Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

hmmmm, ok it's no sainsbury's special but it's not so bad - I was expecting serious moolah but this is more bank loan than bankrupt lol

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

I love.

The mountains .... but wish we had more time as a family to go there.

I love the weather. I find the people friendly and polite with a can-do attitude. I don't really mind not having weeks and weeks of leave .... I never seemed to be able to use all my allowance up when I was in the UK.
I like that there seems to be a "long weekend" nearly every month, but unfortunately some of us are nearly always having to work the holiday, so we find it hard to get together.

I am not sure about my work here as a physio. We don't seem to have the autonomy we had in the UK, and after 6 months I still haven't been able to sort out what I should be getting paid as stuff never seems to arrive where it's supposed to. I don't feel well supported at work and I think my manager is a dip-stick.

My OH is doing well in his job .... maybe he'll be earning so much soon that I can pack mine in! I'd love to have the time to do voluntary stuff and not have to worry about money.

For our kids it has been SUCH a good move. They love it here and are much more motivated in both their school and home life. They are doing very well.

I am surprised by how expensive it is to live here, and the cost of living seems to be rising rapidly. I find our builder to be a pain in the behind! There is a laid back attitude to things here that can be very frustrating!!!! But you can't change it, so I guess in time you get more laid-back yourself or end up on valium!

For our kids it has been SUCH a good move. They love it here and are much more motivated in both their school and home life. They are doing very well.

I miss my family ... my parents are visiting next month, and I can't wait to see them, but it'll be hard saying goodbye again. I feel sick at the thought.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

We left a company car and paid fuel behind in the UK as they are not available at my husbands grade. For us we just accepted it as part of the company culture here. As for insurance, we are treated the same as a new Canadian driver so NO account is taken of any UK driving experience or no claims. In saying that you still have to provide proof that you have it and for as far back as 6 years if you can get it!

My husband works in Mississauga and we are renting here at the moment but we have just bought a house in Oakville. I can understand the comparison with MK and would add one with Uxbridge in West London if you are familiar with it? In saying that lots of my husbands colleagues live in Mississauga and there are some really nice family areas, on balance though we prefered Oakville.
Good Luck!

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Cheaper out there mostly. We pay about $5 for lean ground beef, compared to <4 there, and thats before taxes. Chicken was less than what we pay too as far as I can tell, and of course, beer/liquor at the supermarket is a novelty for a long time Ontario resident, Sleemans there is $20 for 12, compared to $22.50 here.

Intersting that the milk there is in jugs, not bags too.

Frozen OJ was more expensivve though, $1.36 compared to $1.19, but by the time I pay the sales tax (if there is tax on juice....I dont know what foods are exempt, some are, some arent) it would be a wash.

$5 for a pinapple is a lot, I got a couple for $1.50 each this week, they were smallish, and I guess they are usually nearer the $5 level, so maybe not a fair comparison. Fresh fruit in general looks more expensive there, but a lot of stuff like apples, peaches etc is ontario produced, so not surprisingly cheaper here. 66c for a lemon though compared to 4 for a buck.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

hmmmm, I have posted a couple of pictures (search for sbays) taken in BC, then look at some pictures of England.....

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

If I were to play devils advocate i would say that sallyannes english pictures of those folks drinking real beer and the canalside pub are making me salivate a lot more than two trees sticking out of a brownish BC foreground. :D

Maybe its just cos its Friday evening here. I'm off for beer and pizza ;)

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

lol, enjoy,,,,,,, :beer:

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

LIKES

The big blue sky
Kids not terrorizing everybody
No dog poo everywhere
Free ice rinks in the winter
Free swimming in the summer
Happy helpful people
Having time for my family
My house
The seasons
The space
The scenery
The cleanliness I see everywhere
The well equipped schools
The choice of summer camps
No graffiti (weell not much anyway)
Snow
Facilities
Choice
More for your money - yes I do know that loads of people will disagree, but I would rather pay $175 for 10 months for housing tax for my 4 bed 3 bath 2 double garage home than 200 pounds for 10 months for my old 2 up 2 down semi! With noisey neightbours, wheel spinning idiots and screaming teenagers.

