Changed your mind yet?
 

Well it seems that "Angies Story" thread is still going strong. This thread of course is not the first and won't be the last detailing lots of negative thoughts and showing the downsides to moving to Canada.
We all need to hear both sides of the story to be able to make informed choices about our new life abroad so it got me thinking:

How many potential migrants have actually changed their minds since reading information on the British Expats forum?
Is there anybody who has actually decided not to bother emmigrating at all or has any one particular article made you rethink your chosen destination or even your career path.

Just interested in how much of an effect this forum has on peoples future plans.

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

No effect whatsoever :)

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

Everyone's experiences are different and to my mind, if you are so influenced by what you read on a forum that you will actually change your mind as a result, then surely you can not have been that convinced about going in the first place.

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

Well not exactly changed my mind, but after reading some of the articles on here and visiting Canada, I decided to delay my applying to go, and see how things work out here. 2 years on I'm thinking about it again, but for different reasons.

Simon

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

We haven't changed our minds and are still actively researching.

For us the forum is one source of thoughts and opinions which inconjunction with other internet research and advice from friends in Canada build up a general feel for the place.

Negative comments like Angie's where there are few specifics and little is substantiated should not put off any serious potential migrant but just make you cautious that your research is thorough (well as much as possible anyway !)

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

It's changed our minds/plans not one jot, bring it on then we'll deal with it.:thumbup:

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

If I'd of read this (not just Angie's story, but also the constant whining on this forum :blink:) before I'd applied, then I doubt I would of bothered applying to be honest. I know you shouldn't be put off by reading such drivel, but it's human nature for it to worry you & it MUST effect people who haven't experienced life here for themselves yet, especially the ones in the first step of the process.
Luckily I found this forum just after AOR, so it was too late. We've been here 12 months now and it's f-ing brilliant :thumbup:

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

I don't think anything would put me off of moving to Canada. Everywhere has its issues. Its human nature to complain about things that annoy you but not to praise the things you like.

Basically if you really want to do something, the essence of the reason why you want to do it will keep you focussed on it, and any thing that might be a negative aspect to it will be at worst, distractions.

That's what I reckon anyway. It might all be a complete load of codswallop. :thumbsup:

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

Not in the least :)

Wherever one moves there are going to be negatives.

It's the 80/20 thing.

80% of your new chosen country/home/life you are going to be happy with.

20% you are going to be unhappy with.

Concentrate on the 80% :D

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

Nope:D

There will always be problems wherever you are. I will do as much research as I can, prepare for the potential problems I can forsee and deal with those I can't. Bring on the Great Adventure. Hey, I'm even calm and accepting of the 4 year wait now:cool:

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

Oh yes, I am not taking up my job with the great company, I'm not moving over next week, I'm not going to enjoy the summer in New Brunswick, I'm ..... oh who am I kidding.

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

Didn't put me off. In fact, this forum is great for practical advice and also gives incouragement to people in limbo that their time will come. Tells it, warts n' all. For those waiting to move to Canada, the main big thing to complain about is the processing time........ but all good things come to those who wait :D .

I often have a look around the other forums in here and 'Returning to the UK' is not for the faint-hearted.

Of course a lot of people are very excited at going home, practical advise given etc, and thats fine. Unfortunately, it is often more about slagging off the country they want to leave (usually OZ).

Some poor homesick people post a thread on there - not wise in my opinion as its best to have your spirits lifted at this difficult time with words of encouragement. Sadly I have seen replys saying that after only several months abroad they have given it 'their best' and they should come home post-haste. More worryingly, if their OH doesn't want to return just take the kids and leave him/her behind :ohmy:

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

One of the benefits of these forums is that we are all able to express our own personal opinions. It is then up to the individual reading them to decide whether to accept/decline the information given.

I would be more inclined to "change my mind" if the forum contained only positive posts. We need to see/read the negatives so that we are better prepared should we be unfortunate enough to have to deal with them at some stage.

