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Re: First trip back to the UK - what a dump!
Originally Posted by dbd33
(Post 9820001)
small town Canada should more fairly be matched to somewhere like Ballymena.
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Re: First trip back to the UK - what a dump!
Originally Posted by Miss Clinique
(Post 9818697)
Reading this bought back a memory to me. I was 8 years old in primary school. Someone in the class did something, not sure what I cant remember, I think it was chalk something on the board before the teacher got to the class - anyway - no one owned up so the teacher went round the class and gave us all five whacks on the palm of our hands with the ruler, when it got to me, on the fifth blow the ruler broke, she was so incensed, so angry and she blamed me for the ruler breaking, by way of punishment I got five more with a new ruler. That has stuck in my mind all these years, not that we all got the ruler, but, that I got a double dose. :(
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Re: First trip back to the UK - what a dump!
Originally Posted by Tangram
(Post 9819831)
I refer the honourable gentleman to post #87.
A gem indeed. ;) |
Re: First trip back to the UK - what a dump!
Originally Posted by teacher1000
(Post 9819863)
Yes, I suppose you are right. I guess I just had the misfortune of living in London. I do find it to be outragously expensive in terms of cost of living, it's very crowded, and not a nice place to be. I lived most of my life in Canada, where space was always plentiful, people were always friendly (i've had the same friends since childhood) and the costs of living in my area were acceptable.
I do agree that my first post may seem a bit harsh, but I have to say, having lived in both countries for a considerable amount of time, Canada is where my heart is, and I never realised how great it was, until I moved here (London) I know there are some lovely places and people in this country, but to be honest, I don't think they live in london. Or at least, in the 4 years I've been here, I've yet to come across any happy, friendly people. I have a large house here, over 4000 sq ft. I hate it. I love the fact that it's unique. The guy who built it was building his dream home but he went bankrupt and never lived in it. I hate it because I work full time and so never have time to clean the damn thing. I miss my 3 bedroom semi in Berkshire :lol: I would never live in London either, or any city in the World for that matter. I like open space and small communities but close enogh to travel into London if I want a day out. I quite enjoy the pub social scene, and that is something I miss here. I miss meeting my friends for a nice pub lunch or going out for a few drinks at the weekend. I do not and never have gone in the pub every day to get drunk. I wish you luck returning to Canada. I am returning to my home England next year. :) |
Re: First trip back to the UK - what a dump!
Originally Posted by Novocastrian
(Post 9819187)
Are you on duty?
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Re: First trip back to the UK - what a dump!
Originally Posted by dbd33
(Post 9820001)
I sense an apples and pomegranates comparison here. Toronto, for example, isn't that big a city but, if you live on a streetcar line, you're not going to have space to keep horses or even chickens. You can't rollerblade to work because the cars will kill you when you get caught in the tracks and, unless your job involves manual labour, your colleagues will object to the stench of sweat you'll carry about you. I suspect you're comparing small town Canada with London, which is hardly fair, small town Canada should more fairly be matched to somewhere like Ballymena.
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Re: First trip back to the UK - what a dump!
Apropos to the pub experience.....here at least, going to the pub/bar is oriented around getting completely drunk. The concept of going for a couple of quiet pints seems alien to most. Although I am dilligently working to change that.
The drinking every day in a pub experience in the UK is much more prevalent in cities/towns and those that commute by train/bus. Driving pretty much precludes the whole thing - unlike rural Canada where drink driving is much more socially acceptable. (Which is a bad thing.) Wandering around the corner, ordering a curry from a takeout and having a pint in the pub while waiting for it, was a fond memory for me and the (Canadian) Mrs in the UK. Now, that same evolution has a 30 min drive at each end which makes it much harder. For that reason the Friday lunchtime just before Christmas I spent in a traditional old boozer near Old St tube, having a couple of pints and sos, egg and chips, was a sublime experience.;) |
Re: First trip back to the UK - what a dump!
Originally Posted by Lorry1
(Post 9820205)
Being an expat is difficult as you will be leaving life long friends behind and making new ones. I live in Canada but my lifelong friends are in England, friends that I've had since primary and school age.
