pgtips

I have read through many post on this website and also contributed to many.
One thing that strikes me is how defensive those Brits who have moved to Canada have become about Canada. If anybody says anything that contradicts their belief of the Canadian Utopia they have moved to they are beaten down, ridiculed, post deleted, called names like troll. Where has that Brit sense of humour gone, that British pride.

Brits make their homes all over the world and one thing the world likes about Brits is their Britishness and pride.

Reading through some post I am starting to think Canada is kinda like a 'Stepford Wives' kind of society. Anybody who does not follow the strict rules and has any other opinion is to be exterminated.

Why is it that the Brits who have emigrated to other parts of the world are still proud to be british yet the ones who have moved to Canada slag Britain off at the nearest opportunity ?

JamesM

Because it makes them feel better about themselves and the decision that they have made. There are also people who take posts personally so they get defensive very quickly. Immigration is a life changing decision so people want to feel that they have done the "right" thing. To question a decision they have agonised over pre-move and post-move is simply out of the question. Canadians are very "self righteous" and these immigrants feel they have to fit in. This is an arguement that has happened on here before several times. Potentially it will get messy when those across the atlantic wake up.

snowshoveller

You are right james, people like to validate their own opinion!

one of my canadian pals asked me the other day if there was anything I could take from canada that would make the UK better. I couldnt think of anything especially, that would be really meaningful. Now I like Canada, but I couldnt say that I disliked the UK either.

pgtips

I agree moving across the world can be challenging, I know having family scattered across the globe, however we are all proud of where we originally came from, and where we have now set up home. it is mainly on the canadian forum though that we seem to have this bash anything British mentality, and I just can't understand it.

Is it not possible to move abroad and still appreciate where you have come from, why all this venom ?

Summer-Caitlin

I don't think it's necessarily that. I was born in Britain and currently live here, however I am choosing to leave as I am not happy here and hopefully will find my utopia elsewhere.

I don't have that British pride, I really wish I did, but I have spent the majority of my life living abroad and if I really felt that pleased to be British, I would make more of an effort to stay here.

Of course people will be defensive about their new home, they chose to live there and it offers them more than they had before. It is the same thing in Britain, some people get very defensive if you put down the country in any way. When people move to a new country they need to embrace the new culture, lifestyle etc, so this sense of "Britishness" probably goes out the window. I hope I love Canada and then maybe I can embrace my sense of Canadian pride!

I have negative thoughts about Britain, otherwise I wouldn't want to leave, but I can easily understand why some people love it here, different lifestyles appeal to different people...

Sorry if that offends anyone

JamesM

If I could bring some things in Canada here to the UK I would take:- 1/Tim Hortons 2/The service in the bar and grills 3/The wide 3 lane roads 4/The more relaxed nights out on Weekends.

But I agree with what you say, you could argue all of my things up there aren't really meaningful, just subtle lifestyle changes.

If I went the other way I'd take 1/UK Radio and TV 2/Proper sports 3/Cleaner supermarkets with real choice and decent tasting bread. Milk in bottles as opposed to packets. 4/Decent public transport

JamesM

Your point is very valid.

I do think if you have spent most of your life abroad then despite being born in Britain and having a passport you will probably not have a sense of "British Pride" because you will have been schooled on different things and have grown up with different creature comforts.

I wasn't born in Britain but with 90% of my education here I feel a sense of heritage and pride and as a result I am proud that I am British. That saying you could argue the education system has brainwashed me =) But I don't think we re-write history quite like they do in the United States.

I had a Canadian boss at work who use to ask me why I wanted to live in Canada because the place was an absolute "dump" in his own words. I was dead jealous as he had come over from British Columbia which to me is beutiful.

Summer-Caitlin

James I completely agree. When I lived in Australia, there were people there that thought Sydney was ugly, yet to me it was beautiful, the suburbs we lived in were like Pleasantville imo.

You will always come across people that depise being in that country and some have very valid reasons for feeling that way, what is beautiful to one isn't necessarily beautiful to another.

I spent a lot of my younger years in Australia, schooling was very different, the whole system was very different. I came back to Britain (too young to choose) and I have regretted it ever since. I do not deny that some things in Britain I missed, but on the whole, I felt more at 'home' in Australia and sang the national anthem at school with pride.

My reasons for not going back to Australia are plentiful and after weighing it all up, my husband and I have chosen to move to Canada. I really believe home is where the heart is and I hope that I will feel the same way about Canada. I don't believe Australia itself is what was attractive to me, but more the opportunity and lifestyle and Canada can offer this in abundance.

dbd33

It's the beer. Once you've had a cinquante it changes you forever.

Souvenir

There is no greater zealot than a convert. In most cases it wears off in time, though.

Souvenir

I must try that stuff one day.

On a slightly unrelated note, you are a Doc Maarten's wearer IIRC. How are they in winter (grip, insulation etc)? I'm toying with the idea of getting a pair when I'm in the UK. I haven't worn them since I was a teenager.

dbd33

They're not warm but have good traction. The soles keep the cold out but the boots themselves aren't insulated so they're not ideal. Nonetheless, I was amused to note that about half the people at a meeting of computer people I attended yesterday were wearing them. There's a snag, I went to get a new pair in the Autumn and found that they're now made in China. Instead of buying new ones I got a secondhand pair marked "Made in England" at the Variety Village.

clynnog

I hope when you say UK radio you aren't referring to Radio 1 or any of those Magic/Energy/Star top 40 stations that are all over the UK.

And what is 'milk in packets'......

Not a big fan of Tim's so I wouldn't subject the UK to that. I agree with you on the more relaxed nights out....

clynnog

Next you're going to be telling us that you like Laurentide.

Hey Souve....I was in Aylmer a couple of days ago and loaded up on beer...prices are much better......a 24 of 'cinquante' was $22.99 + deposit...I opted for Boreale which was $26.99 a 24.

dbd33

I don't drink 50, I just buy it for visitors so they can experience Canadian beer. Most don't get as far as putting it in their mouths.