As some of you may know Myself and my husband have been wanting to go home to UK ever since we arrived in Nova Scotia practically.

Now we are starting to think that maybe we haven't been here long enough (since November) and that maybe we should give Ontario a try.

I definitely prefer England to Nova Scotia but is Ontario going to be greatly different from here.

Things we don't like about here include;

Lack of places to walk dogs
Reluctant to welcome Immigrants (We do have some good friends though)
Poor Services (You should see some of the roads)
Really, really, really freezing cold in winter which goes on for what seems like six months. (I know it will still be cold in winter but people tell us that it is a different sort of cold because we have marine weather here)
No choice for holidays etc. It seems cheaper to go to Florida from UK than here which to us seems crazy. Are prices cheaper from Ontario?

If we move to Ontario we would probably be moving to Burlington way. Does anyone have any advice about that?

this is so hard and I really don't know what to do for the best!!! Any advice would be greatefully received.

Thanks

Sonia

There are no places to walk your dog in Nova Scotia? hehehe!!

Perhaps you will like Ontario more, you'd probably feel more connected to the rest of the world.

Having only been here since November, you probably haven't given Canada enough of a chance ( although only you can be the judge of that), so maybe the move to Ontario would be good. But then again you'd be starting out alone all over again.

Int.

Move to Ontario!!!

I suppose I should not say that because I am biased. I moved to the UK from Ontatio 3 years ago and I still want desparately to move back. I love Ontario and I miss my family (still). Give Canada a chance it has alot to offer.

Best of luck with a very difficult decision, coming from someone who knows.

Hi Sonia

My husband and I are planning on moving to Ontario from the UK next Spring with our two young children. As I haven't lived in Canada yet, I can't comment very much on your situation.

The only thing that springs to my mind is that as you are already in Canada, why not give it more of a chance? Like you say, you have only been there since November. As you and your husband already know you don't want to stay in Nova Scotia, why not move to Ontario and see how you get on? At least then you will know how you feel and won't have any regrets if you do eventually move back to the UK. Now is your chance.

Having spoken to others who have emigrated to the UK from other countries, they say it can take a good couple of years to begin to feel settled in another country. It is bound to be hard at the start and I am trying to pysche myself up for when we make the move next year! I don't know how we will get on, but if we don't give it a decent chance, we would always wonder.

Well the preach is now over! Let us know how you get on,

Chris

Depending on where you are from in England - Burlington may be a good option. Sometimes If you move somewhere that similar to where your from it makes it easier.

I have been in yorkshire - alberta - ontario - yorkshire again. And now I'm homesick for Hamilton Ontario.

Burlington (next door to Hamilton) is slightly industrial, but has some very lovely houses and pleasent parks.

Check out www.mls.ca this is the real estate boards for all of Canada. You can search out Burlington homes and get an idea.

Good Luck
fried_emu

We emmigrated to Australia in 1999 and promptly moved back to the UK - We had been in Switzerland (for work) prior to that and I think it spoilt us and made us forget the things about England that make you want to emmigrate in the first place. We have been back 3 years now and often we think that we should have given it more of a go. We had much the same reasons as you - we have 2 northern breed dogs that we found it difficult to walk apart from the heat they don't seem to like you to take your dogs on national parks or any where close to a playground. We thought that we would see more of the family if we moved back home - It hasn't happened and most only live 50 mins away - life here seems to busy for people to actually take time out for each other.

Things I took from my experience are to involve yourself in your new local community as much as you can - get out and make friends - remember though that you can't make old friends in the first few weeks - that takes time but is worth the wait. Try not to think of England with rose coloured specs. You will get homesick but if you come back you may, like us, be forever thinking if we'd tried a bit harder maybe it would have been different.

Good luck - hope it gets better for you. It's not that great here at the moment.

Christine

these seem like things that you can overcome. you're better off than a lot of people, by the sounds of it. we have made some friends but not enough! we have poor roads in alberta too (but not as bad as texas!) but the winters are obviously quite tough on them.

i would absolutely give it a bit longer. i first lived in canada for about 15 months before moving to texas and we couldn't wait to move back. we had moved from london so it was a big change, now i have no desire to go back to london, except to visit. if you can, i would attempt to travel around canada a bit, you never know, you might fall in love with the rockies!

Hi Sonia,

It has to be said that this weekend has given me time to think about your post and try to come up with something that might help. And so I sit here typing and scratching from last nights mosquito-fest.

November I guess would not be a good time of year to land (but get the necessity thing) so that might not have helped.

There is a process we each go through a process to determine whether we should apply or not and we all have to wait a good time to get there. Perhaps it might help to revisit your reasons for wanting to come here in the first place - it might help to remind you about all the positive things.

If that doesn't help much, get researching. Get your list of likes and dislikes together and research ALL the major cities. Not just T.O. but Vancouver, Montreal etc etc. You can find out loads and loads online through www.sympatico.ca and others.

This might sound a bit silly too, but is it possible you might be a bit depressed....you should consider a trip to the doctor as its something fixable and you might be able to tackle the other issued more positively.

