R2D2

How bizarre life can be sometimes. 2005 saw us saying goodbye to all that we knew in lovely Cheshire, and heading into the unknown realm of a new life in Alberta.
We researched it, did fact finding trip, secured a great job, felt really excited to go through with this fantastic opportunity to have a taste of a 'different' way of life.
Everything was in place. We couldn't have asked for a smoother transition.
Hubbys job was and still is great, good salary and prospects, we bought our lovely home and have seen it double in value in just 2 years.
Kids really happy, great school and pre-school.................................now here come the BUT's..............................feelings.

Hubby has struggled with homesickness from the word go. I have only had periods of it and on the whole love it here. Here lies the problem. For my husband, his feelings of missing the UK are getting stronger. He can't see himself being here long term. He says its not that life isn't good for us here, it is, but he misses all the little things that have shaped him and make him the person he is. All those things that are uniquely British and you just don't have here.
He puts the feelings to the back of his mind as much as he can, but he says he constantly feels something is missing.

As for me, well, I was happy in Cheshire, just as I'm happy here, so really I guess my hubby's strong desire to be back where he "belongs", will ultimately lead to us all heading back.

We have a trip back to Cheshire this summer for a family wedding, so I guess that will be crunch time for us. A decision one way or the other will happen then.

I'll keep you all posted.

High numbers

Good luck but I guess the wedding will remind you of why you left the UK in the first place and you might start missing things in Canada!!

R2D2

Yes, it may, and thats why we are glad to be having this trip back.
But we never left the UK because we disliked it. For us, it was purely a case of having an opportunity to try something different .......at least for a while.

Judy in Calgary

It's a nice position to be in. You managed to do this when your children were young, when it wouldn't interfere with their GCSEs and stuff like that. So, if you do return to the UK, you can look back on your couple of years in Canada as a sort of extended working holiday, almost like a longer version of BUNAC.

Hope you have a great trip in the summer, and good luck with your decision.

Bleech

Hi R2D2, my advice would be to leave him and live on your own (joke ).
Sorry things aren't working out, luckilly you've got the trip back, as a holiday back in the UK would be the best way to decide one way or the other.
Have you been here long enough to keep your PR? Just thinking ahead that if someday you decide you want to return it'll make life a lot easier.
Good luck, I hope it works out.

Butch Cassidy

Deb,

I'm with Bleech on this one. Try and keep him here till you ALL have citizenship. Even if you and he never return the kids may wish to one day.

Butch.

P.S. like you we left the UK not because we disliked it (or the life we had) but because we saw coming here as an opportunity. AT THE MOMENT we are more than happy here and can't see ourselves returning at all, BUT we have only been here 12 months so who knows how we will feel in another year.

Good luck to you all whatever you decide.

Cookie

Hi R2D2

Sorry to hear about the home sickness. We have been in NS for only 3 months and haven't felt any yet. It must be terrible when it strikes.

We too left, not because we disliked UK but we did fear where it is heading. I am not going to bash the UK as its 'home' to us all.

Hope that your return trip doesn't rock the boat too much. It'll be great seeing your family and friends. Indeed a trip back home may be enough to make you realise that living in back in the UK may not what you want after all. The only people who will know is yourselves

startwin

For what it's worth, my advice is get your citizenship first so that you can return if you want. You only have to wait a little while longer for residency requirements.

From my own experience, if you have to go back, it's better to do it before your kids are grown and their lives are here in Canada, meaning it's hard for you to leave and go back. We got stuck in that, we yearn to go back to the UK to live and it gets worse even after many years here, but no way we could leave our kids and grandkids. We settle for annual trips back there. However, we've had a good life here in Canada, it's nothing to do with any negatives here.

Good luck to you in whatever you decide.

Tiffin Tease

That's too bad, sorry to hear this news cos you did seem so happy when we met... one way or another you still have to all be really proud of yourselves for giving it a real go and if you do decide to go home it's no failure but you never know what's round the corner and this trip back could be just the ticket one way or another...

Good luck xx

stepnek

This paragraph sums up nicely how I've felt all along since being here. I'm not sure long term what we'll do because my wife is Canadian and her roots are here as much as mine are back in England.

As you say it'll be interesting to see how things are when you visit England later this year. I've yet to get back since arriving in September 2004 but I don't enjoy the feelings that you so well described in relation to how your hubby feels.

R2D2

My youngest is due to start school in Sept 08, so ideally we want to have this resolved before then so we aren't messing our children about anymore than we may have to. Having little people to consider sure makes it a bit more complicated. We could apply for citizenship in May 2008, so we'll just have to see what happens over the next 6-12 months.
We are in a great position in that we could go back to the UK with more money than we came here with, potentially even enough to have little or no mortgage....which is a huge incentive actually !

Its so weird. We were watching Bridgit Jones Diary on DVD the other day and that bond, that connection you have with the images of Britain and the humour of the people, it makes you seem so far away from all that is familiar and cosy. I feel it too, but to a much lesser degree than my husband.

Canada has been great for us, and if we did leave there would be a ton of stuff we would miss I'm sure, but at the end of the day, if my husband has such a need to be back where he feels right, then thats what we'll do.

lilacheart

I hope your husband appreciates your adaptability, I don't know how I would cope if hubby wanted to return and I didn't, how do you compromise on something so huge?

Good luck with whatever you decide,


I think with your attitude whatever you decide to do will work out.

dingbat

For many, the first trip home is the decider and many realise that the reasons for which they think they left the UK, are simply not as compelling at they thought. Others find that their first trip home sends them hurtling back to Canada as they have embraced the life there. Emigration is exciting, it's the lure of the unknown and above all, an adventure of a lifetime. When that excitement wears off....I am with your husband and felt as he does from day 1. What makes me, well me is rooted in an English/European culture and as I get older, I realise that I have to go home. I have to, for my own sanity. All I would say is that if you could wait and get citizenship, your children will thank you for that in later life. I know my eldest two are very happy that they have dual citizenship as they know it means that they will have choices available to them in their adult years that many do not. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

R2D2

Aaah, that is so nice, thankyou.
I've found myself coming to this acceptance now, but its not been without arguaments and tears I have to say.
At first, I just told him to get a grip, its just bouts of homesickness and it'll pass. Look at all we have and do here. Trying to pull him out of it in any way I knew how.
Then it went to 'understanding' mode, but this was almost like giving him permission to feel the way he did, and his feelings got stronger .........arghhhh !

So now, its a case of, lets just see how we feel when we go back and if he still feels as strongly about it then, we'll start to look into it in more detail.

I can appreciate what everyone is saying about getting citizenship, but in some ways that may open up even more cans of worms. We don't want to ping pong. But at the same time we know its a heck of a thing for our children to have for their futures.

Oh god, what to do !

stepnek

Now that is a very nice position to be in and was actually my incentive to move to Canada. But if I could be mortgage free (or a very modest mortgage) back in England I know what I'd choose!