British Expats

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-   -   Why did you choose to move to Canada? (https://britishexpats.com/forum/canada-56/why-did-you-choose-move-canada-838914/)

Jingsamichty Jul 18th 2014 6:22 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by MarylandNed (Post 11340531)
Yeah, I absolutely loved walking to and from Canons Park tube station in July in the drizzle.

Unless you carried your own dark cloud with you, I doubt you had to do that every day in July, every year.

I'm sure there were some February days you could have done it in shorts and t-shirt.

Crazyhorse1 Jul 18th 2014 7:29 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 
It's important to flag up that this forum is likely to raise negative stories and I find it disproportional to how people generally feel when they immigrate. The majority will move and never look back. If you struggle or want some support, they turn to resources such as this.

Jimbo2012 Jul 18th 2014 8:08 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by dbd33 (Post 11339505)
Within 300 yards of this desk there are now certainly twenty, probably fifty, tattooed people with no obvious means of support, many of whom have the sunken cheeks and rotted teeth associated with meth use. Some prostitute themselves, many beg, all spit a lot. Hooded garments are prevalent even in this weather. They may, of course, be the only chavs in Canada.

Sounds like you have some interesting co-workers there, dbd!

christmasoompa Jul 18th 2014 9:47 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Howefamily (Post 11340622)
Yup, enjoyable days out at Legoland with the kids bringing clothing for every conceivable change - warm coat, rain coat, cardy, wellies, trainers, sandals, sunscreen, leggings, shorts etc etc

We went through them all in one day sometimes it was so changeable, and often unpredictable.. .and how many Legoland and other trips were actually cancelled on the day due to rain, again.
But its ok - you can while away the time in those hideous indoor play areas with overpriced horrible food, sticky floors and chavy kids....

Or, you could just man up and get on with it. I can't think of a single time rain has made me change my plans in the UK (and I've never taken anything other than a picnic to Legoland), I've never been to indoor play, and my children are outside whether it's 30 degrees and sunny like this week has been, or chucking it down with rain!

Still, our days out in the rain are obviously quieter because of people that change their plans and go to soft play, so that works for me. ;):lol:

plasticcanuck Jul 18th 2014 11:24 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Jimbo2012 (Post 11340856)
Sounds like you have some interesting co-workers there, dbd!

I doubt he meant co-workers but rather street people.

dbd33 Jul 19th 2014 2:23 am

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by plasticcanuck (Post 11341009)
I doubt he meant co-workers but rather street people.

Well yes, but we shouldn't make a hard distinction. It was a co-worker I tried to pull from the Don Jail to go to a technical conference only to find they'd lost him in the system.

Anyone remember Kirsty MacColl?

From an uptown apartment to a knife on the A train
It's not that far
From the sharks in the penthouse to the rats in the basement
It's not that far

Howefamily Jul 19th 2014 4:21 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by christmasoompa (Post 11340942)
Or, you could just man up and get on with it. I can't think of a single time rain has made me change my plans in the UK (and I've never taken anything other than a picnic to Legoland), I've never been to indoor play, and my children are outside whether it's 30 degrees and sunny like this week has been, or chucking it down with rain!

Still, our days out in the rain are obviously quieter because of people that change their plans and go to soft play, so that works for me. ;):lol:

I just found it miserable being soggy all day, nothing to do with manning up. If I am paying money to go to a park then I want to enjoy it

christmasoompa Jul 19th 2014 4:42 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Howefamily (Post 11341559)
I just found it miserable being soggy all day, nothing to do with manning up. If I am paying money to go to a park then I want to enjoy it

Fair enough, different strokes for different folks. It doesn't bother me in the slightest, in fact my favourite time to walk the dog is in the rain! We're just a very outdoorsy family, and weather doesn't change that.

Teaandtoday5 Jul 19th 2014 6:56 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by christmasoompa (Post 11341573)
Fair enough, different strokes for different folks. It doesn't bother me in the slightest, in fact my favourite time to walk the dog is in the rain! We're just a very outdoorsy family, and weather doesn't change that.

Quite. Besides which I think we've walked around as many forests, parks and beaches in the rain in Canada as we did in Scotland. If the weather stops you, then there must be better places to go than Canada. Plus it's decidedly uncomfortable to wear a waterproof when it's hot and raining!

