Am i going mental?
 

I have just come back from 2 weeks in England..and i found that i didn't really enjoy it and found myself sin above sin looking forward to coming back to Canada..i put it down to the weather and the constant rain and wind and i had forgotten how i hate getting soaked when you dont have a brolly!

Or maybe i am going mental and my brain is slowing getting used to all the wrongness of Canada that some how it has become right?..anyone else had a similar experience?

Re: Am i going mental?
 

I believe it's called 'going native' :lol:

Re: Am i going mental?
 

:D you are not going mental. We've just come back from 2.5 weeks in Manchester and it was 2.5 weeks of solid rain :eek:
I still miss certain things, mainly family and friends and we did have a lovely time but the weather was utterly atrocious. And when my friend told me she was going to pay $ 130 for a family of 4 just to let the kids play a bit in the snow and go sledging (Chill factor-indoor snow hill ) I found myself thinking "I am lucky to live over here". Though it made me feel like I was going mental.
I'd say all the rain must have "brain-washed" me ;)

Re: Am i going mental?
 

I think Canada re-wires the brain. I came back from a month in NZ and decided I never want to live there again :D

Re: Am i going mental?
 

Yes. For me, its nice to visit the UK, but its nice to come "home" after. I guess its almost a form of culture shock... its the assimilation process creeping up on you.

I too hate the rain, Id rather it was -10 and snowing than +5 and raining.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

Can't say I blame you at all, it's been crappy weather for the past month.

Come back in March when we've got lovely sunshine and spring flowers out everywhere whilst Calgary is still barren, and then maybe it'll be different. ;):lol:

Re: Am i going mental?
 

And then again in July when it'll rain again whilst the Ontarions sunbath and enjoy the beaches ;):D

The weather, especially the rain definitely did make it easier to return to Canada. Had it been lovely snowy winter wonderland and bright blue skies I might have stayed over there.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

Can't say I've had that experience, I loath going to the UK. It's nice to see some of my old friends again but that's about it. Too crowded, everything costs a fortune, traffic barely moves. It's easier to go to Vancouver for that. :lol:

What I hate is when someone says: "Oh let's go and visit X." And I think, oooh, that sounds like something I couldn't do at home, so get in the car, sat in traffic jam, get there, overcast and/or pissing with rain, get back in car, more traffic, :eek:

Last time I went I was almost at the point of clawing at the gate to let me on the plane, never been so relieved to leave somewhere.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

I found traffic to move really well last time I was over. Average speed cameras in the roadworks kept everything moving smoothly.

It did seem expensive, attractions, and eating out as a family in particular, but there is no substitute for a few pints with old friends and family, and there is nothing at all like say Warwick Castle for the kids to experience here.... But it doesnt feel like home, people rush so much and seemed pretty rude and self involved as a rule.

Kind of like visiting Toronto in that respect:lol:

Re: Am i going mental?
 

They are more efficient though, I had to phone someone in the UK a few hours ago and I could barely keep up with her she was talking so fast. Everything in Alberta seems to move at half the speed of the UK. They're a bit more efficient in the US and Vancouver though. Perhaps this is the nature of more traffic, you have less time to do things so you have to do it faster.

Also the UK is too noisy, OMG. I can barely sleep when I'm there. Traffic, jets, sirens, loud music, etc.

Not hard to see why life expectancy is higher in Calgary. People weren't designed to rush about like they do in the UK.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

I found people a lot friendlier over there than here. That's one thing I love when going back that people take themselves less serious and not everyone pretends to be important, most say please and thank you. The traffic was not too bad and it's great to see some historical sites but I found that the prices went up dramatically from when we moved 3 years ago. Even from our visit in 2011. Also that North Manchester looked even more run down than before with even more closed shops, pawn shops, poundlands and chavs :lol:

Re: Am i going mental?
 

The only thing that shocks me coming back here is that Vancouver doesn't have a congestion charge for vehicles. Its a wonder how it copes at times.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

Shhh if you ever elect an NDP Govt in BC it may become a reality :lol:

Re: Am i going mental?
 

Weird, I'd say the opposite! As a family of 4, we can regularly eat out for £20-25 in the UK (in a proper restaurant obviously, not somewhere like McDonalds!), but nowhere close to that amount in Canada.

You might want to try sleeping in that newfangled thing we call 'countryside'. Noisiest thing I get at night are the owls!

Re: Am i going mental?
 

2 Medium pepperoni pizzas and 2 cans of pop = $13.50 With leftovers for dinner;)I can tell you dont live anywhere near the Bullfrogs we have in the reach near us! Cant leave the windows open in the summer, but then again with A-C why would you;)

Re: Am i going mental?
 

