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A few thoughts
Well. My mum died so we all went over for the funeral. Looking at the UK with my now canadian eyes here are a few impressions I got. (Bearing in mind Im pretty happy in Canada with my lot)
Wow, its was soooo green. Spring had sprung, the weather was FANTASTIC too. So much for kids to do, Warwick Castle was like a dream for my 4 year old. FANTASTIC. So many other options too. It was BRILLIANT to catch up with family, although obviously the circumstances could have been happier. Daily grocery prices seemed a fair bit cheaper than Canada. Driving was not too bad, the M1 was OK, getting around was OK, but not as easy as Canada. Borrowing a TomTom was a help though. Couldnt live with an M3 / M25 commute everyday though. Got used to narrow twisty roads, roundabouts and manual gearboxes again pretty fast. Lot of diesel powered german executive cars around, in fact a lot of new cars everywhere. Very few old beaters on the road that I saw. General impression was of a lot of disposable income...dont know if its rooted in debt though. Customer service is ABYSMAL. Girl actually answered personal mobile call while selling me rail tickets. Not impressed! House prices are RIDICULOUS in nearly all places. Travel costs are insane, $150 for 2 to travel by train from Gatwick to Bedford return...WTF! Obsession with schools / living in the right area for a decent school is alive and well, but pretty well justified too. Cameras EVERYWHERE. Looks like a police state to an outsider. Private security firms in city centers were a surprise too. Real Beer GOOD! (Fullers) Hoodies / petty crime...didnt see any. Lots of graffiti on and around the train though. Overcrowding. Actually the bits of London we went through seemed to be pretty well covered for parks and farmland areas around. Nice playgrounds seemed a common feature. Public Footpaths / Right of way. What a joy, paths everywhere! Dont get that sort of access to the countryside here in Ontario. My overall conclusion, if you have a house and a decent job to pay for travel and a few awaydays, I cant understand why you would throw it away to come to Canada for the sake of a larger house. England is a pretty nice place...IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO LIVE IN A NICE AREA. Based on visiting family in Woking Surrey and a North Beds Village, and a friend in Radcliffe near Nottingham. Was nice to get back home though and get a decent coffee and a shower and sleep in my own bed too. |
Re: A few thoughts
Originally Posted by iaink
(Post 4667108)
Well. My mum died so we all went over for the funeral. Looking at the UK with my now canadian eyes here are a few impressions I got. (Bearing in mind Im pretty happy in Canada with my lot)
Wow, its was soooo green. Spring had sprung, the weather was FANTASTIC too. So much for kids to do, Warwick Castle was like a dream for my 4 year old. FANTASTIC. So many other options too. It was BRILLIANT to catch up with family, although obviously the circumstances could have been happier. Daily grocery prices seemed a fair bit cheaper than Canada. Driving was not too bad, the M1 was OK, getting around was OK, but not as easy as Canada. Borrowing a TomTom was a help though. Couldnt live with an M3 / M25 commute everyday though. Got used to narrow twisty roads, roundabouts and manual gearboxes again pretty fast. Lot of diesel powered german executive cars around, in fact a lot of new cars everywhere. Very few old beaters on the road that I saw. General impression was of a lot of disposable income...dont know if its rooted in debt though. Customer service is ABYSMAL. Girl actually answered personal mobile call while selling me rail tickets. Not impressed! House prices are RIDICULOUS in nearly all places. Travel costs are insane, $150 for 2 to travel by train from Gatwick to Bedford return...WTF! Obsession with schools / living in the right area for a decent school is alive and well, but pretty well justified too. Cameras EVERYWHERE. Looks like a police state to an outsider. Private security firms in city centers were a surprise too. Real Beer GOOD! (Fullers) Hoodies / petty crime...didnt see any. Lots of graffiti on and around the train though. Overcrowding. Actually the bits of London we went through seemed to be pretty well covered for parks and farmland areas around. Nice playgrounds seemed a common feature. Public Footpaths / Right of way. What a joy, paths everywhere! Dont get that sort of access to the countryside here in Ontario. My overall conclusion, if you have a house and a decent job to pay for travel and a few awaydays, I cant understand why you would throw it away to come to Canada for the sake of a larger house. England is a pretty nice place...IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO LIVE IN A NICE AREA. Based on visiting family in Woking Surrey and a North Beds Village, and a friend in Radcliffe near Nottingham. The UK is not that bad - but MANCHESTER is. :eek: |
Re: A few thoughts
Originally Posted by iaink
(Post 4667108)
Well. My mum died so we all went over for the funeral. Looking at the UK with my now canadian eyes here are a few impressions I got. (Bearing in mind Im pretty happy in Canada with my lot)
Wow, its was soooo green. Spring had sprung, the weather was FANTASTIC too. So much for kids to do, Warwick Castle was like a dream for my 4 year old. FANTASTIC. So many other options too. It was BRILLIANT to catch up with family, although obviously the circumstances could have been happier. Daily grocery prices seemed a fair bit cheaper than Canada. Driving was not too bad, the M1 was OK, getting around was OK, but not as easy as Canada. Borrowing a TomTom was a help though. Couldnt live with an M3 / M25 commute everyday though. Got used to narrow twisty roads, roundabouts and manual gearboxes again pretty fast. Lot of diesel powered german executive cars around, in fact a lot of new cars everywhere. Very few old beaters on the road that I saw. General impression was of a lot of disposable income...dont know if its rooted in debt though. Customer service is ABYSMAL. Girl actually answered personal mobile call while selling me rail tickets. Not impressed! House prices are