Oink

You're right, the people who really like Canada usually have grown up on a sink-hole council estate in the North with no prospects of a decent job etc. I suppose the endless strip malls, freezing weather and lack of culture is a small price to pay to be away from a Benefits Street type of an environment. But people who have a decent education and have come from a nice village in England probably wouldn't like it here. Its all relative to your circumstances.

MikeUK

I wasn't going to be that blunt.....

But.... it has to be a bit of a sh1t hole to then be happy in places like winterpeg, or deadmonton

Drax

I guess it all comes down to did you trade up or did you trade down when you moved ? And that in turn is determined by what you want in life.

Dahab

I agree 100% with you. Not all of the UK is dirty crowded and trashy.

rivingtonpike

One's heard of such places of course - I believe there's a popular television serial/soap based on such a place, but it certainly wasn't our motivation for moving to Canada - nor liking it.

jimf

Eastern europeans quite often seem to view Canada as a step up from their homeland as do people from "the Fields" in the UK.

not2old

Definition of nice is also 'relative' - living on a council sink hole estate can be a nice as Wormwood scrubs, Dartmoor or Finsbury Park


Nowt to be shamed of Oink that you came from a 'sink hole council estate', whether it was similar to an 'up North' or a 'Birmingham' benefits street' one.

I'll bet there aren't too many village folks that emigrated to Canada, why would they - unless of course they're from the pit villages.

not2old

snob

rivingtonpike

Sort of.....

I have nothing against the north. Islington has/had some very cosmopolitan parts as I recall. Wouldn't want to live there though.

DandNHill

I moved from a pretty little village in Sussex surrounded by the beautiful South Downs...but I still can't see myself going back...too much traffic, too expensive and too much of a rat race...

plasticcanuck

Your comments reek of snobbery. Two things no-one has any control over whatsoever are where one is born and to whom.
Your posts here suggest you've lived in North America for many years now. So given your numerous comments of a similar ilk, Canada being a shithole etc, when are you going to summon the testicular fortitude to offer/explain to the Canada lovers here why, given your obvious disgust/hatred of Canada, you continue to live/stay in this country when it appears you have the financial wherewithal to return to your beloved England.
It seems hypocritical and probably fraudulent.

scootb

The cold isn't so bad if you are used to the cold damp winters of Scotland,the dryness is a nice change which has greatly benefited my health.
Edmonton isn't so bad,I still don't understand why ex pats moan and whine about the place,it doesn't feel like living in a city,which is a good thing,it's great having the handiness of shops nearby like a city but without that crammed in feeling.
It's also great that there's barely any of that upper class snobbery here.
I will always respect the hard working man that's made an attempt to better his or his families lives over the upper class ungrateful snobs that always seem to have the need to put down the backgrounds of others.

Oink

Just trying to provide a bit of perspective and illuminate the differences in experiences.

jeannie in a bottle

Hold on a minute ... People have the right to express their opinion be it positive or negative, and should not have to justify their reasons for residing in their current location. There are many people here who are living somewhere in support of their partners, and given the choice would rather be back in the UK, so it's not always a purely financial choice.

Back on topic though, I think you have to make the most of wherever you are living to get the best out of a country. I lived in Ontario for a few years which didn't suit me at all, but tried to make the most of the opportunity. Then moved to Vancouver which was far more enjoyable (from a personal perspective). I had a fantastic standard of living in the UK, but that "grass is greener" question would never have been answered had we not tried.

People, I imagine, will always be happiest if they live where their heart is, and there is no right or wrong answer to that!

not2old

I like oink's posts, they are so 'what shall we say' .... illuminating at times, gets folks to wake up & read the posts.

At least we know oink is from a council estate, who has been in Canada forever, that we have 'village people' on the threads & a few self-proclaimed snobs

It just doesn't get any better than this, to show that as immigrants from all walks of life, living here in Canada puts everyone on the same level - ignoring the snobs of course & those that still think they live in small minded Britain