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Re: Glad to be back
My hubby brought £2.600 last month trucking in the uk for that he was home most nights maybe only 7 nights away, we now feel that our money goes a lot further than it did in canada, for those who say the cost of living is cheap over there, i have to disagree with you, it costs me £100 for a food shop each week in the uk, in canada it was costing me $200, A meal out in the uk costs £40 a pizza out in canada was costing $100 for 4 with tips, in the province we lived in you had the gst tax and pst tax which hiked your bill up when you came to check out every day things we're double the price of the uk, and the wages we're half sorry!!!!!!!
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Re: Glad to be back
Originally Posted by shelly1
My hubby brought £2.600 last month trucking in the uk for that he was home most nights maybe only 7 nights away, we now feel that our money goes a lot further than it did in canada, for those who say the cost of living is cheap over there, i have to disagree with you, it costs me £100 for a food shop each week in the uk, in canada it was costing me $200, A meal out in the uk costs £40 a pizza out in canada was costing $100 for 4 with tips, in the province we lived in you had the gst tax and pst tax which hiked your bill up when you came to check out every day things we're double the price of the uk, and the wages we're half sorry!!!!!!!
C |
Re: Glad to be back
Originally Posted by DavidWright
Personally I would rather have the 56 days holiday and be paid less.
I am not saying it's prefect, but so far the pro's out-way the con's, for the moment anyway :) Linda |
Re: Glad to be back
I agree totally we did it ourselves, to us as brits looking at the canadian dollar £100 is $200 but once your living on the canadian dollar its $200 which is like spending £200, i know it sounds confusing but everything is nearly double what you pay here in the uk
its $3.99 for a pack of bread cakes $3.00 for milk $7.00 for coffee and so on if i'd gone to the supermarket in the uk and spent £200 we'd be living like kings for the week, we personally found that our grocery budget didn't go half as far as we'd been expecting it to and we had to double it, when you go on the canadian shopping web sites and look at it from the uk everythings half the price but when your earning and living by that $ and its your only income it becomes very expensive and your money goes down very quickly. |
Re: Glad to be back
Originally Posted by shelly1
I agree totally we did it ourselves, to us as brits looking at the canadian dollar £100 is $200 but once your living on the canadian dollar its $200 which is like spending £200, i know it sounds confusing but everything is nearly double what you pay here in the uk
its $3.99 for a pack of bread cakes $3.00 for milk $7.00 for coffee and so on if i'd gone to the supermarket in the uk and spent £200 we'd be living like kings for the week, we personally found that our grocery budget didn't go half as far as we'd been expecting it to and we had to double it, when you go on the canadian shopping web sites and look at it from the uk everythings half the price but when your earning and living by that $ and its your only income it becomes very expensive and your money goes down very quickly. If you were earning 40k in the UK and came here earning $40k , then yes, your observations would be closer to the mark, as your wages have effectively halved But if you had gone from 40k in UK to over $80k here then it would be the same sort of expenditure.....if you get my drift ! |
Re: Glad to be back
Hi Shelly, Sorry to hear things didn't work out as hoped. Very interesting thread as I'm am a UK trucker who has been thinking of a new challenge in Canada. (anything to get away from the M6!)
I'm in the early days of research, companies, lifestyle, housing etc. I don't suppose you could tell me the company that your husband worked for as it seems it may be one to avoid. If not, which province was he in? I have heard one or two stories that give me cause for concern. I am sincerly hoping that trucking in Canada can't be worse than in the UK. I hope you quickly get back on your feet and wish you all the best. |
Re: Glad to be back
Thanks nwtrucker for your kind words,
We we're in the saskatchewan province a very beautiful place no complaints with the wonderful canadians or their beautiful country. we went from 38k in the Uk to a promised $60-70k in canada, we we're shown wage slips of employee's now unless these guys never leave their trucks, their not bringing that amount home don't be fooled into believeing so, we would never have earned that much unless my husband was prepared to work 24/7 which would have defeated the whole point of going. we asked all the questions that are in your mind right now, even down to how many families have come back having not settled, we we're told 2 families had come back, one who's spouse didn't settle and one who's child was ill and the treatment cost could not be covered in canada. So we feel that personally we we're led up the garden path, which is a very real shame, i think if my husband had to pin point any one thing it would have to be the health and safety aspect of it all, which no where near meets the UK driving standards. |
Re: Glad to be back
We truly know we have made tha right desision coming back to the uk, we have more money so we can do more than we did in canada, we're planning our next holiday back to oz, we'd never have been able to afford to go there from canada, we know how much everything is going to cost us when we shop, we don't need to pay to see the doctor YET!!!, i can go back to work, we don't have to pay $60 to watch the england matches on tv, to say the kids settled so well we're all very very happy to have our familiar surroundings, maybe it just wasn't for us. and i can say with hand on heart we're not on our own.
We know of quite a few truckers that have come back for the same reasons as us If the offer's there take it Just please be careful don't put all your eggs in one basket |
Re: Glad to be back
Originally Posted by shelly1
We truly know we have made tha right desision coming back to the uk, we have more money so we can do more than we did in canada, we're planning our next holiday back to oz, we'd never have been able to afford to go there from canada, we know how much everything is going to cost us when we shop, we don't need to pay to see the doctor YET!!!, i can go back to work, we don't have to pay $60 to watch the england matches on tv, to say the kids settled so well we're all very very happy to have our familiar surroundings, maybe it just wasn't for us. and i can say with hand on heart we're not on our own.
