Moving back to UK
Jan 22nd 2010, 2:02 pm
#286
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,054
Re: Moving back to UK
I will say the city centre has improved a lot over the years, but the smaller towns are much the same. I'm guilty of generalizing a bit, but I'm afraid there's more bad than good.
Last edited by dboy; Jan 22nd 2010 at 2:06 pm.
Jan 22nd 2010, 2:16 pm
#287
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 766
Re: Moving back to UK
Totally agree with you on that one 
Living just outside manchester and have friends from there i must say that i have never felt safe when i was shopping or clubbing, i was lucky there was plenty of guys in our group
Where now i feel safe, i can walk the streets at night and can go shopping and leave my car running in the car park
Could i do this in the uk........maybe some areas, not others....
Sorry but that applies to canada in whole, but our community is good for now
Totally disgree with the food comment, one thing i missed when i was back in the uk was good food from good places.
I hate fast food, when we go out to eat i like proper places, i didnt like alot of the places in the uk as i thought it was tasteless.
I also disagree with the tv, the world is a small place, i watch less tv here than i ever did, also when back in the uk the tv bored me...............why because anything i want to watch i can do via internet link up
so its not just uk based.
I hated the driving, i hated how people just carried on driving when people wanted to cross the road, i hated how the kids neally got run over in the supermarket car park........................many a thing i hate.
But then yeah it has history, yeah it has culture and its where i was born
I left the uk hating the place, i came back after seeing family this year and i do love the uk, but i would never live there.
As for the healthcare, yeah there is parts of it that sucks, but they saved my life here in canada and my doctor is the best guy ever in my familys eyes, my kids love him and we see him all the time (his kids same age etc etc)
Being an expat is not for everyone, i see people move here everyday, i also see people move back for different reasons, but was it not best to try it and go back with the adventures you have had or never to have tried it and sit there in years gone by saying "well only if".......................................?????
Living just outside manchester and have friends from there i must say that i have never felt safe when i was shopping or clubbing, i was lucky there was plenty of guys in our group
Where now i feel safe, i can walk the streets at night and can go shopping and leave my car running in the car park
Could i do this in the uk........maybe some areas, not others....
Sorry but that applies to canada in whole, but our community is good for now
Totally disgree with the food comment, one thing i missed when i was back in the uk was good food from good places.
I hate fast food, when we go out to eat i like proper places, i didnt like alot of the places in the uk as i thought it was tasteless.
I also disagree with the tv, the world is a small place, i watch less tv here than i ever did, also when back in the uk the tv bored me...............why because anything i want to watch i can do via internet link up
so its not just uk based.I hated the driving, i hated how people just carried on driving when people wanted to cross the road, i hated how the kids neally got run over in the supermarket car park........................many a thing i hate.
But then yeah it has history, yeah it has culture and its where i was born
I left the uk hating the place, i came back after seeing family this year and i do love the uk, but i would never live there.
As for the healthcare, yeah there is parts of it that sucks, but they saved my life here in canada and my doctor is the best guy ever in my familys eyes, my kids love him and we see him all the time
(his kids same age etc etc)Being an expat is not for everyone, i see people move here everyday, i also see people move back for different reasons, but was it not best to try it and go back with the adventures you have had or never to have tried it and sit there in years gone by saying "well only if".......................................?????
Jan 22nd 2010, 2:27 pm
#288
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,054
Re: Moving back to UK
I would like to add, we went to vancouver last april and stayed a month to have a look round to see if we would like it better than the east coast. I have to say it was a beautiful part of canada, but what really shocked and surprised me,were the homeless i actually took some pictures to show my kids as I had never seen so many in one place. Another thing we noticed were people picking up cigarette butts from the ground, and they were dressed so well and looked so respectable it was really amazing, people came up to my husband asking him for cigarettes, it was so sad they did'nt look like down and outs or anything (sorry if that is not PC but I don't know how else to put it) also people going through garbage to get bottles and cans it was just terrible, I'[ve never seen anything like it in the 21st century in a western country, or am i just too protected?
