Stinkypup

Seriously? Reasoned debate is great, that is a ridiculous expression. The OP expressed themselves, that is fine, they asked a question, they got a lot of comments which were entirely predictable, beforehand I could have predictable those piping up with their usual platitudes, again fine but when she gets an opposing view she gets snarky and resents it......
With regards to your own comments, amazingly some of us aren't kidding ourselves, we are thriving and happy here so maybe, just maybe YOU are mistaken. It is an open forum and you have to wear your big boy/girl pants and take it as well as give it which hasn't seemed to have happened

scrubbedexpat091

Upside to not having a kid early is I got to do some travel, downside if we ever have a kid, we might very well be too old to travel once said kid is grown......

Siouxie

With respect, nobody is criticising the OP for having an opinion - everyone is entitled to one, including yourself - nor was I criticising her when I mentioned about her first post being negative, I was genuinely curious as it's not that common for people to join a forum purely to vent their dislike of a place... however, she is perfectly free to do so!

I think for every unhappy camper that posts there's probably another 50 that are perfectly happy and don't even know BE exists to post their response - they are too busy enjoying their lives.

Canada isn't for everyone - there is no 'one size fits all' - and a lot of expats have a choice whether to stay or not (I say a lot because for some it isn't feasible to leave). The OP has exercised that choice and everybody wishes her well in her move back to the UK - or where-ever she ends up living.

discouraged

Q.E.D.

jock_mcbile

Generally speaking, Canadians are more reserved than Brits, Americans, Aussies, etc. Doesn't mean there aren't exceptions. You know, it's not an insult to be called introverted.

Stinkypup

That is a strange counter.. You alluded that the majority of expats either are leaving/left or can't leave which simply isn't true- I felt Siouxie summed that point very well. Judging by your previous posts, you too fall in the "Unhappy and not exactly thriving camp of expats in Canada" which is a shame but that is life and hopefully it was hopefully a worthwhile experience for you. Meanwhile us fanboys and girls will carry on enjoying life here in Dullsville

Oh, and I stand corrected, when I said big boy/girl pants, in your I case I mean "legal briefs" - this would be appropriate for both genders (although weirdly boy briefs seems to ironically be more appropriate for women..go figure!)

snoopdawg

Given the beauty of it's surroundings, your comment says more about you than Vancouver.


I have more than enough money to move back IF I wanted, but after 6 1/2 years I don't.
I love the mountains, I love the ocean, I love the beauty of the gulf islands.
I love the Okanagan, the incredible lakes, the wineries, the amazing "champagne" snow that I've never encountered on any skiing trip in Europe.
I love watching ospreys from my living room, watching 6 bald eagles jousting mere feet in front of my deck (yesterday), looking out for bears in my garden, listening to owls and coyotes at night, even watching out for cougars whilst walking the dog. I love raccoons , marmots and chipmunks. I love the ever changing beautiful birds in my garden with the changes of seasons. I love listening to crickets and frogs at night in summer.

We're not all here for "culture"/ nightlife. I've lived in London and hated every second. I've loved living in rural Scotland, North Norfolk, rural Worcestershire even rural Greater Manchester- yes such a place exists. But where I live now feels "wilder" if that makes sense.

Canadians that I've met have fairly strong political views. The trips they go on cover most of the globe including Antarctica.Yes there are those who only go to Mexico but how many Brits stick to Spain?

My job here is far more enjoyable than the UK, my kids are happy and I think even the dog would give a paws up if asked.

Each to his/ her own, but to suggest that expats only stay because they lack that courage to go back to the UK is ridiculous. Maybe, just maybe some of us love Canada!

scrubbedexpat091

Really the only problem with Vancouver is cost of housing and basic needs, otherwise it's quite a nice city in my view.

We would certainly choose Vancouver over anywhere else in the province, but there is no housing within our budget, but would be quite nice if we could live in an apartment downtown or along sky train line.

I am more urban, so my ideal place to live is downtown, walk nearly everywhere or be within a very short commute on sky train. Have no car etc.


Of the major city's I have been to, Vancouver is the best of them.

But I am not looking for culture, not even sure what that is supposed to mean.

snoopdawg

Who knows, I agree, we Brits love to use the word as though it's a huge stick made to clobber all things Canadian, or North American in general. But the Grand Canyon, Bryce, the Icefields Parkway, Yosemite, Yellowstone ( to name only a few) can clobber British "culture" in my book. I may be in a minority on here - oddly - but I genuinely love the beauty and wildlife of North America.

