EllenLouise04

Hello! I’ll try to keep this short and if any of you have any advice that would be great!

I am a 16, almost 17 year old girl. I moved to Ottawa, Canada on June first 2009 when I was twelve years old, so I am verging onto living here for five years now! Before I moved to Canada I lived in Swansea, Wales. I was extremely close with my grandparents growing up, and saw them every day as well as growing up with the same friends and visiting family often. We had friends who lived in Ottawa and we visited them, we loved the country and thought we would apply to immigrate just In case we would get in and potentially give it a try. When I was twelve my dad got redundant from his job and we received our acceptance letter the very next day to move to Canada. It seemed like fate, so we packed off to go to Canada nine months later without a job or place to live, just a spontaneous decision. Being twelve I had no real say in the matter, I didn't really understand the changes until the final week when our things were in a container unit and we were saying goodbye to our loved ones.

My first week in Canada was grim, I remember feeling constantly torn (as expected when moving countries) and felt miserable. It was the summer so before we bought a house, our family did a ten week road trip in a trailer tent around the USA. It was such an incredible once in a lifetime experience.
When our life began in Canada with a new house and new school, I never really warmed up to the idea of it and hated my first year. I was in a French immersion program meaning all classes were in French apart from English, and knowing no French going into the program made life more stressful. The first year was a bit of a blur as I had no friends, was sad most of the time and refused to accept life in Canada.

Almost four years on I still feel homesick most of the time, I Skype my family regularly, at least once every two days and my grandparents every day for over an hour. I watch only BBC Iplayer and ITV and all British programs. I cannot get into the Canadian culture of Hockey and going out in the cold. My room is totally British, Doctor Who Posters and flags! I just cannot shake off my life at home and I know I am looking through my rose tinted glass.
I am so sorry for rambling on and if you have read this until the end, I thoroughly appreciate it!

I went to the UK Christmas 2012, so after three years of living in Canada. It rained everyday apart from two days. Some parts of where I lived were really chavvy, but I know Swansea has a bit of a reputation for that.
Here is the real dilemma. I feel as though I will never truly settle into Canada and I cannot imagine bringing up a future family here as it the majority of people are quite reserved, there is not a lot to do in Ottawa and I prefer the English culture . I would like to go home for University when I finish High School. However I will qualify as an international student as I have not lived in the UK for three consecutive years before University. It will be very expensive, £15 000 per year, I will have to have a 85%-90% average to get into my program in university and I don’t know if I would like to put my family through moving all over again as it was horrible the first time. (My mum and dad would never want to split the family so they would return home if either my brother or I returned.)

My family live in a British bubble in Canada, is it worth going back? For such high university tuition and the weather, or do I stay in Canada and remain homesick, be less in debt for my future and live in a British bubble? If you have any advice or experience, please leave a comment it would help me more than you can imagine. I am only young and I feel like I have to make such a big decision. Thank you!

colchar

Maybe you should stick it out for a few more years, go to university here, and then go back once you have finished your education? Just a thought.

And you could always go to university outside of Ottawa as you might find you do like another area. Perhaps the University of Victoria since that city has a reputation of being very British (can others here comment on whether that is true or not?).

EllenLouise04

Thank you for your comment!
I just feel like the university experience in Canada is not the same as it would be back in the UK. (I have friends in university in both countries, and they both have a different experience.) If I do my degree here, will that give me less of an advantage if I was to move back to get a job? (I want to do a degree in psychology and an extra year for teacher's college as I would like to be a teacher.)

rivingtonpike

I don't find Victoria to be "British". It has more brick buildings than other towns/cities around here so perhaps that's it. There are some of the niceties like afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel, and there's an "English" tea rooms downtown, but the rest seems pretty Canadian to me.

To the OP, how about an extended trip to the UK over the summer holidays? Stay with the grandparents and see how you like the UK for more than just a week or two?

JamesM

Victoria is a nice place to visit for a few days to go whale watching, drink pints on English Bay and look at buildings that are similar to the parliament buildings in Ottawa. There are also some very wealthy retired folks there with picturesque homes.

But really I can not see how it resembles Britain any more than Niagara on the lake does. Not at all...

Ottawa is an odd place for a young person I think and I have no doubt the OP will be happier somewhere else in Canada with a bit more kick.

My only question is that is it not more expensive to go to University in Canada than it is in England if one is not living with their parents?

EllenLouise04

Thanks for the advice! I was thinking of taking a gap year and spending more time in the UK and seeing universities and working in a holiday park like Haven in France to keep up my French. Although my Parents are against that idea. I have some vistors coming to stay this summer and I have to work so I can't take a long holiday to view the UK. Would have been a great idea though.

Hi James M
We moved to Ottawa because we have family friends here, it is quite boring. If I was not classified as a International Student in the UK it may be around the same price as Canada. As I have lived in Canada for over three years, I would be paying $10000 a year (tuition and accommodation) and £15 000 per year for tuition in the UK for an international student. If that was what you meant.

JamesM

In which case your degree would probably be a little cheaper in Canada depending on what you do. I know in the UK most degrees are still 3 years and my limited understanding is in Canada they may be more. So bring that into the equation.

But either way make sure you get out of Ottawa. Toronto and Vancouver are a lot more interesting in different ways. Even Montreal.

Oink

Or UBC. Its not as boring as Victoria and the airport is not far and has direct flights to most places. Plus, there are loads of crap jobs in Vancouver that students get to help pay their expenses. You might want to start out at somewhere like UBC and then transfer for a term or more at a British university to see if you would really like it.

Novocastrian

How good is your French after nearly 5 years in FI? Are you perhaps in an International Baccalaureate School, or could you switch to one to finish high school in Ottawa?

What I'm getting at is have you thought about attending a Uni in France where as an EU citizen you wouldn't face international fees and the fees are much lower than in either the UK or Canada anyway?

If you chose a Uni near a regional airport served by Ryanair or similar, and your parents were to move to somewhere in the UK close to an appropriate airport too, you could easily go home cheaply and often as well as in all vacations if you chose.

Moreover, in general I think it's a poor second best to live with your family while attending Uni anyway. Sort of misses the whole point IMHO.

I do understand the economics of why so many do this though.

Oink

I agree. You miss out on so much by living at home.

EllenLouise04

Thank you for your advice OINK and James M. I will look further into it!

Hi Novocastrian, thanks for the suggestion. I have looked into it, it is much cheaper! I can speak French, although I don't feel as though I am not quite fluent enough to only live in a French speaking place. The thought of living in Europe does sound appealing but maybe a little too challenging!

There is an IB program in a school not too far from where I live. I did look into it but you need to complete all the courses with IB credentials and it will not lower my international fees any further sadly.

EllenLouise04

I think I am going to move this thread to the Moving Back to the UK thread. As I am curious of the Universities back home and moving back to the UK. I'll link the thread in case you would like to reply there! Thanks again!!

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=822964

Novocastrian

I wasn't thinking of lowered fees: as you've no doubt seen, university tuition fees in France are very low already, a couple of hundred euro per year as an undergrad. The IB would make acceptance into a French Uni more straightforward (but it would be possible without one).

You seem to be a bright person: living in Europe might be a bit challenging but if you're afraid of a challenge at your age that's a bit worrying.

EllenLouise04

Thanks for your advice! I will talk with my parents about options! I really appreciate your help.

Partially discharged

What is 'haven' in France. Our daughter is 17 and in her final year of high school here in Ottawa. She is considering a gap year and is fluent in french. She just got her Delph bi-lingual accreditation. She is considering Glendon College in Toronto in languages with the teaching option.

Is 'haven' some sort of Butlins type place in France?