Issues of homelessness on the DTES are very complex. The entire area has become a ghetto due to misguided but well intended government policy. There are more SOR's (single occupancy rooms) than anywhere else, safe injections sites, detox/rehab, lookout shelter, harbour lights, native peoples groups, drug/alcohol counselling, womens shelters, police and city jail, the courts, the salvation army, and of course drug dealers, have all conspired to 'enable' many that live in the area. Mix in mental illness and deinstitutionalization and there is a perfect storm. the put next to the CBD and most popular toursit areas and you have a problem.
The pivot society fights the city to keep the area has it is, citing affordable housing, but fails time and time again to be part of the solution.
I actually applaud the city's/provinces efforts, from recently purchasing some of the worst hotels, safe injection sites, the four pillars approach etc, social housing requirments and non market housing. Billions have been poured in the area over the last 5 years. as Michael Ignatief, rightly pointed out recently the problem is a national one. Two levels of government are not enough.
Last edited by dboy; Jan 22nd 2010 at 2:34 pm.
Jan 22nd 2010, 3:03 pm
#289
Sidecar Falcon
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,504
Re: Moving back to UK
Moss Side and Hulme also have terrible reputations historically but seem to be becoming quieter as UK immigration regulations become tighter. I'm not trying to accuse anybody here but I doubt that it is one of those things which can be merely put down to coincidence.
Last edited by DigitalGhost; Jan 22nd 2010 at 3:06 pm.
Jan 22nd 2010, 3:28 pm
#291
Just Joined
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 20
Re: Moving back to UK
Totally agree with you on that one
Living just outside manchester and have friends from there i must say that i have never felt safe when i was shopping or clubbing, i was lucky there was plenty of guys in our group
Where now i feel safe, i can walk the streets at night and can go shopping and leave my car running in the car park
Could i do this in the uk........maybe some areas, not others....
Sorry but that applies to canada in whole, but our community is good for now
Totally disgree with the food comment, one thing i missed when i was back in the uk was good food from good places.
I hate fast food, when we go out to eat i like proper places, i didnt like alot of the places in the uk as i thought it was tasteless.
I also disagree with the tv, the world is a small place, i watch less tv here than i ever did, also when back in the uk the tv bored me...............why because anything i want to watch i can do via internet link up so its not just uk based.
I hated the driving, i hated how people just carried on driving when people wanted to cross the road, i hated how the kids neally got run over in the supermarket car park........................many a thing i hate.
But then yeah it has history, yeah it has culture and its where i was born
I left the uk hating the place, i came back after seeing family this year and i do love the uk, but i would never live there.
As for the healthcare, yeah there is parts of it that sucks, but they saved my life here in canada and my doctor is the best guy ever in my familys eyes, my kids love him and we see him all the time (his kids same age etc etc)
Being an expat is not for everyone, i see people move here everyday, i also see people move back for different reasons, but was it not best to try it and go back with the adventures you have had or never to have tried it and sit there in years gone by saying "well only if".......................................?????
Living just outside manchester and have friends from there i must say that i have never felt safe when i was shopping or clubbing, i was lucky there was plenty of guys in our group
Where now i feel safe, i can walk the streets at night and can go shopping and leave my car running in the car park
Could i do this in the uk........maybe some areas, not others....
Sorry but that applies to canada in whole, but our community is good for now
Totally disgree with the food comment, one thing i missed when i was back in the uk was good food from good places.
I hate fast food, when we go out to eat i like proper places, i didnt like alot of the places in the uk as i thought it was tasteless.
I also disagree with the tv, the world is a small place, i watch less tv here than i ever did, also when back in the uk the tv bored me...............why because anything i want to watch i can do via internet link up
so its not just uk based.I hated the driving, i hated how people just carried on driving when people wanted to cross the road, i hated how the kids neally got run over in the supermarket car park........................many a thing i hate.
But then yeah it has history, yeah it has culture and its where i was born
I left the uk hating the place, i came back after seeing family this year and i do love the uk, but i would never live there.