Oooh, you really know how to spoil them. :lol:

Nope, no bullfrogs. Mainly because the ducks on our pond think the frogspawn we get every year is a great delicacy, so there's no chance of any tadpoles making it to adulthood!

The guinea fowl are ridiculously noisy though, but they make me laugh and remind me of a bunch of old women, so I'll let them off.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

A bit like that thread on the bachelor then?

Re: Am i going mental?
 

I will be returning to Calgary after nearly 5 months in the UK. I can say that I hate the rain and the grey skies. I can't believe that I used to work in the rain all the time going from one job site to another. Its amazing how much I missed my Canadian life.:)

Re: Am i going mental?
 

i think it has to be a weather thing...Calgary is so sunny compared to the UK especially during the winter. In the UK when its dull and wet it never really seems to get light...however going back to a manual car was bliss:thumbup: and shopping is a much better experience back home.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

lol yep your right, blue skies are so much better.

lol I had a manual in Canada, however I kept attempting to change the gears with my right hand. doh. Yep shopping is so much better in regards to fashion and food. I am going to it make my goal to go back every 2 years when I return. We are just topping up on clothes before we go back.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

Give me warm, wet and grey over freezing your bollocks off and snow any day of the week.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

lol. I am sure I will be saying that in a couple in of months but not my bollocks as I don't have none.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

My OH wants to go back to UK (only visiting) in the summer. I am sooooo not looking forward to that. I can just see the rain the minute we land. Might even cry when we leave Calgary with +30 degrees temperatures behind us:thumbdown:

On the other hand, more time for clothes shopping :thumbsup: Topshop here I come!!!

Re: Am i going mental?
 

Do you know you can order online from Topshop and have it delivered to Canada for £7.50 standard shipping? (Free if your order is over £100)

Just sayin'

:)

Re: Am i going mental?
 

I just dont get the clothes shopping thing in the UK. Sure I liked Next and M&S but I like Banana Republic and Le Chateau here. I dont see what the attraction of Primark is at all.

A lot of my friends here constantly miss clothes shopping in the UK, I am just not feeling it now

Re: Am i going mental?
 

D You have to pay import duty on the delivery
The cost makes a big difference, not to mention quality and up to date styles. Primark is cheap and one season stuff, like OldNavy only better.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

It's still cheaper than a flight to the UK, lol.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

the only thing I ever bought from Primark fell apart after one wash. Banana Republic has quality items even in the outlet store

Re: Am i going mental?
 

I'm hoping we will feel the same. Going back for our first family visit in April which is possibly a little too soon as we only arrived in September :blink:. We've not been home sick as yet so i'm hoping that is a good sign. Would hate to rock the boat for everyone.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

That's the point of Primark though isn't it? i have never bought from them as they don't do fat sizes but you can see that it's cheap tat. Banana Republic is ridiculously expensive for what it is. Clothes used to be cheaper here but now it's definitely worth shopping in the UK.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

I suppose it depends how you feel about wearing something that everyone can see is "cheap tat"
Once you have to pay the exchange rate, doesnt even Next become more expensive?
I just dont miss it - halleluja!

Re: Am i going mental?
 

Oh heck I have never shopped in Next! I don't need officey clothes.

Cheap tat is great for the summer, winter clothes need to be better quality. Since we moved here and became cash poor I see the advantage of GiantTiger and the cheap stuff. I try to shop on trips home and in the sales. Fortunately smart clothes aren't needed round here.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

ah the grey sky, hated that!

Re: Am i going mental?
 

I hear you on the cash poor front, emigration can do that to a person.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

Oddly enough, that's exactly what we did 2 years ago (the last 2 weeks of March were sunny and in the 20's amazingly). Coming back and having to scrape 2 weeks worth of snow off our car at Edmonton International in April was probably our lowest point in 3 years of being in Canada....We were out of Alberta by November.:thumbup:

Re: Am i going mental?
 

Surely it rains in Canada, and snows and has blizzards and heatwaves? I have heard that in Toronto everything is underground and that in winter you only go outside to drive on the icey freeway . What is the reality? I have been to east and west and central Canada and found it soulless.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

What-everrrrrrr

:rofl:

Re: Am i going mental?
 

That's pretty much it, but we're having nice sunny and warmish (8c) weather today.

Re: Am i going mental?
 

Thats true, but there is nohting like walking into a shop and actually get to try the clothes on. Just hate the thought of having to return stuff if it doesnt fit or I dont like it :ohmy:

I think for now I ll just stick with an American Eagle:)

Re: Am i going mental?
 

You have heard/been told a load of twaddle.