One post on one forum is not going to change my mind.

Lynne

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

I'll have been here 44 years in May of this year and I was so upset by Angie's Story I'm seriously considering going home.


NOT!!!!!:eek::eek::p:rofl::rofl:

This is home.

Cheers
Steve

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

Its a Yep from me!!!!

I have had my doubts from the start to be honest, but I have come so far now I plan to finish to process off and see how the next 2 years pan out.
My visas are due any day now and I fly out for a vacation at the end of may to get PR.

But don't plan on moving just yet and in the process of buying a new house. The way i see it, alot can change in 3 years, but if i'm happy in the UK in 3 years time then the PR will just expire......But who knows........

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

Good point.

I feel way more informed about my new home-to-be and have been reassured on many occasions that the wild meanderings of my mind are not SO mad afterall. It's been a hugely up and down journey to get this far - and I thought Hubby might bail out of the whole idea a month or two ago - but he doesn't read the forum so it wasn't you lot putting him off !

In a way, perhaps the forum has taken some of the 'mystery' away from the move - I mean, I'll already expect poor service from my bank, I know I will never find a hairdresser, I know I will have a car accident within a matter of months and I know customer services is a made-up phrase. I know I will be electrocuted on an hourly basis by static in Calgary, the insides of my nose will disintegrate, and I can't do my gardening all year round (by a long stretch). What have I got left to find out ? :p :ohmy:
I haven't told my hubby and children any of the above - so I can watch in fascination as reality bites for them :D

It is a great forum - take a lot of it with a bucket of salt - but if you read it regularly, you can't claim you weren't warned !!!

and there are some genuinely very witty peeps on here - keep it up - you make me smile ! :thumbsup:

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

I don't know how to say this without sounding probably very blunt & rather rude..... but i'm going to say it anyway.

How many people are 'clogging' up the queue very half heartedly for PR to then possibly or very probably not move out & let their PR "just expire"!

To be perfectly honest with you, it really (i'll be polite) - cheeses me off, especially when there are so many who want to be there tomorrow & have to wait!

A cheesed off Arris :curse:

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

Well so far it seems the vast majority have not really been "talked out of it" by any scary stories they have read. Only 2 people so far admit to having second thoughts and they might both still end up going, who knows.

I personally have found the mix of information useful but nothing has so far made me think i'm doing the wrong thing.

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

Nothing that I read on this forum will have any effect on my desire to live the rest of my life on Vancouver Island. I've had this eventual goal in the back of my mind ever since I was there as a teenager, and feel a deep sense of loss after all of our 6 week holidays there. I'm always in tears during the flight over from Comox to Vancouver.

I don't have any emotional ties to the UK, it's just been the place that I have lived since aged 18, although I am British born. I got to the age where I had to support myself and the UK was the only choice as far as I could see at the time, where I could legally work.

I was gutted not to be able to return to Canada but would not have returned there to work illegally because I didn't want to hamper my future chances of getting there legally.

In my case I've had a nomadic life anyway so moving is an easy choice. I am used to making new friendships, used to settling into a different lifestyle, and used to adapting and making do.

During the first 10 years of my career, my brother Pete tried to qualify each year, but was advised that he needed more qualifications, or more work experience, and I knew that I couldn't qualify under the point requirements back then.

When my OH and I got together 15 years ago I asked if he would consider moving out there but each time I broached the subject he said that he couldn't consider it as long as his parents were alive. I was not going to go without him and our kids, so shelved the goal until something changed to make it a realistic possibility.

Now my OH has changed tack and is prepared to leave the UK whilst his parents are still alive and healthy, so suddenly it is all possible.

My only concerns are how my family will adapt, the kids have only ever lived in this house, and my OH has only ever lived at home with his parents, and here. My OH, although a member on this forum, has only posted twice and doesn't spend any time reading anything on the forum, he only knows what I relate to him. He could change his mind but we'll deal with that if it happens, but it won't be because of someone else's experience.