As someone who turned down the chance to stay in Oz, if you don't give this your best shot you'll go to your grave regretting it.

If the worst happens and you really cant continue, make sure you get a trip in to somewhere you've always wanted to go in Canada and make your last memory of here a good one.

Hope this gives you something to think about.
Regards,
Pat...scratch,scratch!

We have definitely decided to go home. Both my husband and I are experiencing too many days where we we end up cursing everything about being here.

The main reason we are going home is family and we have simply realised that the UK isn't that bad. All the things we dislike about the UK happen here also. (Traffic, Crime, Poor Schooling, Doctor Shortages, Bad Weather, Worse bugs!!). I just don't like it enough here to give up the UK and I really can't see anything that will change my mind. I feel like you can only really make it if you are willing to give up a bit of your UK identity and I am not. I can't wait to get back there. Being away from there has made me realise how much I love it. When I get back though I definitely don't want to get whipped along in all that anti UK media hype which I now realise is simply a political tool.

We realise that we won't be seeing family all the time but I think it will be more than once every two years which is what it would have to be here as we can't afford a holiday let alone flights home.

Anyway just thought I would update you all on my decision.

When I look back we were never really that unhappy in the UK and we were actually doing really well. I think a lot of people just get caught in this trap that they must get out because there is some sort of paradise out there. Maybe there is for some people just not for us.

I will still always advise everybody to try it as otherwise you will always wonder and I am sure that I will still find fault with things in England but there is a lot more there that I am really going to appreciate.

I understand - home is where your heart is, regardless of the country. I left my home to move to another country and after three years I still hate it and still want to move back.

I can intellectualize the reasons why I want to move back, but in the end I miss the familliar, the family and the food. My children will never know their grandparents well.

In all fairness we have done financially better in this new country and have more than we ever could have had back home. But I am willing to give it all up in a microsecond.

We moved to the new country in a hurry with out fully researching it. We were just excited about the prospect. This time we are taking a couple of years to move back to ensure that we are in the best possible situation. Then the move to the new country was not in vain.

Good luck and if I can be as bold to offer some advice...
as much as it may hurt to stay a little longer make sure you have used up all of your options to futher your self personally before you move back. It may make it easier to set up yourselves back at home.

Fried

(ontario --- yorkshire --- (hopefully)ontario again)

I can sympaphise fully with your decision, and the reasoning behind it. Good luck with move back....

Well, good luck - it can't have been an easy decision - make sure you get to see any sites that you want to before you go back - that is one thing we regret about oz, not spending a last couple of weeks visiting all the tourist attractions.

good luck daisy moll

can't have been an easy decision to reach.

All the best

We know EXACTLY how you feel. My husband, cat and I moved to Ontario last October and we haven't been completely happy since we arrived. We lived in Stratford initially (2 hours from Toronto) but that didn't seem right, so we moved further north to Huntsville around 2 months ago which is where we are now. Although it is absolutely gorgeous around here, we have a problem finding some structure in our lives. We still have a business in the UK (South West) so because we don't need to work here (lucky us! or so we thought), we have to find stuff to fill our time. During the winter, that was really depressing as we were restricted because of the severe weather. We ended up staying home and watching tv and I felt rotten because of morning sickness. Now it's summer, we go out and about, visiting lakes and swimming and doing the tourist thing but even that gets boring after a while - too much of a good thing I guess. I think that sort of thing is great for holidays and you appreciate it all the more - but not as a lifestyle. Besides, we're too young to be retired!! The other big thing that bugs us is not having family around. As I'm 8 months pregnant with my first child, I so wish my Mum was around for advice and to have a reassuring chat with and I can't bear the thought of her not seeing our little one grow up. We really, really miss our folks especially now they're getting older as well and didn't think it would be this bad. I think our time out here has shown us what is REALLY important to us - i.e. family and structure - not material things like a big house and lots of money. If anyone reads this, they'll probably think we're really lucky to be in such an enviable position and thoroughly spoiled but something is definitely not right, it's a gut feeling. So I can completely sympathise with what you're going through. In the meantime, we have decided to stick it out for another year (counting the days off, ha!) just to say we've done it and then we'll head back. I just feel so sorry for our cat as he'll have a horrible journey to go through again - the trip over was horrendous but that's another story for another time! At least they've lifted the quarantine laws in the U.K. now so that's one consolation. Would love to know more about your decision and what you plan to do upon your return to "blighty"! Cheers for now, Sheryl

I'm not suprised you feel crap if you don't have a job. I am in the same position and its so depressing being away from family and friends especially at a time when you need them the most!

Luckily my permanent residency has recently been approved and I will soon be working, I can't wait, lol!!

When I start working I know that I will feel more at home here, cos i'll feel connected to society and there will be more normality and structure in my life. Life won't be an endless expanse of time to fill up!

If I absolutely hate working here, then I will seriously think about going back to the UK. As it is I love Canada (i'm in Toronto) and i think it was worth toughing out the hard times, cos things can only get better from here!

Emigrating isn't for everyone, its quite an ordeal to put yourself through! I think we all come out stronger and wiser though.

Int.