RIDICULOUS in nearly all places. Travel costs are insane, $150 for 2 to travel by train from Gatwick to Bedford return...WTF! Obsession with schools / living in the right area for a decent school is alive and well, but pretty well justified too. Cameras EVERYWHERE. Looks like a police state to an outsider. Private security firms in city centers were a surprise too. Real Beer GOOD! (Fullers) Hoodies / petty crime...didnt see any. Lots of graffiti on and around the train though. Overcrowding. Actually the bits of London we went through seemed to be pretty well covered for parks and farmland areas around. Nice playgrounds seemed a common feature. Public Footpaths / Right of way. What a joy, paths everywhere! Dont get that sort of access to the countryside here in Ontario. My overall conclusion, if you have a house and a decent job to pay for travel and a few awaydays, I cant understand why you would throw it away to come to Canada for the sake of a larger house. England is a pretty nice place...IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO LIVE IN A NICE AREA. Based on visiting family in Woking Surrey and a North Beds Village, and a friend in Radcliffe near Nottingham. Was nice to get back home too and get a decent coffee and a shower and sleep in my own bed too though. Well done excellent post |
Re: A few thoughts
Hi Iaink- sorry to hear about your mum
Originally Posted by iaink
(Post 4667108)
Well. My mum died so we all went over for the funeral. Looking at the UK with my now canadian eyes here are a few impressions I got. (Bearing in mind Im pretty happy in Canada with my lot)
Wow, its was soooo green. Spring had sprung, the weather was FANTASTIC too. It is very green and such fab weather recently, england is truely beautiful in the spring So much for kids to do, Warwick Castle was like a dream for my 4 year old. FANTASTIC. So many other options too. There are good options for kids It was BRILLIANT to catch up with family, although obviously the circumstances could have been happier. Daily grocery prices seemed a fair bit cheaper than Canada. I would say from reccie to calgary recently grocery prices are similar or slightly more in calgary Driving was not too bad, the M1 was OK, getting around was OK, but not as easy as Canada. Borrowing a TomTom was a help though. Couldnt live with an M3 / M25 commute everyday though. Got used to narrow twisty roads, roundabouts and manual gearboxes again pretty fast. Lot of diesel powered german executive cars around, in fact a lot of new cars everywhere. Very few old beaters on the road that I saw. General impression was of a lot of disposable income...dont know if its rooted in debt though. I think in affluent areas we are fairly well off in UK. traffic anywhere in SE is a nightmare IMHO, which is why we live ooop north. had to go via heathrow recently and it served to remind me just how crowded the SE is Customer service is ABYSMAL. Girl actually answered personal mobile call while selling me rail tickets. Not impressed! it is fairly bad House prices are RIDICULOUS in nearly all places. this is ture but they won't go up signigficantly for a while I reckon due to threatening interest rates and the lack of people coming onto market for first time (ie the current market is fueled by people already in the market) Travel costs are insane, $150 for 2 to travel by train from Gatwick to Bedford return...WTF! travel to and from airports seems to be the worst- but it can be pricey- its all about when you travel Obsession with schools / living in the right area for a decent school is alive and well, but pretty well justified too. I agree with this Cameras EVERYWHERE. Looks like a police state to an outsider. Private security firms in city centers were a surprise too. haven't noticed it soo much - obviously we have them up here- maybe you either get used to them or they are worse in the other areas Real Beer GOOD! (Fullers) Hoodies / petty crime...didnt see any. Lots of graffiti on and around the train though. Overcrowding. Actually the bits of London we went through seemed to be pretty well covered for parks and farmland areas around. Nice playgrounds seemed a common feature. Public Footpaths / Right of way. What a joy, paths everywhere! Dont get that sort of access to the countryside here in Ontario. My overall conclusion, if you have a house and a decent job to pay for travel and a few awaydays, I cant understand why you would throw it away to come to Canada for the sake of a larger house. England is a pretty nice place...IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO LIVE IN A NICE AREA. Based on visiting family in Woking Surrey and a North Beds Village, and a friend in Radcliffe near Nottingham. England is a nice place, if you live in a nice area. We do and we like it a lot and will miss it. But we are skiers and yearn to live near world class skiing, and my OH happens to be in a profession that is sought after in some places (although less so in UK) which makes moving quite attractive. Also we want an adventure! and why not? |
Re: A few thoughts
PS . also we are not 'throwing it away' or 'giving it all up to come and struggle'
Gryphea |
Re: A few thoughts
Hi Iain,
Firstly I am sorry to hear about the loss of your Mum :( I live in Camberley which is just down the road from Woking and I have to say your impression of this area is absolutely spot on. There does seem to be a lot of money around at the moment, loads of new 07 plate cars on the road, and everyone seems to have builders round doing some sort of home improvement at the moment. In fact the more I think of what a good place I currently live in the more I question why I want to move to Canada? You are quite correct, the main reason for me moving is to sell my house and be mortgage free in Canada. Why did you start this post ;) |
Re: A few thoughts
Originally Posted by gryphea
(Post 4667200)
PS . also we are not 'throwing it away' or 'giving it all up to come and struggle'
Gryphea |
Re: A few thoughts
Originally Posted by britishvixen21
(Post 4667259)
Your not here yet are you?? moving country isnt a walk in the park you will struggle even if you have a cushy job and wonderful mortgage free house to walk into. not being negative just realistic.
