Reasons to believe
Feb 27th 2020, 2:48 pm
#16
Oscar nominated
Joined: Jan 2008
Location: Moncton, NB, CANADA
Posts: 50,763
Feb 27th 2020, 2:57 pm
#17
No beginning to my talent
Joined: Dec 2017
Location: Hamilton, Ontario
Posts: 357
Re: Reasons to believe
If you haven't come across her before, there's a Canadian YouTuber called Alanna who's made a tonne of videos comparing life in Ontario (where she was brought up) with life in Kent (where she's been living for the last four years): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkJ...yrbQZ7YtdjKT7Q. After covering aspects like British drinking culture, Monster Munch, puddings, washing machines, swearing, Brexit, personal attacks and a lot more, her visa has now run out and she's on her way home. What she has done in her YouTuber-ish way is flag up what's great in both countries, as much as what's not - and that's actually really valuable insight.
Feb 27th 2020, 4:49 pm
#18
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2009
Location: Langley, BC
Posts: 1,954
Re: Reasons to believe
Another thing that makes it hard to comment on Canadian Society is the fact that Canada is it is so multicultural, so it's simply not possible to generalize the culture as you would with most countries. Even Justin Trudeau described Canada as a "post-national" state, and I agree. I see that as a plus personally, you can still be patriotic and proud of Canada because it is so accepting of other cultures. I do understand some people would see it as a negative though. Japan for example is incredibly uniquely Japanese and some people love that kind of monoculture.
This is more from the perspective of British Columbia though. Other parts of Canada do have uniquely cultural aspects, Quebec has more of a monoculture and uniquely french-canadian vibe, look at Cirque du Soleil, only Quebec could have come up with that. Winnipeg has the unique "socials" culture of going round each others houses for big neighbourhood events. So it also depends what part of Canada you are in, so that makes it even harder to generalize Canadians and Canadian Society.
Feb 27th 2020, 7:24 pm
#19
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 49
Re: Reasons to believe
There are a lot of great things about Canada.
Houses here are spacious, and most are nice to look at architecturally compared to the UKs boring brick boxes. New homes still have decent back yards. There's lots of new housing stock so you find it easier to find a nice modern apartment than in the UK.
Newness in general. Canada is a young country, so lots of new buildings, infrastructure, businesses, and ideas. There is a feeling that you can influence how things develop over time instead of everything having already been done.
World class city planning. Most cities are laid out on a grid which is great for navigating around and also avoids traffic bottlenecks. Vancouver has an amazing city plan considered one of the best in the world for it's density, walkability and green space.
Incredible nature and scenery. Literally millions of acres of natural unspoilt parks. Hiking trails with amazing views. Lots of interesting wildlife and critters.
Variety of cultures. I can go to the Chinese/Japanese/Korean part of town and go to an Asian mall and visit a Japanese dollar store (Daiso). I can go to the Indian part of town and get authentic samosas and indian food. I can go to the Italian part of town and go to a European-style supermarket. Multiple cultures are not diluted and lots of imported items and foods can be found.
Education system. The school system here is very good and allows students to focus on subjects they are genuinely interested in a lot more than in the UK. People in general have better critical thinking skills.
More organizations and utilities publicly owned. Electricity is still provided by a public company here - BC Hydro here in BC. Public transit is still operated by a public organization. Not being squeezed for profit but there to provide good service.
Easy access to America. America is a consumers paradise, if you live near the border you can have items shipped to a US mailbox for easy pickup.
Safe. Asides for a very small amount gang activity, most cities are very low crime. You don't see groups of youths wondering the streets causing trouble.
Houses here are spacious, and most are nice to look at architecturally compared to the UKs boring brick boxes. New homes still have decent back yards. There's lots of new housing stock so you find it easier to find a nice modern apartment than in the UK.
Newness in general. Canada is a young country, so lots of new buildings, infrastructure, businesses, and ideas. There is a feeling that you can influence how things develop over time instead of everything having already been done.
World class city planning. Most cities are laid out on a grid which is great for navigating around and also avoids traffic bottlenecks. Vancouver has an amazing city plan considered one of the best in the world for it's density, walkability and green space.
Incredible nature and scenery. Literally millions of acres of natural unspoilt parks. Hiking trails with amazing views. Lots of interesting wildlife and critters.
