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Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

Old Nov 20th 2011, 7:41 pm
  #181  
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Default Re: Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

It's really interesting to read what some people have put here.
Canada pros

The great outdoors, and the ability to truly get away from the world and civilisation should the desire take you.

Really friendly people, who are quite willing to help out a poor Brit who has become lost on their grid system!

Much better standard of living

Better fresh food (expensive though.)

Easy access to lots of sports and most people seem to take far better care of their health and fitness than in the UK.

The lack of violence on the streets. I have spend quite a bit of time in BC, van and vic mostly. What I've noticed is the lack of violence in BC. I know you have some gun crime and drug dealing but you don't have the level of street violence that we have in the UK and you should be very grateful for that.

A greater sense of community, even in a big city like van, but especially noticeable in Victoria.

Canada cons

Car insurance by the sounds of it...

Real estate in downtown van

UK pros

BBC programmes ( though most if not all can be streamed directly to your tv from the web now)

Cheaper car insurance

Food is cheaper to buy (haven't found restaurants cheaper though!)

UK cons

Quality of life

Levels of violence on the streets

Can't get away from people and into the great outdoors because we have so little of it left and every Tom, dick, and Harry is out there on the weekend!

There is nothing to do here!!!!!
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Old Nov 20th 2011, 8:03 pm
  #182  
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Default Re: Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

Originally Posted by Mr fixyou
It's really interesting to read what some people have put here.
Canada pros

The great outdoors, and the ability to truly get away from the world and civilisation should the desire take you.

Really friendly people, who are quite willing to help out a poor Brit who has become lost on their grid system!

Much better standard of living

Better fresh food (expensive though.)

Easy access to lots of sports and most people seem to take far better care of their health and fitness than in the UK.

The lack of violence on the streets. I have spend quite a bit of time in BC, van and vic mostly. What I've noticed is the lack of violence in BC. I know you have some gun crime and drug dealing but you don't have the level of street violence that we have in the UK and you should be very grateful for that.

A greater sense of community, even in a big city like van, but especially noticeable in Victoria.

Canada cons

Car insurance by the sounds of it...

Real estate in downtown van

UK pros

BBC programmes ( though most if not all can be streamed directly to your tv from the web now)

Cheaper car insurance

Food is cheaper to buy (haven't found restaurants cheaper though!)

UK cons

Quality of life

Levels of violence on the streets

Can't get away from people and into the great outdoors because we have so little of it left and every Tom, dick, and Harry is out there on the weekend!

There is nothing to do here!!!!!
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Old Nov 20th 2011, 8:12 pm
  #183  
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Default Re: Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

Originally Posted by Oink
I won't try to compete with your graphic but...

+1
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Old Nov 20th 2011, 9:21 pm
  #184  
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Default Re: Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

Originally Posted by Novocastrian
I won't try to compete with your graphic but...

+1
+2
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Old Nov 20th 2011, 9:47 pm
  #185  
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Default Re: Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

Originally Posted by Oink
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Old Nov 21st 2011, 12:35 am
  #186  
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Default Re: Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

Originally Posted by Mr fixyou
It's really interesting to read what some people have put here.
Canada pros

The great outdoors, and the ability to truly get away from the world and civilisation should the desire take you.

Really friendly people, who are quite willing to help out a poor Brit who has become lost on their grid system!

Much better standard of living

Better fresh food (expensive though.)

Easy access to lots of sports and most people seem to take far better care of their health and fitness than in the UK.

The lack of violence on the streets. I have spend quite a bit of time in BC, van and vic mostly. What I've noticed is the lack of violence in BC. I know you have some gun crime and drug dealing but you don't have the level of street violence that we have in the UK and you should be very grateful for that.

A greater sense of community, even in a big city like van, but especially noticeable in Victoria.

Canada cons

Car insurance by the sounds of it...

Real estate in downtown van

UK pros

BBC programmes ( though most if not all can be streamed directly to your tv from the web now)

Cheaper car insurance

Food is cheaper to buy (haven't found restaurants cheaper though!)

UK cons

Quality of life

Levels of violence on the streets

Can't get away from people and into the great outdoors because we have so little of it left and every Tom, dick, and Harry is out there on the weekend!

There is nothing to do here!!!!!
This should be put up in the Wiki. It's the best summary I have read and solves the riddle of why one should move to Canada.
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Old Nov 21st 2011, 1:00 am
  #187  
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Default Re: Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

Originally Posted by JamesM
This should be put up in the Wiki. It's the best summary I have read and solves the riddle of why one should move to Canada.
Personally, I disagree with points Canada pro: 2,3,4,6 (which is factually wrong), and 7. I disagree with points UK con 1, 2 and 4.
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Old Nov 21st 2011, 1:14 am
  #188  
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Default Re: Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

Originally Posted by Editha
Personally, I disagree with points Canada pro: 2,3,4,6 (which is factually wrong), and 7. I disagree with points UK con 1, 2 and 4.
Er, the list is wrong. Inaccurate to the point of madness. Oink put that succinctly.