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Re: A few thoughts
As long as people are motivated for the right reasons its not "throwing it away", but my eyes were somewhat opened again to the access to the countryside, the numerous fantastic castles, kids farms, national trust properties, zoos etc etc that are two a penny in the UK and few and far between in Canada. The greeness was also extraordinary...and the lack of bloody mozzies. You cant buy that here (Ontario).
The point of the post was just to tell how I saw it after 7 years away, with a fresh perspective. Sometimes you just dont see whats right under your nose. Even Manchester has good stuff right on the doorstep. But it is an expensive place to live. One or two good jobs are a necessity I suspect to get the best of life there...far more so than in Canada. |
Re: A few thoughts
Originally Posted by britishvixen21
(Post 4667259)
Your not here yet are you?? moving country isnt a walk in the park you will struggle even if you have a cushy job and wonderful mortgage free house to walk into. not being negative just realistic.
Gryphea |
Re: A few thoughts
Very sorry to hear about your Mum Iain, that must be tough. Glad you and your family made it back though.
Great post, summed it all up very nicely :) When I was back last week I also noticed how many new cars were on the road and I always notice the greenness compared to here. Now I just have to show the post to my husband and get him thinking......... |
Re: A few thoughts
Originally Posted by iaink
(Post 4667291)
As long as people are motivated for the right reasons its not "throwing it away", but my eyes were somewhat opened again to the access to the countryside, the numerous fantastic castles, kids farms, national trust properties, zoos etc etc that are two a penny in the UK and few and far between in Canada. The greeness was also extraordinary...and the lack of bloody mozzies. You cant buy that here (Ontario).
The point of the post was just to tell how I saw it after 7 years away, with a fresh perspective. Sometimes you just dont see whats right under your nose. Even Manchester has good stuff right on the doorstep. But it is an expensive place to live. One or two good jobs are a necessity I suspect to get the best of life there...far more so than in Canada. Manchester does have good stuff on its doorstep (although its a bit rainy for me!). I think one or two good jobs are a necessity to get the best of life. We have two fairly good jobs (albeit one at 60%) and we still live in a fairly small house, take summer holidays in the Uk and blow it all for one week skiing. And my OH has horrendus commutes. Gryphea |
Re: A few thoughts
Sorry to hear about your Mum.
Agree, of course, with your post. Am so looking forward to enjoying the outdoors when we're next in England. |
Re: A few thoughts
Originally Posted by iaink
(Post 4667108)
Wow, its was soooo green. Spring had sprung, the weather was FANTASTIC too.
Originally Posted by iaink
(Post 4667108)
Daily grocery prices seemed a fair bit cheaper than Canada.
Originally Posted by iaink
(Post 4667108)
Lot of diesel powered german executive cars around, in fact a lot of new cars everywhere. Very few old beaters on the road that I saw. General impression was of a lot of disposable income...dont know if its rooted in debt though.
Originally Posted by iaink
(Post 4667108)
Customer service is ABYSMAL. Girl actually answered personal mobile call while selling me rail tickets. Not impressed!
Originally Posted by iaink
(Post 4667108)
House prices are RIDICULOUS in nearly all places.
Originally Posted by iaink
(Post 4667108)
Travel costs are insane, $150 for 2 to travel by train from Gatwick to Bedford return...WTF!
Originally Posted by iaink
(Post 4667108)
Cameras EVERYWHERE. Looks like a police state to an outsider.
Originally Posted by iaink
(Post 4667108)
My overall conclusion, if you have a house and a decent job to pay for travel and a few awaydays, I cant understand why you would throw it away to come to Canada for the sake of a larger house.
|
Re: A few thoughts
Originally Posted by Tableland
(Post 4667398)
But Canada wil catch up though, no?
Wanderlust...Ive not forgotten, I suspect there is nothing you can do once you decide to look elsewhere anyway, but Im not at all sure its a rational reason to sell up everything and move. Baby / Bathwater interface needs to be closely examined. On balance I am still happy to be in Canada (just as well as I couldnt afford to move back), but the UK is far from the decaying cesspool of humanity its sometimes portrayed as by the media...if you have the means to live in a reasonable area. |
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