hi, guys! just wanted to fill you in on how a newcomer is coping with the general everyday things taken for granted over here.
like when you refer to phoning someone, you dont say "ring him"; usually they say "call him" which in good old blighty usually means to go and actually call someone!
and after your weekly shop, the total you think you will pay is not WHAT you pay; they add on 2 taxes and the total is a wee bit higher! carry extra money!
and how about the weather? i am near the lake here in ontario, and i just experienced the mother of all rainstorms about an hour ago--raindrops the size of umbrellas! and then, you open the door to take a peek outside and the heat hits you like a brick in the face--so humid!
i am still looking for a job here; i just found out what everyone here has been saying for yonks--that you have to take any job for a while and then gradually improve yourself. i've round to a lot of places down the derry road and dundas areas, handing my cv, sorry, resume, in!! more experiences later--watch this space..........

As they also say here, "that is awesome" Yes the grocery shopping thing and the calling someone, have you also noticed that when you say "do you fancy a coffee or something", they look at you in awe, or say "pardon me" ?

Jobs.....you have to network and literally go knock on doors, don't forget to join those pesky agencies too Adecco worked for me at the time, even though it wasn't in my field.

Good luck !

Or, "perfect" or "no problem" - used alot in Canada, as well as "I'll give you a buzz"!!!

Apart from weather (which is not something people can control!) what is annoying for me as a newcomer, is the way banks charge you. They are real rip off, charging for transactions you do on the Internet, or clearing a cheque.
Being charged when somebody calls your mobile is another one. Or having to pay for shopping bags at No Frills or Food Basic .... the list goes on with unfriendly and sometimes aggressive TTC staff!
Anyway, having said all this, I don't regret leaving the UK and coming here!

LOL Being a recently removed Canadian... I read that and absolutley giggled at how much your are NOT exaggerating.
I finished it and though "Yep, that's about right."

I never knew that "No problem" or "I'll give you a buzz" was isolated to Canada... interesting to hear that my normal speech pattern is so amusing to others.

(Of course... I have to take my fair share of "Fair dinkum's" and "No worries, mate's"..hahah)

Siren
LOL

It sounds like you're having fun!! It was very hot today...much more like the summers we're used to here in S.Ontario.

I used to get confused by the tax too. Used to have to watch myself accusing the cashier of overcharging !!

If you don't mind no branch banking (like Smile or Egg in the UK) I highly reccommend President's Choice Bank. There are no charges for anything at all, unless you go overdrawn. In fact you earn points for shopping at various supermarkets such as Loblaws and every time you pay bills over the phone or Internet. The points can be used towards groceries, movie tickets, books at Chapters and other things.

You can bank for free at any CIBC or President's Choice machine (the bank is operated by CIBC). If you really need to speak to a live human being - like you've lost your cash card and need it replaced quickly - you can visit booths at Loblaws pavillion locations. (I got mine replaced on a Sunday afternoon!) You get free chequebooks, free cheques, statements etc. and their phone help is great.

I'm not connected to the bank in any way. I was just as frustrated as you a few years ago, joined this bank and have never looked back.

Welcome to canada, those are issues have touched on here before, the mobile phone thing really gets on my t*ts, that is why we only have one between us. Banks....you can change to pc financial, they have no fees, and you get points just like tesco and sainsburys back home.

Oh....PC financial have pavillions in some branches, and bags are free at zehrs You also get points when you use your pc card to pay at zehrs, valu mat, no frills, and loblaws. Buying president choice products will get you extra points.

If you have you wages pain directly into your account, that is 10,000 points right there, love the points thing, comes in handy for grocery shopping, or other gifts that include vacations too.

www.pcfinancial.ca

I closed my royal bank account to switch to PC, I just wasn't happy with the monthly charge thing, as am not use to paying it before in blighty

The size of the country is blamed for the reason why phone companies charge for voicemail, receiving txt messages, and for calling Toronto or somewhere else, from a place nearby.

Erm whats a 'mobile' squarepants ?? oh yeah you mean "CELL" - and I know what you mean about 'the mobile phone thing' it took me a while to realise your 'cell phone' gets charged when you are called from a land line - plus, I am on 'pay as you go' and texting the UK to any network other than Orange is very hit and miss after the first text in any one day - had one mate who got three texts together three days after the first one was sent. I emailed Rogers asking why but so far no response -
Mike

Virgin are apparently starting here in the fall (autumn). They've hooked up a partnership with Bell Mobility. They will be offering the same sort of service they've already established in the U.S with Sprint - a small selection of phones and a no-frills pay-as-you-go service, but much cheaper than any of their competitors. In the U.S it's something like 25c a minute for the first 3 minutes and then 10c a minute after that.

...but we do get FREE local calling on land lines ..which we didn't when I was in the UK and BASIC cable at around $26 dollars includes premiership matches

ok, here's some more talk about life in ontario!
i went for what i thought would be nice quiet saturday afternoon drive, which it was, apart from the fact that i got lost on the way back from milton! i took eglinton road all the way down to milton and then hit steeles avenue, and from then on i took a wrong turn and ended up on trafalgar road! i did get back to mississauga but in a roundabout way!! anyway, what a surprise milton was--it was so quiet and peaceful, with trees and greenery everywhere, houses hidden off the main roads and not built right next to each other but with at least a couple of 100yds between, i really just wanted to stop and sit in the car and take it all in. however, as i got to milton town centre itself, it began to get a bit samey, just like any other town centre. i was pleasantly surprised though, as the area is called the "escarpment"--i thought all of ontario was flat as a pancake, but here there are high-ish bits here and there. more adventures later.......

Good Point Ray. Also, many supermarkets bag your groceries for you, (with free bags) I dint remember that in the UK but maybe I was shopping in the wrong places. Generally its the cheapest stores that charge for bags, and they tend to offer the old boxes to pack stuff in for free, so its a case of you get what you pay for, or dont get what you dont pay for, or something

The escarpment is the cliff that forms Niagara Falls. This cliff extends from the falls though southern Ontario right up to Tobermory. Look at downtown Hamilton from Hamilton "mountain", and you will be on the Niagara Escarpment looking down. Hamilton really doesn't have a mountain - it's just the escarpment.

http://www.niagaraescarpment.org/

Select "about the escarpment".

Ah.....Tobermory....use to have a cottage there when we first moved to the KW area - remember Flower Pot Island (is that what it's called)....great trails. I will never forget the area - because they have rattle snakes and my parents were so.....careful with us just wandering off.....

Interesting area as well, because Owen Sound gets a tremendous amount of snow.....but you ain't seen nothing till you leave the area and head for Tobermory....almost like being back in Manitoba with the white outs, ice, snow, etc.....but great area in the summer. The swimming was terrific!!!!

We're going to have to keep you around.....you keep bringing back these memories for me........