Originally Posted by Auld Yin (Post 9585676)

Feel better now?

Originally Posted by Steve_P (Post 9586551)

Your post to me sounds more like a testament to your inability or refusal to adapt.

Sounds like you decided before you got here that you weren't going to like it and nothing is going to change your mind.

I do truly feel sorry for you.

Originally Posted by Editha (Post 9585495)

I've been living in Edmonton since 2006. My husband is a Canadian born in BC. We'd met in the UK, where he lived and worked for 25 years. We came/returned to Canada in our fifties because he was made redundant in the UK and couldn't find another job there, but was able to get work in Alberta. I was already retired.

I'm not at all happy here. I don't like the climate - snow in winter, mosquitoes in summer. I miss song-birds and country walks and the season of spring, which doesn't happen here, unless you count the month when the dog turds defrost.

I'm a foodie; I was disappointed by the poor choice and quality of food here, and the high prices, and the weird saltiness. I don't like our Canadian house. It's much bigger than the one we had in the UK, but because it is open plan, it feels much smaller, and I hate having a kitchen open to the rest of the house, so cooking smells get everywhere; plus having a gloomy unused basement is creepy. I can't learn to use an American oven. I've given up roasting meat, because the oven smoked every time and we ended up eating in a light smog. The noise of the forced air heating system drives me nuts in cold weather.

I'm embarrassed to be living in Alberta, the home of the environmentally unfriendly tarsands.

I hate shopping for clothing here, because the vanity sizing makes it impossible to work out whether something is going to fit, and the sales assistants are so intrusive. I buy my clothing mail order from the UK, or on my annual trip home.

On the positive side, my husband likes his job, and I recognise we were lucky he was able to get employment in his fifties. We've had better medical care here than we were getting in the UK, although that just seems to be luck. Our GP here is much better than the one we had in the UK. I also love the library system, which is so much better than the UK.

We are going to return to the UK in three or four years time, when my husband retires. In the meantime I spend a couple of months each year in the UK, or elsewhere in Europe. Without that, I think I'd go insane. Did I mention that Canada is the most boring country on the planet?

Originally Posted by Steve_P (Post 9586551)

Your post to me sounds more like a testament to your inability or refusal to adapt.

Sounds like you decided before you got here that you weren't going to like it and nothing is going to change your mind.

I do truly feel sorry for you.

Originally Posted by ann m (Post 9585992)

Oh dear - not a happy bunny. :(

Whereabouts are you?

Though I can identify with some of what you say, it doesn't get me down. There must be a way to cheer you up and make living here bareable? Are you working and socialising?

Sounds like you are depressed. I hope you can get back to the UK soon.

:)

Originally Posted by Piff Poff (Post 9587392)

I agree with Ann here, it does sound like you are a bit depressed and you may need some medical help to lift your spirits.

As with all forums you will get the less sympathetic comments you have experienced here:rolleyes: Take them with a pinch of salt.:p

As with your oven - I NEVER use the roast function on mine unless I am using the very bottom shelf.

I understand your concerns about your Mum, my Mum is only 60 but for the last 6 years has been defying cancer, we heard last week that it has spread to the peritoneum, should find out this week whats going on, poor lady is so weak and feeble, she's trying to gather her cancer fighting spirits once again but is evidently struggling:( Worrying about parents is the worst thing about this emigrating lark IMO.

I get your comments about food - at least you live somewhere where there is more choice, we live in Red Deer, also known as Dead Rear, the choice of restaurants we have are mainly steak and rib type places or over/underflavoured (depending on dish) chinese. AND WHY, do they insist on serving barely warm food?????

Last winter was particularly brutal IMO and put the nail in the coffin for not just some Brits I know but from Canadians from other Provinces that are moving as soon as they can. For my husband and I we have a couple of years to wait before we move, it will be to an alternative Province, one that is more densely populated I think - we're bored but we still think Canada is the place we need to be.

I have no real suggestions for you, try to keep positive, there is light at the end of your tunnel, try to enjoy the good bits while your here.

