Harrisonasa

Sorry if this has been covered but I have read through all the wiki section and a hell of a lot of other threads but nothing yet.
I am wondering if there are any books that you might recommend buying prior to moving to Canada.
I can't find anything post 2009 on Amazon but bought it anyway as it had good reviews...but would be interested in something more up to date that has been recommended by members. Thanks

Zoe Bell

By definition any book is going to be out of date as soon as it goes to print.
What info in particular were you looking for?

Harrisonasa

It seemed a good idea to get some literature to go with what we read on the internet. I guess it is a little old fashioned now as everything is widely available but it was something recommended to us and seemed like a sensible idea. Something that you can hold in your hand with info on living, working in, laws of land, etc etc..

mikelincs

As Zoe said, the lead time to produce a book like that usually means it's out of date before it's published, whch means you would have to look for changes on the internet.

dbd33

Not a book but if you'd like an impression of what day-to-day life in most of Canada is like watch the film Fargo. The weather, the scenery, the cottage at the lake, the motels, the car dealership, the fence going on for miles and miles, they could be in any of thousands of Canadian towns. The clothes are typical of Canadian fashion. Ownership of country equipment, such as snowblowers and, pertinently, wood chippers, is also typical of rural, or semi-rural, Canada. Many Canadians are even "funny looking".

SchnookoLoly

The Lonely Planet guide for Canada is as of April 2014... so I'd say that's pretty recent.

http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/canada/...avel-guide-12/

(Not sure if that's the kind of literature you're looking for? These guides are aimed at backpackers/holidaymakers, but will also have a bit about history of places, significance of places, things to do, etc etc.)

izzi81

I got a couple of book when we were looking into emigrating:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Live-Work-Ca...working+canada

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Living-Worki...working+canada

You can pick them up for £0.01 on Amazon if you buy second hand, so you don't have a lot to lose. I must say though, I never used them that much! Flicking through them now there are some things that have not dated, for example the 'Daily Life' section looks reasonable, but I'm not sure about the Employment sections (we're self-employed) although they would probably give you a general flavour of things.

If you can get them cheap, there's no harm buying one or two and reading them to get a *very general* feel for the place. Don't read them for specifics (for example, a 2009 book talking about mobile phones and the internet is not going to be that helpful!)

A friend bought me this book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/So-You-Want-...+be+a+canadian
Which is not bad for facts and anecdotes

Atlantic Xpat

With apologies to Douglas Adams...

"Canada is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to Canada."

Canada is a big country & much of what impacts you day to day - local govt, services, economy, environment - is at a Provincial level not a Federal level. Or to put it another way living in Alberta is different from living in BC or Nova Scotia or Newfoundland. So researching for the specific province (if you can't narrow it down to a particular city or town) rather than generalizing about Canada is going to be of more benefit. I'd echo the sentiment that any book is going to be out of date pretty much before it's printed. Online resources are going to be a better bet.

Oh and Fargo is no more universally indicative of life in Canada than the Shipping News is about life in Newfoundland. Aside from the flannel nightdresses.

dbd33

I don't claim it's definitive, for example no one speaks French and gay life is not addressed at all, but for someone wanting to know what life would be like in Brooks AB or Barrie ON or any other small town in the middle of nowhere then I think Fargo is hard to beat. If not that film then which? Strange Brew covers the culture of Canada well but it doesn't give much impression of the physical nature of the place; for example there's no scene of cars being stuck in the snow.

dwight-van-man

Find some facebook groups for activities in the areas you're looking at and ask questions. We made some really good contacts that way and got information that was relevent ...

Zoe Bell

meetup.ca is another good way of, well, meeting people !

felixtrebor

Following on from this has anyone ever written a full blown story about moving to Canada? I'm not meaning something formal and tutorial like, I mean someone's personal experience and adventure. There's a lot of good stuff in the Canniversary thread but it's all snippets and summaries. I would like to read someone's experience throughout their whole journey.

Felix

iaink

Tons of blogs out there. but to be honest once the move is made the interest in updating them tends to peter out as real life starts to draw on more and more of your time.

And besides, someone elses experience is never going to be a complete match with your own.

Personally I think it a mistake to over-think and over-research the move, half the fun is dealing with what life throws at you, and over researching or living vicariously through other peoples experiences as blogged is more than likely going to lead to some confusion/ disappointment in your own experience when it turns out differently.

Just in the BE blogs there is Mandys blog
http://britishexpats.com/blogs/moochopper/
and the Whelbournes
http://britishexpats.com/blogs/WhelbournsNB/
but google will bring up more.

felixtrebor

It's not that I want to over research, I'm just interested in reading about personal experiences. It's usually the little things mentioned in such stuff that never even occurs to you until it's too late.

I'm not after a blog either really. More a published booked so it's a self contained story, not an on-ongoing which, like you say, often peters out with no end point.

Felix

iaink

Where does the story end though? Ive been here 15 years or more now, the story goes on. Figuring those little things out is just part of life, thats kind of what I meant, its part of what makes emigrating interesting for me.

In an age of countless free blogs charting the day to day life of expats and residents alike I cant imagine why any publisher would invest in making the book you seek, there is no money in it.

Now, 100 years ago things were different; Suzanna Moodie would have been just the ticket for you