hot wasabi peas

Nice to see!

Madmac

Thank the Great Peruvian Monkey God, my partner and I (soon to be wife - next Sunday actually, oh c**p ) are not alone.

We oscillate between terror and the sort of confident arrogance Darth Vader would be hard pushed to sustain on a weekly basis. I get 60 days paid holiday a year and live 15 minutes walk from my work. I have no debts and am well educated. My Fiancee is practically the same. So why are we jumping with both feet?

Their is no complicated reason for it. We simply want to experience a new life, in a new country. Maybe it'll go wrong, maybe it won't? We can always come back to Scotland saying we tried.

My favourite saying which applies here is attributed to that famous horror actor, Peter Cushing, who on his death bed was asked if he had any regrets. His reply:

"The only regrets I have are the things I never did."

'nuff said.

See you all in Canada at the 'Great convention of the scared s**tless!'

Scouse

Er, yeah, thanks wasabi....I think?! Can't argue with you on that point!!

Scouse

Thanks, Rich. Wise words, and very true. I really should know better by now, but......wouldn't life be dull if hindsight came before foresight!!

Scouse.

Scouse

Mmm! Methinks he will cry WOLF once too often...best he goes now, while he is still worth flogging!!

SANDRAPAUL

Whilst I have no gripe with football I think it has lost its place in importance. I watched an in-depth news item on TV yesterday about Africa and the problems and throughout the interview the NEWS FLASH concerning the 'possibility' of a move was demeaning the importance of Africa. It overpowered the screen. The hosts could not wait to finish the item before moving onto the football issue. Spells volumes to me about society!

Madmac

Well said. Watching a news article about the medical service in Scotland the other night and they were saying that Doctors are ripping off the system in outlying areas (e.g., the Highlands) by demanding to get paid between £45 and £100 per hour for out of hours call outs. Whilst they may or may not be swinging the lead on this point, the researchers of said programme should compare that against the sickening rates of pay that certain sportsmen and women get!

I'd rather my Doctors and Nurses get a good living and the occasional freebie than some bloke with a good right foot or the ability to whack a rubber ball at over 100mph. I like sport and acknowledge that we have to pay good rates to keep talent but lets get our priorities right.

Right, preaching over with. Where's the remote control and what's on the sports channel?

acer rose

Yes, serious doubts about what we are doing. We have good jobs, lots of vacation time (relative to Canada), opportunities to visit foreign countries for the weekend, qualifications that are widely recognised, etc , etc. We have also had a recent visit (to the UK) from a friend from Canada who studied over here then went home and just cannot settle back in Canada. ("The problem with Canada is there is no money, no jobs, no ambition, no vacation time..."). On top of this, we have already lived abroad (on temporary visas) and know how tough it is to settle into a new culture. And yet, I still think that we are doing the right thing to go.

I have no easy words of comfort. All I can do is think honestly about why I chose to start the process in the first place. For my family, the motivation to emigrate is lifestyle rather than financial. In the last few years we have been sorely tested as we have swung from being in a higher rate tax income to minimum wage subsistence and (almost) back again, due to external influences. The silver lining was that we had to examine our priorities and found from experience what really made us happy.

SANDRAPAUL

This may well be correct for us pending immigrants but with a GDP per capita being one of the highest in the world, and an enemployment rate which is lower than many westernised countries I hope that you are not correct. Canada has 30 million people. Its GDP is 2 thirds of the UK's with half the number of mouths to feed. It has a higher life expectancy. etc etc

And all with a far lower output per person that your average western country. Lazy sods. What is best. A good lifestyle in a laid back fashion or to work yourself to death for a not so good lifestyle.

If the Canadians had a workhouse mentality I wonder how much more GDP they could output?

bananahammock

See you all in Canada at the 'Great convention of the scared s**tless!'[/QUOTE][/HTML]

LOL

Put my name down for a couple of those convention tickets will you? :scared: :scared:

Madmac

[/HTML]

LOL

Put my name down for a couple of those convention tickets will you? :scared: :scared:[/QUOTE]

Yes. Maybe we should all get together and design a convention logo and badge? Just so we can recognise each other on the street.

Mmm. Bananahammock? - Not Princess Consuela Bananahammock perchance?

acer rose

To clarify, the bit in quotation marks in my original post was what my Canadian friend (born and raised in BC, educated in BC to postgraduate level and in the UK for a professional qualification, living and working in BC, pulling a good wage, 15 days vacation a year, averaging an 80-90 hour working week) said to me this weekend as she collapsed on my sofa and slept for 10 hours straight for the "first time in months" (her words not mine). My post was presented as another point of view.

acer rose

Sorry, brain melted from 3 days of committee meetings so it didn't really clarify.

What I meant to say was that your personal/family priorities will have some bearing on your feelings towards an event as big as emigrating. Said friend has not managed to reconcile her personal priorities with living (life) in Canada. In contrast, my personal and family priorities would seem to make Canada an ideal choice to relocate to. But that doesn't stop me fretting about the decision we've made

SANDRAPAUL

....and personal.

I try and steer away from moaning about my lot in life as it distorts perspective....and moaning I could easily do.

Nevertheless hope it gets easier for your friend. Life goes up and down whereever you are.

SANDRAPAUL

No need to say sorry.

P