As for the healthcare, yeah there is parts of it that sucks, but they saved my life here in canada and my doctor is the best guy ever in my familys eyes, my kids love him and we see him all the time
(his kids same age etc etc)Being an expat is not for everyone, i see people move here everyday, i also see people move back for different reasons, but was it not best to try it and go back with the adventures you have had or never to have tried it and sit there in years gone by saying "well only if".......................................?????
We also have a good Dr. but hes English, not by design by accident. I dont go to the Drs much but in my experience the Canadian Drs. arent so good.
And should you be running your car? what about the enviornment?
As for the driving, what is the deal with the right turn at the red lights? doesnt a red light mean stop in Canada?
Should you walk the streets at night? if your not out then you cant be one of the many silly people that get attacked in the small hours!
The standard of driving in Canada is not as high as in Britain, you can get knocked down practically anywhere including car parks. Rv drivers are especially good at this.
Everywhere has its no- go areas all around the world.
And sure I've had 'adventures' as you put it, But the only 'what if I .....say is : what if I'd never left Britain'
so I can't wait to leave. I am glad you like it, its obviously for you, thats nice.
enjoy.
Jan 22nd 2010, 3:38 pm
#292
Sidecar Falcon
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,504
Re: Moving back to UK
From the sounds of it, I really don't think that North America is for you.
It sounds as though you need the regulation and control of the UK and that's not necassarily a bad thing, it does have it's positives but it is also one of the things which pushes a great many of us to leave every year.
It sounds as though you need the regulation and control of the UK and that's not necassarily a bad thing, it does have it's positives but it is also one of the things which pushes a great many of us to leave every year.
Jan 22nd 2010, 3:50 pm
#293
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 821
Re: Moving back to UK
Now i have been to ontario acouple of times, i loved kingston, london was ok, hamilton...OMG not for us, st thomas wasnt for us either.
but i met some lovely people from different countrys and i have remained friends with them, but for us i can agree it wasnt for our family
Yes I tried it and its not for me. A lot of the food here is either tasteless or full of too much vanilla, or worse cinnamon.- THEN learn how to cook.....OMG it doesnt matter where you are in the country, you cook what you cant get
We also have a good Dr. but hes English, i have a south african doctor and hes lovely, the guy that saved my life is canadian, and my consultant is italian not by design by accident. I dont go to the Drs much but in my experience the Canadian Drs. arent so good.
And should you be running your car? what about the enviornment? OMG with my kids hell yeah and i think we travel less here than we did in the uk, but then i am not stuck in traffic jams here like i was in the uk
As for the driving, what is the deal with the right turn at the red lights? simple it stops congestion
, i love it, when i was back in the uk i neally got slapped for doing it doesnt a red light mean stop in Canada?
Should you walk the streets at night?WHY NOT if your not out then you cant be one of the many silly people that get attacked in the small hours!But why shouldnt i be out late at night, its a free country, it suits me to walk my two dogs later and earlier in the morning, its not someone rights to take mine away from me
The standard of driving in Canada is not as high as in Britain, you can get knocked down practically anywhere including car parks. Rv drivers are especially good at this.ur joking right......there is real bad drivers in the uk, infact i met aload of them last year.......OMG road rage or what, it took me weeks to get back into the laid back driving again here
Everywhere has its no- go areas all around the world.yeah but i chose not to live there
And sure I've had 'adventures' as you put it, But the only 'what if I .....say is : what if I'd never left Britain' then you wouldnt of seen what you had missed, sometimes when a person sees only bad they dont see what they truely have
so I can't wait to leave. I am glad you like it, its obviously for you, thats nice.
enjoy.
We also have a good Dr. but hes English, i have a south african doctor and hes lovely, the guy that saved my life is canadian, and my consultant is italian not by design by accident. I dont go to the Drs much but in my experience the Canadian Drs. arent so good.
