wouldn't choose to live here, but it's better than many places.

Good luck whatever you do.

I think I'm going to share this thread with my OH after he's been back there for a month or so (he was going to be leaving ahead of me anyway to sort things out) and see if it's ringing any bells. It's funny because when I met him he said he'd never move back there, now 4 years on he's certainly forgotten why he left!

highlandspirit8 Apr 7th 2010 3:08 pm

Re: Advice for a Canadian moving to England?
 

Originally Posted by christmasoompa (Post 8478176)
With respect, this will very much depend on the area you are in. Where I was, we had no crime, drugs or vandalism, but I lived in a Southern rural village rather than a large city like Manchester. Also, no constant dull days - a friend who recently visited the UK had only one day of rain throughout nearly four weeks, and guess what, he was in Manchester at the time!!

So again, it comes down to where you are in the UK (and to some extent, the amount of money you have to spend on housing etc) as to your experience of it. I don't recognise the UK from what you've said, but lived in a very different area to you.

I also lived in a village in the UK, but there was still a population of 'underclass' that is no longer a minority. I have to ask how long ago you lived in this rural area? I moved here just over a year ago, and due to work had lived in numerous places in the UK. Settle in North Yorkshire to name one.
I was answering in response to the original thread. I was putting myself in her position where she obviously does not have half a million pounds to throw at a 2 bed cottage in a 'rural village setting' therefore is more likely to be living in an area that will be subjected to 'crime, drugs, vandalism etc...'
Yes there are extrememely beautiful places in the UK, some of which I miss tremendously (Settle being one of them), but, I am also speaking from experience. My family moved to Canada more than 30 years ago, my sister missed Scotland so much she moved back 10 years ago, but her Scotland was what she remembered from late 60's early 70's and when she went back, that was not what she saw. She lasted a year and a half before she moved back to Canada. I did the same, I moved back and resigned myself to living in the UK due to work, family etc... but I am so glad I am back in Nova Scotia. I have watched my beloved country (UK) degenerate into something that is not pretty. And it makes me sad.
Being in Canada is not for everyone, but neither is being in the UK. Surely moving to another country is to make life better. I don't think this person would be doing that in this case.
As to the weather, mostly sunshine is a rarity. Yes someone may go back and strike it lucky, but try living there for a few years and then tell me how many 4 week stretches do you get without rain.

Alan2005 Apr 7th 2010 3:18 pm

Re: Advice for a Canadian moving to England?
 

Originally Posted by highlandspirit8 (Post 8478999)
I also lived in a village in the UK, but there was still a population of 'underclass' that is no longer a minority. I have to ask how long ago you lived in this rural area? I moved here just over a year ago, and due to work had lived in numerous places in the UK. Settle in North Yorkshire to name one.
I was answering in response to the original thread. I was putting myself in her position where she obviously does not have half a million pounds to throw at a 2 bed cottage in a 'rural village setting' therefore is more likely to be living in an area that will be subjected to 'crime, drugs, vandalism etc...'
Yes there are extrememely beautiful places in the UK, some of which I miss tremendously (Settle being one of them), but, I am also speaking from experience. My family moved to Canada more than 30 years ago, my sister missed Scotland so much she moved back 10 years ago, but her Scotland was what she remembered from late 60's early 70's and when she went back, that was not what she saw. She lasted a year and a half before she moved back to Canada. I did the same, I moved back and resigned myself to living in the UK due to work, family etc... but I am so glad I am back in Nova Scotia. I have watched my beloved country (UK) degenerate into something that is not pretty. And it makes me sad.
Being in Canada is not for everyone, but neither is being in the UK. Surely moving to another country is to make life better. I don't think this person would be doing that in this case.
As to the weather, mostly sunshine is a rarity. Yes someone may go back and strike it lucky, but try living there for a few years and then tell me how many 4 week stretches do you get without rain.

Is it full of immigrants?

highlandspirit8 Apr 7th 2010 3:20 pm

Re: Advice for a Canadian moving to England?
 

Originally Posted by Alan2005 (Post 8479017)
Is it full of immigrants?

Actually - NO

Alan2005 Apr 7th 2010 3:23 pm

Re: Advice for a Canadian moving to England?
 