Variety of cultures. I can go to the Chinese/Japanese/Korean part of town and go to an Asian mall and visit a Japanese dollar store (Daiso). I can go to the Indian part of town and get authentic samosas and indian food. I can go to the Italian part of town and go to a European-style supermarket. Multiple cultures are not diluted and lots of imported items and foods can be found.
Education system. The school system here is very good and allows students to focus on subjects they are genuinely interested in a lot more than in the UK. People in general have better critical thinking skills.
More organizations and utilities publicly owned. Electricity is still provided by a public company here - BC Hydro here in BC. Public transit is still operated by a public organization. Not being squeezed for profit but there to provide good service.
Easy access to America. America is a consumers paradise, if you live near the border you can have items shipped to a US mailbox for easy pickup.
Safe. Asides for a very small amount gang activity, most cities are very low crime. You don't see groups of youths wondering the streets causing trouble.
The roads, particularly highways only work because of our very small population.
Put those poorly designed intersections in the UK with a real amount of traffic and the country would grind to halt. Most major cities in Canada have awful traffic for such low numbers of people. Why they have to make every highway design unique baffles me. Pick a design and stick to it. There's a reason why the road fatality rate is so high here. Awful roads. Vancouver traffic and road design is terrible. Where we live is even worse probably.
Schooling is equally poor. My kids are doing great at school as they're pretty smart. But I'm amazed daily by the poor standard of education and how many simple things they aren't taught. Likewise I went back to university recently and the average 20 year old student is lacking so many skills it's horrendous. The professors agree they spend the first couple years fixing what high school forgot.
we have decided as a family we will either be paying for a private education or leaving Canada going forward. The school system is pathetic. In fact I take great pleasure in marking the teacher's work and even the text books. Full of mistakes. And yes I'm a jerk for doing so, but it makes me mad when our children are being taught mistakes.
Houses are spacious because they are cheaply built and essentially disposable. I've got shirts older than the average house here because after not many years they fall apart.
You're right on other points though. It's a beautiful country. But with the current economic climate I seriously doubt it's worth the positives anymore. The country is one big bubble.
Feb 28th 2020, 12:26 am
#20
Phaedrus by Plato (not5)
Joined: May 2017
Location: Vernon, BC
Posts: 206
Re: Reasons to believe
Totally depends what you are into and where you choose to live. For me, in interior BC, the scenery and outdoor pursuits opportunities and the view out of my window make me feel like i live in a postcard and am on holiday almost every day. This makes me happy. Living in England I found dreary and boring. IMHO England is overcrowded, busy, people are rude, you rarely feel safe in public and you have no personal space. Almost everything you can do there is sub-par, certainly in way of my preferences. And the weather is crap.
Personally, albeit differently it seems to others on here, i find Canadians 100,000 times more friendly and personable than the British, especially with me coming from the stuck-up wannabe-posh London suburbs of Berkshire and the South East . I only even return to the UK to visit family and friends, if not i would happily never set foot on the soil again.
Of course those in Toronto, Vancouver or other large cities, or the flat and IMO boring plains in the middle , their opinion may be different. So choose carefully what you want and where in Canada is best suited to making that a reality.
Personally, albeit differently it seems to others on here, i find Canadians 100,000 times more friendly and personable than the British, especially with me coming from the stuck-up wannabe-posh London suburbs of Berkshire and the South East . I only even return to the UK to visit family and friends, if not i would happily never set foot on the soil again.
Of course those in Toronto, Vancouver or other large cities, or the flat and IMO boring plains in the middle , their opinion may be different. So choose carefully what you want and where in Canada is best suited to making that a reality.
Feb 28th 2020, 12:28 am
#21
Assimilated Pauper
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Ontario
Posts: 40,018
Re: Reasons to believe
Thanks for everyone's comments so far. Maybe "Reasons to believe" is a bit tongue in cheek as a thread theme but it's helpful to hear what Brits like about Canada particularly as it's all too easy for us to get cynical and downbeat. So far, posters seem to be saying there are material, financial and job benefits to Canada but no one has said much about Canadians and Canadian society. Why is that?
Feb 28th 2020, 1:35 am
#22
Assimilated Pauper
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Ontario
Posts: 40,018
Re: Reasons to believe
:Positive - I'm sitting in a nice hotel on a street with lots of bars and restaurants. People are friendly.
Negative- I'm sitting here because it's snowing and the roads are closed so I can't go home.
Positive - on this block I can find someone to translate any language into a form of English.
Negative - English not being the first language of many people it's hard to converse beyond comparisons of life in different countries.
