How does this country survive?
 

My Mrs and I are going back to UK but thought I would pose this question anyway.


How does Canada work the way it does and not disintegrate into a 3rd world country?

The following things have happened to me since I got here, and I have only been here 5 months.

And I will just mention the cloak and dagger secret society - unions, you have to have shared the same womb with someone, before anyone will give you a decent job if you are not Canadian. How come the half decent jobs never go to an immigrant, but all the jobs that require you to say "Is that for here or to go?" welcome immigrants with open arms?

Why are the Canadian government and the TV stations saying that they are desperate for well educated, skilled workers when the actual companies are ignoring them?

You ask about getting a 6CD auto changer for your car and the technician look at you like you have just asked to be transported to the Star ship Enterprise. They respond " we don't do them here, they are in the future". My God!


Traffic - oh yes lets talk about that little one. 3 or 4 roundabouts in Kitchener/Waterloo. Having come from the UK, I felt confident about using them. Until I realised that Canadians do not know any of their own rules of the road. The main 1 being what an upside down triangle is. It's not hard, it is the same in every country GIVE WAY! Now I approach any roundabout here like I was trying to drive a double decker bus painted with the Union Jack flag on it round the Arc de Triomphe with a big sign saying "Up your's Frenchies". :scared: Going round a roundabout here is like sticking your penis in a lion's mouth and then flicking his love spuds with a wet towel.

Canadian traffic surveys found that roundabouts cut emissions, reduce congestion etc but they still slap traffic lights on every 3rd metre of road. No wonder it takes 4 hours to get to the local shops.

Why do pedestrians keep getting run over? Well lets see. In most civilised countries if a pedestrian is crossing the road then no other traffic will be. You wait for the little man telling you to walk and you calmly step out. Here, you get told to walk into the road when traffic can have a green light. To coin a phrase - "It's just an accident waiting to happen".

Right, rant over. I'm out of breath. Just waiting for all the arguments coming back. I know what's wrong with the UK so I am formulating a plan to fix it when I get back:

Oh , hang on, I think I have just listed the election manifesto of the BNP! ;)

Right, you can call me all you want.

"Come and have a go if you think you're 'ard enough"

P.S. Can someone create a Canadian national identity and culture so that they don't have to use the American ones. Oh my God. Please.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Five months huh?

Sounds like you really gave it a good shot. :rolleyes:

Have a great life.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Sounds to me like you were just unlucky! :p

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Sounds to me like Canada is better off without you. Have you not found anything positive in your 5 months?

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Gave it enough of a shot to figure out that it aint gonna work. No way I would get as good a job as in the UK with a bit of culture and friends the way friends should be, not acquaintances

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Your welcome to it. Yep, have found the cheap flights home positive.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

You are right. What I should have replied is that I would rather have a leg off!

Re: How does this country survive?
 

From your list above you should try Australia :rolleyes:

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Good job you are leaving, if you weren't happy after 5 months I don't reckon you ever would have been. I gave it 2 1/2yrs and was still very unhappy living there so moved on. Best of luck with your return to the UK.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

We've been here 5 months now too (in BC) and whilst I would pretty much agree with your recommendations for rectifying the issues 'back home' I can only think you've had a bad time of things out here. Maybe the lack of work issue is linked to your views of Canadians? We were fortunate in that I had a job lined up before we landed - a professional, well paid permanent job with the Government, working with exceptionally friendly Canadians who embrace my 'foreigness' and all that means, rather than viewing me as an immigrant who is stealing their jobs.

I've lived in America (and Australia), and the Canadians we have met, either my colleagues, neighbours, shop assistants or tradespeople working on our house have been some of the friendliest, most helpful, genuine, honest people I have ever met. My folks (and partners folks) have all visited and agreed with this - despite us telling them how great Canadians were they didn't believe it until they stayed with us out here a while.

