Hi Butch - sorry but your post really made me smile. We live in Dorset and I have to say that ... never mind large countries ... parts of this county have VERY distinct and diverse cultures .....

J

Not in the way that say France is distinct from the Ukraine, Uganda is distinct from Mauritius, Morocco is distinct from Eire, Egypt is distinct from Finland though????

Hmmm point taken ............ but maybe you haven't visited certain parts of the West Country ..... :scared:

Only joking (!) - we love it here really

BTW - how's the packing going?

J

OI missus!!
I'll have you know I lived in Bridgewater and Burnham-on-Sea (mud) in the late 70s!!!!!

The packing is going slightly to plan. Just putting myself back togother after after two days of leaving party!!

Removal company comes a week today!!

Completion should be two weeks on Friday!!!

Flights are (hopefully hehe) three weeks wednesday!!!

Aah okay I'll take it all back ..... late 70's eh? I was living in deepest Mississippi then ... now at that time that was a scary place

Best of luck with the move ... look forward to hearing all about your landing experience ... and the drive across Canada .... karma sent to speed you on you way!

J

Are there many 'cradle Canadians' on this board who have not lived elsewhere and find the information just as useful on this site as British expats? I agree that being an expat entitles you to an opinion but surely there is a place here for others who are not British and who may also have opinions?

I am Canadian but have lived my whole adult life in Britain. This board has been very important in my decision making about going home and for me and my British partner when we were thinking of going together. I am in that mid-Atlantic no-man's land which many of you will be - born somewhere but living somewhere else so have several places called 'home' but don't really fully 'belong' anywhere. Think this is just what happens when you emigrate.

In terms of being able to express yourself and be able to say negative things about Canada, I agree. Whenever I get together with other Canadians, we have a good natured moan about Britain and the differences between the two countries. Canada almost always comes out tops but that is because we have a lovely rosey view of Canada and live in the day to day reality of the UK. However, we love living in Britain too or wouldn't be here. Again, the contrariness of it all is part of emigrating. For me, the going back will be very interesting/frustrating/scary as I won't be a 'British expat' but I won't be fully 'Canadian' either. Perhaps I should start a 'misfits' board....?

Disclosure: I am one of the cradle Canadians on the board. I first came on here because my husband is British and I found it useful/interesting to read what other British immigrants experienced and observed about life in Canada – now I just stay on here for entertainment. I’ve lived in Halifax, Toronto, London (UK) and St Petersburg (Russia), so hope I have a somewhat broad outlook on life in various countries. (Lapsed Canuk, I would happily join a “misfits’” board if you start one!)

Back to the topic at hand…
I don’t know about self-righteous, but I do think Canadians en masse have a smug, rather morally superior attitude. I think they also have a misinformed view on Canada’s importance in the world, which the media perpetuates. Canada has been told so often it is the best place to live it now accepts that without question and believes everyone should want to live here and embrace every facet of life unreservedly. I think the attitude displayed in the Tim Horton’s commercial is one that Canada could do without – we seem to like to think every immigrant who comes here is from a deprived background fleeing a repressive regime or crushing poverty, is eternally grateful for the chance to come to our blessed shores, and should have to work their way up from nothing. It’s a nice story, maybe it was a common one in the immigration heyday in the 50’s, but it’s not really applicable now and just ends up losing us skilled and educated immigrants forced to work in call centres and convenience stores. Canada has a lot of good points but has to accept that there are things that need changing. (That said, I refuse to accept that the food and TV is really that much worse here than in the UK. Orange squash, fish fingers, Big Brother?!?! These are not things one should long for, and if they are replacements can easily be found – Sunny Delight, chicken strips, and Survivor come to mind).

I don’t know about the Wayne Greztky stuff and don’t really care – guess I’m not a typical Canadian as far as hockey is concerned.

Sorry, but Canada, the US, The Bahamas and Mexico certainly do have very distinct laws and culture.

How distinct is Quebec from Alberta (different legal system and language), or San Francisco from West Virginia, or Nassau from Iqaluit?

I think Canada and the US have, but for the tinest details, the same culture. There are nothing like the variations one finds in, say, India, where many languages are spoken and many religions followed. Please point out some major differences.

Youv'e never been to Bradford then ?????

1) PLEASE Read before you post
2) Canada, the US and The Bahamas ALL have legal systems based upon UK common law.

re-arrange to make a well known saying 'straws clutching at'

Yes mate, also been to Burnley, Rushholme, Leicester, Southall, Wembley, Bethnall Green...... Shall I carry-on?

Let's take Quebec vs. Texas:

Different languages, different laws and legal system, liberal vs. conservative, different political systems, use different currencies, no customs union, different world views, different popular food.

How are the differences between England and France greater than between Quebec vs. Texas. In some ways England and France have more in common than Quebec and Texas, such as: use of currencies (Euro), both part of EU, economies and political connections more integrated, only 20 miles apart. Yes indeed, there is much more difference between Quebec and Texas than between England and France.