Another persons experience in Canada is subjective and irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. Personality, character, upbringing, life experiences, expectations, attitude, adaptability, and an acceptance of responsibility for ones actions and choices, all play a part in the reality of a future in any individuals life, wherever they choose to live. Regret and bitterness are subjective emotions too and are chosen reactions that are not constructive. Better to look for the good that can come out of life experiences than to wallow in what worse could happen.

so....onward and forward...and a loooong wait!

Robin

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

I've worked in Canada twice on a work visa, and lived there for about 4 years altogether in Vancouver and Vancouver Island.

The post on your front page is so far from my experiences of the country as can be imagined.

"In the 3 homes (bought and sold) we paid $46,000 in fees"

If you buy and sell 3 houses in 5 years, expect to get hit by a lot of costs, this is true anywhere in the world.

"you cant find any 'no frills' like you can in Tescos"

On the West Coast the Real Canadian Superstore fits the bill.

"We had to get anti antibiotics for a chest infection and the doctor gave us one that cost $140. It had an ingredient we specifically asked not to be given and so told the pharmacist, they just took our money anyway and said 'sorry you will have to see your doctor' we went back and got a second one that cost $70."

So they walked out of a pharmacy with a drug that is wrong for them? WHY?

"We have also experienced a little racism"

You can't experience racism if you're white in a mostly white country. Xenophobia perhaps. We never experienced this, not once, not in the whole 4 years. Try living in some small town in the US with an English accent! An entirely different experience.

"All in all Canada is beautiful, but I would call it a third world country. It is way behind the times"

I find that comment staggering, really, quite staggering, and utterly removed from my experience of the Canada people.

Anyway, there's my $0.02

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

I think you can. I very rarely deal with white people in the ordinary course of the day here. I am both statistically and practically exceptional in being white and so could easily be the subject of racism. A practical example would be that I couldn't play an active role in the union at a major client of our firm because the meetings are conducted in a language (Catonese) which I do not speak.

How so?

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

That's pussy talk where I come from:rofl:

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

I was thinking of my experience in Vancouver... there was so few people there were not white that I dealt with on a daily basis I really couldn't have been a subject of racism. Although I agree in your situation you are.

But really, I think the original post is talking about people discriminating against her for being English, which is not a race.

We've encountered a few negative reactions to our English-ness here, whereas the typical reaction in Vancouver was interest.

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

I think we've got crossed threads here, this should have gone in the other "Angies story" thread, we don't want another debate on all that again.

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

Hear! Hear! Mr Printer. Oh go on, I think they're enjoying themselves, bless 'em:blink:

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

I think racism is key to society in Toronto, everyone hates the members of some other group. It's manageable because there are so many racisms rather than one focussed racism.

I was more interested in this though:

In what way do you think life in small town America with an English accent is different from the same in Canada?

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

I never had any trouble in the US. Although I was warned by a hotel worker not to go down to a certain part of town after dark in case my accent got heard.

Town shall remain nameless. Twas in the Con - fed - er - acy, ya hear.

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

Well, principally, I've lived in Vancouver and suburbs, and I've lived in a small town in Vancouver Island, and I can honestly say that most people don't comment on your accent, which is great. The ones that do are always positive, like I love your accent.

Now in the US my experience has been more that almost immediately upon hearing the foreign accent they will stop you and say "WHAT! I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU". Or ask where you're from and then grunt at you. Maybe thats just part of how people are here.

In particular when opening a bank account and getting a driving license we were so rudely treated my wife was in tears.

It's hard not sound like I'm whining about Americans and I expect some kind of pat on the back for being British, but that's not it. Comparing the two countries I feel welcome and comfortable in Western Canada, whilst I feel uneasy and often unwelcome in the North East of the US.

