Finding Canadian differences very frustrating - How do I fix this?
Feb 6th 2017, 10:56 pm
#31
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jun 2015
Location: Vancouver BC
Posts: 1,706
Re: Finding Canadian differences very frustrating - How do I fix this?
Afternoon Guys!
This might be kind of a rant, but I don't really know if I'm being homesick and being unreasonable. I guess just looking for a "We thought this was weird too!" from some guys... Or at least a "It's just temporary, you've not turned into a grump in Canada".
I moved over here in December and I've been getting hit every few days with something I think is "weird" in how the country works and I just wanted to ask if it's me or if the country really does have badly designed systems.
For instance -
I need to go to work every day on the Go train here in Ontario. You swipe your Presto card on (like Oyster) and off. Unless they set you up with a favourite trip in which case you just swipe on. But if you use the buses or subway its just a swipe on. Unless it's a go bus incase you swipe on AND off. If you need to swipe off there is no turn styles or "reminders" that you need to it, you just get a charge, but if you need to set off from your usual station you need to "Override" your trip to do it properly. (This all makes sense to me now, but it's something you kind of just have to "know" it seems - at first i had no idea what was happening, especially with buses).
I was given a "Debit Card" for shops, but a "Virtual Visa" for online as the Debit card isn't a visa. But the "Virtual Visa" is a visa debit and very few places actually accept Visa debit... and I can't get any sort of Visa Credit without it actually being a credit card (you can't just have a Visa card, linked to your account, that works everywhere online - why?)
Got a mobile phone over here (Wind/Freedom Mobile) because they were cheapest (at $40/month compared to a tenner a month on GiffGaff), and their coverage seems to be everywhere I actually live or travel. However even with full signal you don't get any data at peek times - no government intervention to make them warn you about that, it's just something you need to know. I've switched to Bell and I'm now paying $90 for what I got in the UK for a tenner.
There is no delivery option for groceries so if you don't drive you're kind of stuck with whatever you can get close-by. Grocery bills seem to more than double at somewhere like Loblaws than somewhere like Freshco - It's an even bigger difference than the difference between shopping in Peterborough or in the centre of London, even when trying to keep to cheapest branded product.
I spent 2 weeks trying to register at a Doctor. There was no where to look up Doctors accepting new registration and the systems over here just kept telling me to "Call around". After 2 weeks someone suggested I try a Walk-in clinic, I didn't know until then that you can just walk into a doctor that has never seen you before...? Why do you need to register if this is the case? And if this the way everyone works, why is anyone registered anywhere (and how did they do it if everywhere is consistently full...?)
Those are just some of the things from the top of my head. How do I get past the comparisons to the UK? Do I just hold on tight and hope eventually I know what's going to hit me in the wallet before it happens... or do all Canadians keep getting smacked by weird systems they've never used before?
Anyway, thanks for listening!
Graeme
This might be kind of a rant, but I don't really know if I'm being homesick and being unreasonable. I guess just looking for a "We thought this was weird too!" from some guys... Or at least a "It's just temporary, you've not turned into a grump in Canada".
I moved over here in December and I've been getting hit every few days with something I think is "weird" in how the country works and I just wanted to ask if it's me or if the country really does have badly designed systems.
For instance -
I need to go to work every day on the Go train here in Ontario. You swipe your Presto card on (like Oyster) and off. Unless they set you up with a favourite trip in which case you just swipe on. But if you use the buses or subway its just a swipe on. Unless it's a go bus incase you swipe on AND off. If you need to swipe off there is no turn styles or "reminders" that you need to it, you just get a charge, but if you need to set off from your usual station you need to "Override" your trip to do it properly. (This all makes sense to me now, but it's something you kind of just have to "know" it seems - at first i had no idea what was happening, especially with buses).
I was given a "Debit Card" for shops, but a "Virtual Visa" for online as the Debit card isn't a visa. But the "Virtual Visa" is a visa debit and very few places actually accept Visa debit... and I can't get any sort of Visa Credit without it actually being a credit card (you can't just have a Visa card, linked to your account, that works everywhere online - why?)
Got a mobile phone over here (Wind/Freedom Mobile) because they were cheapest (at $40/month compared to a tenner a month on GiffGaff), and their coverage seems to be everywhere I actually live or travel. However even with full signal you don't get any data at peek times - no government intervention to make them warn you about that, it's just something you need to know. I've switched to Bell and I'm now paying $90 for what I got in the UK for a tenner.
There is no delivery option for groceries so if you don't drive you're kind of stuck with whatever you can get close-by. Grocery bills seem to more than double at somewhere like Loblaws than somewhere like Freshco - It's an even bigger difference than the difference between shopping in Peterborough or in the centre of London, even when trying to keep to cheapest branded product.
I spent 2 weeks trying to register at a Doctor. There was no where to look up Doctors accepting new registration and the systems over here just kept telling me to "Call around". After 2 weeks someone suggested I try a Walk-in clinic, I didn't know until then that you can just walk into a doctor that has never seen you before...? Why do you need to register if this is the case? And if this the way everyone works, why is anyone registered anywhere (and how did they do it if everywhere is consistently full...?)
