Moses2013

More like Ireland, we're neighbours.

btar

Probably no excuse for not understanding how far apart places are but I find 60 or so years in the UK left me with a typical 4 miles to the inch expectation but maps over here rarely have such a large scale. A Michelin atlas I have for Canada and the US changes the scale almost by state, for example, New Bunswick is about 26 miles to the inch, BC is 40 and Alaska, Yukon and N.W.T are 98! At a glance, the maps look similar so it is easy to be misled. Google's maps of course can be set as required but I do like a paper map.
On another aspect - weather - I always find Canadian Weather - Environment Canada interesting as it gives the weather across the country providing temperature and an indication of the weather type - cloud, sun, rain etc. together with hottest and coldest places in the country.

Lychee

That's been my observation too. Few folks from the UK can interpret scale when looking at a map of Canada. All the map tools in the world are available and still folks from the UK rarely grasp the scale of distances in Canada until they get here. It's especially clear here in the west, where people from the UK routinely try to cover the Rockies and Vancouver and Vancouver Island in one week and also refuse to drive further than 3 hours in one go. I liken it to visiting the Alps and London and Ireland in one week. Technically possible but erratic and unwise and not doing anywhere justice. Few have a sense of the vastness between cities and towns. Few grasp that driving across one province is often like driving from Wales to Switzerland. Few also grasp how few mountains there are in Canada. There are certainly mountains but only in a few locations. In many places across Canada, the nearest large mountains are thousands of miles and 2-3 time zones away. I mean, Cairo is closer to London than Toronto is from Vancouver. Few grasp the scale of Canada, especially those who are used to living in small, densely-populated countries. They take what they get for granted at home. When they arrive here in Canada, it often a part of the culture shock.

Moses2013

Even when you look at Canada, around 80% of the population live in urban centres and would rarely do long trips. I suppose the difference with people from the UK is that they often dream of a large house, less populated areas and imagine climbing mountains after work. Those living around London could also drive to the Brecon Beacons in less than 3 hours, but that's too far and you get stuck in urban life. The Chinese are maybe more focused on urban life and would be happy living in Vancouver centre because they know the distances and it's not their main focus.

Almost Canadian

I agree with this.

Most people, whether in Canada or the UK, rarely travel more than 100 miles, some travel less than 10 miles, regularly.

Yes, there are those that travel far and wide (I used to drive from Worcester to Skye regularly) but most don't. When I was in the military, it never ceased to amaze me how "amazed" those from London were that sheep were actually in fields in Wales (lots of adventure training was based in Wales) as they had never seen a live sheep.

I appreciate that my family living in the UK are closer to Halifax, NS, than I am, living just outside of High River and that, when they come to visit us, more than half of their journey is travelling across Canada. However, on a day to day basis, how long it would take me to drive to Vancouver Island is as relevant as how long it would take me to drive to the Italian Alps, when I lived in Worcester.

mogscat

I Must Go Down to the Sea Again

I must go down to the sea again
to the lonely sea and sky
I left my shoes and socks there -
I wonder if they’re dry?

Spike Milligan

Moses2013

It's crazy to think that you could drive to most parts of California in a day and NS is more like 2 days drive without stops. As you say, for day to day living probably irrelevant.

Lychee

Absolutely agree with you here.

And yet, so many are drawn to Canada for places that are thousands of miles away from where they eventually move to. So many are drawn to Canada for the idea of having easy to access nature and wilderness and the mountains, and then move to places where it isn't a part of their day to day lives. It's like uprooting their families across the world to move to Milton Keynes because they've always loved the Italian Alps.

ann m

Came here to say this!

CanadaJimmy

Maybe not as extreme as the example you gave but I can relate in the sense that I was drawn to Vancouver, like the actual city, with Stanley park and downtown core full of life, but ended up having to settle for suburban Langley. I rarely get the chance to go and explore downtown Vancouver, because it's over an hour away on public transit. Even when the Surrey-Langley Skytrain opens I probably wouldn't be able to get there as often as I'd like, you have to really be right in the downtown.

I do still love living here though, but yeah compromises often have to be made, and sometimes you can over compromise and miss the point entirely.

Atlantic Xpat

Ironically, I drive less, living in Newfoundland, than I did living in the UK. Something to do with only being able to go so far before you fall off the edge! In 19 years of living here, I've never taken the ferry to the "mainland", only ever flown.

Moses2013

Speaking about Newfoundland. When you search for Dildo Canada, your browsing history can look very strange.