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

There's the key. People are more belligerent in Boston or Toronto than they are in Vancouver or San Francisco. Not that any of these are small towns.

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

If only I had a buck for each time a hotel worker told me not to go where I was going; they're liability phobic. I doubt that it has anything to do with accent as, except for the plastic paddies in parts of Boston, Chicago and NYC, Americans don't dislike the English; people are forever putting me in a moral dilemma by sending me beer and toasting Thatcher or Blair.

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

Yes I don't doubt it but that's the only experience I have. I live in a small town in the NE.

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

I have encountered stick on other Canada forums but it is all light hearted Brit bashing with both sides giving as good at they get!

I have not changed my mind, everyday living in London makes me want to ignore the scare stories more, I just want to get over there for a reccie.

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

There's a cross party irony there somewhere...

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

........Then we (the forum contributors) have done our job!
It will be better for you to go with all this knowledge and perhaps things won't be so surprising. Who knows, you might actually like the place ;) shock horror.

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

I've been here 55 weeks tomorrow and this is home for me too.

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

i'm having last minute wobbles, 4-6 weeks ish to go, not helped by mega stressed wife and thought of starting my career again, back 16yrs. reading this post didn't help but wouldn't put me off, i don't see the harm though in gathering as much information and opinion as you can to hopefully assist in getting a balanced view. some of the info on here is simply down to personal experience and cannot be researched, you have to live it and then of course its too late. thats why in the main, i have found this site to be so helpful.
i did look on the return site for the first time in a long while after reading this thread. i don't think anyone on there has spotted the irony. they started out slagging off the UK and leaving, now the UK is fantastic and wherever they have left is awful, but all the problems are the same!! can't believe some are moaning about Aus being hot!! for crying out loud.
its the personality at fault, they don't know what they want and nothing will be right.
so... don't let others put you off, live it and make your own mind up, nowhere is perfect, but of the recent polls/surveys, of the UN for instance (best place in developed world for childrens upbringing), canada 12th, UK LAST 22ND, nuff said.

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

We applied to emigrate to Canada as SW back in Mar 2005 and have just been asked for updated documents. Reading Angie's story made my heart sink but then i got to thinking - isn't that possible in any country that you live in - you still have to work hard for nice things, pay your taxes and find things/situations to whinge about. Everyone like to whinge a little bit! As long as we go with our eyes open and not expect to live like kings (although i'm still holding out for my mansion with a swimming pool!!!!) we'll be fine. So, now my bubble of excitement is back with a vengenance - can't wait - am terrified, but can't wait!:p

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

Its sad someone has had such a bad experience in Canada...I think maybe homesickness took over...and I would say there were defenitely other personal factors involved also.

I am British born but moved to Canada with my parents when I was young
..that was 43 years ago....I love Canada ...It is STILL a land of oppportunity
like anything worth having...time and hard work will pay off...it takes more than a few months to settle in. Im in England waiting for my partners visa to come. to bring him back to Canada permanently We had the choice of which country to settle in Canada or Britian.. and I know what it feels like to be homesick now...

I have loved being in England..and yes Canada can't compete with the chocolate, the cream cakes and scones here in England, (the food is great) But we do have Timmies and i sure miss Harvey's drive through sometimes when we are driving down to the South Coast.... But here in England its wonderful to feel spring so early in the year...but then again I missed the snow and when winter in Canada is gone its basically summer right away England can't compete with a Canadian summer...

Either way there is wonderful things about both countries...if you thought they would be exactly the same then your not far from wrong..they are similar in values....I wouldn't let someone else's mistakes and lack of determination steal my dreams... ...Come to Canada...you will be more than welcome :D Anne

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

nicely put ann, angies story did make us wobble abit ! but thats one persons bad points, has anyone been able to contact her to ask why she still there after 4 years??:thumbsup:

Re: Changed your mind yet?
 

Did I say not far from wrong ?
LOL ok the school system may not be as good :p Kidding......Anne