laddo73

Maybe BC is the outdoor place? I have always done a lot of sport (approx 15 hours per week). I lived on the edge of the peak district national park. When we bought the house in the UK we made the decision that we didn't need a garden because the peak district was our garden. Living around the Ottawa area I don't find that there is as much outdoor activities to offer as where I'm from. That said I did manage to ski around 75 days this winter. I can't argue that the summer weather is not a whole lot better here too. I started getting out on a kayak which I love. Not sure what I'll do when the weather turns? Wait for the winter to come again I suppose.

HGerchikov

Where near the Peak District did you live? We used to live in Rainow, about 3 miles outside of Macclesfield. I did use to love the evening strolls in the hills, and I do find Southern Ontario just a tiny bit on the flat side. Having said that I was driving a client from Manitoba around a few months ago and she was getting very excited about the hills! Everything is relative.

Shirtback

Not at all, in my case. More like travelling/jobs/family/life stuff that took me away from the UK. I'd already been an expat for a long time when I reached Canada.

I didn't leave the UK because I didn't like it; I left to see what else was "out there" .

laddo73

Haha, I was in Macc! My wife used to teach in Buxworth. She used to drive through Rainow everyday. What a stunning drive that was too.

HGerchikov

Not at all in my case either. We got offered jobs here, completely out of the blue, the company were prepared to pay all of our expenses and significantly improve upon our UK salaries. The kids were young enough that we could try it for 3 years and if we wanted to go back their education wouldn't be too badly affected. So we came, because we could and we thought it would be a adventure if nothing else.

We had a good life in the UK and were happy, but on balance we prefer the life here, so we have stayed. I have found its best if you don't compare the two places, find what your area of Canada offers that you enjoy, throw yourself into the lifestyle with as open a mind as you possibly can, give it a couple of years then re-assess.

HGerchikov

Yes, its beautiful isn't it? We had one of the tiny cottages next to the church on the main road. Lost more wing mirrors than I could begin to count as we had no off road parking and people drove that road too fast for safety.

Former Lancastrian

I guess my sarcasm font wasn't working in post #21.
All of us who moved here Im guessing at some stage have compared the UK to where they are living and have ended up with mixed results some good some bad and some neutral.
Yes things are done differently here some for the better and some maybe not.
Many comment on the banking services offered here and most seem to think Canada is far behind the UK in this. I haven't banked in the UK since 1988 so I can't say but seriously is it that inferior to the UK or just a different way of doing banking? Go to Cuba, Mexico or other countries where we vacation in the winter and experience their banking procedures then you might have a legitimate point.
Because Canada doesn't have a centralized Government running everything there are differences in the way Provinces conduct business especially when dealing with driving licences. In the UK if you moved you would just change your address but here no its hand in your old licence and apply for a new one which seems strange to some as you are still driving in the same country.
I know its hard not to compare but this is where troubles can begin. Does it really impact on your life that you can't easily get a bottle of Robinsons squash or a pack of Walkers cheese and onion crisps?
Accept change can be good or bad but deal with it as it won't change and saying Well in the UK we do it this way just leads to comments like Well you are not in the UK now so accept it or **** off back to the UK then if you don't like it.
The UK has lots of history behind it along with culture, buildings and all the other trappings. Canada is still a very young country not quite a 150 yrs old so it will never compare.
Find it refreshing that you can literally drive for miles on the main highway (Trans Canada) in some areas and not see other vehicles for miles. Try doing that on the M1, M6 or M4

Largest lake in the UK Lough Neagh covers an area of 383 kms
Largest lake in Canada and solely in Canada is Great bear Lake covering 31,328 kms.

Are there things I miss about the UK absolutely but I chose Canada and have a decent job and standard of living which I believe that if I moved back to the UK I probably couldn't replicate there plus no guarantee I would get a job paying the same and living in a home which would certainly be different to the one Im in now.
My priorities are different to a lot of others so not being able to buy a bottle of Robinsons squash or pay a non extortionate price for a piece of cheese is definitely the least of my problems.
Once you leave the shores of the UK things are NEVER the same.

laddo73

I've always thought that Rainow is a lovely place but that road is a nightmare. I suppose when 99% of Rainow was built you only got the occasional horse back riders!

