Living in Vancouver and finding it hard !
 

Iv not been on here for a while now but im back to get more advice and help.
Im living in vancouver well (delta) for almost 9 months now, on a woking holiday visa with bunac.

This is after spending 2 years traveling and working around australia which was the time of my life !
the way i ended up in canada which i never imagined was by meeting a amazing canadian girl who i am still with and crazy for.
so after being home(uk) for only two months i left for vancouver to be with her.

our time in australia was awesome and i miss it loads but the things that holds me back from moving there is my family. im very close to them which means australia is just to far away from my loved ones.

any ways moving on from all this back chat. the deal is iv found things hard here ! in many ways that i never had back home in (oz or uk)
iv gone from being a popular outgoing happy go lucky guy to pretty much the opposite here! it sucks iv found it hard to make friends, move out of the girl friends parents place, try to save some kind of money. seems as if wages here our low. have my own transport and many more. alot of this is starting to affect us now because i know im not exactly the same person now as i was in oz!!

im wondering if there are any other people out there who came over with high thoughts of canada and vancouver and just found it a huge struggle ???
i do love to go snowboarding here and there are some things which attract me here but their seem to be more things that make me miss the family and friends even though I THINK LIFE IS BETTER HERE ???:confused:

any advice on how others have delt with this issue as i only have 3 months on my visa and decisions have to be made soon if we want the next step.
i know i need to be with her but it seems hard to commit to a place that is proving hard for me to enjoy all the time.

iv hard about people being in similar situations here with things such as making friends and fitting in ??

any help or advice would be awesome from you guys i hope im not the only bunac working holiday holder who is not loving as he thought he should :unsure:

thanks team :)

Re: Living in Vancouver and finding it hard !
 

Time for an expectations review I think. Nowhere provides a life that is enjoyable all the time, especially when you are trying to establish yourself in adult working life, and especially if you are measuring quality of life against experience of extended working holidays.

Enjoyment comes from commitment to a path in life, not the other way around.

Re: Living in Vancouver and finding it hard !
 

I was going to comment in a similar fashion.

I think the reality of "real" life - and some deadlines approaching are focussing the mind - to the point where your brain might explode ;)

Working holidays and the wonderful travel bug can be taken with a mostly carefree attitude - many of us have been there and done that. Life and love come easier!

Vancouver may be the issue - maybe it's not for you at all.

On the other hand, Vancouver may not be the issue - you are potentially reaching a point in your life where all decisions might be big ones - be that whether to live where you are currently living, to stay with the person you are currently with - or to finalise a working/career path that you will find satisfying or rewarding.

On the other hand, you could continue to travel or study and put off those decisions for a while longer.

Write a list of the good and bad points for you in all the places you have stayed - UK, Canada and OZ. Are there other places in the world you need to go to?

Write a list of some goals or expectations for the short and long term, ie, this time next year you would like to be ABC - and this time in five years, I fancy doing XYZ. These don't need to be set in stone - but it might clarify the mind a little.

Also ask yourself if you can see yourself in any of these places or stages of life, with the same girl in your life - and live anywhere with her. Who will do the most compromising - and who will be truly happy with that decision ;)

Re: Living in Vancouver and finding it hard !
 

Vancouver is a notoriously difficult place to break into, take a look over some of the threads on here and you will find a common theme as to how you are coping. Not having a decent job, car etc will have an impact on your quality of life.

Are you able to move somewhere less family orientated than Delta. I find both Surrey and Delta to be souless, depressing places, as are many of the Vancouver suburbs.

I lived in Delta in my now ex mother-in-law's basement when I first moved here. I hated it. I eventually moved downtown and with the exception of a misguided stint in Coquitlam, have lived downtown for the better part of 17 years. I now live on the North Shore.

Maybe OZ was your calling. Either way, if you want things to work out with the lady you have meet, you need to feel settled. You have to be somewhere that you both like or I fear it will adversely affect your relationship.

Re: Living in Vancouver and finding it hard !
 

Get out of Delta.

Get out of Delta.