Take most of what is wrong with society in England and, IMHO, you'll see the converse out here. Today, with unusual snow here in Victoria, was a prime example - people out helping others, chatting to their neighbours; children relishing a day out from school enjoying simple pleasures of building snowmen and tobaganing, and parents feeling secure in letting them go to the park on their own to play; people doing communal 'store runs' for their neighbours; teenagers clearing the paths of their elderly neighbours - not because they'd been asked or bribed but because it is 'the right thing to do'. And all that was just in our small cul-de-sac of the world.

Sorry things did not work out for here - maybe an element of you reap what you sow, but I don't know your situation so I can't comment.

Enjoy England, and I hope that gives you what you obviously have not been able to find here in Canada. I speak to my folks back home daily, and read BBC news enough to know that returning there is certainly not a panacea...

Re: How does this country survive?
 

I agree with the escapea that in general the people over here are a lot nicer than back in the UK.

But also I think (and if you look at my thread today) there are some major cogs missing/screwed up over here when it comes to immigration/successful immigration.

The closed "must be in the network loop" attitude to recruitment only seems to obstruct worthwhile immigrants not help them. As we have all seen the government shouts out loud that they need skilled immigrants but when they land the employment culture only seems to force people to return from whence they came (well as long as it's not some third world country).

I'm heading back to blighty myself I came to canada to improve my quality of life but it seems that I will have to take a drastic drop in quality of life (and ask if they want to go large) I am not going to do that.

Plain and simple if canada needs educated people it needs to change it's attitude towards intergrating those educated immigrants. This means changing it's networking attitude and taking a more open UK style approach if it doesn't then it will get nowhere.

If however it doesn't need skilled people then it should stop asking them to emigrate.

Seems like cake and eat it to me

Re: How does this country survive?
 

What do you do for a living?

Re: How does this country survive?
 

So if you look at the list above how the hell do you think you are going to settle back in the UK. These things will never change and are probably what made you leave in the first place.
Just someone else who will never be happy no matter where they live but it is always someone elses fault or in this case Canadas fault. GROW UP. :zzz:

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Hey I have been in Edinburgh for 7 years and I still only have aquaintances and I have tried many times to get real friends but it doesn't bother me anymore, I realise I can't get back what I left in East Kilbride. Do you complain like that when meeting new people I hope you didn't scare them off. :p

p.s. Oh and they slap lights on roundabouts in Scotland too

Hope going back to the UK gives you what you need all the best.

Emma

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Culture shock is a b*tch, isn't it?

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Maybe Canadian society is more sophisticated than you think.

After all it rejects people with negative attitudes like that.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

He he he, spot on. I do like Canada but i have to say in my experiences i have found Canadians are nice to your face. But then give them a chance and they slag you. They are the best at every thing and we are crap. Oh and this ones a good one, we Brits had it easy during the last war. EH! i kid you not, this was said to me several times by a friend (not any more BTW) The stuff i heard was amazing. Now i know the UK has its faults but so does Canada. But i find Brits have to take a lot of stick from other countries and i can honestly say i have never treated Canadians like this or any other Nationalities like this. I would be ashamed to do so.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Oh the delicious irony of an anti-immigrant person emigrating and being subjected to anti-immigrant treatment.

But you didn't learn your lesson. So your punishment is to sign up with NTL, British Gas and Carphone Warehouse when you return.

K.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Ha ha ha, good un.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Seems like another VISA wasted on someone not prepared to give it a real chance and blinded by the culture shock with a definate lean towards lack of research. There are plenty of potential immigrants who would love to have the opportunities you have had, enjoy life moaning about wherever you are...

Re: How does this country survive?
 

The phrase Red Rag To A Bull comes to mind with this thread.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Haven't we heard all this before, in fact the "Don't live in Ontario" thread is still going.
Next subject please. :(

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Good point. That thread has a chance at being the longest ever. We shouldn't undermine its chances by putting energy into Mr. and Mrs. Bnpvoter's travails.

K.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

:D :D

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Aye but you ur fae the west coast and the east coast don't like west coast...... you know...... vinegar on chips or sauce on chips! L.O.L.