Partially discharged

Life is too short to fret over if Ribena Toothkind cordial is available here or not or how much Caerphilly cheese costs. The natives here certainly couldn't give too figs about some of the 1st world problems that some ex-pats have.

Canadian ex-pats in the UK who complain that Coffee Crisp isn't available in the UK don't get a lot of sympathy from natives there.

laddo73

Never mentioned, cheese, crisps, squash or banks. I agree with the driving, the UK is heading for a serious problem with the number of cars on the road but my question really referred to what do people specifically see they have in Canada that they didn't have in the UK. I keep hearing about the lifestyle but from what I can see its a bigger house and the opportunity to go play on a seadoo. I moved here with an open mind to see if my life could be better and it was my wifes home.

laddo73

I don't agree that accept it or **** off back is a good post and where the hell did Ribena and cheese come from??

Partially discharged

People on this forum have complained in the past about the price or availability of Ribena and UK cheeses.

I've heard the 'accept it or go back' from many multi-generational canadians when people bring up alternatives to the way things are done in Canada.

dbd33

- Horses, the option to hunt with them.
- Land to put the horses on.
- A yacht club membership.

(Yes, the rich can do that in the UK but not ordinary workers).

- Lots of consumer durables, many with small engines.

(Admittedly there's less need for a 5' snowblower in Camden Town).

- A bilingual education system.
- Children who have transcended their background. One always hopes to have one's children look down upon one and the income one can generate in Canada can buy that.
- The ability to fund extensive travel, for example my children went to Europe for most summers while they were growing up.

In short, the good things are things one can buy, the sacrifices are abstract; watchable TV, listenable radio, pubs, high cultural entertainment, beautiful buildings, history, easy access to quality cheese for the masses. Canada is the ideal place for a materialistic person who can't get a visa for the US.

HGerchikov

I don't think Former Lancastrian post was directly aimed at you. You haven't been on here that long, so I can understand your confusion. There are a lot of people here that get very upset by all the things in Canada that are not the same as the UK, which is pretty much everything. Cheese, crisps, squash and banks are the most common complaints. I think that, because the language is the same, people expect to be able to get all the same products that they can in the UK for the same price, and you can't. I have to say that your post did not come across that way, you just sound sad that its not working out the way you had hoped, and it appears to be a more fundamental issue than you can't get cheap cheese.
Try to hang on for a bit longer, a lot of people I know have truly hated the place at first and then after a visit to the UK after about 2 years here have suddenly realised that they wouldn't go back if someone paid them.

There are lots of things that I love about living here (and some that I don't). The main one I think is that from May (sometimes April) to September the weather is reliably warm enough to have breakfast and dinner outside nearly every day. I can come home from work, grab of bowl of (albeit inferior) crisps and a glass of wine and spend an hour in the sunshine on the deck before I make dinner. Other things I like, its much sunnier in the winter, we don't have a lot of grey, drizzly days, yes it can be cold but its more often than not bright and that makes a big difference to my mood.

I like the wildlife here, I live in a fairly suburban neighbourhood, commuting distance to Toronto, one day there was a deer walking down the street. I went out late last night and there was a skunk pottering around in the yard, we have possums, raccoons, foxes, coyotes and so many rabbits our yard looks like a teletubby episode.

Could I make a very long list of things I don't like, or things I miss, absolutely I could, but its counter productive so I don't.

Former Lancastrian

My posts aren't a personal attack on you but a generalization of what some Brits moan about when they move to Canada.
So answer these questions if you wish

1. What job did you have in the UK and how much did it pay?
2. Is the job in Canada the same and does it pay the same?
3. Did you have a car in the UK and if so what type and how much did you pay?
4. Do you have a car in Canada etc etc
3. Type of house in the UK etc etc
4. Type of house here etc etc
5. Adsa, Waitrose, Tesco, Lidl etc etc in the UK
6. Safeway, Sobeys, Real Canadian Superstore all sell groceries be it different brands and prices
7. How is your banking different regarding accounts, mortgages loans.

Day to day living I guess is the same in both countries you sleep, get up go to work and come home. Its what you do after that is different and where the com-parables end. Admittedly you won't have a meet the mates on a Saturday night in the local pub here in Canada. No weekend trips to Paris, Berlin, Rome etc etc.
We can do New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and LA but at a much higher price.