Oink

It certainly can be in the seven months of winter, what with the constant rain and all encompassing grey skies it can feel rather overwhelming. That said, one's outlook here can be greatly improved when you find those little nuggets of joy that are hidden about the city. For instance, The Copper Chimney does a rather tasty and reasonable lunch in traditional tiffin lunch boxes. My advice is to only go on a Tues, Weds or Thurs the other days are meatless affairs so rather pointless. Its not very spicy but it can really brighten up a dull and wet day to a nice lunch to look forward to.

I am I said

As others have said, these 'I am leaving Canada' threads tend to go the same way, so I rarely jump in. But I am scratching my head over this one, given Vancouver is rightly considered one of the most scenic cities in the world.... unless you mean the grey and wet winters? If so, drive up to the mountains... that drizzle in the city means lovely snow higher up.
Oh, perhaps you don't like the outdoors? If so, that was not the best choice of city.

Novocastrian

I'm only quoting your post because it's the most recent one quoting my brief remark that I found Vancouver to be oppressive.

I'm sorry, but I did on the several occasions that I was there on business. I found the surrounding ring of no doubt impressive mountains and the endless Pacific ocean to be inescapable and constant reminders of how very very isolated the place is.

Yes, you can drive into Washington but who on earth wants to do that?

And @snoopdawg, I've never been to the Okanagan. Ever heard of the seven year itch?

caretaker

I am Canadian, and I love Canada but there are things I don't like about TO and things I don't like about Vancouver, not least that they are big cities. I don't think there is a perfect place or we'd know about it. There are a couple of spots I thought were so beautiful I'd want to live there just to be in the postcard, but that isn't very practical. I know people who moved to Vancouver for the progressive arty hippie lifestyle and have complained about struggling to support themselves ever since, even though they still have their lifestyle (for the most part) because of their work and because their friends from the old days are still there, but they love Vancouver and would never move. I just realised they've gone from party every weekend in the 80's to 0 parties, only on special occasions. Forty some years ago when I was exploring Toronto and Vancouver those places seemed more exotic, and I think they were. They've changed so much and my memories from then mirror some of the old photos in archives. When I'm away I get homesick for Canada, for Saskatchewan, and even for North Central Regina.

humanist

Why the emphasis on travelling anyway, does it give you extra kudos or bragging rights to be able to reel off a list of exotic locations you've visited? It's a bit like the page on FB where you can pin all the different countries you've visited in a boastful attempt to cover the entire world.

I'm a greenie, so when someone talks about flying around the world the first thing I think of is how can that selfish bugger sleep at night with a carbon footprint that big!

Then again I'm a total hypocrite as I did a bit of travelling before kids came along, but I do feel guilty about it .....that makes it ok, right?

Fact is, if you like zipping off on the weekend to a different country to soak up some culture, speak a different language, see some nice architecture and eat an interesting meal, don't come to Canada! Unless you continually fly back and forth to Quebec City of course.

MarylandNed

Or don't spend their time on an immigration forum at all!

I've read the comments with some amusement. You could predict the negative comments from the usual suspects.

All comments are anecdotal anyway and you'd need to have a massive sample to really give much meaning to them. All we can go by is our personal experiences added to those of others - and we give relative weight to those based on how well we know the person (i.e. forum members get the least weighting of all!).

My anecdotal story in brief. My wife and I lived in and around Toronto for 7 years and loved it. We met many people who moved from the UK and Ireland to Toronto temporarily and permanently and I honestly can't recall any of them saying that they didn't like Toronto overall. There were aspects that some of them didn't like (e.g. weather, traffic, etc) although those things didn't bother others. Some of the complaints were due to things they missed about back home (decent beer and pubs, Indian restaurants, football, etc) but then those things were not issues for others. Live anywhere for any length of time and you'll find things you don't like or things you miss about back home. Overall I never heard the very negative comments that I see on this forum.

If it doesn't work out for you personally, you move on if possible. Life is much too short to spend time living somewhere you personally don't like. I know things become more complicated when you have a family. It's certainly more difficult to move when kids reach a certain age or when they've grown and put down roots of their own. But the OP is not in that situation.

At the same time, know that there are plenty of people who don't like cities in the UK. I lived in Belfast, Manchester and London. I know many people who liked those places enough to stay - and many who disliked them enough to leave. Much depends on your own personal interests and experiences.