Originally Posted by Editha (Post 9587427)

I'm not depressed and I do not need medical help. Thank-you for your concern.

Originally Posted by Editha (Post 9585495)

I can't learn to use an American oven.

Originally Posted by Sue (Post 9589348)

Hey everyone,

The Canniversary forum is for people to share their "updates" and each one of us has different experiences, and different hopes/dreams/ambitions/expectations.

As such this little section was added so that people could share their experiences, the good, the bad, and the ugly. We don't walk in each other shoes, so please don't jump on a new poster just because you don't agree with their experience. I would hate for other people to be put off posting in this section because they worry that others are going to pick them apart. It's counterproductive and from the outside looking in does not make the forum appear welcoming at all to new members.

I feel the update sections on BE are a great way for members to share their stories of their new lives abroad, and a great way for those who are yet to move to read first hand accounts of people who have gone before them.

Just because you don't agree with another's experience doesn't make their point of view any less valid.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Sue (Post 9589348)

Hey everyone,

The Canniversary forum is for people to share their "updates" and each one of us has different experiences, and different hopes/dreams/ambitions/expectations.

As such this little section was added so that people could share their experiences, the good, the bad, and the ugly. We don't walk in each other shoes, so please don't jump on a new poster just because you don't agree with their experience. I would hate for other people to be put off posting in this section because they worry that others are going to pick them apart. It's counterproductive and from the outside looking in does not make the forum appear welcoming at all to new members.

I feel the update sections on BE are a great way for members to share their stories of their new lives abroad, and a great way for those who are yet to move to read first hand accounts of people who have gone before them.

Just because you don't agree with another's experience doesn't make their point of view any less valid.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Steve_P (Post 9588306)

Surely it can't be that hard.

Here you go Gas Mark in bold and equivalent temp in °F.

1⁄4 - 225° Very Slow/Very Low
1⁄2 - 250° Very Slow/Very Low
1 - 275° Slow/Low
2 - 300° Slow/Low
3 - 325° Moderately Slow/Warm
4 - 350° Moderate/Medium
5 - 375° Moderate/Moderately Hot
6 - 400° Moderately Hot
7 - 425° Hot
8 - 450° Hot/Very Hot
9 - 475° Very Hot

Originally Posted by Steve_P (Post 9588306)

Surely it can't be that hard.

Here you go Gas Mark in bold and equivalent temp in °F.

1⁄4 - 225° Very Slow/Very Low
1⁄2 - 250° Very Slow/Very Low
1 - 275° Slow/Low
2 - 300° Slow/Low
3 - 325° Moderately Slow/Warm
4 - 350° Moderate/Medium
5 - 375° Moderate/Moderately Hot
6 - 400° Moderately Hot
7 - 425° Hot
8 - 450° Hot/Very Hot
9 - 475° Very Hot

Originally Posted by Editha (Post 9589455)

Thank-you, but I can actually do that calculation in my head. Clearly you are not a cook, or you'd know the difference between a European cooker and a N.Am one (the former being about 30 years in advance of the latter). Go back to your barbie Steve.

Originally Posted by Editha (Post 9589511)

Oh and I should have added that since both Canada and the UK converted to Celsius a long time ago, a gas therm to Fahrenheit conversion isn't terribly useful.

Originally Posted by GavinR (Post 9589515)

My (new) oven is in F's.

Originally Posted by Editha (Post 9589531)

That's because the USA still uses Fahrenheit. Canada switched to Celsius in 1975. Try reading the instruction book. You can usually switch the display to Celsius if you want to.

Originally Posted by GavinR (Post 9589541)

Why bother? F is easy enough to use.

Originally Posted by The4BellsLondon (Post 9589593)

wow and I thought i was pissed off in my first year here . . . .

Originally Posted by mandymoochops (Post 9589595)

Then you learned to cook with a microwave and everything was ok??