Things I don't like

Not being sure of where in the blooming shops marmite/sugar/herbs may be placed - marmite and branston pickle can usually be found with the marinades!
Cool Aid - why can't we get squash?
The rain today when we're supposed to be doing the superrun cruise.
Not having my Ducati
Getting lost around town - or as my daughter says - "Oh we're on an explore!"
The immigration process and wondering if we'll pass our medicals so we can stay :(

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

^^^ Getting lost in Red Deer? LOL. :D

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

It is soooo completely possible - have you experienced the one way system :eek: AND how can towns/cities here have more than one road with the same name/number - hmm thats something I don't like!

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

You can buy marmite and branston pickle? Where? I haven't found it yet. Mind you perhaps I should look with the marinades. The Canadians I know have never heard of marmite.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Loblaws keeps Marmite under cooking supplies. It's expensive, get someone to send you big jars.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Ive seen marmite next to the yeast in our local IGA. Noone knows what it is or what to do with it. I forget where they hide it in No Frills, but its there somewhere. I bought a jar once to demonstrate its awfulness to the (canadian) OH. She agreed. Do you want it?:)

Branston is easy to find, either with the condiments or marinades more often than not. Ive even found Irn-Bru, Both sorts of mushy peas, and real instant Bisto in our local No Frills. Some days I cant find any brown bread, but they have all that English crap, but thats another story.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

I lived in Red Deer for 8 years. Within a given city, one road has one name - it may not be continuous though, because of a river for example. Edmonton is like that too - watch out for the river because it confuses the issue.

You better be careful if you ever drive in Kitchener/Waterloo - it's far more difficult. All the streets/avenues are named (no numbers). Take two major roads for an example - King st. and Weber st. They run parallel for most of their length, yet they intersect in three places!!!!

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

The people on this forum are in 3 different categories which is why these threads ALWAYS end in tears

1. The people who say that Canada/Australia/NZ is heaven on earth and they enjoy an amazing outdoor lifestyle blah blah blah

2. The people who hate Canada/Australia/NZ because it's full of rednecks who are stuck in the 1950's and can't drive

3. The people who want to leave the UK because it is full of yobs, Pakistanis, Polaks and it's too expensive.

According to the BBC there are around 14 million Brits living abroad. Around 41% of these migrants return to the UK in 2 years. This % is probably much higher for those who return after 2 years. Of these people I would estimate that only about .0001% of those returnees post on this forum. Of the other 59% of successful migrants I would guess that only .0001% post on this forum.

You have to ask yourself whether these .0002% of people are giving you the whole story. The 'rose tints' who say that St. Albert is utopia won't tell you that thier Mchouse is made of weatherboard and thier neighbour got broken into last week. They also won't tell you about how thier kids have taken up smoking weed and that they have a truck that they can't afford. And if these people are so damn happy why do they spend half of thier lives posting on a forum for expats?

The disaffected expats are clearly biased and will tell you about their neighbour and house and kids. Fair enough but they won't tell you that they can drive to the Rockies in an hour.

The people who aren't in Canada will tell you that Canada is soooo much better than the UK and their sister's cousin's friend went there and said it was great so it must be wonderful and will put the blinkers on when they hear something bad about it.

It is pointless asking people on this forum what's good and bad about Canada. The answers you will get will be biased and of no use to you. Does the fact that you can buy a huge shoddily built house and a truck to drive to Walmart and buy clothes made by 12 year old Chinese kids make you want to go there? What will change for you when you move only you can say. There are no less social problems in Canada than the UK. It is expensive. You will not all of a sudden become an athlete. Your kids will start to backchat you in a Canadian accent and learn some cool new French swear words. Immigration is tough and you have to ask yourself why it is you want to leave.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Ha ha...so true..so very true.... :)

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Deerhunter, of the 50 odd answers I have had on this thread yours have been the only unhelpful ones. Why is it that you assume I am a brain dead moron who needs the obvious pointed out to me? Of course every single post will be biased to some degree or other but I wanted an idea of what life is like in Canada and I have more of one now than before I started this thread.