Novocastrian Jul 19th 2014 7:07 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by christmasoompa (Post 11340942)
I can't think of a single time rain has made me change my plans in the UK

I can. I'm in Coventry now (in short a shit hole with a Cathedral worth visiting) en route to Portsmouth-Cherbourg and home tomorrow. While in the Cathedral this afternoon the proverbial heavens opened and deluges flowed in the place of our Lord.

At this point, I'd already had enough of that dreadful Graham Sutherland and was looking forward to popping out to see the brilliant Jacob Epstein.

The dramatic downpour accompanied by biblical claps of thunder and celestial lightening, prompted me to claim Sanctuary in the Cathedral for a good half hour.

I mean, really!

christmasoompa Jul 19th 2014 7:35 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Teaandtoday5 (Post 11341655)
Quite. Besides which I think we've walked around as many forests, parks and beaches in the rain in Canada as we did in Scotland. If the weather stops you, then there must be better places to go than Canada. Plus it's decidedly uncomfortable to wear a waterproof when it's hot and raining!

I did that earlier today, took the dog for a 7 mile walk in torrential rain but 28 degrees! Shorts and welly boots are a good look. :lol:

christmasoompa Jul 19th 2014 7:40 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Novocastrian (Post 11341664)
The dramatic downpour accompanied by biblical claps of thunder and celestial lightening, prompted me to claim Sanctuary in the Cathedral for a good half hour.

I mean, really!

:lol: No thunder and lightning here yet but it's on it's way, can feel it in the air. So hot and muggy. Cue the dog trying to hide underneath my feet all evening. *sigh*

Gozit Jul 19th 2014 8:29 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by iaink (Post 11340413)
Canada in general awards far less vacation time, 2-4 weeks, in line with American norms.

Work hours seem to vary, and I personally think a lot of that depends entirely on what the individual employee is prepared to put up with.

Employers here seem happy to let overtime exempt salaried workers work long hours, and if an employee doesn't have the sense or the guts to draw a line in the sand and say "No, actually I have a life outside of work, I'm off home now." then more fool them.




Originally Posted by BristolUK (Post 11340461)
Very likely. I'm sure things are worse since I left. But I think there are minimum standards in the UK - enforceable ones - that many in Canada can't even dream of like minimum/maximum working temperatures, break entitlements (people here even object to the use of the word 'entitlement') Sick Pay, even SSP so your income's not interrupted while off sick, and all sorts of other stuff.

This and the one above. When I tell people that in Malta, no matter what job I am working, I am entitled to 3 weeks break, even if i'm just working a measly min. wage job, they usually respond with something like "oh well no wonder the economy there is so shite" or "well won't you lose pay for those holidays?" :lol:


Originally Posted by iaink (Post 11340498)
Depends how you want to define things I guess.

"Snow on the ground" winter is like 3 months, Late Dec to March, but its mostly sunny. It starts to grind for me sometime in March, this past year was a drag!

Yeah more like 5-6 months mate. Last lick of snow wasn't gone til the first week of may this year. Considering the first bit of it was end November. Man I hate winter. I'm through with it the day it starts! :eek:

Oh well to answer the OPs question .....

Me? I didn't choose Canada, I was born here.

Before you come, you really need to make sure that you can survive 5-6 months of shitty, cold, and snowy weather as well as shovelling snow multiple times daily. And as outlined, when we're supposed to have summer it isn't even summer. It was 17 today. 7 years ago we would have had a proper 30+ degree day guaranteed every day through July and August. No more i'm afraid, due to global warming. It may sound trivial but weather is one of my driving forces to get out of here. If you prefer snowy to gloomy and rainy then by all means, come. Tbh I don't think either of them sound very good but i'd take the UK one over this. At least there isn't any shovelling to do there, or snow dealing in general. :unsure:

The other thing - the work breaks. You won't get 6 weeks holiday here, you just won't. IMO the jobs here are a lot more fast paced, and they expect you to be fully dedicated to work, rather than your life outside work. The expression "We live to work, not work to live" comes to mind when looking at certain jobs and their absurd requirements.

