when we were moving here I read so many posts about homesickness and the dreaded 6 month mark.

been here 7 months and i think I might be homesick Its not that i dont like Canada i do, I love my house, I like my job and the people I work with, my kids are settled in school and have made friends, hubby is settled in his work and just seems to be less bothered than i am.

I dont know whats wrong with me - i knew i would miss my family and i do - but its not that. It seems like lots of little irritating annoyances some of which I was prepared for and someof which I wasnt - just seems like we have to "fight" for everything

Hubby is settled now in work but went through hell in the first 3 months was treated like absolute crap and spoken to in a ways you wouldnt honestly believe. anothr guy who started with im from germany left as he couldnt stand it. he has now been accepted but not without a huge battle. Hubby works in Trades.

Im a nurse, currently struggling to get my degree recognised - its in health Studies and they wont agree is a health sciences degree?? i mean seriously!!!! trying to get any of my experience recognised rom the UK is ridiculous especially my management stuff - not worth wiping my butt on.

i wont even go into the ICBC capers and getting our No claims recognised - ok yes i will we had to send in the forms 3 times. we sent in our original forms - they sent a letter saying there was a mistake with the wording. I got the letters redone as they were, with the wording change as asked - cost $40 to resumit. They then wrote back saying there was another discrepancy with the wording ( which they didnt point out the first time) so another set of calls to the Uk and another submission of the forms and another $40 to do it. Oh yes then they came back AGAIN with the third amendment on them this time i phoned and asked if they would please read the whole letter and let us know ALL the amendments at the same time - another $40. In the meantime they have sent us a letter saying we owe them money for the mis assigned No claims ( orginal calculations on the policy) we had this written off when we got it accepted on the 3rd submitt and paid the small difference - we got another letter yesterday telling us we owe the full amount and havent paid!!! good communication as we had this sorted 3 weeks ago

Not being able to get credit ( yes this is one of the things we expected) but having to put security deposits down on everything - i feel like some kind of criminal - cant even get an overdraft without paying for it up front.

so its things like that that get me down, just seems like everything has to be fought for ( thats not the whole list just a few examples) Theres alot of positives too but its hard not to focus on the negatives when you miss family etc.

i dont want to go back to the UK, I like it here, i just want to feel settled and right now i dont - is this homesickness???

sorry for the long post, just feeling a bit crappy and confused and needed to vent

Welcome to being an immigrant!

Hi Tanah

Have you read this little snippet from the wiki ?

I think you are morphing through the honeymoon/rejection/adapting stage nicely. Welcome to the party.

You are not alone mentioning any of those little niggling things - which on their own would be no big deal - but as you rightly point out, dealing with each one, one after another, can be quite wearing and certainly takes the shine off the spirit of adventure that you bathed in when you arrived.

Keep plugging away - remember that many of those challenges you only have to do once - the insurance battle, the credit battle, the deposit battle. When you come to renew everything it will be easy-peasy! Hence life will appear to run much smoother. Working environments and the challenges you meet there with staff, attitudes, management and policies are something else that will either just settle down, or will always grate - can't help you with that one

Best wishes for the next 7 months

It's difficult not to focus on the little things when feeling a bit down - we've had our fair share of pedantics too. I decided to do an evening course at a local college to give me something to do, only to be informed today that because I'm not PR I'd have to pay international student rates - 5x the cost!! Told them to stuff it.

thanks - the reassurance makes me feel better... and to know im not alone in how i feel.
G77 - thats the sort of thing im talking about it just highlights that this isnt "home" yet even though your trying yourbest to make it home.
Anne, exactly right - alone each thing would be manageable but piled on top of each other and seems to be a continuous stream of stuff youstart to wonder where the end is and when / if things will ever settle down

thanks

Lots of fab advice given already,as always from the BE gang.I hear you loud and clear.I am nurse too,working in Calgary and CARNA are not accepting my degree either,same reason.Its good for the soul to vent once in a while!!!But do not let these frustrations stop you persuing a happier way of life.Hope you feel better soon Sarah

