British Expats - My 'Canniversary' (boring, be warned!)

So it’s 3yrs on Vancouver Island for me & mine tomorow, plus our 23rd wedding Anniversary …….. These are my thoughts/ramblings so far (long & potentially boring!!) :unsure:

Nanaimo ……. Our first impressions were ‘ugh!’ … it’s like a lot of other towns/cities here ~ highway through dozens of strip malls, car showrooms, dodgy looking motels & fast food outlets! BUT, 3yrs in, I know the place pretty well, its scenery is amazing, the people on the whole are friendly & helpful, lakes, beaches, mountains all easily accessible …. It’s SO green! ~ I almost find it strange now if people don’t speak when we’re walking the dog or wandering around the harbour whereas when I first got here I thought it was odd how many peeps did speak! Love living near the Ocean, plus, Tofino, Vancouver, Mt Washington, Victoria are all daytrips. (We’ve even done Whistler for the day ~ albeit a bloomin’ long day!)

Weather ……. The first summer was a revelation to me ~ much warmer & longer than I had imagined (one of my biggest worries was the weather, IF we stay in Canada I don’t wanna be shoveling snow when I’m a pensioner) Last summer was OK, although not quite as nice as 2006 & this summer was beautiful ….. On the last day of term (I work for the school district) we took all the kids to Rathtrevor beach ……. There were whales breaching & bald eagles flying around (plus a dead seal on the beach!) …… it’s been lovely almost ever since ;) ……. Yep, it rains but it’s nowhere near as wet as I thought it would be ~ some parts are wetter than others apparently ~ rain shadows/micro climates?!?! I dunno.

My teenagers …….
The older one (19) is at Vancouver Island University & starts her 3rd year in Jan ~ she is the first person in either of our families to ever go to Uni! ……. She is finding the work pretty hard at the moment & this time last year had a major ‘wobble’, gave up Uni & spent the money she had saved for the following semester on a horse!! She spent many an hour sat in the field with ‘Java’ while I worried to death about her but it gave her a new focus & she’s fulfilled her dream of owning a horse, has been in a couple of competitions, has a few rosettes under her belt & is learning to be a riding instructor.
She said at first it was hard for her to make ‘real friends’ as most of the kids have known each other from kindergarten but that has improved greatly with Uni & having a p/t job (hooray!!)
She is working to put herself through Uni, we paid for the first year then told her she needed to find a p/t job, she can live at home & we will support & help her for as long as she needs it but she has to take a bit of responsibility for her education ……. I feel really bad sometimes that I can’t afford to pay for the whole degree but there is a sign up in my school that says ‘By making your kids lives too easy you make it harder for them’ this rings true with my daughter as she refuses to learn to drive & just phones me up from wherever, at whatever time & announces ‘I’m done, can you come & get me?’ Aarrgghh!

My son is completely different ~ phew! ~ 16yrs old, he didn’t like seniors much in Bristol & would be finished now if we were still there, here he’s in grade 11, he finds English easy, loves Math, finds Socials ‘boring’ & is in his 3rd year of Japanese, he coaches grade 8 rugby twice a week after school, loves the amount of sports he gets to play, can e-mail his teachers if he’s stuck with his homework (bl**dy good job coz my Japanese is non-existent!)
& has just started his first p/t job at a golf club …….. Hope he manages to keep it & stops driving the golf carts into the sand, bless him!
He was a neat, little, short haired kid when we got here & has morphed into a 6ft, hairy, deep voiced teenager, his hair sits on his shoulders & he wears shorts with his undies showing for about 10months a year!

Jobs ……. I’d need another hour & another essay to try & explain the logistics of working for the school district, lets just say it’s a pain in the ar*e getting enough seniority to become a regular employee but worth digging my heels in coz after 15yrs of this type of job, I LOVE having the summer off & being finished by 3pm so will jump through the school districts hoops to get it!

My OH got a permanent full time job offer yesterday he’s been doing the job as a casual but now will have the benefits as well …… this is the job he wanted to secure when we came out on our recce in 2004!! (Island time eh?!!) He works for VIHA, he starts on 4 weeks holiday a year, plus stats PLUS an extra 10 days per year because he works so many minutes over the daily max of 7.5 ……. the downside for him is the job is in Victoria & we’re in Nanaimo but again, we’ll muddle along for now & see what happens when No2 child finishes school ………. If it wasn’t for the kids I think we’d be looking at moving to Vic but my son said to me a while ago ‘Mom, I moved halfway around the world with you but I don’t want to move again’ so here we stay for the time being ….. Mind you, there are a lot worse places we could be!

So to sum up ….. Thank gawd I hear you say ……. Many, many times here it’s seemed like 1 step forward 2 steps back, property is way more expensive than many other parts of Canada, we aren’t mortgage free, don’t own half a dozen properties, didn’t come here with a huge pot of money & own 2 old cars ….. To be honest it’s been a hard slog …… it still is ……. OH travels for hours & hours a week, I miss my best friend SO much & still feel quite lonely here …… I know a lot of people through my job but miss those long term mates.
On the upside, we’re more confident people (coz we’ve had to be!) I am learning to ride a horse, have been part of a Dragon boat racing team & am much fitter (thank you dog!) than I used to be ……… next stop, citizenship

Good luck to all in the process …….. It’s a hell of a ride :eek: x x x