There are positives to coming out here - and a lot of people really like it. There is lots of open spaces, things are cheaper, there is in general nice people, I could go on.

You just have to make sure you can handle the negatives - or maybe they aren't negatives for you...

scrubbedexpat091 Jul 19th 2014 9:15 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 
I didn't really choose Canada, it chose me by sending down someone whom I liked and didn't want to move to the US, so I moved here. Now that is long done and over, but I stayed for a variety of reasons, the big ones being:

1. Wages are higher then the US for those like me in the lower end of the wage spectrum.

2. Healthcare is significantly cheaper.

3. It rains which was not a common occurrence in San Diego.


If I could actually choose a country to live in, it would have been Australia.

scrubbedexpat091 Jul 19th 2014 9:22 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by MarylandNed (Post 11339395)
You learned English, didn't you? The problem with learning languages is that the traditional methods don't work very well - especially if you're not using the language every day. You'd do fine with language immersion which is how you learned English after all.

I want to learn another language but without having the ability to be immersed into it and using it daily, so far learning new ones has been a failure with only retaining a few random words.

But I didn't learn English well either, took me a good chunk of my childhood to grasp language. I think some people are just not able to learn and retain a 2nd language.

JamesM Jul 19th 2014 10:07 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Crazyhorse1 (Post 11340266)
Sure some things are more expensive but a lot, for us, is cheaper. In no particular order but what we benefit from being here

1. Big house
2. Cheaper car
3. Cheap gas
4. Shorter working hours
5. Calmer environment
6. More countryside
7. Less chavs
8. Traffic is non existent
9. Hockey at a reasonable hour
10. Spending more time outside
11. More sunshine
12. Air conditioning
13. Eating out more
14. Less crime
15. My wife's family are here
16. Cheaper fruit in summer

Life is 'nicer' here. It may sound boring but it works for us.

Where are you located?

JamesM Jul 19th 2014 10:12 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Howefamily (Post 11340279)
Hmmmmm - interesting choice of words.
It sounds to me like the OP is right at the start of this journey and will probably be able to direct their focus more on specific and "decent" questions soon and ensure that they do not subject their children to their "Ill thought out fantasies"
In the meantime I am sure that some support at the start of their life changing decisions wouldn't go amiss here.

They are far better off seeing if they can get into Canada or the US before wasting their time and that of others.

As mentioned immigration is no stroll in the park and some realism needs to be applied rather than people fanning a dream.

The choice of words is direct because when people are discussing moving for their children's sake they need to get real.

Jimbo2012 Jul 19th 2014 11:37 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by plasticcanuck (Post 11341009)
I doubt he meant co-workers but rather street people.

Yes I know. You must be totally Canadian to take it so literally.

MarylandNed Jul 20th 2014 1:13 am

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Novocastrian (Post 11341664)
...I'm in Coventry now...

I always imagined you being sent to Coventry.

Crazyhorse1 Jul 20th 2014 3:31 am

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by JamesM (Post 11341800)
Where are you located?

Ottawa

Cedar3 Jul 20th 2014 7:08 am

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 
We came for many reasons and despite only recently arriving I've not yet come up with a good answer for 'why Canada?' (many previous posters have outlined the biggest pros and cons) but it just feels like a good fit for who we are and what we want out of life - adventure, the outdoors, decent education and experiences for kids, opportunities to work, more space in every respect, not too far from UK family and friends. We felt an affinity with how things are in Canada when we holidayed here in AB and BC and that played into our decision a lot.

Having made the decision though I think the key for us was being certain that this is where we want to be and that has carried us through hours of paperwork, the massive upheaval and risks of leaving the UK and the ups and downs of settling into a new country where we didn't know a soul when we arrived. We're in it for the long haul and hope to become permanent and that is carrying us along the bumps in the road.

Sounds like the OP has read up on people's experiences and hopefully you'll have a chance to make a visit here as part of the decision-making process. In which case, given the fantastic diversity of the country it would be great to visit where you think you may look to move or do a roadtrip to cover a couple of options if that's feasible / more useful. Best of luck!

