Our first year and a half has flown by; bought a house, acquired a second dog, only driven down the wrong side of a 6-lane highway once, got permanent residence, made more friends, got a different life.

We moved from the UK, not because we were unhappy with our lives there, but because we wanted a change. We still miss our relatives, friends in the New Forest, and our old work colleagues, but Skype and Air Transat are there when we need to catch-up.

I love the austere beauty of the Rockies, the generous spirit of your average Albertan, the space, the lack of crowds (except at Stampede), the wildlife, the skiing, and even the hockey.

For the first 6 months our feet didn't touch the ground and we were fully occupied sorting out all the paperwork required for new cars, house, insurances, SIN numbers etc. etc. It's hard work, don't underestimate the patience required.

The local pub, thatched cottages, fish and chip shops, umbrellas, all things I like about England, but I don't miss them.

Initially, what we missed was not anything specific from back in the UK, but the lack of our old support network. The dog-sitter, friends to help shift furniture, familiar garage for servicing cars, even just knowing the right shop to go to. But, we've built a new network here now.

Here are my top lessons learnt since we've been here, shamelessly ripped off from my blog:

1. Never touch metal with your bare hands when it’s 20 C below.
2. Allow twice as long as you would expect for an interaction with any government or corporate administrator. Much here is still paper based, and, boy, do they like to chat.
3. Never worry that you look like a prat-in-a-hat. In Canada you can wear anything on your head without embarrassment - at any time of year.
4. In Calgary, never assume you’re less “Calgarian” than the person next to you. No more than five percent of Calgarians were born in Alberta.
5. Always wear full body armour when cross-country skiing.
6. Always cross the road without looking – everyone else does.
7. Always remember you are the one with the accent.
8. Gain an in-depth knowledge of ice hockey terminology – Canadians use it in conversation like Americans use baseball. As in “Jeez Brad, that s'more’s as big as a hockey puck” or “I’m gonna have to let you go Joe, you’re not putting in the ice time”.
9. Don’t mess with moose.
10. Always remember there are bears out there, but they’re really not interested in you as an entree.

Congrats...
We moved 18 months ago from West Sussex so not far from you! But we're in Nova Scotia.
I would agree, life here takes some getting used to but we're all settled now.

I did discover today actually something which could have gotten me in to trouble. Hubby bought my first car in his name when I was still in the UK. So both car and plate were in his name. I changed cars in October and bought a car in my name... Hubby had to sign the old car over to me to do this.
Anyway 4 months later and I'm changing car because I had chosen a gas guzzler. Today I went to ask about registering the car and they told me that I couldn't as the plate was in hubby's name! So since I bought the car 3 1/2 weeks ago I have been driving around with an illegal plate!!!! That kinda reminded us that we still have lots to learn!

Congrats on your 18 month canniversary

Are you enjoying the winters do you find the air a lot drier in Canada

Yes, and yes. Winters here are not as cold as some think with the Chinook winds warming things up every few days, and unlike back in the old country, it's mostly sunny, not grey.

It is wonderfully dry. Of course there are downsides; you have to use hand cream a lot, and if you wear contact lenses, you'll need to lever them out with a tyre-iron before bedtime.

Great post and congratulations

Thank you so much for such an interesting post. Your top tips had me rolling on the floor as so many have struck a great big chord!

Glad everything has worked out for you and everything is going well. The one that stood out the most for us was that, yes Canadians love to chat. We were paying the bill at Boston Pizza, took nearly 30 mins as the waitress was just chatting away.