Those are just some of the things from the top of my head. How do I get past the comparisons to the UK? Do I just hold on tight and hope eventually I know what's going to hit me in the wallet before it happens... or do all Canadians keep getting smacked by weird systems they've never used before?
Anyway, thanks for listening!
Graeme
Mobiles - Have you tried Fido? Going from Freedom to Bell is like finding you hated Easyjet so now fly Emirates.
Online groceries - Do you have save-on-foods in Ontario? We use them here in BC and they offer delivery. Also towards the Loblaws end of the spectrum.
It is becoming harder to get a family doctor, the one you are registered with. At least in major cities. Most people, who do not need ongoing monitoring and care use walk-ins.
Feb 6th 2017, 10:57 pm
#32
I need a walk
Joined: Mar 2014
Location: Okanagan
Posts: 4,899
Re: Finding Canadian differences very frustrating - How do I fix this?
I went through the same process when I first got here, as I am sure a lot of people have. Its all part of the adjustment phase. The trick is to stop comparing things and just accept they are different. After a year or so it stops being such an issue.
Mobiles - Have you tried Fido? Going from Freedom to Bell is like finding you hated Easyjet so now fly Emirates.
Online groceries - Do you have save-on-foods in Ontario? We use them here in BC and they offer delivery. Also towards the Loblaws end of the spectrum.
It is becoming harder to get a family doctor, the one you are registered with. At least in major cities. Most people, who do not need ongoing monitoring and care use walk-ins.
Mobiles - Have you tried Fido? Going from Freedom to Bell is like finding you hated Easyjet so now fly Emirates.
Online groceries - Do you have save-on-foods in Ontario? We use them here in BC and they offer delivery. Also towards the Loblaws end of the spectrum.
It is becoming harder to get a family doctor, the one you are registered with. At least in major cities. Most people, who do not need ongoing monitoring and care use walk-ins.
Feb 6th 2017, 11:34 pm
#33
Banned
Joined: Apr 2009
Location: SW Ontario
Posts: 19,879
Re: Finding Canadian differences very frustrating - How do I fix this?
Grocery Gateway (Longos) offer delivery and you can order online. https://www.grocerygateway.com/store...FZK6wAodtAkOGg Walmart you can order online and pick up at a specific time, at many of their stores (at least you don't have to walk around!). I'm not sure where you are in Ontario, but there are other stores that deliver as well, including this one - https://grocerymarket.ca/
A walk-in clinic is for (mainly) people that haven't registered with a doctor. There are also other clinics that are halfway between a doctors appointment and a hospital ER visit (urgent care). You can find out more here: https://www.ontario.ca/locations/health/
Presto's a pain in the bum, which is why I don't use it!
RBC also offer Visa-Debit cards - my son has one. Visa Debit
It is an adjustment period you are suffering from, it will pass. Grit your teeth over the things that tick you off, it's a learning curve!
Best of luck with settling in..
A walk-in clinic is for (mainly) people that haven't registered with a doctor. There are also other clinics that are halfway between a doctors appointment and a hospital ER visit (urgent care). You can find out more here: https://www.ontario.ca/locations/health/
Presto's a pain in the bum, which is why I don't use it!
RBC also offer Visa-Debit cards - my son has one. Visa Debit
It is an adjustment period you are suffering from, it will pass. Grit your teeth over the things that tick you off, it's a learning curve!
Best of luck with settling in..
Last edited by Siouxie; Feb 6th 2017 at 11:39 pm.
Feb 7th 2017, 12:51 am
#35
BEER Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2009
Location: Riverdale
Posts: 587
Re: Finding Canadian differences very frustrating - How do I fix this?
Feb 7th 2017, 3:45 am
#37
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Toronto ON
Posts: 42
Re: Finding Canadian differences very frustrating - How do I fix this?
Graeme i understand your feelings, i feel the same way sometimes, i also keeping thinking of the UK and going back. Ontario sucks its being run into the ground. Jobs are few and far between. The people here will not even look at you as they may have to smile when walking passed. The kids do not even play in the street and we have to book play dates just for the kids to spend 30 mins with each other. i have been here since 2007 let me know if you need any advice.
Feb 7th 2017, 4:14 am
#38
Joined: Feb 2006
Location: Red Deer, Alberta
Posts: 10,612
Re: Finding Canadian differences very frustrating - How do I fix this?
Feb 7th 2017, 4:16 am
#39
Joined: Feb 2006
Location: Red Deer, Alberta
Posts: 10,612
Re: Finding Canadian differences very frustrating - How do I fix this?
To the OP, you will either get used to things and they will become normal, or they are the start of many niggles that will frustrate you so much you will want to return, only time will tell.