Howefamily Jul 21st 2014 5:35 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by christmasoompa (Post 11341573)
Fair enough, different strokes for different folks. It doesn't bother me in the slightest, in fact my favourite time to walk the dog is in the rain! We're just a very outdoorsy family, and weather doesn't change that.

outdoorsy here too, had horses, used to compete and ride LOTS in the rain. Theres nothing like a wet horse, wet slippery reins, wet jods and rain dripping down the back of your neck and off the bottom of your waxed jacket straight down your legs.
You can then get all the hay from the hay net stuck to you along with all the mud from the horse.

Personally I prefer cold and sunny to rain and overcast... diff strokes for diff folks. You don't have to be an indoors person to dislike rain.
I man up constantly in the minus 26 walking my dogs in the morning before work now.

DandNHill Jul 22nd 2014 2:20 am

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Howefamily (Post 11343412)
I man up constantly in the minus 26 walking my dogs in the morning before work now.

Was thinking about that today actually. It was 30 degrees here and I was enjoying walking the dogs and was trying to remember how much I enjoyed or disliked walking them last winter! lol

DandNHill Jul 22nd 2014 2:25 am

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 
Canada for me was a way of combining the two parts of my upbringing...or at least that's how I saw it initially.
I grew up in both the UK and France and so am a bit of a mix just like many Canadians!!

Obviously when I got here and realized that Acadian French is nothing like European French I had to have a bit of a rethink! ;)

But I still feel it was a great choice for me. I had been wanting to make the move since the 80s when Quebec was advertising in France for people to move over... Ex hubby wouldn't consider it although he was French (still is actually) so I put it on the back burner...

It won't suit everybody for sure, some people won't like it and will either move to another country or maybe go back to the UK but right now for me I like it here, I forget I'm not Canadian and can't really see myself going anywhere else... although when it's - 24 out there I do dream of a relocation to the Bahamas!!! :rofl:

BristolUK Jul 22nd 2014 10:24 am

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by DandNHill (Post 11343907)
.. although when it's -24 out there I do dream of a relocation to the Bahamas!!! :rofl:

What do you dream of when it gets proper cold? :lol:

Howefamily Jul 22nd 2014 11:45 am

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by BristolUK (Post 11344127)
What do you dream of when it gets proper cold? :lol:

-24 is pretty much as cold as it gets here in NS with some "proper cold" days thrown in. I find it painful when it gets below -26 but thankfully its not there that long

Gozit Jul 22nd 2014 3:32 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Howefamily (Post 11344215)
-24 is pretty much as cold as it gets here in NS with some "proper cold" days thrown in. I find it painful when it gets below -26 but thankfully its not there that long

I find it painful once its below about +5. That's "proper" cold in Maltese :nod:

DandNHill Jul 23rd 2014 12:33 am

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by BristolUK (Post 11344127)
What do you dream of when it gets proper cold? :lol:

I hibernate!!!! :blink:

Simon Legree Jul 23rd 2014 12:42 am

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by BristolUK (Post 11344127)
What do you dream of when it gets proper cold? :lol:

Nowadays I don't dream when it gets "proper cold", haven't for 13 years. I'm gone before then ! ;)

MillieF Jul 23rd 2014 1:36 am

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Simon Legree (Post 11344919)
Nowadays I don't dream when it gets "proper cold", haven't for 13 years. I'm gone before then ! ;)

Yes, you rotter...in the sunshine with your lobsters....bitter??? Me???...never:thumbup:

JamesM Jul 23rd 2014 3:32 am

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by BristolUK (Post 11344127)
What do you dream of when it gets proper cold? :lol:

immigration

Gozit Jul 24th 2014 4:39 am

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by JamesM (Post 11345043)
immigration

*emigration :nod:

plasticcanuck Jul 24th 2014 1:10 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Gozit (Post 11346199)
*emigration :nod:

OMG, the language police are out and about today.

Gozit Jul 24th 2014 4:51 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by plasticcanuck (Post 11346559)
OMG, the language police are out and about today.

Was joking mate. He said immigration, I said emigration, as in emigration from Canada. That's what I think of when its cold :cool:

AaronAdair Jul 24th 2014 6:16 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 
You have provided me a great information as i was planning to move to Canada.