Originally Posted by Editha (Post 9589584)

I agree with you. I use the Celsius setting because more of my cookbooks use C than F, but I have quite a few old British cookbooks that use F, and a few American cookbooks that use F too. It's not a difficult conversion, but I have a table pinned up on the refrigerator, so that I don't have to do it in my head each time.

Steve P's offer of a conversion of Gas Therms to Fahrenheit was just a bit bizarre, and a giveaway, since if he cooked he'd know that even old cookbooks always give the temperature setting as well as the gas therm.

I'm happy to play along and pretend we're having a serious conversation here. There's nothing on TV.

There are three differences between a European oven and a N.American one.

The most important is the direction of the heat. In a European cooker the heat is from the side. In a N.Am cooker it is from the bottom. This means that the floor of the oven is the coolest part of a European oven, but the hottest part of an American oven

This has two consequences. Firstly if you are roasting meat and fat spits and falls to the bottom of the oven, in a European oven it will just lie there, but in an American oven it will be burn and the oven will smoke.

The second consequence is that instructions in a British cookbook for which shelf of the oven to use may not be correct for an American oven and vice versa.

There are ways to avoid a smoking oven. Canadians often roast meat at lower temperatures than in Europe -- but there are health risks. They also use deeper roasting pans. It is also necessary to keep the oven spotlessly clean. However, I've asked around, and find that most Canadians seem to use their ovens less than in the UK, use their barbie's more, and simply accept that their oven smokes occasionally.

The second difference is in cleaning method. Most American ovens are cleaned by a high temperature cleaning cycle. This was briefly fashionable in the UK in the nineteen-seventies but never caught on. It takes hours, uses huge amounts of gas or electricity and gives off noxious fumes. It's also a very unpleasant thing to have to do mid-summer when the house is already hot.

European ovens generally have catalytic, non-stick, liners. Fat bounces off the liners and collects on the floor of the oven, where it can be cleaned up with a cloth, or the aid of oven cleaner if necessary.

Thirdly, standard American ovens are huge, which is probably great if you have ten children to feed, but ridiculous given the small size of the modern family. We replaced ours with a double oven, each of which is smaller than standard.

Originally Posted by Editha (Post 9589584)

I agree with you. I use the Celsius setting because more of my cookbooks use C than F, but I have quite a few old British cookbooks that use F, and a few American cookbooks that use F too. It's not a difficult conversion, but I have a table pinned up on the refrigerator, so that I don't have to do it in my head each time.

Steve P's offer of a conversion of Gas Therms to Fahrenheit was just a bit bizarre, and a giveaway, since if he cooked he'd know that even old cookbooks always give the temperature setting as well as the gas therm.

I'm happy to play along and pretend we're having a serious conversation here. There's nothing on TV.

There are three differences between a European oven and a N.American one.
The most important is the direction of the heat. In a European cooker the heat is from the side. In a N.Am cooker it is from the bottom. This means that the floor of the oven is the coolest part of a European oven, but the hottest part of an American oven

This has two consequences. Firstly if you are roasting meat and fat spits and falls to the bottom of the oven, in a European oven it will just lie there, but in an American oven it will be burn and the oven will smoke.

The second consequence is that instructions in a British cookbook for which
shelf of the oven to use may not be correct for an American oven and vice versa.

There are ways to avoid a smoking oven. Canadians often roast meat at lower temperatures than in Europe -- but there are health risks. They also use deeper roasting pans. It is also necessary to keep the oven spotlessly clean. However, I've asked around, and find that most Canadians seem to use their ovens less than in the UK, use their barbie's more, and simply accept that their oven smokes occasionally.

The second difference is in cleaning method. Most American ovens are cleaned by a high temperature cleaning cycle. This was briefly fashionable in the UK in the nineteen-seventies but never caught on. It takes hours, uses huge amounts of gas or electricity and gives off noxious fumes. It's also a very
unpleasant thing to have to do mid-summer when the house is already hot.

