beckiwoo

So I think yesterday was the day when I had been in Canada for one year but I will say today (I arrived on Labour Day last year). I came out on an IEC and have just recently activated my new two year IEC permit.

Last year, I remember getting a taxi from the airport to the Samesun hostel on Granville Street thinking that I would only be here for a week and then I would be going back until I realized I did not have a return ticket. :S

Within a week I had a job at a café in Gastown and got a room in some crazy woman's house within two weeks (I left at the end of the November as it was awful). After that I got my first full time job in Youth Work as well as a casual role alongside it. Unfortunately as the full time position was overnights including weekends, it became a strain on health and social life; I stuck it out and luckily in March I was offered a contract position at my casual role and then a permanent position in July with extended benefits.

I also got my own place in June, which I love and my social life has picked up with work colleagues and meeting friends of friends. Many lovely summer days have been spent on a lake or on Spanish Banks ( My favourite beach).

The homesickness has not really hit too much but this last weekend it did as it was the anniversary since I had arrived. Facebook did not help with that, showing my pictures and statuses from a year ago. I am due to go back for a visit in October.

So future plans:

I had my IELTS test last Saturday so I am just waiting for the results of that and I am hoping to get my ECAS done within the next month and contact my old university and EdExcel to send over my degree and Diploma transcripts. I am hoping to be eligible for CEC after October 31st as I had full time work with my 1st job until March and then with no gaps with my current job until now, If that is not possible then I will have to wait until either March or July next year.

I am not 100% sure if I will stay as I may return back to complete a masters programme but nothing is set in stone as well as the fact I believe my personal life would probably do better in the UK. However I do at least want to try and get PR status but understand that it may not happen.

Lastly, more travelling. I had the chance to visit Victoria, Whistler, Banff, Calgary and Las Vegas this year. I would really love to see more of the country and the USA and I am hopefully going to go to Alaska, Montreal/Ottawa and perhaps Chicago as well as seeing the Calgary Stampede in the summer.

Here is to another year in Canada

scrubbedexpat091

I agree with you on overnight work, no social life, well no life at all really, even with co-workers as you may have none when working overnight...lol


Glad your finding Vancouver a bit more sociable, really hit and miss depending on various factors.

Shirtback

Sounds pretty good, Beckiwoo

beckiwoo

Thanks guys.

Yeah the overnights were brutal. Luckily I did have someone on with me and I got on with them very well but it was crazy trying to get decent sleep. I hated having to reject invitations to events - I missed out on Halloween and NYE events last year. Enough was enough in the end but it was good to get my foot in the door so to speak.

I agree that socially Vancouver is difficult and it has taken a lot of effort to find like minded individuals. I have to admit that I still miss my old friends a lot and I know that this place would be prefect if they were here with me. In reality, nothing is ever perfect and you have to make sacrifices.

I know that I am still happier here then in the UK.

scrubbedexpat091

My overnights were generally alone which has some advantages, but yeah having to always miss out on things really sucks, weddings, holidays etc....

Shift work in general sucks even during the day if its not a M-F type job...

BristolUK

Good to hear after previous 'quandary' posts.

Paul_Shepherd

An interesting read! you have had quite the first year to say living in Canada wasnt part of your plan! My first year was very similar, but kind of opposite, I came as a PR here planning to stay but thought id be leaving after two months!

The homesickness fades...although it does depend on what you left behind in the UK, the only time i get homesick is when things arnt going well, but i pull myself out of it when what ever crisis caused it, has subsided.

It sounds like things are going ok for you, even though your personal life you had in the UK is still calling you back (i remember your other posts on that)

There is lots to see travelling wise if you haven't experienced north America before living here, and sounds as though it would be worth you staying here just for that at the moment, you may even find another part of Canada that your like much more, or offers more potential in what you are looking for.

If you want to do more travelling; one thing i would recommend is the train trip across Canada, i did it earlier this year and thoroughly enjoyed it! it was a truly fantastic trip and would recommend it to anyone, you get a real feel for how big and vast Canada is and its terrain is so diverse. I did it alone, but it didnt feel that way, i got talking to so many interesting people and had a lot of fun, the journey takes 4 days and i didnt get bored once, didnt even finish the book i took along to read!. The food on board is amazing! I found it pretty impressive that food of such a high standard could be prepared in limited confines. When i arrived in Vancouver, I spent a few days there then flew back to Toronto. I think i would do it again at some point in the future.

Anyway heres to your second year in Canada!

Paul.

scrubbedexpat091

+1 on the train. I did Toronto-Vancouver in January 2013 in coach, was a nice trip. Luckily it wasn't a full car for Vancouver passengers wasn't full, so we all got a row of seats so could lay down to sleep, actually not too bad.

Everyone was pretty friendly, always someone to talk to, still talk to a couple of the people from time to time.

I only ate once in the dining car on the last day when they decided to give those who started in Toronto a free breakfast meal, we had significant delays the entire trip due to CN trains stuck on the tracks due to cold and snow, we had left Toronto 4 hours late, and ended up in Vancouver about 8 hours late.

Awesome fun ride, and I want to do it again, if you catch a sale you can get coach pretty cheap at times, my ticket was only 165 dollars, not a bad deal.

BristolUK

I think it's funny how viarail suggests you 'upgrade' to a cabin as it's "not as much as you think".

I was just playing around the other day for here to Quebec City.

$220 pp return.

Basic cabin for two, return, no meals, no shower, an extra $400. EACH!

$200 a night each for a cabin for two? $400 for the cabin. You can book a double room at The Hilton for less than half that.

Blimey, how much did they think I would think it would be if it's "only" $400 extra?

beckiwoo

Thanks for the tip in regards to the rail journey.

Sounds fantastic so I will have a look.

Shard

Sounds good

My rule of thumb is that it takes two years before you really know/feel a place. (and seven before you get bored )