Hi

OMG - I could have written that post...it is totally frustrating. 2 years on I can reassure you that it does settle a bit and those 'fights' do become less so. Saying that you just start to relax and then you get hit by something-else. Definitely character building!! Howvere I totally sympathise with you re your nursing experience - I too am a nurse and whilst my colleagues appreciate my experience etc I feel that the system doesn't and truthfully healthcare is behind here which makes that all the more frustrating. I think that is the biggest hurdle for me. However I have a colleague who was a Manager in the UK (Surestart) and she has never had her degree recognised here and is not paid the qual dif each month which is an insult and absolutely ludicrous. Do the people in HR here think that universities over there are some sort of mickey mouse set up??
We too love aspects of Canada and I am now trying to concentrate on those as career wise I do not see progression here, not until I have seniority (in years time served) and in reality that is going to take me till I retire to build up!!(and I am only 40!!) Don't get me wrong I do not expect to arrive and have everything laid out for me but recognition is important. I am quite happy to work/interview and 'proove' myself but then to be told I wont be interviewed because I do not have the seniority is crazy. It is a shortcoming of the system in my eyes.That system cannot surely get the best for the position.Equal ops is just not the same.
Sorry I am venting now...just when I was starting to feel a little better !
Perhaps a PM would be a better route, do if you wish to share further..

the good thing about not being alone, and about the whole thing being a recognized phase of adapting to a new culture is:

it will get better!

Hang in there, and do some fun things. Talk about the bad feelings, share them with your husband -- know it's ok to feel the way you do.

make a list of all the things you have sorted out, all the good stuff.

It always seems harder when you are not sure of the requirements in a new country and there isn;t anybody you can contact who you know to moan/help. Thank goodness for this forum! My OH was working within a few weeks and I was the one who had to do all the chasing of forms and ringing back to England ( I thik the time difference has something to do with the frustration) you can't just pop into Barclays to sort out another screw up on their part!
I feel the same way and don;t think that it is homesickness, there is just so much that needs sorting out from scratch. Its not like moving house within the UK. I find it difficult trying to explain to the bank / hydro etc what the problem is and remembering to speak slowly so that my agitated accent doesn;t confuse them!
These feelings will pass - at least I hope so, we have been here 8 months and while I don;t want to move back i sometimes feel there is something missing from my life. As my mum said , you need a PBBF ( preferably British best friend) .

Hi Tanah

Well the good news is that it gets better! I suffered with dreadful homesickness but now after almost 4 years, I can honestly say that Canada is home and a wonderful place to bring up my family.

Initially we missed familiarity, long standing friends and knowing just where to go and what to do. Even though everyone spoke the same language, we felt for a long time we were living on Mars!

But it gets better- honest!

Maybe the longer I have been away from England, the more I forgot. I haven't been home for 3 years because of the home sickness but now I am ready to go back for a holiday, so I am going back on Saturday for 2 weeks! I know I will certainly be testing myself when I return.

Stick it out, Canada has so much to offer and we are all lucky to be living here!

Bombards

It is the reality of relocating to another country. I had to fight deportation for the first 12 months I was here (Its a very, very long story). I had no money, no job, no friends, no qualifications, no driver's licence, not even high school.

16 years on ... don't regret it one bit. Stick with it. Sounds more like irritations/adjustments than anything else.

I do think, and this is not targeted at the OP, that a lot of people seem to expect a seamless transition to their adopted country, the reality is that a move is very taxing and is no walk in the park.

Yep i agree.

Moving house within the same town is a hassle, as is opening bank accounts, making friends, transitioning into a new job, etc etc etc. Imagine doing that all in one go in a brand new country thousands of miles from your general support network of family while fighting for credit and all the other issues that come along with it all.

Most of which i'm not overly excited about.

Thank you all so much for your words of support and advice - it really is appreciated.
Dboy, I know your post wasnt aimed at me in particular, and i have to honestly say i really did not expect it to be a walk in the park by any means - we had already known we would have to make some sacrifices work wise and family wise etc etc and that we would need time to adjust - i think it was just the whole thing - the stress of the move, buying a house, settling the kids, new jobs, trying to get credit and all the other annoying little things that you face when you move. I dont think any amount of preparation or research can truly prepare you for what happens and how emotionally tiring the whole process can be. i dread to think how those people who really do think its a walk in the park cope.

Thanks Ann m. This 'snippet' you attached is without doubt the most well written peice of truth abut immigration I've ever read - who writes these articles?

Unfortunately, ICBC is the price you have to pay for living in this wonderful province.