European ovens generally have catalytic, non-stick, liners. Fat bounces off the liners and collects on the floor of the oven, where it can be cleaned up with a cloth, or the aid of oven cleaner if necessary.

Thirdly, standard American ovens are huge, which is probably great if you have ten children to feed, but ridiculous given the small size of the modern family. We replaced ours with a double oven, each of which is smaller than standard.

Originally Posted by Almost Canadian (Post 9587079)

I'd love to know what it is about North American ovens that one can not solve after 5 years.:confused:

Originally Posted by Editha (Post 9589584)

I agree with you. I use the Celsius setting because more of my cookbooks use C than F, but I have quite a few old British cookbooks that use F, and a few American cookbooks that use F too. It's not a difficult conversion, but I have a table pinned up on the refrigerator, so that I don't have to do it in my head each time.

Steve P's offer of a conversion of Gas Therms to Fahrenheit was just a bit bizarre, and a giveaway, since if he cooked he'd know that even old cookbooks always give the temperature setting as well as the gas therm.

I'm happy to play along and pretend we're having a serious conversation here. There's nothing on TV.

There are three differences between a European oven and a N.American one.

The most important is the direction of the heat. In a European cooker the heat is from the side. In a N.Am cooker it is from the bottom. This means that the floor of the oven is the coolest part of a European oven, but the hottest part of an American oven

This has two consequences. Firstly if you are roasting meat and fat spits and falls to the bottom of the oven, in a European oven it will just lie there, but in an American oven it will be burn and the oven will smoke.

The second consequence is that instructions in a British cookbook for which shelf of the oven to use may not be correct for an American oven and vice versa.

There are ways to avoid a smoking oven. Canadians often roast meat at lower temperatures than in Europe -- but there are health risks. They also use deeper roasting pans. It is also necessary to keep the oven spotlessly clean. However, I've asked around, and find that most Canadians seem to use their ovens less than in the UK, use their barbie's more, and simply accept that their oven smokes occasionally.

The second difference is in cleaning method. Most American ovens are cleaned by a high temperature cleaning cycle. This was briefly fashionable in the UK in the nineteen-seventies but never caught on. It takes hours, uses huge amounts of gas or electricity and gives off noxious fumes. It's also a very unpleasant thing to have to do mid-summer when the house is already hot.

European ovens generally have catalytic, non-stick, liners. Fat bounces off the liners and collects on the floor of the oven, where it can be cleaned up with a cloth, or the aid of oven cleaner if necessary.

Thirdly, standard American ovens are huge, which is probably great if you have ten children to feed, but ridiculous given the small size of the modern family. We replaced ours with a double oven, each of which is smaller than standard.

Originally Posted by Editha (Post 9589455)

Thank-you, but I can actually do that calculation in my head. Clearly you are not a cook, or you'd know the difference between a European cooker and a N.Am one (the former being about 30 years in advance of the latter). Go back to your barbie Steve.

Originally Posted by gryphea (Post 9590261)

I've been here nearly 4 and I can wholly sympathise with this. Sure we've been in rentals and have proabably had worse than average, but our current is ceramic hob / convection and its still pants.

I had a double britannia range in UK; gas top, 6 rings and two ovens. Fabulous. I miss it and went back to our house this summer and virtually hugged it.

Originally Posted by Almost Canadian (Post 9590460)

Look at what Jamie Oliver is able to do with a couple of barrels of charcoal and a rusty old drum. I don't recall hearing him say that the reason his cooking in rural Europe is pants is because he doesn't have access to the fabulous equipment he has at 15:p

Originally Posted by Piff Poff (Post 9590272)

I don't love that some of my English recipes just don't work, but that is more to do with the altitude and not the oven.:confused:

Originally Posted by iaink (Post 9590595)

Could well be the difference in flour gluten levels and fat content of milk/ cream ingredients too, its usually the sum of lots of small things.

Originally Posted by Editha (Post 9589511)

Oh and I should have added that since both Canada and the UK converted to Celsius a long time ago, a gas therm to Fahrenheit conversion isn't terribly useful.