Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

I remember a very amusing newspaper article about the whole Conrad Black/Lord Crossharbour thing.

It described it as a tug-of-war between Canada and the UK for Conrad Black's citizenship.

And Canada won!

'Tis funny that now he is facing a long stretch in a US penitentiary he's becoming all Canadian again.

Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

:confused: Rrrrrricharrrrd!!!! They say I'm going to have trouble dear. :lol:

Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

:rofl:

Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

It is still on Detroit PBS most week nights, and still providing a role model for Mrs JonboyE. :eek:

Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

Be open minded.

Be flexible and prepared to go to plan B.

Make sure you have a plan B.

People are people - some are nice, some are not - wherever you go.

Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

Kudos, HWP... (and karma sent)

That would be second on my my list, preceded by:
(1) Think positive - optimism and confidence will take you a long way - fearfulness and pessimism are a recipe for failure.

(2) lose the ethnocentrism - some people refer to extreme examples of this as "going native" - why is that a bad thing? :blink: oo - just imagine any one from BE in buckskin and feathers...
Pace St. Ambrose: "If you are in Rome, live in the Roman way; if you are elsewhere, live as they do there" (Si fueris Romae, Romano vivito more; si fueris alibi, vivito sicut ibi)

(3) be well informed - educate yourself as fully as possible so your expectations do not exceed reality. If you are not a millionaire in the UK you are unlikely to have a millionaire's lifestyle in Canada.

(4) prepare to engage with the place and community where you wish to settle, ensure you're well-motivated to join in and contribute and be a good citizen.

(5) ditch the thought of the UK as "home" - it is no longer home, home is where you have moved to. Mentally one has to move on too... or open the door to homesickness and false nostalgia (was the grass really greener?).

And while I remember...
http://www.prayerguide.org.uk/serenity.htm

Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

It is done.

Many thanks for your input, everyone. :)

Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

That's a great collation of info Judy - more house points ! :D

Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

I agree. It is a great article. The explanation of culture shock is particularly good. Like any change process, most people find it easier to cope with if they understand the reasons behind their reactions, and that their reactions are common - actually normal.

I am duly chided about being patient with some posters in the rejection cycle. However, I am somewhat concerned the epithet "born again British ex-pat" might apply to me. :(

(no, actually I meant :))

Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

:rofl:

Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

An article that grew out of the first article was one on the ways in which moving affected children and recommended strategies for helping them to cope.

Originally I intended to address the matter of children in Relocation Strategies, the Wiki that resulted from this discussion thread.

However, the section on children grew so long that I decided to add it to the Wiki entitled Children.

I think the article on the Psychology of Moving, as it relates to children, is quite comprehensive.

The one thing that is missing from it, I feel, is a list of the available options when teens are in the GCSE / A-levels phase of their lives.

There is heaps of information on that topic in previous discussion threads on the forums. It's just a matter of doing a search and collating the information.

But that is a job for another day (if not another month).

Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

Good job Judy! I think this kind of resource (the article) must be invaluable to the newbies, I know I would have read it time and time again!

It's good of you to take the time to do them,

All the best
Mrs Miggins x

Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

I am coming late to this thread, which has largely come to a conclusion. Most of what I would say has already been said, but I'll say something anyway.:p

I believe you should come here thinking of it as a long-term (even if not permanent) move.

I think if you leave it too easy to return, keeping UK house etc, you are less likely to persevere when things get tough. I take the point about a plan B, but don't make plan B too accessible!

Things will get tough at times. It's virtually inevitable, and you have to try to avoid the temptation of blaming "bloddy Canada!" for every bad day/week/period one has. :mad:

Do try to embrace the differences rather than rage against them! Some things will be "better" in your opinion, some "worse", others just different! We are the visitors; we can't expect everything to necessarily fit around ourselves! Sometimes you have to be prepared to adapt and change the way we look at things.

Do find out as much as you possibly can about what you are moving to .... research, research, research! Ask everyone's opinions, yes, but accept that that is just what they are, and your own experiences may differ substantially!

Conversely, once you have made the move, do not consider yourself an expert. Your experience is just that!

Attack everything with a sense of optimism that you will succeed, ... and if/when difficulties arise, try to treat them as challenges, obstacles to be overcome (or bypassed!)

Thanks Judy, great idea!

Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

Superb job on the Wiki Judy. I don't know where you get the time.


With respect to plan B, it does not have to be the ultimate "go home" option. For example, it could be that you will rent a house rather than buy straight off if you have moved over without selling up in the UK or if you arrive without prearranged employment and don't land a job in six months that you will go to college to get Canadian qualifications and use the co-op program to gain relevant Canadian experience, you will retrain in the field you always wanted to work in or you will consider taking on a longer commute to make yourself available to a wider job market. There are lots of possible plan Bs. Plan B should be based on the circumstances of the specific person/people involved and will vary depend on whether you are emigrating alone or with family, whether you have a job lined up, whether you are starting out on a work permit, whether you have put location ahead of career in your first choice, whether there are two wage earners in the family or one and so on.

Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

That's fair enough.

Re: Attitudes that assist in migration
 

Why not? It is for us.