I enjoy the multi-culture but there's a good argument that if you live in Kilburn you don't need to move here.
Negative- I'm sitting here because it's snowing and the roads are closed so I can't go home.
Positive - on this block I can find someone to translate any language into a form of English.
Negative - English not being the first language of many people it's hard to converse beyond comparisons of life in different countries.
I enjoy the multi-culture but there's a good argument that if you live in Kilburn you don't need to move here.
Feb 28th 2020, 2:32 am
#24
Assimilated Pauper
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Ontario
Posts: 40,018
Re: Reasons to believe
Yes. I was thinking of a plastic sided semi with the front being all garage or a, better built, more stylish, townhouse. I understand that people from historically successful families would see such a house as being less than ordinary.
Feb 28th 2020, 2:41 am
#25
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2011
Location: Peterborough; ON
Posts: 200
Re: Reasons to believe
Oh they do like a garage here, that's a fact.
To your original point, I'd suggest that anyone living in Ontario (but without the misfortune of being in the GTA) who had $800K to spend on a house would be dwelling in a property somewhere upwards of ordinary.
Feb 28th 2020, 12:18 pm
#26
Assimilated Pauper
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Ontario
Posts: 40,018
Re: Reasons to believe
Fair enough, I was thinking of those horrible suburbs; Brampton, Mississauga (NotQEW), Oakville (NotQEW) and so on.
Feb 28th 2020, 4:57 pm
#28
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 280
Re: Reasons to believe
I live in Mississauga, though I had no option as wife was here before me for 10 years.
I've left keys in the front door over night, car unlocked, and 10 grands worth of equipment in my garage
The only problem I get is getting ticketed parked outside my house when I forgot to play the "lets shuffle our cars" game
and this at 4am in the morning when there people obviously are having problems parking in a side street
I've left keys in the front door over night, car unlocked, and 10 grands worth of equipment in my garage
The only problem I get is getting ticketed parked outside my house when I forgot to play the "lets shuffle our cars" game
and this at 4am in the morning when there people obviously are having problems parking in a side street
Feb 28th 2020, 5:04 pm
#29
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 280
Re: Reasons to believe
one thing your going to miss is the NHS, my experience as a diabetic with the NHS was bang on, plus al my meds where free, I landed here and 1st months bill was $400, and that only because of my wifes 80% co-pay, I now have a job which pays the rest,
I finally found a doctors surgery that doesnt make me wait 2 hours to see him, unlike in the UK, max I ever waited was 10 minutes ! and a great diabetic team in trillium.
In the UK, I had a great doc and a great team although they did misdiagnose me as a T1 and not a T2,
Oh as a plus point, no yearly MOTS ! and car insurance is horrendous I went from £250 a year for a Porsche (in Slough) to $3000 a year for a 12 year old POS dodge
I finally found a doctors surgery that doesnt make me wait 2 hours to see him, unlike in the UK, max I ever waited was 10 minutes ! and a great diabetic team in trillium.
In the UK, I had a great doc and a great team although they did misdiagnose me as a T1 and not a T2,
Oh as a plus point, no yearly MOTS ! and car insurance is horrendous I went from £250 a year for a Porsche (in Slough) to $3000 a year for a 12 year old POS dodge
Feb 28th 2020, 5:47 pm
#30
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Aug 2005
Location: South of Calgary
Posts: 13,374
Re: Reasons to believe
one thing your going to miss is the NHS, my experience as a diabetic with the NHS was bang on, plus al my meds where free, I landed here and 1st months bill was $400, and that only because of my wifes 80% co-pay, I now have a job which pays the rest,
I finally found a doctors surgery that doesnt make me wait 2 hours to see him, unlike in the UK, max I ever waited was 10 minutes ! and a great diabetic team in trillium.
In the UK, I had a great doc and a great team although they did misdiagnose me as a T1 and not a T2,
Oh as a plus point, no yearly MOTS ! and car insurance is horrendous I went from £250 a year for a Porsche (in Slough) to $3000 a year for a 12 year old POS dodge
I finally found a doctors surgery that doesnt make me wait 2 hours to see him, unlike in the UK, max I ever waited was 10 minutes ! and a great diabetic team in trillium.
In the UK, I had a great doc and a great team although they did misdiagnose me as a T1 and not a T2,
Oh as a plus point, no yearly MOTS ! and car insurance is horrendous I went from £250 a year for a Porsche (in Slough) to $3000 a year for a 12 year old POS dodge