I don't understand people like you. Why do you feel that you have to be so condescending and negative? You come across as a very bitter and disappointed person. Very sad.


To everyone else who has posted here, thank you so much. It has been very interesting and certainly opened my eyes to a few things that I had no idea about. No doubt I shall continue to call on you for advice and opinions as I research whether a move to Canada is for me and my family or not. I had assumed that the ex-pat community would be friendly and helpful and, with a few exceptions this has been the case.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Yet another case of a poster that slates any reply that they didn't want to hear as unhelpful and negative.

If you don't want people to think that you are "a brain-dead moron" stop trying to make a life changing decision based on the opinion of strangers on the internet.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

I actually think you might be a troll and just want something to kick off - I can see no other reason for your post. However I will give you the benefit of the doubt.

I am not making a life-changing decision based on 'the opinion of strangers on the internet', it is just part of my research about living in Canada. I also fail to see why the posts on this thread should be discounted just because they are personal opinions. You are invalidating the whole forum by that argument.

Deerhunter didn't even try to answer my op, was not helpful and came across as vindictive, patronising and insulting to the other members of the forum. Helpful would have been positives and negatives about life in Canada as I asked and which the majority of posters have answered brilliantly.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Apologies for invalidating your extensive research but we don't fit into any of your categories ............. what about

4. The people who have moved on an inter-company transfer, quite liked their lives in the UK but happy to experience something different?

Anyone else not comfortable in any of deer hunters boxes???

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

They are not permitted in Calgary. I don't know about other cities.

Company cars are very rare. I believe that's the result of the way in which perks like company cars are taxed.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Screaming troll and personally insulting everyone who doesn't tell you that Canada is perfect is a bit pathetic. I am not a 'bitter and vindictive' person. I am simply saying that you are looking in the wrong place to justify uprooting your family. Surely the best people to ask about the pros and cons of moving are your husband and daughter.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

OKAY - so it's roads stopping and starting I don't like, there are a couple here in red deer. If a road stops at the end, how can it begin again at another point and still be the same road, just because it's in the same subdivision? I can understand it in a brand new subdivision where they haven't finished the roads but elswhere? EDMONTON is a complete nightmare! The same roads stop and start again all over the place, we have learnt to ask what avenue the street is on when we go looking :rolleyes:

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

I have been in Canada almost 40 years and the main thing that I like is the positive attitude which neutralizes the negatives.

Of course if you focus on the negatives then you're going to find it hard to fit in.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Sobey's, Safeway, Save on and CO OP all sell Marmite and/or Branston, as I said before - you just have to find it - Marinades or Baking supplies. For some strange reason when I compared a UK jar of Marmite to a Canadian jar, the ingredients were different but it still tastes good! Oh and no I wasn't reading the French! :p Oh has anyone found Lime pickles? Or can recommend a donner kebab - not a donair, something that tastes similar to the ones I had in England/Rhodes would be good, I suppose lamb not beef would have to be the meat of choice to achieve this though.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

... and I lived in Edmonton for 7 years.... the trick to getting around Edmonton is knowing where the bridges are that cross the North Saskatchewan River, and knowing the major thoroughfares..... and of course, you have to know how the grid system works. Edmonton isn't that hard to understand once you know these fundamentals. K/W is 10 times more difficult.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Deerhunter, I am still giggling about your earlier line: "And if these people are so damn happy why do they spend half of thier lives posting on a forum for expats?" Can't really take you seriously after that. I also love the emotive language: 'uprooting family', 'screaming troll', etc. And I don't think that you read my OP properly because I asked for people's experiences and what they like/dislike about Canada. The only thing I got from your posts is that you have a major chip on your shoulder and I happened to be in the line of fire today. I actually feel quite sorry for you.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Well fine, you can walk away smug with the fact that you are superior to me. My post was not meant to offend though I clearly hit a nerve. Whether you like it or not you are uprooting your family and you did call someone a troll. You are being pretty rude yourself and I don't think you'd be saying any of these things to me if it weren't for the anonimity of the net.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Dont forget Westmount Road which runs east, west and south! Make sure you get the address correct if you're ever going to visit someone living on westmount road! ;)