Originally Posted by highlandspirit8 (Post 8479022)
Actually - NO

That is surprising given all your other views are polarized nonsense. Your experience of the UK is not the majority, it's certainly not mine. Maybe where you lived was shit, but don't extrapolate your poor experience onto the entire country.

youngmimesofharlem Apr 7th 2010 4:32 pm

Re: Advice for a Canadian moving to England?
 
To the OP:

Don't be taken in by people whinging about Britain, by asking on an expat forum you are biasing the results because respondees will have left, or be thinking about leaving.

I left Britain in December for the 2nd time, and while I love living in Vancouver, London is still my favourite place on earth. Yeah there's crime, drugs, and whatnot but most people experience them vicariously through the media anyway. In fact, the absolute worst thing about Britain IS the press, and the hold it has over politics, public discourse and society. I lived in Toxteth, Liverpool for 3 years and nothing happened to me at all. A year in East Glasgow: nip, nada, nowt.

I've lived in Sweden, and now Canada and can tell you that 90% of life in most countries around the world is the same; get kids to school, go to work, nip to the shops, go out for dinner etc. and so on. Moving abroad is as easy as getting a visa, getting on a plane, and looking for a job and don't let whiners on here bemoaning exchange rates and house prices on here tell you different.

BUT,

I suspect this is not about whether you will cope in Britain, because you will easily, but rather about looking for reasons to justify a decision i suspect you might already have made, in your heart of hearts.

The question is not whether Britain is right for you, but whether this man who by co-incidence is British, is right for you.

I think you already know the answer.

Good Luck.

dboy Apr 7th 2010 5:09 pm

Re: Advice for a Canadian moving to England?
 

Originally Posted by Atlantic Xpat (Post 8476114)
I think the grey skies bit about the UK is overdone, the weather isn't that bad. Mind you, I am comparing with Newfoundland..............;)

depends where - the north west has terrible weather. It reminds of vancouver in the winter - but summers aren't much better. We used to say in Manchester, "summer was on a wednesday last year." But the south east tends to have nicer summers.

I think weather tends to be something people attach too much importance on with respect to quality of life. It's like everything else there needs to be balance.

highlandspirit8 Apr 7th 2010 7:51 pm

Re: Advice for a Canadian moving to England?
 

Originally Posted by Alan2005 (Post 8479027)
That is surprising given all your other views are polarized nonsense. Your experience of the UK is not the majority, it's certainly not mine. Maybe where you lived was shit, but don't extrapolate your poor experience onto the entire country.

I don't think you read what I wrote. I said I lived in numerous places throughout the UK. I certainly did not polarize anything, was there something specific? Or do you live (lived) in a place without crime, vandalism, drugs, then you must be living in a bubble.

I guess you are not allowed to voice your opinion on this forum without idiots having to react with something nasty.
The place I was born and lived in for most of my life in Scotland was beautiful, but there was crime. I didn't live with my eyes and ears shut. I know there is also crime in Canada, but it is not blatantly in your face every time you are out in public, in Nova Scotia anyway.

I think all the people on here that say that Canada is garbage and that the UK is so amazing should go back there then.
British abroad behaving like the news portrays them....

If the girl who is thinking of moving to the UK just has to look at the comments on this website and the arguements and upset that it causes by people who just write verbal diarrhoea, then she should seriously think again about going there. I rest my case about the people of Britain, hence why I left.:frown:

dollface Apr 7th 2010 8:00 pm

Re: Advice for a Canadian moving to England?
 

Originally Posted by highlandspirit8 (Post 8479582)
I don't think you read what I wrote. I said I lived in numerous places throughout the UK. I certainly did not polarize anything, was there something specific? Or do you live (lived) in a place without crime, vandalism, drugs, then you must be living in a bubble.

I guess you are not allowed to voice your opinion on this forum without idiots having to react with something nasty.
The place I was born and lived in for most of my life in Scotland was beautiful, but there was crime. I didn't live with my eyes and ears shut. I know there is also crime in Canada, but it is not blatantly in your face every time you are out in public, in Nova Scotia anyway.

I think all the people on here that say that Canada is garbage and that the UK is so amazing should go back there then.
British abroad behaving like the news portrays them....

If the girl who is thinking of moving to the UK just has to look at the comments on this website and the arguements and upset that it causes by people who just write verbal diarrhoea, then she should seriously think again about going there. I rest my case about the people of Britain, hence why I left.:frown:

Where in Scotland did you live HS8?


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