We know of quite a few truckers that have come back for the same reasons as us If the offer's there take it Just please be careful don't put all your eggs in one basket |
Re: Glad to be back
Originally Posted by shelly1
We truly know we have made tha right desision coming back to the uk, we have more money so we can do more than we did in canada, we're planning our next holiday back to oz, we'd never have been able to afford to go there from canada, we know how much everything is going to cost us when we shop, we don't need to pay to see the doctor YET!!!, i can go back to work, we don't have to pay $60 to watch the england matches on tv, to say the kids settled so well we're all very very happy to have our familiar surroundings, maybe it just wasn't for us. and i can say with hand on heart we're not on our own.
We know of quite a few truckers that have come back for the same reasons as us If the offer's there take it Just please be careful don't put all your eggs in one basket |
Re: Glad to be back
Yes we really did have to give it a go, you don't get many chances in life you have to make your own way you have to do what you feel is right, we felt at the time it was the right choice for us,
unfortunatly it was the wrong choice but we've had to turn it around look at the experiences we've had, we've all made friends we would never have made, some of those i know will be life long friends, the kids go on msn to speak to friends in canada that they would never have met, We've No regrets, Well maybe i have!!!!!!!! just a few!!!!!!! |
Re: Glad to be back
Originally Posted by R2D2
But I can't stress enough - research, research, research, meet the company you are going to be working for beforehand, interview them as much as they interview you, find out if the salary, benefits etc being offered is going to allow you an acceptable standard of living in chosen province, have some idea what the cost of living will be, what the taxes etc will be. There is so so
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Re: Glad to be back
This is a good case to take note of
No matter how much you research an issue, there's nothing like living it... Can’t stress enough the research, but until you’ll walked in those shoes you’ll never really know Immigration doesn’t work for everybody.. And going home can often be the smart thing to do And no matter how hard somebody will try and tell you Canada isn’t always better than the UK |
Re: Glad to be back
Originally Posted by shelly1
HI guys sorry to burst the bubble but!!!!!!
I've never been so glad to see the UK ground beneath my feet than i have the last two months, At the beginning of last year my husband was offered a trucking job in canada, OH my god things like that don't happen to everyday Joe's like us we looked into the company the very flashy brochure, talked to the guys on the phone, what a fantastic opportunity we can't turn this down. The house went on the market nervously we waited for a buyer, which came nine weeks later after we'd dropped the price 15k for a quick sale after all they wanted us there within six months and time was ticking, so the house sold along with the furniture which we'd built up over the 20 years we'd been married, sold the lot after all we wouldn't be needing it, we didn't have a lot to show for it after the mortgage and other things we're settled, but never the less a tidy little sum for us to rent somewhere to get us on our feet, And off we went up rooting kids and pets on our new adventure Our new life. The biggest mistake of our lives I don't know if these guys know what there doing with families like us, i think the thought would be something along the lines of once the brits are here with the family in tow they won't go back, The job's we're crap couldn't make a living unless you we're prepared to drive 24/7 and truck's we're pants the contracts we're being changed on a weekly basis, yes we knew trucking meant long hours,but this was bordering on dangerous, these guy's must have no conscious or their on another planet. families are giving up everything they possess for the promise of a better life. there's as many families coming back as going out, six truckers on our flight back alone, i know what work for one doesn't work for another but all those who are embarking on this adventure I just want to say Please please be careful what you wish for What were things like for you when you first went back to the UK? Finding a home etc I have often thought about it but i have been to afraid to take that leap back there through fear of what i would actually be faced with. I sold all my belongings too. I came here on a work permit and i have just filed an application for my PR status. Although this will open the door to many new and better prospects for me, I still wonder at times if i should return. I guess it is like you say about familiar surroundings. I am only renting a basment appartment with my 2 teenage children at the moment and i have been through hell since i have been here. Poor paid job and long hours. I guess the one true thing that kept me here was the fear of making things worse if i did return. I would stand a great chance of local employment with social services if i was to return but it is everything else. housing etc just wondered how you did it or if you were set up finacially. thanks |
Re: Glad to be back
Dear Shelly
glad you made it back. We have been in Canada (Halifax) about 7 weeks now and would all leave if we could. We did everything we could to check everything out before my husband accepted his new job. As this was our 6th move in 25 years we thought we knew what we were doing. A 6 figure salary (double what he was earning in France) plus lots of perks, plus the challenge of a new environment was the main attraction, but we have honestly been shocked by what we have found here. The filth in the city, the beggars on all the corners, the high crime rate, high cost of living and the poor health care are things we could not have found out until we arrived. The fact I have 30 years experience as a trained nurse counts for nothing here. In fact, unless you have local qualifications nothing is accepted here. Letters from our banks in France and UK as well as our insurance companies are worthless. If it wasn't for my husbands new company helping us, I honestly don't know what we would have done. Maybe Canada is fine for a young couple starting out, looking for a bit of adventure etc, but for those with families, established elsewhere, I would say it really is not worth the effort of moving here. I think you are very brave doing what you did. Most people find it difficult admitting they have made a mistake and moving back, and I really wish you and your family well in the future. |
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