Howdy!
im new to this and was recommended by a friend of mine.
i have recently been accepted to join the Calgary Police Service and hopefully moving over around June 09. just started the immigration process which is interesting to say the least! luckily my process will only take about 6 months as im fast tracked via PNP, but would like to speak to anyone else moving to Calgary early next year!

Just to say welcome Paul, I've been here (NW Calgary) for 2.5 years.

Welcome Paul.

I am in Calgary as well. We moved here in April 2006

Hi

Welcome to the site, we looked into Calgary and Edmonton.

We went where the job offer was which is Edmonton.

You might find this link useful http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=79

Cassie

wow thanks for that!

Hi!

I am actually moving to Calgary spring 2009!! I am an ICU nurse and got a job in Calgary Health Region! I will be moving there with my 2 little ones and my wife. We went to Calgary 3 weeks ago and we liked it!!!

we were in Calgary June/July 08, and loved it too!
its so clean compared to where we are now. no graffiti, minimal litter, the people were so happy and helpful!
we just missed the stampede but were there for all of the build up. it seems amazing!

Hi are you moving to Calgary with your family? We loved driving around the rocky mountains, Banff and Lake louise. The people are omg very friendly compared to UK!

am i moving with my family......
my girlfriend of over 4 years is not sure on the idea yet so until she makes up her mind then im not sure! i will be moving no matter what as i have had enough of this country, but she is very worried about leaving behind friends and family etc, and not going straight in to a job (i have been offered a job, hense the move).
its definately a "watch this space"'

Hi Paul5455,

Just adding our welcome to BE to that of the other folk above. We moved to Okotoks (just south of Calgary) 11 months ago and it is suiting us well so far. For us, (don't know how typical we are), the missing family and friends thing has been the biggest obstacle to settling successfully but like you, we recognised this as a potential problem beforehand and had a think about how we might address it. What is helping us is using the technology available to us...emails, frequent phone calls, instant messaging, webcams, Facebook and the use of a blog (as per link in sig line below) have all contributed to helping people to feel connected to our new life here. We have also seemingly become a holiday destination for members of the family who seem to be coming out here very frequently and staying with us, which is terrific. Having said all that, Jan in particular had some quite tough spells in the first few months and in the period since, on days here and there, the "I'm missing x" feelings really come to the fore...there's no point misleading you about that...but however hard these are to deal with, they have not, to date, caused us to think it is worth giving up on this life experience. Far from it, in fact.

Hope it all works out for you both.

Kind regards,

Eamonn & Janet.

Hi Shailen and family,

Welcome to BE. Rockies, Banff, Lake Louise...awesome aren't they! Best wishes with the move across next year.

Kind regards,

Eamonn & Janet.

This I can relate to. Neither DH or I have much family left, so the missing family bit isn't really applicable to us, but we do/did miss friends horribly.

fortunately you can keep in touch so easily these days, plus it is surprising how many people are prepared to come out to visit you when you live in a place with countryside as beautiful as there is just an hour or so drive outside of the city.

Over the last couple of years I have gone through stages of total depression (including ending up on medication at one point) to being totally elated and glad that we moved here. I have said several times that I absolutely hated the place (mostly in the first couple of weeks) and now feel that I love it and wouldn't want to live anywhere else...

IT was the change that got to me most of all I think - a bit of culture shock. I went from a small village where I had loads and loads of friends to Calgary where I knew no one, and that was HARD. A big shock to the system.

But as I said, I don't regret it one bit now. And I can't see myself ever going back, except for visits

Hi LotteW,

Your post underlines for us that you have to be prepared to give it time. Our thought on coming here is that we would not say "it's forever" - although it may well be - but that we would make our next decision two years after arriving. With things having gone as they have, (ie: really very well, despite the occasional upset), we might now extend that to be a next decision after we have got our citizenship. For the original poster's girlfriend, that might also be something to consider...taking baby steps...don't start out thinking in terms of this being a "be all and end all" decision. We're not suggesting it is easy to dismantle a life in the UK, build one here and then just drop the new one to go back to the UK as it all costs money, but as a train of thought, it is another coping mechanism that might make the move across feel less of a concern.

As for you LotteW - you've not been on the forum long but we think you are really adding value with your thoughtful posts.

Kind regards,

Eamonn & Janet.

Well thankyou!

for me, my no going back attitude probably stems from me not having any really close relatives in the UK - mum and dad both dead, no siblings. I have an elderly aunt who is in a nursing home and a couple of cousins I have never met. My DH is much the same. Cutting ties was pretty easy for us, especially when you consider that all we were leaving was friends and work colleagues.

But I have always had the "no regrets" type of attitude to my life - I live it as I find it and am prepared to take risks that others might find unacceptable.

But it was still very daunting, and it still is in many ways.
Part of that is having to admit that you don't know how certain things are done - those kind of things you just "know" when you grow up in a country.

Hi Eamonn & Janet,

Thank you for the lovey thoughts. I joined this site recently. It is fantastic!