And should you be running your car? what about the enviornment? OMG with my kids hell yeah and i think we travel less here than we did in the uk, but then i am not stuck in traffic jams here like i was in the uk
As for the driving, what is the deal with the right turn at the red lights? simple it stops congestion
, i love it, when i was back in the uk i neally got slapped for doing it doesnt a red light mean stop in Canada?Should you walk the streets at night?WHY NOT if your not out then you cant be one of the many silly people that get attacked in the small hours!But why shouldnt i be out late at night, its a free country, it suits me to walk my two dogs later and earlier in the morning, its not someone rights to take mine away from me
The standard of driving in Canada is not as high as in Britain, you can get knocked down practically anywhere including car parks. Rv drivers are especially good at this.ur joking right......there is real bad drivers in the uk, infact i met aload of them last year.......OMG road rage or what, it took me weeks to get back into the laid back driving again here
Everywhere has its no- go areas all around the world.yeah but i chose not to live there
And sure I've had 'adventures' as you put it, But the only 'what if I .....say is : what if I'd never left Britain' then you wouldnt of seen what you had missed, sometimes when a person sees only bad they dont see what they truely have
so I can't wait to leave. I am glad you like it, its obviously for you, thats nice.
enjoy.
You say the NHS is fab, depends where you live i am afraid, the refused my mom treatment for cancer because she was not the right age.
Canada is not paradise and i have learnt that if you don't like something try and change it, for me it is same sh1t different country and what a country eh!!!!
I hope that you look back in years to come and at least have some good memorys, you are right immagration isnt for everyone, but if you dont try it how do you know its not for you ????????
Jan 22nd 2010, 3:51 pm
#294
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 12,830
Re: Moving back to UK
Conversly the best Dr and dentist we have had are both Canadian and the worst Dr we had here was English. Nationality has nothing to do with it. There are good and not so good Doctors everywhere.
Jan 22nd 2010, 3:55 pm
#295
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 821
Re: Moving back to UK
From the sounds of it, I really don't think that North America is for you.
It sounds as though you need the regulation and control of the UK and that's not necassarily a bad thing, it does have it's positives but it is also one of the things which pushes a great many of us to leave every year.
It sounds as though you need the regulation and control of the UK and that's not necassarily a bad thing, it does have it's positives but it is also one of the things which pushes a great many of us to leave every year.
I have seen many leave saying how bad canada is and then months later return for whatever reasons
Jan 22nd 2010, 3:57 pm
#296
Banned
Joined: Dec 2005
Location: In Limbo
Posts: 15,706
Re: Moving back to UK
Yes I tried it and its not for me. A lot of the food here is either tasteless or full of too much vanilla, or worse cinnamon.
We also have a good Dr. but hes English, not by design by accident. I dont go to the Drs much but in my experience the Canadian Drs. arent so good.
And should you be running your car? what about the enviornment?
As for the driving, what is the deal with the right turn at the red lights? doesnt a red light mean stop in Canada?
Should you walk the streets at night? if your not out then you cant be one of the many silly people that get attacked in the small hours!
The standard of driving in Canada is not as high as in Britain, you can get knocked down practically anywhere including car parks. Rv drivers are especially good at this.
Everywhere has its no- go areas all around the world.
And sure I've had 'adventures' as you put it, But the only 'what if I .....say is : what if I'd never left Britain'
so I can't wait to leave. I am glad you like it, its obviously for you, thats nice.
enjoy.
We also have a good Dr. but hes English, not by design by accident. I dont go to the Drs much but in my experience the Canadian Drs. arent so good.
And should you be running your car? what about the enviornment?
As for the driving, what is the deal with the right turn at the red lights? doesnt a red light mean stop in Canada?
Should you walk the streets at night? if your not out then you cant be one of the many silly people that get attacked in the small hours!
The standard of driving in Canada is not as high as in Britain, you can get knocked down practically anywhere including car parks. Rv drivers are especially good at this.
Everywhere has its no- go areas all around the world.
And sure I've had 'adventures' as you put it, But the only 'what if I .....say is : what if I'd never left Britain'
so I can't wait to leave. I am glad you like it, its obviously for you, thats nice.
enjoy.