Get out of Delta!!!!!!!!:eek:

I know and like Delta, it's where the OH grew up, but it's not for a person at your stage of life imo unless you were born & brought up there and have all your highschool buddies around (which is probably why you're finding it hard to break in). I'll second Dboy and suggest DT or East Van, Commercial, somewhere a bit more buzzy.

I also agree with the others that travelling a country is one thing, but actually living and trying to settle down is another. I don't know if you lived in Sydney or Melbourne, but living in Delta is like moving there and living in some far out family 'burb far from the action. KWIM?

Re: Living in Vancouver and finding it hard !
 

Same theme, as the others here, you've gotta work out what you want mate. Sounds like oz was where you settled the most though. Might be better also to move out like the others said, though I don't know jack about Vancouver... other than that the Canucks suck :)

Good luck with sorting everything out mate, it'll work out, but sometimes these things are never as easy and clear cut as we want them.

Re: Living in Vancouver and finding it hard !
 

You've had a nice long holiday in Aus and a nice experience here, now go home, get a job, get a new girlfriend and go on the occasional ski holiday. You'll be much happier in the long run.

Re: Living in Vancouver and finding it hard !
 

first off thank you all guys i feel like my closest friends are right in front of me trying to help which feels nice as its really a computer screen !

i know that the travel bug is pretty much out of me and i do feel ready to commit and start moving my life. i know im with the right person because we push each other in good ways. im looking into getting into carpentry or design of some sort maybe ?

but my real passion in life is to surf if i made it in that industry then i would be set till i die !!!!:thumbsup:

but round here is not really the place for it ! unless your on the island which we wont be living on as the miss is getting into film editing.

i think the points with moving out closer to the city are all true and the delta thing is bang on nothing here for some one who is 23!

i know as well that oz was probably the place for me as i had surf and all the other good things that go with that lifestyle. i lived in melbourne and sydney plus one of my favourite places noosa. where i lived for 10 months.

problem with australia is that its just too far from the family. vancouver is pushing it enough never mind another 16 hours on top .
as much as i would want to live there i dont want to tear up my family .

i feel that there have been really good points put over by every one but im still filled with a mind thats at bursting point :eek:

any other advice is very much appreciated as this feels like one of the few places i can talk on this issue

thanks again !! :fingerscrossed::fingerscrossed::fingerscrossed:

Re: Living in Vancouver and finding it hard !
 

your desire to be closer to family is valid, but wouldn't it be better to live a bit further out and be happy? At the end of the day, given how often you would go home, an extra 10 hours each way, or whatever it is, is a fairly small price to be happy. Plus you probably get more holidays there than here anyway.

I think you've answered your own question, if surfing is your calling, then go for it. It's a case of piss or get off the pot - if you decide to stay, for gods sake, leave delta, get an apartment in the west end, and enjoy what the city has to offer.

Re: Living in Vancouver and finding it hard !
 

You need to work on that question mark. That's your problem, right there.

Re: Living in Vancouver and finding it hard !
 

Best thing I can suggest if you do stay in Vancouver is to join the UBC Surf Club. You don't have to be a student to join it, but it's the best way to meet like-minded individuals who love surfing. They usually plan weekend trips to Washington state, the Oregon coast, Vancouver Island, and on occasion, longer trips to Mexico, Costa Rica, etc.

http://www.ams.ubc.ca/clubs/surfclub/

I also agree - get out of Delta!! :eek:

Re: Living in Vancouver and finding it hard !
 

delta thing is bang on nothing here for some one who is 23!

Delta is one boring place...my in-laws live there and i just got back from there few weeks back...i was so bored as there is nothing to do round there best thing about that place is the easy transport links to go more interesting places....

Re: Living in Vancouver and finding it hard !
 

It's stange, because Delta was also the name of the city in Michigan where Robocop was based and there seemed to be quite a lot going on in that film.

Re: Living in Vancouver and finding it hard !
 

I spent about 3 months there when I first came here, other than the odd visit to see the ex monster in law, I've managed to successfully avoid the place like the plague.

I was at dinner the other night and living in the burbs came up. My good friend who is Vancouver born and raised, said there is no life beyond Vancouver and the North Shore. (A generalization but there is much truth in what he says).

Re: Living in Vancouver and finding it hard !
 

monster in law - i wonder if they know mine.....haha!!! :(