Hi,

We have been in Burlington for about 3 months now and my 15 year old son is having real trouble settling in. He has no friends at school and l am feeling so bad for him.
If there is any other kids in Burlington about the same age as him it would be great to hear from you.
It is so heart breaking to see your children so unhappy!
So any help would be great.
Thanks.

I came across your thread while I was looking for info on Burlington. We are looking into several towns around Toronto to find out were would be best for us. We are a family of four, two boys 12 & 15. We know all about moving and setling problems, we've done it a few times. We had the same problem with our eldest son. I hope that your son has started to make a few friends.
Maybe they could write to each other and share their experiences, it might help them both a little.
I'm English, my wife is French and our sons have attended French schools but are now in a bilingual school. They still make a few mistakes in English but generally pretty good. This is going to be an extra difficulty for our boys upon arrival, as well as the new lifestyle and schooling. Burlington seems to be a nice place to live for a family.
Bye for now.

Hi Sliverkat,

It was so great to receive your e-mail and hear from someone that has had to same sort of problems.
Thank you for asking after my 15 year old son he seems a bit happier but is still adamant that he want's to go back to England.
He has just started the schools soccer team and goes to practise twice a week so l am hoping that will help.
He still does not go out and has not had any friends over. l also have another son who is 12 so we have a lot in common.
Burlington is a very nice safe area and there are a lot of English people here.
So if you do decide to come this way let me know and we can get the boys together.
Thanks again for your reply and good luck!
Debra

Hi
We had the same issue with our 15 year old, for the first 4 months he would have sold his soul to move back to England, no real friends here and it was the indoor soccer season which is a completely different game to which he was used to and he couldn't get into a team at the level he played back in England, school wasn't upto the academic level he was used to and would have preferred to be at 'home' revising for his GCSE's.
Now 8 months in he has made friends at school and plays outdoor soccer, loves the hockey on telly everynight, loves the warmer weather. Still talks to his friend on MSN in England every night and phones often but is now happy and now talks of keeping his options open with regards to moving back to England. We are visiting England in July and bringing back one of his friends for a visit so he is looking forward to that.
In contrast my 14 year old son settled the minute we arrived and is looking forward to visiting England but has no desire to go back permanently. My daughter who is 13 misses her friends, she went from secondary school to elementary here and feels she is back in primary school, but overall is generally happy.
I think it still maybe early days for your son but probably joining the soccer team will help him make friends. It is alot harder when they are older and you can't arrange playdays for them and they have to find their own way, Hang in there and keep positive, I live in Oakville so so send me a PM if you fancy a chat.
Dawn

Hi Debra,
It would be nice if we could meet up if we ever get that far, it's always nice to chat with people who have gone through similar situations and problems. It is getting harder for us to move as our sons are getting older, when they were younger it was easier and they adapt quicker in school.
It seems that you arrived in Burlington in the middle of the school year, is that right ?
How did that go down ?
We are worried about having to do that, as everything is very approximative with the delays in the paperwork for our permanent residence, we can't do much planning and are playing by ear. In the mean time we are prospecting on where would be best for us. (preferably a place with lots of parks and gardens for me to get a job in !)
What classes are your boys in ? My wife was trying to find some Canadian school books to give us an insight and an idea of what is expected, but she dropped the idea not really knowing where to look.
Steve

I don't know if my comments will help at all - but I know how your son feels. When I was 15, my parents decided to move continents and I had a really hard time coping in the beginning. I had so many friends that I had to leave behind. It took me the better part of 1 1/2 - 2 years to settle - but then I was actually really really happy!

I hope your son will settle in eventually, make friends and enjoy himself. All the best to you and your family.

Thanks everyone for your comments, when l think about it we did not make it any easier for him the fact we moved from England to Vancouver and then to Burlington all in just over 1 year! (we have family in Burlington and Vancouver was too expensive)
So when l think about it, it could be a lot worse but you try to do the right thing but things happen!.
Silverkat keep in touch and let me know how you get on and if there is any thing l can help you with just let me know.

Hi, we're also immigrating to Toronto...from Australia. We have 3 boys but am more concerned about our 12 yr old who is in his first year of high school here. We probably won't get there before next year but that means he'll also have to return to elementary school for Year 8, then back to high school. I hope he settles in OK. The other 2 are 9 and 5 so they should be OK. We originally had liked the Oakville area, but of late have checked out other suburbs north of Toronto. We're still very undecided where to live. I'm finding it very hard to get details of good schools, or even how to choose a school. We want Catholic schools, but have also looked into the French Immersion system. I think it's great that the kids learn a second language so young.

Hi My daughter was in the same position as your son she had spent 1 year in secondary school and now is in grade 7 in elementery school. What she found was that she is with the same group of people throughout the day which makes it easier to make friends, there is less homework than you get in high school, you are 'looked after' better and there is not a large school to have to navigate around. It also gives a gentler introduction to subjects which are new such as French, Canadian Geography & History.
All my children are in the public school system and we chose the school while on a reccie trip by visiting and also word of mouth, we looked for houses which were in the catchment areas of the schools we liked.
Hope this helps