timelesschick

I am just getting the last few bits of paperwork together so we can put in our application.....

We moved to Australia from the UK and do like it here, but want to be closer to the UK for family reasons, hence the move.

It has been interesting reading the comments on here, as I want to go to Canada to be nearer family, but my partner wants to go because he really doesnt like the Aussies. We own our own business over here and he has been lied to, ripped off, stabbed in the back etc.... lots of times since he has been here, and it is the general opinion of lots of immigrants here. The general opinion of the people here is that they are very racist to anyone who isnt an Aussie!!!

I have noticed that there havent been comments like that about the Canadians??? We are looking at going to Alberta or maybe BC and would love to live the same sort of lifestyle in Canada as we do here, horses etc....

Is it difficult to make friends in Canada (it is here!). In the UK we had lots of really good friends, not that you saw them all the time, maybe just once or twice a month, but you always knew they were there if that makes sense!

We are looking forward to going, hopefully and just wondered on peoples opinions, would be great, thanks you

christmasoompa

Just checking, but you're aware that the Skilled Worker program is on hold until Jan, and that everything will be changing then (points test, credentials needing assessing by an agency, etc)?

Just don't want you to submit now and then have it returned/rejected!

scrubbedexpat133

The difference is that Canadians wont say it to your face!!! At least you know where you stand with the Aussies!!!(like it or not) I used to work and play rugby with a few Aussies and they definitely respond to the English P take/ banter humour better than the Canadians do.

rivingtonpike

I'm really sorry some people have had bad or disappointing experiences making friends with Canadians. I can only say that we have, in a comparatively short space of time, made some of the nicest and most helpful friends we have ever had. I haven't experienced any condescention or derision about my lack of knowledge about things Canadian - chainsaws, different types of wood/trees, kayaking, cougars - I could go on but you get my drift. I have found a willingness from almost everyone to share their knowledge and I think a pride in their surroundings, province, country.

I for one am very happy here and that is certainly in some part due to the warm and welcoming attitude of the friends and neighbours around us.

cheeky_monkey

I wish Canadians would say when they are having a shit day instead of everything being awesome all the time.

there's a lady in my office whose husband left her after 20 years marriage..now to me that's the perfect excuse to be having a pretty shit day/week/month etc but no...she still got that faux smile and stating at least it would be awesome only having to shop for one person!...really

rivingtonpike

[QUOTE=cheeky_monkey;10408250]I wish Canadians would say when they are having a shit day instead of everything being awesome all the time.

Lychee

Well, the reality of the situation is that it takes time to make friends.

You likely had a lifetime to make the friends you did in the UK, and you shared a similar culture, a similar background, a similar understanding of society, social norms, schools, childhood, holiday celebrations, pop culture references, etc.

In Canada, you'll have to start from scratch in an unfamiliar environment with completely different social norms, different pop culture, different interests, different values, etc. and it will take time to make the same kind of friendships you made in your lifetime in the UK.

Little things you took for granted in the UK (pub culture, dinner parties, sarcasm, where/how to shop for food, etc.) aren't the same in Canada, and you'll have to learn how people socialize, how to make friends again.

And give yourself the time. It won't happen overnight. It will happen, certainly, but allow yourself the time, and don't give up if it doesn't happen immediately.

A lot of this too depends on where you're moving to. Some places are easier to make friends because some places will be full of people who share your values and interests. In other places, it'll be a lot more difficult. I know that myself, living in Vancouver, I do relate to many cradles, and yet, there are parts of the country where the culture is alienating (ex: I don't watch ice hockey, I think Tim Horton's coffee is terrible, I can't stand country music, I don't fish, I don't hunt, I'm not religious, etc.)

If you're ready to adapt and keep an open mind and learn about the local culture (what makes the locals tick) and you're willing to jump in and experience that, you'll have a better time making friends.

Lychee

Positive attitude and willingness to learn is everything, I think. That, and being in the right place in a like-minded community. Glad to hear things are working out for you!

Gazman

looks like 'nice' is the new 'awesome'

bats

nice

Former Lancastrian

You could start to use
well that was awesomely nice of you to do that for me eh.

Oink

I think a lot of what seems unfriendliness is that most Canadians think British people are superior to them and as such we intimate them so they tend to be standoffish. If you want to make friends, try and go at their pace and don’t use big words.

HGerchikov

When you read some of the comments on here you can see why the locals are reluctant to make friends! I wonder how keen some of us would have been when we lived in the UK surrounded by our family, friends from school, uni, work etc. to become best friends with some foreigner that just happened to have moved into the street? The locals here have full lives with probably more than enough friends and family to meet their social requirements - they don't need us, and the fact that we may be desperate for friends is basically not their problem.
We have met some great people, and have spent many an afternoon sunbathing by the neighbour's pool with a beer or a glass of wine. We even have friends that have us over for Christmas breakfast every year because they are aware we have no family here - they have a huge family of their own but are still willing to share the day with us. Obviously not everyone you meet would be prepared to do that - and quite honestly I don't blame them.

Oink

We had to go to one of them once, never again though. The cheap sods didn’t even break out any booze and when I mentioned it, they said it was a bit early. **** that, we lasted about 30mins listening to them bang on about the road works on ‘their street’ and then HID said she wasn’t feeling well and we naffed off down the pub instead.

HGerchikov

These people serve champagne by the bucket load but that is not the main reason for going. Seriously - do you have any friends at all?