Homesick Canadian Jul 25th 2014 3:28 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by dbd33 (Post 11339505)
Within 300 yards of this desk there are now certainly twenty, probably fifty, tattooed people with no obvious means of support, many of whom have the sunken cheeks and rotted teeth associated with meth use. Some prostitute themselves, many beg, all spit a lot. Hooded garments are prevalent even in this weather. They may, of course, be the only chavs in Canada.

You win the prize for most offensive, prejudice comments I've ever read. Now I remember why I don't frequent forums.

Tattoos? Drug addiction? Oh, the horror! Please teach us your ways, oh Exalted Perfect One. Shed light on how you've gotten through life so pristinely, pleeease.

What you're referring to with your disgusting description is called the poverty epidemic, the physical manifestation of which takes different forms depending on the cultural context, i.e. the country you're in. Anyone moving to Canada to escape chavs, thinking there aren't any rude + poor people in Canada, is simply delusional. We have our version of poor people, no different to the UK. Our version of chavs are different to the British ones, I've never been harassed by any of them and there seems to be markedly less hatred/anger. You won't be shouted at if you walk by that particular demographic, whereas here they seem to want to intimidate everyone if they're looked at the wrong way. Then again, that can happen in any pub anyway according to what all the men I know say, so it seems there's just more pent up passive aggression in this country in general. One reason I'm hesitant to raise children here is the obvious racism/prejudice, as this poster illustrated despite having taken his/hers across the pond.

Gozit Jul 25th 2014 3:34 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Homesick Canadian (Post 11347747)
You win the prize for most offensive, prejudice comments I've ever read. Now I remember why I don't frequent forums.

Tattoos? Drug addiction? Oh, the horror! Please teach us your ways, oh Exalted Perfect One. Shed light on how you've gotten through life so pristinely, pleeease.

What you're referring to with your disgusting description is called the poverty epidemic, the physical manifestation of which takes different forms depending on the cultural context, i.e. the country you're in. Anyone moving to Canada to escape chavs, thinking there aren't any rude + poor people in Canada, is simply delusional. We have our version of poor people, no different to the UK. Our version of chavs are different to the British ones, I've never been harassed by any of them and there seems to be markedly less hatred/anger. You won't be shouted at if you walk by that particular demographic, whereas here they seem to want to intimidate everyone if they're looked at the wrong way. Then again, that can happen in any pub anyway according to what all the men I know say, so it seems there's just more pent up passive aggression in this country in general. One reason I'm hesitant to raise children here is the obvious racism/prejudice, as this poster illustrated despite having taken his/hers across the pond.

Ho! :eek: Easy mate. He was joking... dbd isn't usually offensive or prejudice, IMO.

dbd33 Jul 25th 2014 3:47 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Homesick Canadian (Post 11347747)
I've never been harassed by any of them and there seems to be markedly less hatred/anger. You won't be shouted at if you walk by that particular demographic

I ignore them. I don't acknowledge their humanity. Sometimes they do get upset that I don't respond to their need for a quarter for the bus back to Godknowswhere and shout a bit. One pulled a knife once. No actual violence though.

I lived for many years with a woman from Newfoundland who thought my attitude inappropriate, that people deserved a acknowledgement when they spoke so along we went, "**** off", "**** off", "**** off". That didn't seem better to me.

Homesick Canadian Jul 25th 2014 3:47 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Crazyhorse1 (Post 11340829)
It's important to flag up that this forum is likely to raise negative stories and I find it disproportional to how people generally feel when they immigrate. The majority will move and never look back. If you struggle or want some support, they turn to resources such as this.

That's an excellent point. Every single British person I meet tells me that they want to emigrate to Canada, have a friend who did it and loves it, etc. The Brits I've met in Canada seem to love it. So I definitely think a fair bit of the opinions here are biased.

dbd33 Jul 25th 2014 3:52 pm

Re: Why did you choose to move to Canada?
 

Originally Posted by Gozit (Post 11347763)
Ho! :eek: Easy mate. He was joking... dbd isn't usually offensive or prejudice, IMO.

I wasn't joking. That's what the street looks like. I'm not comparing it to anywhere else, not by count of bums nor by degree of threat from the bums. I'm just saying there are just a lot of unattractive people hanging about all day on the street.

If one were to move countries to avoid such people one would be disappointed here.


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