wcitizen

I didn't have to pay for my asthmatic son's prescriptions in the UK, and my wife having thyroid problem were exempt. Now we have to pay for all of those medicine which is too expensive for us, having no job.

dingbat

Any luck at all in the job front? What is/was your field?

mhhp

"tread softly for you are treading on my dreams"

many are sensitive, even oversensitive when you walk on their dreams. However when we get over those emotions we learn to appreciate the diversity also of your personal perception. After all:

"everyones perception is his reality"

Thank you for adding diversity by sharing your reality.

Alberta_Rose

Hi Julius,

I agree with Mhhp's last post. Can you see why people get defensive?

Your experiences happened and it was valuable to hear them, but your experiences are not everyone's.

Schooling for instance, and your kids being under so much pressure!
Fom all I have read most people say the opposite, especially in the lower grades; that they fear their kids are held back because they are ahead of their peer-groups! I have heard comments that they get more homework, but generally the impression I get is that they are pushed less, and allowed to grow up more slowly and enjoy their childhood. Kids I met at a school in Alberta seemed very happy and relaxed.

In grades 10-12 I understand things do hot up, and that's why I'm hoping that we get out in time for our son to be in 9th grade for a year, which will make that transition easier. I have also heard that "A" level students from the UK have a greater depth of knowledge than their canadian peers, though the Canadians is broader maybe?

It surely should have been possible to discuss your kids needs and concerns with their teachers. It's not uncommon, I understand, for grades to have kids of different ages in, maybe they should have gone into the lower grade? Problems should not be insurmountable.

Maybe you were just unlucky in the area you chose to live? Maybe things would have worked out better in a different part of Canada; Mississuaga does not appeal to me, anyway!

I am truly sorry things did NOT work out as you planned for whatever reason, and wish you all the best as you move back to the UK, but you never know....we may see you on this board again, sometime in the future ...... maybe trying some other part of Canada????

wcitizen

Not yet! I used to do journalism for the BBC World Service, and nobody seems to recognise it here. Some people I talked to even haven't heard about the BBC!! In the past six months I tried to do networking, meet people and sell myself indirectly, rather than mass mailing resumes, which everybody says go into bins. I had a part time job which am doing in the evenings. But that doesn't pay the bills for a family of 4, and the savings disappear super-fast. After Xmas I'm applying for menial or entry level sales jobs, but no luck yet, because A LOT MORE people are doing it.

Seems my worst case scenario which was to do a menial job if I cannot get a professional one, turns to be a best case if achievable!

julius smith

hi, morwenna! yes, i agree totally why some people get annoyed. but as i have always said, whatever i saw, felt or experienced, i put down in words, for the benefit of anyone willing to read. i know there are probably multitudes of happy satisfied people living in canada (and probably mississauga too--i shudder at the thought!!) but from our viewpoint, we had a very difficult time. and our family situation was unique too, so that didnt help either. schooling was very tough indeed for the kids; it is a fallacy that the uk is far ahead; when i looked at the syllabus my kid brought back from school here, i was stunned--he was being taught maths and science that i myself was doing at A level, and some of it at first year of uni in the uk! how could the kids hope to cope with that, when they were barely learning fractions in the uk!! so, yes, my views are not everybody's, and i have always tried to include a little part in my posts saying that i did not want to put off anyone contemplating coming over here, so read with a pinch of salt, as it were! then the uni fees situation reared up; like i said recently, the uni of toronto quoted me $19 000 per year for a 9 year course--thats almost $180 000--the same course which ends up with the same qualifications in the uk costs £1500 a year for 5 years--it doesnt take an einstein to work out which to go for! sure, i had a job here, for which i am very grateful--i know for a fact that 90% of immigrants here have t take up really low paid jobs initially--some even do 2 or 3 jobs i heard. but, come on, i am coming out of this very much wiser and we have learnt a heck of a lot by coming here, living the life, even for only 6 mths, rather than sitting at home on our backsides and just wondering at what could have been! from that point, i am very happy and have no regrets at all for going back. never know, as you say, we still have valid papers, so no-one can stop us coming back again......

Tiaribbon

Just don't move back to Mississauga!!! My friend lives there ............... and I truly pity her!!! She loves coming up to our place in the country, but I doubt the jobs are here which is why everyone aims for Mississauga, London or Hamilton.