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Yes.... and don't forget that Fischer-Hallman Rd N. all of a sudden becomes Bearinger Rd.... or that Westmount Rd. suddenly goes around a bend and becomes Northfield Rd. :eek:

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Because they want to be helpful to others?
Because the people here tend to be friendly and interesting with halfway decent senses of humour?
Because we all share a common interest and people naturally reach out for community? :confused:

Come on man, you know this place would be useless without the help and advice of people that have done it before, and assuming their lives aren't worth living IRL just because they are kind enough to hang around and pass on some help - just as they were given help when going through the sometimes tortuous immigration process - is, well.. beyond cynical. A bit bitter really :(

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Kebabs in the style sold in England are available from the LaZeez chain of fast food joints. I'm not sure how big the chain is but I'll ask when I stop in for a kebab with pickled turnip on Monday.

Halal shops sell chicken cheap, btw, try the nearest Bangladeshi neighbourhood.

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Spot on there, Judy! We bought and ran a car through our company. Not cheap! Only advantage was when our kids started to drive it kept the premium down because under the insurance rules they are not allowed to drive commercial vehicles. Whereas the potential for them to drive every other vehicle in the same household is there, so premiums reflect that! :eek:

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Oh I'm with you there - there are a few of those down here! Drives me insane and has made us very late on more than one occasion! :mad: Just plain stooopid!

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

You should always, always carry a current booklet type map of the city in the glove box, and consult it before you back out of the garage if you are going some place unfamiliar.

Don't leave home without it. :rolleyes:

Says the anorak wearing, anal retentive commonly known as Hangman.:D:D

Anorak off once again, boy I'm gonna wear this thing out. It's a good job I got a closet full of 'em.

Cheers
Steve

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

I've only just worked out how the address tells you roughly what part of the road you need .... this is Calgary btw.

say its 4173, 39th Avenue ..... that tells you it's near the intersection between 39th AVENUE and 41st STREET (the fist 2 digits being the Street or Avenue to use as a reference). Quiet clever really! And then you have to factor in whether it'e NE, SW or whatever! :eek:

I use my Street map all the time though, as I do house calls.... it's been quite good for me!

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Just to add a little more to that. If the address is like the one in your example 4173-39th Ave then it will be on 39th Avenue between 40th and 41st streets.

Cheers
Steve

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

Oh I do! I haven't been horribly lost for years now. I just about know the whole city; which is scary, because every time I get to that point that we usually move somewhere new! :eek:

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

how long have you got? ... as it could be the longest story ever told!! *chuckles*

Re: Perhaps someone could tell me nicely what they like/dislike about Canada?
 

I have no problem with this post.

Deer Hunter has a direct no nonsense style. It might seem somewhat rude but it is at least honest. I do not see why anyone should take offence.

I have read through the responses to the initial question. I find I can agree with much of what has been said.

I found it a little amusing that story of the parking ticket. Yes montrealers go though this bloody ritual every July 1. Nowhere else in the world have I ever seen this. It is maddening.

BTW I have been in Canada 44 years and 42 of those years have been right here in Montreal which, in my not so humble opinion, is the most civilized city in North America.

I do not miss the UK at all. I was back there in 2000 for six months. Most of my relatives are 6 ft under so I have less and less reason to go back.

For those leaving the UK to come here and stay please do yourselves a huge favour and forget about the old ways. Don't refer the UK as 'back home'. Don't attempt to recreate Britain.

This is my first post. I warn you that I am very blunt at times. So be forewarned.