mardyarse

What the hec! Mrs Miggins, Ruby Murray are going back to UK so got me thinking. Would love to know how anyone who came over in 2007 was getting on. Whats it been like for you? My name back in 2007 was FEDUPWITHWAITING but seemed inappropriate a year on from arriving so I changed it. But I can remember having words of encouragement from you guys and you were all so positive and excited, whats happened to you all?

So Class of 2007 I'm calling for a re-union on BE to update us on your journeys, the goods, bads and uglees.

ann m

Here you go !

Tangram

Still here.

Getting There

Still here and loving it. Have been back to the UK twice, once due to a family emergency and once (April just gone) for a vacation and we're not in any rush to do so again in the near future. It was lovely to see family and friends but it was really lovely to get back home here.

Kind regards

Eamonn & Janet.

Cookie

Been here since Jan 8, 2007 and still really enjoying where I am.

Went back to Aberdeen for 8 days back in April. You'll find my trip update here.

mumof2

Hi,

Landed end Sept 2007 and been back twice

I would say its been a long journey, with the hardest bit being the first 6 months but I would never want to go back to the UK.

I still have days when I miss my parents, sister but this is all i miss the positives far outweigh the negatives.

The NS people are the nicest people i have ever met - 19 months in and i have never met a rude person well,, only an australian haha

Michelle

rae

landed june 22 2007, going back for a week next week, (first trip back) on my 2 yr anniversary virtually to the day. let you know. i love it and hate it here depending on what day you catch me on.

gloveman

Still here as well - no intentions of going back to the UK not even for a holiday. It's not all been a bed of roses as far as OH's job is concerned but apart from that, simply love the place.

BC Hopefuls

Landed June 21 2007. Still here and life is goood! Went back in Oct 2007 just to tie up a few loose ends. No plans to go back anytime soon. We love our new life, completely different from the life we left behind. It has been trying at times living and working together 24/7 but we are still talking to each other!

I have to say the only thing I am missing is the frequent trips to France. If I wasn't here then that's where I'd be. Just to rub it in BIL has just moved to Provence and keeps sending photos

AmyDavid

Arrived June 7th 2007. Still love it - though some things do drive me around the twist. OH has been back to the UK twice but I haven't - maybe in a couple more years I will go back for a visit.

So far it's been a blast - with some rough times thrown in - but I wouldn't change any of it!

Flossie and Jim

Arrived in September 2007 with no current plans to return, although we would never say never when it comes to going back to the UK.....

We always agreed that we would stay until we got citizenship and see what we felt like then. I was the one who pushed to emigrate and I it turns out that the OH has settled much better than me!

Still can't quite believe that we made it here after 3 years in the visa queue, and still pinch ourselves some days that we actually live here! We still have loads of places to explore and lots to experience.

The family back in the UK still don't stop harping on about when are we "coming home", "we don't know what you see in Canada", etc, but that's just the way they are I guess. Although they are coming out again later this year, so it can't be all that bad!

We've been back to the UK twice - the main purpose being to visit friends and family. This just reinforced our feelings that we are currently fine where we are thankyou very much.

I think the transition was made easy by us both landing jobs before we arrived...OH enjoys his job and gets paid more than in the UK for the same kind of work, whereas I hated mine and quit and am now temping on much less money, although it all evens out and we can pay the bills and mortgage so that's the main thing!

Calgary suits us fine for the time being, although I wouldn't rule out moving to another province for work or retirement at some point in the future.

There are bits that niggle me about living here, like the bureacracy and backward way of doing things, and the fact that Canada can be a little slow to catch up in some aspects. The winter we just had was a bit of a test too, although I feel that if we got through that ok then the rest is plain sailing!

Still finding it difficult to break into the old Canadian friendship circle - as others have said here on the past the locals are very friendly on the outside but its hard to develop really close Canadian friends, and to crack through the "they are just work acquaintances" thing, but perhaps we are just being a bit too impatient and forget how long it took to develop our close friends back in the UK?

So, on the whole, still enjoying the experience so far, glad we did it (would certainly have regretted not giving it a try), think the fact we had jobs helped immensely, and definitely would like to stick around for a bit longer.....

pinkmcfarquhar

Arrived 30th Nov 2007. Still here, and still loving it - haven't got round to an update yet.

Been home 4(!?!) times, twice planned (gran's 100th birthday, and parent's ruby wedding), and twice unplanned (death of MIL, FIL and my beloved gran). The unplanned trips were definitely hard both emotionally and financially and bittersweet - nice to see everybody, but the reason for being back not nice.

Going home so often has not been good because it has been unsettling - been home 3 times since december 2008, only 3 weeks between trips one time.

However, things settling down now, and on reflection definitely happy with the move and looking forward to the summer and going back to university in the autumn to do my special education qualification.

wiggs1034

Landed 5th April 2007, OH was working in her caereer (nursing) within a week, I was working for a great employer four weeks after arriving.

Happy with our home, neighbours, community and friends. Now have a dog and two cats, and so no plans on a return move soon (if ever). Took an unplanned trip back in February this year (offered free tickets - hard to say no to!) but was happy to return to our adopted home.

We make the most of the lifestyle (camping alternate weekends in the summer, and started skiing this past winter). Bizarrely, Scouting has been our best source of new friends, I now run the Beavers and my wife is involved with Scouting. It has been a great way to meet new poeple and have fun.

Anyway, here, happy and staying.

printer

Wow we also landed that same day and just think we would be neighbours now if you hadn't ventured east.
Anyway arrived in Kelowna 2 years ago and still love it. Just to look out of the windows at the mountains is an awesome sight regardless of the weather. Cannot beleive just how little rain we get here it really is like being on your holidays some days, we are now on our 3rd week of constant sunshine and temps in the high 20's low 30's. We all spend much more time outside than we did in UK, we have all learned to ski/board, we often spend time sitting by the lake and once it warms up swimming in it. My son has learned wakeboarding and will graduate from school this week with fantastic results. The elder son now has an automotive apprenticeship and has just taken his 1st year exam. Both boys passed their tests and drive and both have bought themselves dirt bikes and regularly ride them up the trails a few miles away.
We also bought a business a year ago which is not something we had intended to do but so far things have been good and even though things were very quiet earlier in the year we have been busier lately.
Went back to UK at Christmas and didn't really enjoy it, we all got flu and spent most of the time feeling cold and miserable, rediculous really when it was minus 15 or so back here. Nice to see family of course but boy what a lot of money and so far none of the family have talked about coming here.

Here's to the next 2 years and beyond

AmyDavid

You were the loud ones on the flight then...lol.

You wouldn't want me as a neighbour - I would be at your house all the time borrowing things and floating around in your pool, riding your atv's...!

Congrats on the two years Mr Printer - as you say - here's to many more