You seem to agree with the Canada offers wilderness, UK doesn't, points but this assumes great gobs of money. Yes, I know a number of people in Canada who go fishing in the wilderness, they charter a plane and go off to a camp and that is more of a wilderness experience than getting a train to the moors and hiking off up a hill, but to do that from Toronto is the same as going to northern Norway from London. Given the same budget and inclination one could do it in either place.
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Old Nov 21st 2011, 1:35 am
  #189  
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Default Re: Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

Originally Posted by Editha
Personally, I disagree with points Canada pro: 2,3,4,6 (which is factually wrong), and 7. I disagree with points UK con 1, 2 and 4.
It should be gospel, written in stone, immortalised.

It needs to be on the "wiki".
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Old Nov 21st 2011, 1:42 am
  #190  
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Default Re: Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

Originally Posted by dbd33
Er, the list is wrong. Inaccurate to the point of madness. Oink put that succinctly.

You seem to agree with the Canada offers wilderness, UK doesn't, points but this assumes great gobs of money. Yes, I know a number of people in Canada who go fishing in the wilderness, they charter a plane and go off to a camp and that is more of a wilderness experience than getting a train to the moors and hiking off up a hill, but to do that from Toronto is the same as going to northern Norway from London. Given the same budget and inclination one could do it in either place.
You are right. Can't imagine why I didn't list it too.
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Old Nov 21st 2011, 9:00 am
  #191  
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Default Re: Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

It seems my observations were wrong. So are you saying that the list is completely wrong? or just that the UK has a better sense of comunity within its towns and cities, the people are more friendly in the UK, your more likely to get your head kicked in after a night on the town in canada, and that you can get the same levels of wilderness and isolation by driving a couple of hours out of town (i'm talking about vancouver here) than the UK, and that overall there is more to do in the UK?
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Old Nov 21st 2011, 10:20 am
  #192  
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Default Re: Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

Originally Posted by Mr fixyou
overall there is more to do in the UK?
There's a deafening chorus of agreement on that point.
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Old Nov 21st 2011, 11:46 am
  #193  
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Default Re: Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

Originally Posted by Keelif
There are places that are nice in the UK but unfortunately you would need to be earning a fortune to live there! Trust me they are getting fewer and farther between.

I am still in the UK and have lived in Lancashire, Kent and Hampshire and have travelled around. There are some gorgeous areas, but they are well out of your average persons price range....

Crime is not the only problem here, the UK is now massively over crowded.

Some of those who have left the UK do seem to look back on it with a nostalgia of sort and perhaps remember the UK of old...

Im sure most experience no crime or trouble when visiting, but im sure you are aware, visiting somewhere is not quite the same as living there....just my 2 pence worth
I agree with you.

I do think it is natural for expats to become overly nostalgic about the old country. Often they only remember it how it was when they lived there (lower crime, less overcrowding, etc) - and even then they tend to look through rose-coloured spectacles. This seems to increase with time.

I have many relatives and friends in various parts of the UK who think the country has gone down the toilet quite a bit in the last 15 years or so. As you said, living there is a lot different to just visiting or dreaming. I went on an extended visit to the UK 2 years ago and visited all my old stomping grounds. From talking to people and from what I saw with my own eyes, it is certainly not the country I left for the last time 14 years ago. Some things have changed for the better but many things have also changed for the worse. Whether any one person would think things are overall better or not depends very much on personal circumstances.

I do think the UK is a wonderful country to visit and there's much that I miss about it. However, I'm not sure I could live there as well as I can here without a significant jump in income - and I'm convinced that I would rather raise my kids here anyway because I see more opportunity for them here.

In North America, I think you can find space and live well at a much lower cost. Because of less space in the UK, overcrowding and therefore much more competition for everything (e.g. jobs, houses, education, healthcare, etc) from other people, it takes more money now to live well in the UK - more than when I last lived there (even allowing for inflation). At my income level, I'm much better off in North America. Other people have different experiences and circumstances and therefore different opinions.

What does amaze me though is the number of expats who bash Canada at every opportunity and encourage would be expats to stay in the UK. Yet these same expats continue to live in Canada!
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Old Nov 21st 2011, 12:02 pm
  #194  
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Default Re: Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

Originally Posted by MarylandNed
At my income level, I'm much better off in North America.
In my lifetime, it has always been the case that, on a modest income, one could acquire more consumer durables in North America than in Europe. Europe offers abstract benefits "culture", "family", "friends" but there's no question that one can have more and better vacuum cleaners in North America.

Accordingly, I think Europe is unquestionably better for the young and I'm glad to have seen two of my three born-in-Canada children grow up and move there. North America is perhaps better in middle-age when one loses interest in going out, to pubs, to theatres, even to football matches and comes to value the ability to buy a large television and one of those reclining chairs that come in attractive variations of plaid.
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Old Nov 21st 2011, 12:13 pm
  #195  
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Default Re: Your observations when visiting UK from Canada !

Originally Posted by dbd33
There's a deafening chorus of agreement on that point.
Such as?? I'm more interested in my outdoor sports but I'm not a completely uncultured. I mean how many times can you go to the Tate modern, the science museum, natural history museum or theatre before it gets really boring?

As for the street violence I feel I should clarify. What I'm talking about is the big drinking culture over here (which I do enjoy) and the ensuing punch up when the bars and pubs and clubs kick out. (which I don't) all I can say is that I studied for 5 years with more than a dozen canadians from all over Canada and they all though the uk was a lot more violent. I remember being in a bar with a few of them in Bournemouth when a guy got glassed in the face next to them. They were rightly horrified, more so when I said I saw the same thing happen the previous week.
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