Piff Poff

How can you not like perogies

Auld Yin

There is such a place.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dildo,_...d_and_Labrador

I don't think he lives there.

Danny B

Just like how you fell in love with Vancouver eh?

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...86#post8914686

el_richo

Think of it in the same way as when you buy your "dream" car or bag your "dream" woman or man. You've worked hard to get it, now enjoy the ride.

If you obtain it/her, you don't simply pat yourself on the back and immediately look for a replacement* "dream". If the latter does rear its head, you made the wrong choice


*Although i admit, some do.

el_richo

<snigger>

Zercher

Snigger all you like! That's my point - I'm amazed how so many people on here who have obviously invested huge amounts of time and money into emigrating come back going 'same shit different place' etc; as if just by moving somewhere new would make their lives different. I had never been to Canada before - there'd be no way on earth I'd be making a permanent move without having extensive experience of the country first.

Doubt I've made any sense there but maybe someone will catch my drift!

el_richo

I agree. It never fails to amaze me when people invest lots of time and money into moving to another country (permanent or temporarily) without really knowing what they're moving to and having never visited before. It doesn't, however, surprise me when they're disappointed because it doesn't match what they had conjured up in their minds.

ireland2canada

On the other hand, plenty of people move with no prior experience of the country at all, myself being one of them. If I could have afforded a sight seeing trip, I would have done it. But as it was, I could not, so I gave it a shot regardless.

Maybe people who just wing it have less preconceived expectations about what their life will be like, less of a comparison to be made with holiday time. I think there's a lot to be said for throwing caution to the wind and just doing it.

CanadaJimmy

I think it's good to have a variety of dreams rather than just one which is just moving geographical location. I've got at least two dreams on the go right now :P

DandNHill

I like that idea.
My Mum brought me up to believe I should always have a dream so I think when I get to Canada I shall work on my personal development again for starters...

el_richo

I think you missed the point of my post

AllyS

See my 'Canniversary - 6 months in Calgary, AB' thread.

Here in Calgary, I am about to earn double what I earned in the UK as I have managed to land a contract with an oil company pretty easily.

I am also about to become an 'incorporated' contractor, although I would prefer to be 'staff'.

It took 4 or 5 years to prepare myself for getting work in Calgary. Therefore, in preparation I moved from the field of science over to major engineering projects and it was the best move I made to be honest. I built up 4 years experience in my new field and managed to hit the jackpot and land a contract after 6 months of being here.

And so, I have achieved the landing a job goal I had prepared myself for, my other dreams/goals are:

1) Get my fitness back/lose 3-4 stone. Have experienced considerable stress over the last 3 years and my health and fitness has suffered as a result.
2) We haven't bought our house yet and so there is that to look forward to. There is also the buying things for the house which I love doing.
3) Once we both have jobs, we'll be able to afford to travel to Central and S.America and explore Canada more. We have done a couple of roadtrips in BC which were fantastic.
4) I would at some point like to do a PhD - more likely going to be when I retire!
5) Continue to put away enough savings and pension to enjoy our retirement.

Lots of stuff, haven't listed them all here.

I don't see why dreams or goals should disappear once you have achieved the getting to Canada dream.

jjanj

Hi,
Great post and one that I can totally relate to and if that is how you feel don't worry you are certainly not alone there are loads of us out there. You have identified another distinct group of people who exist and unless you are one it's really hard to explain to others about how you feel and why you leave places after trying so hard to get there. I have tried to explain to friends and fellow expats that I have met overseas and who have settled in their new country but they don't really understand why I would do it all again and again. This group that I fall into is no better or worse than the regular expats. they just find what they really want is much harder if not impossible to find. I have jokingly been called a pikey or gypsy. However, this is not a new concept look at the Nomads or thousand of years ago this group would have been the hunter gatherers as opposed the the agricultural lot. I also believe the Psychologists would class this group as risk takers.

You will probably get a lot of adverse comments from some expats who live in the various countries that you move to and who either have, or claim to have found Utopia. Many of these people don't really understand that that you are not really whinging about your new country but you have not exactly found what you are looking for yet and you know it and want to keep searching. Many also wrongly believe that you have made your bed so you should lie in it, nonsense.

Judging by many of the posts that I have read over the years on BE, I think that some folks will also wrongly look at your desire to move on or return to UK as a type of failure and that you could not hack it or that you should have made more effort or given it longer to integrate. These types of comments are often made because the psyche of this particular group of gypsy types is not fully understood by many who don't have the gypsy syndrome, walk a mile in my shoes and all that wisdom stuff comes to mind . I also suspect from your original post that this will probably not be your last move either so you may as well get the darts and map out now.

I too have spent many years "walking the earth" I am now on my fourth migration and after almost 5 years here, I am now looking to my next move to another country probably next year. I have been here long enough to form an informed opinion which I will not get into, but Canada is probably not the place where my dreams would lie or that I would personally, want to end my days. I freely admit that this is as much down to me as it is with what I think is wrong Canada. However, it has been worth a look and has taught me not so much what I want but what I don't really want. What is worse is that I have also got another move if my next planned move does not work out. I can say that with almost certainty because I know that given my past experiences, I will probably want to move again in a few years but what the hell, it's fun and I say each to their own.

Before anyone tries to ask me what the point of all the moving around is especially knowing that I will probably move again, don't bother because unless you are one of the aforementioned group of poor unfortunate lost souls who will probably come back as ghosts, you probably won't understand especially if you feel that you have found your own niche in life.

Based on my own experiences, I still get excited but I personally no longer look at moves around the world as dreams but more like adventures or just an opportunity to gain a new experience. Nor do I now really look at them as major upheavals, this is a concept that I believe only really exists in some minds but not others and depends on how one looks at it and indeed, many actually thrive on it. I no longer believe that I will personally find the total contentment I once thought I would. However, now that I know this, I might as well see and experience as many countries as I can and cram as much into my life as possible before I pop off.

With regards to moving around and children's development, I can also say that the many moves I have made has not affected my kids in any way as they are both very well rounded and have gained a form of worldly intelligence that they can draw on for the rest of their lives. They now understand that there is more than one way to look at things and that many things are culturally specific as opposed to the same everywhere. They are now very outgoing, probably more mature than many of their peers and tend to make friends very quickly and easily.

Both my kids have also discovered that they have to make the effort to integrate in any new environment and have now learnt to do this really well. They no longer rely on the security that familiarity of friends and surroundings brings and can now quickly and easily adapt to and function with confidence in new environments. Both are happy that they have moved around and experienced life in different forms.

There will be many who argue about the impact of moving on a child's education, but as for the impact on my own 2 children's academic achievements, I have found that there has been no detriment whatsoever. One now has a Masters degree and the other gains their BA next year, both attended numerous schools and universities and loved it.

As I said, great post which will no doubt stimulate a debate.
J

ireland2canada

There was a point?

Danny B

What about all the thousands upon thousands of Brit families who emigrated to Canada, Oz, and NZ in the 60's, 70"s and 80's with no prior recce trip?
I bet you any money you like hardly any of them came back. If they didn't like their new country it was tough shit.

People these days are soft.