So how long did if at all did it take you to call Canada home?

I suppose it leads onto the question as to what factors lead you to call a place home?

For some it requires family
For some its friends
Or is it where you grew up is "home" and any other place is just where you live.
For some it really is the place.
I guess for some it could be the cultural identity of the society that makes them feel they belong.


The "home" I left in London was definitely down to friends I had a nice little network of friends that I would consider my urban family (our families where not in close proximity), the place was pretty cool too and it definitely had a buzz.

I suppose it also helps when everything in your life is in equilibrium, so you don't have any stresses and can look to enjoying yourself.


So after 8 months is Canada home for me yet..... hmmmmmm difficult to say ...... I am definitely enjoying my self and loving the location.
When I moved around the UK it took over a year or so for me to consider London my home, so I guess we will see but the future is bright.

What about those of you that have moved a lot in your lives?

No.

Hi
Been here 2 years 2 weeks, enjoying living here, but is it home????
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
England is!!!!!!!

I guess it became home when we bought our house here after 4 years, and more so after our first child was born here. Part of me will always hold out that the UK is home, but for all practical purposes Canada is home now.

Dont know why anyone would stay for more than a few years someplace that did not feel like it would ever be home

Very definitely YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well having lived in The NW UK, The SW UK, The SE UK, South Africa (very briefly) and Australia. I would say none of those are home. So Canada COULD be.

Did it take you a long time to say that though........ cause you have been here a few years now ?

> Home is right here right now.

Rich.

Is Canada just a place to live for you then? or more of a life style ?

Sounds like you will go back eventually ......."home is where the heart is" and all that...

Yes I have been here a while, 44 years this May so you could have a point.

I came to Canada at aged sixteen and can honestly say I never ever missed anything about England. Did I actually feel at home when I got here? I can't honestly say yes or no but I was comfortable here from the very beginning. I can't say when it felt like home. It just does and has done for a very long time.

I left a sister who was five years older than me behind and at this point in my life am embarrassed to admit I never missed her either. We were never close due to the age difference, but it still surprises me now when I think about it.

Yes. I've been here since 1968 with only two visits back.

England is now a foreign country because old memories no longer apply and are more like nostalgic fantasies. For instance

1) Old friends have moved away and are no longer in contact with the old gang.

2) Don't have any immediate family.

3) Quaint streets and buildings, while picturesque, seem small and crowded. A bit like Disneyworld, interesting to visit but wouldn't like to live there.

4) I would have difficulty adjusting to the dull, rainy climate of the North. Much prefer Canada's cold winters with snow and clear blue skies and hot summers.

Home is where the heart is. Mine is here in Canada because my heart belongs to my grandchildren, born here! But it doesn't stop me hankering to go back. Usually my fairly frequent visits back to the UK take care of that, when I am there I feel like a foreigner and talk about wanting to go "home" to Canada.

Yes...

I've been here for two years. When I went back "home" for Christmas, I actually felt homesick. I've never felt that way in Britain.

I can't imagine moving back to the UK. When I got laid off in November, my biggest fear was that I would have to go back "home"...

I don't think that time has anything to do with the way that you settle...

Getting there.

Been here 20 months now, and some days its totally home and others not so.

It has just been my birthday and I only had 1 card from a 'new' friend here and the rest were from my 'old' freinds and family back.... ( I nearly put home then)... in the UK
That made me a little tearful

You know when you are passing through a crowded place in a foreign country and get that sudden sense of worry and unease about local customs and local people....this happened to me in Heathrow Terminal 3, on my last trip... weird!

Maybe it's just Heathrow. I'll know ill always be comfortable in my old 'home' town in the UK.

....I refer to both countries as "home" now. However it took nearly 5 years for Canada to reach that designation.