scilly

I've worked in the UK, and in Canada, plus spent months in the US, Australia and NZ.

I have to say that the work/life balance is better in Canada than the others.

Yes, I got longer holidays in the UK, but I worked long hours, well into the evening on many days ........ granted I was a teacher and got "long holidays" in the summer, but they didn't make up for the work I had to do after hours 5 nights a week and 1 day at the weekend. We had to juggle "fun times" very carefully. Most of us also had work to do in the holidays. That work included marking, setting tests and exams, setting course content, learning new things (have to constantly keep up with science), working on new courses to offer for the students, etc. There was never time enough during school hours to do any of that, plus students would be asking for help/advice/counselling during those hours.

Even the PE teacher that I shared digs with had to work evening and weekends ............ coaching and taking teams to games and events, and also book work for those students who wished to take exams. She didn't get any extra pay for the hours she spent coaching and taking teams away on the weekend.

All other countries had shorter holidays, although Australia did offer long service leave after you had worked many years at the same job.

Here in Canada, you have a shorter work week, in general, than in many other countries, 12 Stat or provincial holidays a year giving the chance of long weekends.

We managed long holidays, but had employers who would let us have unpaid leave or work overtime and bank the hours for use later ........ it was cheaper for them to do that than pay overtime rates.


But if you want to travel, then this is not the country for you at the moment.

scrubbedexpat091

Stat holidays are largely dependent on what job and industry your in whether you will get the day off.

I don't consider stats as time away from work, but then I never had a job where the employer closed on stats so we all had to work still, but the extra pay is nice.

lukesmith2

Even if you do get them off you can't really utilize them as everything costs so much more on these holidays. I actually wish I could work stat holidays and use the time at a different time.

scrubbedexpat091

So true, and the traffic can be a nightmare.

scilly

Luke ................


Whatever you decide to do, have you thought about staying in Canada long enough to get your Canadian citizenship, so that you can return here if you decide later that this is the place you want to settle?

scilly

Indeed, travel is expensive, unless you camp in tents like we did and don't try to take a plane anywhere.

We soon learned not to go out of Vancouver on the Thursday evening before a Friday Stat, or to come back on the evening of the Stat holiday ................. but we also found ways round that if we really wanted to go away for the long weekend.

Another possible for us, as we had such good employers, was to take time off later in lieu ........... I've worked some Stat holidays with that in mind, or been in on a Saturday.