I couldnt see my self living in Drumheller (MMC loved it) I did however look at a place 25 minutes drive to the North East and loved that (sadly the home was a death trap), I'm now looking 60kms north in a beautiful 'village'. Again I personally would never live in Red Deer or Lethbridge others (like burton bunch) wouldnt entertain Calgary. Horses for courses etc.
Jan 22nd 2010, 4:12 pm
#297
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 821
Re: Moving back to UK
Again with the sweeping generalisations. You have NOT lived EVERYwhere in Canada, either give SPECIFICS or quit it please. I am never going to claim Canada is utopia and yes it has it has it problems and negatives but it is not the Hellhole you paint it as.
I couldnt see my self living in Drumheller (MMC loved it) I did however look at a place 25 minutes drive to the North East and loved that (sadly the home was a death trap), I'm now looking 60kms north in a beautiful 'village'. Again I personally would never live in Red Deer or Lethbridge others (like burton bunch) wouldnt entertain Calgary. Horses for courses etc.
I couldnt see my self living in Drumheller (MMC loved it) I did however look at a place 25 minutes drive to the North East and loved that (sadly the home was a death trap), I'm now looking 60kms north in a beautiful 'village'. Again I personally would never live in Red Deer or Lethbridge others (like burton bunch) wouldnt entertain Calgary. Horses for courses etc.
BUT then living in the middle of no where would be my idea of hell like mmc and you will be doing soon.................
I totally agree with what you have said for a change, how can anyone say its alberta when they havent lived everywhere in alberta
or say its canada when they probably havent even visited half of it
I dont love all of canada, just my little bubble
Jan 22nd 2010, 4:14 pm
#298
Sidecar Falcon
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,504
Re: Moving back to UK
What's wrong with Calgary if you don't mind me asking?
Jan 22nd 2010, 4:53 pm
#299
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 821
Re: Moving back to UK
Nothing if you like it, for mine it isnt for me
but i wouldnt call it, i have some good friends living there and they love it.
For me its TOO big, TOO busy and i just love the peace that i get here and the community side............
When i looked it didnt suit what we was looking for, although the shopping side is awesome
but i wouldnt call it, i have some good friends living there and they love it.
For me its TOO big, TOO busy and i just love the peace that i get here and the community side............
When i looked it didnt suit what we was looking for, although the shopping side is awesome
Jan 22nd 2010, 5:00 pm
#300
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,986
Re: Moving back to UK
It seems strange that people sometimes seem to want one set of things to deliver a quality of life and then choose to live somewhere that patently will not and cannot provide these. I too like good restaurants, I don't like driving, I like a decent choice of shops to buy a variety of food from etc etc. So when I moved to Canada (and even Toronto) I made sure to choose a location that I knew would give me these things - and it was obviously not the country.
I have some friends who live in semi-rural Alberta and I love visiting them. When I visit though I expect to enjoy the scenery, to have to be driven distances in an SUV, to probably eat in rather than out etc. I don't go there expecting the convenience of the city and don't want it. They too accept the limitations of their location and are very happy. Wouldn't work for me - but that's why I don't live there.
It just amazes me that people seem to value certain things for their quality of life and then live somewhere where these things don't exist.
Maybe I am unusual but on the whole my life in Canada is not that different from my life in the UK - lots of small differences, but nothing radical. I was quite happy in the UK and am quite happy here.
I have some friends who live in semi-rural Alberta and I love visiting them. When I visit though I expect to enjoy the scenery, to have to be driven distances in an SUV, to probably eat in rather than out etc. I don't go there expecting the convenience of the city and don't want it. They too accept the limitations of their location and are very happy. Wouldn't work for me - but that's why I don't live there.
It just amazes me that people seem to value certain things for their quality of life and then live somewhere where these things don't exist.
Maybe I am unusual but on the whole my life in Canada is not that different from my life in the UK - lots of small differences, but nothing radical. I was quite happy in the UK and am quite happy here.