Feb 7th 2017, 4:43 am
#40
Banned
Joined: Apr 2009
Location: SW Ontario
Posts: 19,879
Re: Finding Canadian differences very frustrating - How do I fix this?
Graeme i understand your feelings, i feel the same way sometimes, i also keeping thinking of the UK and going back. Ontario sucks its being run into the ground. Jobs are few and far between. The people here will not even look at you as they may have to smile when walking passed. The kids do not even play in the street and we have to book play dates just for the kids to spend 30 mins with each other. i have been here since 2007 let me know if you need any advice.
I'm sorry that you are not enjoying life here at present - perhaps it would be worth your while to consider moving to a different area, if you are finding Toronto so unfriendly?
Feb 7th 2017, 5:13 am
#41
Still alive
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 28,994
Re: Finding Canadian differences very frustrating - How do I fix this?
I think you are generalising a little - Toronto isn't the whole of Ontario. In Hamilton, Burlington and many other areas kids play on the street, neighbours and people on the street smile and say hello.
I'm sorry that you are not enjoying life here at present - perhaps it would be worth your while to consider moving to a different area, if you are finding Toronto so unfriendly?
I'm sorry that you are not enjoying life here at present - perhaps it would be worth your while to consider moving to a different area, if you are finding Toronto so unfriendly?
Feb 7th 2017, 6:28 am
#42
Account Closed
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Finding Canadian differences very frustrating - How do I fix this?
I agree. The short time I was in Port Hope everyone I came across were friendly and nice.
I moved into an apartment with nothing and by the end of the week, I was partially furnished with help of neighbors who were friendly and introduced themselves and seemed to want to know their neighbors.
Total opposite of the areas of BC I have lived.
It was a very positive experience that small town was.
Big country and lots of differences city to city and town to town.
I moved into an apartment with nothing and by the end of the week, I was partially furnished with help of neighbors who were friendly and introduced themselves and seemed to want to know their neighbors.
Total opposite of the areas of BC I have lived.
It was a very positive experience that small town was.
Big country and lots of differences city to city and town to town.
I think you are generalising a little - Toronto isn't the whole of Ontario. In Hamilton, Burlington and many other areas kids play on the street, neighbours and people on the street smile and say hello.
I'm sorry that you are not enjoying life here at present - perhaps it would be worth your while to consider moving to a different area, if you are finding Toronto so unfriendly?
I'm sorry that you are not enjoying life here at present - perhaps it would be worth your while to consider moving to a different area, if you are finding Toronto so unfriendly?
Feb 7th 2017, 8:39 am
#43
BE user by choice
Joined: Oct 2010
Location: A Briton, married to a Canadian, now in Fredericton.
Posts: 4,854
Re: Finding Canadian differences very frustrating - How do I fix this?
Yes, it's a very big country and certain parts of it are certainly different to others, not always in a good way
I think part of the frustration that one can feel here is "they are English speakers, so why isn't it like England". Had we moved to somewhere exotic where we had to Learn a new language all of the other differences could be bundled up into the 'foreign' label, and would probably be tolerated better or even regarded as novel.
OP I do think that what you are feeling now is completely normal. I'm in my 5th year here now
and feeling relatively sane and reasonably optimistic but there were a couple of times in years 2 and 3 when that was really not the case. Adjustment is hard, nothing's the same, different is good, but sometimes when you are in need of minor reassurance, different can be anything but awesome!
If you need a rant, rant here, we've all done it, we've all felt the same frustrations, sometimes what you feel might be unfair, but it doesn't make it any less valid...I've occasionally thought if one more smug b**stard wishes me 'a nice day' or repeats that dreadful word 'awesome' I will 'cold cock' him, to use another Canadian phrase. Thankfully my degree of daily angst has dissipated, as will yours, most likely...but it does take time and isn't easy to shrug off.
Very best of luck and best wishes
I think part of the frustration that one can feel here is "they are English speakers, so why isn't it like England". Had we moved to somewhere exotic where we had to Learn a new language all of the other differences could be bundled up into the 'foreign' label, and would probably be tolerated better or even regarded as novel.
OP I do think that what you are feeling now is completely normal. I'm in my 5th year here now
and feeling relatively sane and reasonably optimistic but there were a couple of times in years 2 and 3 when that was really not the case. Adjustment is hard, nothing's the same, different is good, but sometimes when you are in need of minor reassurance, different can be anything but awesome!If you need a rant, rant here, we've all done it, we've all felt the same frustrations, sometimes what you feel might be unfair, but it doesn't make it any less valid...I've occasionally thought if one more smug b**stard wishes me 'a nice day' or repeats that dreadful word 'awesome' I will 'cold cock' him, to use another Canadian phrase. Thankfully my degree of daily angst has dissipated, as will yours, most likely...but it does take time and isn't easy to shrug off.
Very best of luck and best wishes
Feb 7th 2017, 10:48 am
#44
Sidecar Falcon
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,504
Re: Finding Canadian differences very frustrating - How do I fix this?
I think it was strangers constantly asking how I was that really got to me at first.