(Ah roundabouts....... the Whirlies is actually a hundred times better now that they put traffic lights on it...... used to take me 15 minutes to get though and once it was changed it took me only five.)

Re: How does this country survive?
 

I might agree if I thought that they knew what the word sophisticated meant.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Similar to instructions on fireworks. "Light the blue touch paper and then retire to a safe distance"

Re: How does this country survive?
 

You are mistaking me for someone who gives a crap!

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Now thats sophistication for you :D :D :D

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Then why are you here posting all this stuff?

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Can I just say that your post made me laugh out loud......... we too have experienced many of the things you mentioned...... just in the last couple of days there were problems with the brakes on the car and our new television seems to have an aversion to black and prefers to show green!

Although I am aware that a lot of the problems we would have had back home too....... the trouble I had with British Gas and even my local gym when we left were crazy. (Amazing how companies get stroppy when money is involved!)

For us it is the job market that is causing problems....... and I am aware that being a happy immigrant is dependant on getting work and work that you don't hate...... so I am ever hopeful that if we can get work we don't hate then we will be able to give it a shot. However....... if we don't...... then home it will probably be!

It is easy for people to say you haven't given it a chance....... but when you are here in the "now" and not earning and not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel cutting your loses and going home is a sensible option.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

I was going to say have you not thought about giving another area of Canada a go, but that would probably be pointless as you seem to have made your mind up about a lot of things in such a short time.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

That is an excellent point - our first six months here were horrendous; a real struggle to get going, and I really wanted to go 'home'; but once that elusive job was landed everything changed. Though I've never been to Toronto, from all I've learned about it here, I don't think I would have stuck it out.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

So you waited three plus years in the immigration process and now you're going to throw it all away after five months? :confused:

What a waste.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

I don't agree with much of what you wrote, but you gave me such a laugh - thanks! You have quite a talent in writing, maybe you're in the wrong job.

Well alright, I do agree with the Rogers bit (Shaw here in BC, same system, different name). I totally disagree with the products being inferior - I don't have any problems with my purchases, or infrequently anyway. Compared to what I buy in the UK there's no difference, probably better here in Canada, actually.

Having said that, I spent a happy half hour chatting to the pensions department in the UK this morning, can you believe it was actually a pleasant and informative call?! A government department that was helpful, and not only that I didn't have to press all kinds of numbers in an automated system just to get an anonymous voice mailbox. And - drumroll - the guy actually had a sense of humour (and spoke fluent English to boot, but let's not start that fight again, eh?).

I will say though, that 5 months is not giving it a fair go. But, hope you won't regret going back.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

I don't think the original poster is in Toronto as he mentions Kitchener-Waterloo, I think the first mention of Toronto on this thread is Calgal's. I appreciate that the rest of the country is a bit fixated on Toronto but the mention on this thread seems gratuitous; people might dislike other parts of the country too.

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Is your last name Meldrew?

I hate it when things break 18 months after purchase and the store still exchanges them no questions!!

Mike

Re: How does this country survive?
 

:zzz: :zzz: :zzz: :zzz: :zzz:

Go and book that flight

Re: How does this country survive?
 

Maybe the uk doesnt want him back, I certainly wouldn't want to live next door. ;)

Re: How does this country survive?
 

I think anyone who emigrates to anywhere and thinks it's going to be paradise with no problems - is delusional!

I don't think Canada is any better or any worse than England or Australia or France or Spain - or wherever. It's just different. Probably some things that work well in England do not work well in Canada or vice versa. I would think the number one thing - anywhere - any country - is can I find a job that I like and one that pays well enough for me to live as I want to? The amount of pay that one person requires might be totally different from the next person. I bet if you lived in Scotland and moved to London, depending on the kind of person you are, you would have the same problems meeting friends etc. etc. Lots of people on this board have moved to Canada and have got friends and like it here.

If someone comes to Canada and cannot make friends, I would think it had more to do with that person than with the idea that nobody in Canada is friendly.