Best of luck Julius - and take our comments with a pinch of salt too, no harm was intended.

daisymoll

[I have also heard that "A" level students from the UK have a greater depth of knowledge than their canadian peers}

My husband was told his A levels were equivalent to first year at university

ladylisa

Its really important that everyone gets the opportunity to post their experiences good or bad. Your views are so important to people wanting to emmigrate so that they can get a true unbiased picture of what faces them ahead. It would be terrible if only positive experiences were allowed to post, think about all those poor buggers flying out thinking they were landing in the land of milk and honey. One of the reasons emigration fails for some is that they are totally unprepared for what is ahead, they dont consider that they will have to start all over again, even with the basics like getting a bank account or registering with utility companys. The more everyone can prepare them the better for everyone involved.

yonk

I worked with a Canadian PhD and he was taught so much more during his Uni career than someone studying in the UK.

iaink

There is no central sylabus in canada, so the level of education can vary widely from province to province, and also for school board to school board. Its much more usual for kids to change grades based on performance rather than age. My friends daugter was enroled in Uni (RMC in Kingston) at the age of 16!, and by the time shes a year or two older than me will have put in her 20 years military service and be able to retire on a full captains pension. Must be nice. Incidentaly, the military also paid all her tuition too, and she also got to spend a year at Sandhurst blowing things up

MikeUK

Ok I find that the "sprit" in Canada is different form the UK which may give rise to this...

but on the second point... I can say from personal experience that the heath service here is worse that the UK... now I accept that some places will be better...

but if you want to tout Canadian heath service as better than the UK I have had no experience to suggest this is true.. and its common knowledge that the heath system is seriously short of doctors and those that are any good are heading south to earn more anyway ….

My colleagues at work during a discussion yesterday rate their heath system as bad and would like a system like the UK and France which they consider to be better than the Canadian system… they think moving to the two tier system will benefit them as employees with a heath care benefit!

Biiiiink

Absolutely agree, however much I moan about the UK Mr B and I have had 3 "free" degrees between us which enable us to have a comfortable lifestyle... I'm extremely thankful for that. As we prepare to put our entire life savings towards a Canadian uni's "degree conversion" course I'm reminded how good we've had it here in that regard.

Grah

Confused Juilius 9 year undergraduate degree at $19.000 What subject?

Enrolments and fees

2004 preliminary fall enrolment *
Full-time (undergraduates) 49,800
Full-time (graduates) 10,100
Part-time (undergraduates) 6,400
Part-time (graduates) 2,300

* Source: Council of Ontario Universities. Enrolment numbers also include the University of St. Michael’s College, the University of Trinity College and Victoria University (Emmanuel College).

Canadian student fees 2004 - 2005 **
Undergraduate tuition fees $4,185
Graduate tuition fees $5,442 - $25,000
Compulsory fees $186 - $943


on the same page
Student assistance
Undergraduate: The University of Toronto is committed to the principle that no Canadian student accepted to a program will be unable to enrol/complete a program due to financial difficulty. The university offers repayable assistance up to $5,000. Non-repayable grant assistance is also available. The university offers approximately 1,000 admission scholarships, more than 2,300 in-course scholarships under different scholarship programs, bursaries and a work-study program. The University of Toronto National Scholarship Competition grants scholarships, from $7,500 to $12,500 per year for four years. The University of Toronto Scholars program recognizes outstanding students at admission and on an on-going basis. A total of 120 admission awards, valued at $3,000, may be held alongside admission awards students receive from their college/faculty. In-course scholarships, worth $1,500, are also available.

Graduate: The U of T is the first Canadian university to offer a guaranteed level of financial support for graduate students pursuing doctoral degrees. In the year 2000, the university took a major step in this regard through a commitment of funding of at least $12,000 plus tuition and fees to eligible doctoral-stream students. The funding will be available for up to five years of study. The U of T fellowship program awards more than 2,000 full-time graduate students each year. Individual departments offer research assistantships, especially to excellent students in the physical and life sciences, and teaching assistantships. Visit us at http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/current/c.../financial.asp


Perhaps you were missunderstood and where quoted international figures for a Doctoral graduate degree.

http://www.aucc.ca/can_uni/our_unive...toronto_e.html

Iginla

I have worked in both the NHS and the Canadian health service and the former IMO from my experiences is nowhere near as efficient as the Canadian one. The NHS is a management top heavy full of jobsworths mess.

Funnily enough the last hospital I worked in in England was a brand new hospital, one of Blair's flagships rented by the NHS from John Laing builders. The one I'm working in now is about 30ish years older yet is more high tech and efficient.

Are you seriously suggesting that only the "good" doctors go to the states?