Originally Posted by Biiiiink

Get the most out of the British Expats forum
....... and avoid driving other forum members bonkers

by Judy in Calgary


It's exciting to discover a forum that has useful information about a topic that's of interest to you.

You will enhance your experience of the British Expats forum if you keep the following tips in mind:


1. Please post your question or comment on the most appropriate forum.

• The main Canada forum is the place to ask "Lifestyle" questions -- about topics like housing, employment, cost of living, health care, schooling, climate, etc.
  
• The Immigration forum is the place to ask questions about getting into Canada -- temporary work permits, permanent residence visas, study permits, etc.
  
• The Meet and Greet forum is a place for you to drop in and introduce yourself when you're new to the forum. The Meet and Greet forum is just a place to say, "Hi." It is not intended as a place to ask questions about Canada.
  
• The Maple Leaf is a lounge for jokes, off-topic discussions, issues unrelated to Canada, etc.
  
• If you want to find out information about a specific occupation, the Work Abroad by Profession forum has sub-forums about Accountants, Chefs, Electricians, Hairdressing, Information Technology, Nursing, Police and Teaching.

2. The UK's time zone is different from Canada's several time zones. If you ask a question when it's the middle of the night in Canada, it'll take a while for Canadian members of the forum to respond.

3. Please be patient. Sometimes questions are answered in minutes, and sometimes it takes longer.

4. Please ask once. Please don't post the same question on multiple forums.

5. Bureaucracy in Canada often is administered by the provinces (and sometimes by municipalities). Therefore, when it comes to health care, schooling, drivers' licences and many other issues, there is no single Canadian standard. When you ask a question, it is very important to state the province to which you're thinking of moving. If you do not yet know to which province you want to move, then clarify that as well. In that case, the other forum members will know that you're looking for a general answer.

6. It also is important to specify, if you know, which kind of application you're going to use to get into Canada. The logistics of a temporary work permit application are very different from the logistics of a family sponsorship application, for example.

7. People's opinions differ. Canada is a vast country. Few people have travelled across all of it, much less lived in all of its regions. People's opinions are influenced by which part of Canada they live in. Their views also are shaped by their personal experience of Canada, how long they've been in Canada, etc. So always be aware that other forum participants are giving you subjective information. Also be aware that you may have to assemble a mental picture of Canada from a patchwork of information provided by posters in different regions.

8. The members of the British Expats forum can give you some introductory information and point you in the right direction as you embark on more detailed research. But always check with official and original sources of information. The more crucial the issue, the more vital it is to check. You would do well to find reliable sources of information about legal and taxation issues.

9. Whenever possible, please provide background information about yourself. If you ask a question, knowledge of your circumstances can make a huge difference to a forum member who may want to respond to you. In many cases it helps to know what your family situation is, what kind of work you do, etc. Even if you have provided background information about yourself before, repeat relevant background information when you post a new question. For example, repeat the name of the province to which you're going. A poster who may want to answer your question may have forgotten your particular circumstances or he/she may not have seen your previous posts.

10. You can ask the following questions on the forum, but you do so at your peril:

• What's Canada like? The place has six time zones, for gosh sakes!
• Should we move there? How should I know?
• Can you get Marmite? Yes. Sigh.
• Why isn't there any orange squash? Ask someone who cares. Okay, let me re-phrase that. If you really want to know, read this thread about orange squash at British Expats.
• Is it true that you only get two weeks' annual leave in Canada? Yes. Many jobs start out with two weeks' annual leave. However, more senior positions begin with three weeks and eventually work their way up to four weeks. Some (but not all) companies shut down between Christmas and New Year, which effectively gives their employees another week to ten days of leave. There also are statutory holidays (similar to bank holidays in the UK). Many British expats report that they find life more relaxing in Canada and hence don't feel the need for as much vacation (holiday) time as they took in the UK.

11. The thing is that these frequently asked questions drive long standing forum members nuts. When you've participated on a forum for quite a while it can reach the point where one more repetition of a question is the straw that breaks the camel's back. Which leads me to the next point .......

12. It really is a good idea to lurk and read previous posts before diving in and asking a question the minute you've discovered the forum. Actually it's a good idea to do that on any forum.

13. It also helps if you use the forum's search feature and read its Wiki articles. You'll find that many of the questions you want to ask have been asked already. If you find out some basic information by exploring the British Expats website a bit, you'll be able to ask more focused questions and to receive more useful answers.


All the best in your quest to find out more information about Canada.

Originally Posted by Grah

On your profile
Got to the Biography section add
1. If in Canada - Town, Province
i.e Living Winnipeg Manitoba

2. If not in Canada - province/s going to or interested in.
i.e looking @ Winnipeg, Manitoba or London Ontario

This will enable people to search for people in or going to the same place.

Originally Posted by Bonsai

Judy,

It works - great!

Many thanks,

Peter