Re: Going Home
 

We have nearly 100 employees between our businesses and getting extended days off is a challenge for us. Often even if I do get away, one is never really away, text, e-mail and phone, there is always one problem or another.

Some owners do and and some don't I guess.

Re: Going Home
 

Going back to the earlier point about H&S laws, we're a worldwide company and all our employment conditions are set by our province of residence, unless we're working in California, who have a much higher minimum standard than everywhere else

I wish we could book business class flights, I find it difficult to even use my upgrade points these days as there's such a long wait list unless I get in 3-4 days before the flight...most of my travel is booked maximum 2 days in advance :(

Re: Going Home
 

I knew of one technical service representative who became indispensible to his company.

Nobody is indispensable except in their own mind.

Re: Going Home
 

So that you know, I have been in Canada almost 50 years.

A few things that strike me on your posts & on your OP in this thread. I don't get the winging POM syndrome

- In your OP it was 'we wanted to come to Canada, OH got a job, yet everything is so expensive' - is that it, the climate, or are you homesick?

- Hubby can go back & get a job

Right then, why delay, pack your bags, book the flight & go home:eek:

Re: Going Home
 

Continuing the fred drift....

I work for a Canadian company. My job involves a certain amount of travel. In 2012 I did two trips to HK / Singapore (which is a bloody long way from St John's Nfld) in economy because that was the company policy. We were then absorbed into the mother company, which is a UK PLC & the travel policy changed to anything over 8 hours in Biz class. Us Canucks raised a cheer for the enlighted 'elf and safey policies of the mother company.;)

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Are any of you lucky enough to gain by being able to use airmiles (or something similar, like discounts) accrued on work travel for personal travel/hotels?

Re: Going Home
 

Yes. I gave the AC points to my ex but kept the Amex points (accrued by charging hotels/tickets/conference facilities to my card and expensing the statements). Amex points bought our garden fence ($7000 worth of materials) our bathroom renovation and something else, the house roof maybe.

I get less points now because WebEx and subsequent products pretty much wiped out the need to travel.

Re: Going Home
 

Obviously ultimately it's your choice and it sounds like you've made up your mind already.... We came over here 3 years ago, I was working full time commuting into London and my husband did shifts. Our childcare costs were extortionate and they weren't even full time. When we moved here the plan was for me not to work but after7 months I went back to work part time driving a school bus as I could take my kids with me. My youngest starts school in September so I may plan to return full time, but it pays well and I get all the holidays off. It may be something to consider while your kids are young. Also we don't live in the city , but in a town outside Calgary where everything is cheaper, including childcare. My husband drives into Calgary for work and loves coming home west towards the mountains and getting outbid the city. In Alberta you will be eligible for universal child benefit as soon as you arrive., which may help with your childcare costs...

After one month I cannot really understand how you can make a rational decision to leave. The first month here is crazy getting all the admin done. No time to enjoy it. After 3 years we have stopped comparing and even call Canada home. We loved it from day 1 and never looked back. You said you researched it so why not give yourselves time to appreciate all this amazing country has to offer

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:goodpost:

Re: Going Home
 

I was lucky, I was a Research Technician / Research Assistant for a professor in a university, and the job was unionized, albeit we were in the same union as the truck drivers, tradesmen, secretaries, gardeners, etc, which could be a bit fraught at negotiation time. Most of the technicians in the union were paid from grants obtained by their professor, and grants are a limited amount of money over 1, 2 or 3 years, and do not have allowances for increased salary and benefits. Several times, my professor and I had to negotiate a reduction in my hours to fit the amount of money he had available, or lay me off. At those times, it was lucky that I was the second earner in the house.

But, being in a union did mean that I got good holidays and benefits ........... I started at 2 weeks for 1 year, then it went up to 3 weeks the next year. By year 10, we got 6 weeks annual plus all stat holidays. Those who had to work a stat got time and a half, double time, or time off in lieu.

I got more holidays than did my husband, a faculty member. He was only allowed 4 weeks off campus without permission. :lol:

He did get to travel, both because of his job and because of his research interests, and I could often go with him, as long as we paid all my costs. We never tried to get me on trips for nothing. He was allowed to keep any air miles or points that accrued, and could use it for personal travel.

So some of us were very lucky.



For the OP .............. I will have been in Canada 48 years in August, we spent the previous year in Austin, Texas, and that WAS most definitely a culture shock.

I've never been happier than I have been in Canada. We could never have achieved what we have in Britain, and have never been sorry that we left.

I honestly cannot see that you have given Canada a long enough trial ............ but it's your decision, and it's best that you go quickly if you are so desperate.

How does your husband feel about it? After all, he is the one who came out to a position here.

Re: Going Home
 

Yep, my husband is. He travels a lot with work, mainly just day trips to Scotland/Ireland/Europe, and gets a lot of Avios points. So far, in the past year all 4 of us have gone to Milan, Paris, Geneva, and 3 of us to California (he was already out there) all with Avios flights.

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I agree 100%. It sounds great, it really isn't. Hotels, airports and office buildings look a lot alike all over the world. Just the coffee tastes different.


And starting meetings at your body clock's 1am is not a lot of fun.

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A friend in the UK worked for multi-national and traveled the world on business. A different continent every day of the week did not happen every week, but when it did it was not remarkable. He accrued hundreds of thousands of air miles.

His idea of a holiday was to pitch a tend in a camp site 10 miles up the road. The thought of flying somewhere and staying in a hotel for pleasure was incomprehensible to him.

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I know you can cash in air miles for a number of things. What did he do with his, buy a tent and just leave it behind and buy a new one for the next time? :rofl:

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BA Avios have served me well. Flights to the Canary Islands (before BA stopped doing that sort of thing), numerous pairs of return flights in Club World between UK and Vancouver and back (including this autumn for the first time doing it 'the other way round').

These were nearly all earned at Tesco however (retail price of flights exceeds money spent at Tesco by quite a margin - actually used to keep a tally!!) via various cunning shopping exploits and only shopping elsewhere if they didn't sell it.

Although some were actually earned by flying - mainly GLA to SYY...(not the most glamorous of routes!) when this route was still in BA colours.

Now my stock of 'Miles' is mainly Amex points, some Aeroplan and a growing WestJet credit card fund.