Tirytory

That's literally true of anywhere which is desirable to live... Generally you need lots of money be it City or Rural living...

scrubbedexpat091

We work. I do a little of everything, no specific type of work. I generally end up in hotels as night auditor but right now I work in parking.

My spouse works at a real estate office as an admin assistant.

We both have health issues that limits our work to part time. I do 30 hours a week and she does 22 most weeks.

Neither of us have careers or any useful skills although she has some college but no degree.

dbd33

I thought of this post this morning while I was walking from the car park. I went by a group of people who were injecting themselves (note that the car thermometer read -30C). Is that heroin, I thought? I dunno, maybe they're diabetics. Only the jossies would know from a distance what's in their syringes.

Of course there's more drug consumption in Seattle than Penticton, though perhaps not per capita. Seattle is a city, it has drugs, and a market with cheese and fish and an IKEA and all the rest of the city stuff. The Okykoky region of BC instead has open spaces and the option to kill animals.

I know of the Okykoky only from the jossies posts, it's not a place one would otherwise have reason to have heard of. And so I have the idea that people living there are constantly aware that their lives are better than other peoples'. People there are delighted not to be blighted with poverty, disease or indifference to athleticism. The Okykoky seems not to be a geographic region so much as a lifestyle statement; we live here because we're quite well off, we seek to deny our aging and we're neither rich enough nor beautiful enough to live in California. We do outdoor things every day, twice, three times even, we're as fit as Joan Rivers and as good looking as Jocelyn Wildenstien.

I'd certainly choose Seattle as a place to visit over the jossie's Okykoky but, it has to be said, I'm not keen on killing things. I like there to be wildlife. If dead animals are your thing it seems the Okykoky is your place.

Stinkypup

The highlighted comment says it all.

scrubbedexpat091

Other provinces tend to have other desirable options where BC is expensive everywhere except the podunk towns in the north and interior that offer nothing.

When I was in Ontario, I was a mere 1 hour from Toronto, and cost of living was reasonable and still had easy access to Toronto.

Go an hour from Vancouver any direction and its still pricey.

(For reference I am about an hour from Vancouver)

If I could get a job that could pay enough to support 2 people, I'd move to New Foundland after seeing the housing prices, of course I can't make that much, and disability isn't transferable to other provinces so we are stuck in BC.

printer

I don't come on here as much these days but then i read stuff from dbd33 and i remember why i love to come here. What ever else is going on you can always rely on him to make you laugh.
BTW i don't like killing things either.

dbd33

I hoped it would.

Boneyboy

We lived in the Okanagan before we came to Vancouver and although a beautiful place, we never settled there and felt isolated. Getting anywhere, meant a flight or a long drive. The winters can be long for most people, unless you ski etc, which most don't due to the high costs. If you love the outdoor life, it offers lots, but for most expats there, it's not what they're used to and after the initial euphoria has worn off, reality sets in. Most expats living in the okanagan came from somewhere that had a big city nearby and all that it offers. That isn't the case in okanagan.

Shard

That sums it up well. Good place for a long weekend or at most a one week break.

scrubbedexpat091

That is my biggest reason for not moving there. I feel isolated now and I am only 60km's from Vancouver, but its a tiring drive and not enjoyable, and well costs a nice few loonies to get there and back, 1/2 tank minimum usually.

Squamish too is a great place if you love the outdoors and wan't to be reasonably close to skiing, and it's what draws people here along with proximity to Vancouver and the fact you can purchase a nice home for 500,000/600,000 that would be 1 million+ in Vancouver, so commuters come here as its a nicer commute then coming from the Fraser Valley region.

I was interested in skiing, then realize how pricey it is, and quickly got that idea out of my head...

I am urban dweller 100%, just can't do the urban lifestyle since its not within our budget, but I'd probably be happy if we could get a condo downtown, dump the cash eating car, but not doable.

UK Chrissie

RE unhappy in Canada Delboy07

Well I'm not sure if you read my post . I've been here in BC Vancouver Island 18 years arrived November 1996. I knew the next day I would go home . Yes, it's a good quality of life here if you can find full-time work and a liveable wage. However - it's very different here and nothing like England. I have kept my spirits up by seeking out other Brits and Europeans ,they understand our cultural needs - The Legion is a good place to hang out although there are less of our older WW11 Vets around. You can still find someone from the Military .

I'm preparing to return to England after 18 years *I'm going home Yes, it's going to be different. Re your family - Maybe take them to England for a few years , rent out your BC home and rent something over there , I'm sure your family will enjoy the time . Just remember to apply for you Citizenship ASAP. All the best ukchrissie

printer

I think some of your comments make complete sense. There are those that come here and hate the winters for example because they don't like snow or they don't ski or board and the TV is crap so its a long time doing nothing much and missing home. That is the problem of course, if you spend hundreds or thousands and several years planning your dream of living in Canada and then spend your days as if you were still in UK, popping to the shops and watching the telly then you will have problems enjoying your new life. You have to get out and embrace what is around you, after all its about a life change, its a new start so you need new hobbies, interests and friends.

My sister has lived in London for years and loves it. She also loved coming here for a holiday but could never live here. Similarly i loved visiting her last year but could never live in London, its not for me.

mandymoochops

OK we get that your life is uhmazing and that you have pots of cash to do all those nice things and live in a field up a mountain, however this thread isn't about you and how great your life is, it's about a guy who's finding things pretty darned hard right now, and a regular poster whom we are all aware is having a tough time of things too.

Some restraint on "look at how great my life is" on this thread mightn't be a bad idea? Just a thought.

clairewil35

Hi Transatlantic, just out of curiosity where in Canada did you live?x

Boneyboy

Most expats (all those that we know for sure) at some time have questioned was leaving the UK the right thing to do. Sometimes it's as soon as you arrive or for others it may be later on. When we arrived, we completely tried to embrace the Canadian way of life and did so to a certain amount. As the years went by, although enjoying our life here, we became unsettled. Once that happens it's hard to start over again and regain that passion we all most probably had when we landed. It's then that you become discontented with your life and from then on all you can think about is the old days and what your life might have been like if you'd stayed in the UK. Now days with the internet and with forums like these, finding others in the same situation only adds fuel to the fire. Once you're as unhappy as the original poster stated, it's almost impossible to turn those feelings around no matter how hard you try.