I have a large house here, over 4000 sq ft. I hate it. I love the fact that it's unique. The guy who built it was building his dream home but he went bankrupt and never lived in it. I hate it because I work full time and so never have time to clean the damn thing. I miss my 3 bedroom semi in Berkshire :lol: I would never live in London either, or any city in the World for that matter. I like open space and small communities but close enogh to travel into London if I want a day out. I quite enjoy the pub social scene, and that is something I miss here. I miss meeting my friends for a nice pub lunch or going out for a few drinks at the weekend. I do not and never have gone in the pub every day to get drunk. I wish you luck returning to Canada. I am returning to my home England next year. :) |
Re: First trip back to the UK - what a dump!
Originally Posted by Boy d
(Post 9820226)
To is much bigger than all uk cities other than London....not sure what your idea of bif is but come on now.....I m sure some whimsical, clever reply will follow.
"Spend enough time here and the shared history comes and before you know it those u mingle with in the uk don't know what you are banging on about....a u gt blank stares talking about Mary mungo and..." Novo posted the comment but I too wondered what you were on when you typed that. What's a Mary mungo? "not sure what your idea of bif is but come on now" I suppose bif is big. If you haven't been drinking are you typing in gloves? Anyway, Toronto, not huge, not as big as London, NYC, Mexico City etc. but still too big and too formal for a feeling of space and the opportunity to arrive at work ponging a bit. I note that the cradle poster didn't come back and explain which place she had in mind. Somewhere with animal processing, I suppose. |
Re: First trip back to the UK - what a dump!
Originally Posted by Lorry1
(Post 9820205)
Being an expat is difficult as you will be leaving life long friends behind and making new ones. I live in Canada but my lifelong friends are in England, friends that I've had since primary and school age.
I have a large house here, over 4000 sq ft. I hate it. I love the fact that it's unique. The guy who built it was building his dream home but he went bankrupt and never lived in it. I hate it because I work full time and so never have time to clean the damn thing. I miss my 3 bedroom semi in Berkshire :lol: I would never live in London either, or any city in the World for that matter. I like open space and small communities but close enogh to travel into London if I want a day out. I quite enjoy the pub social scene, and that is something I miss here. I miss meeting my friends for a nice pub lunch or going out for a few drinks at the weekend. I do not and never have gone in the pub every day to get drunk. I wish you luck returning to Canada. I am returning to my home England next year. :) London has given me a very poor impression of England. I know I shouldn't stereotype british people, but living here has made me very very unhappy. For me, the idea of space, and the freedom that space provides, is what I ultimately want to have. I want to have a nice house, with a gargage, backyard and car. Coming from Canada, I was used to driving everywhere, not being sat on the underground where people are crushed like sardines together. I guess I'm a bit spoiled having come from a place like Canada to England, where I was forced to take public transportation (VERY EXPENSIVE AS WELL) everywhere. I just find London to be sufficating. Smaller towns here are lovely, but from my initial impression of places like buckingham and just outside oxfordshire (im sure not all) theres not a whole lot going on. I was told that if you want to be social in london, you go to the pub. For me, this used to be, you go to tim hortons, go for a walk with your friends, go to a bbq etc etc...I was not used to this culture of socialising via drink. Or atleast, not to the levels that I have witnessed myself. Anyways, I think we will eventually both have what we want, and that is to be close to the people we care about, in a place that we feel comfortable living in. For me that is Canada, for you it is UK. Best of luck to you |
Re: First trip back to the UK - what a dump!
Originally Posted by teacher1000
(Post 9820276)
You know what? I think you're absolutely right. I think the culture shock of leaving your hometown/city had a HUGE impact on me. I like you, have lifelong friends in Canada, and to be honest, I never REALLY wanted to move to England. I was getting married to a british man, and we decided because he had the better job, it was in my best interest to move to London. We also thought at that time, that it would be temporary, for a year or two until we could come back to Canada! Fast forward 4 years later, and we are finally in the end stages of filling out the paperwork/sending it off.
London has given me a very poor impression of England. I know I shouldn't stereotype british people, but living here has made me very very unhappy. For me, the idea of space, and the freedom that space provides, is what I ultimately want to have. I want to have a nice house, with a gargage, backyard and car. Coming from Canada, I was used to driving everywhere, not being sat on the underground where people are crushed like sardines together. I guess I'm a bit spoiled having come from a place like Canada to England, where I was forced to take public transportation (VERY EXPENSIVE AS WELL) everywhere. I just find London to be sufficating. Smaller towns here are lovely, but from my initial impression of places like buckingham and just outside oxfordshire (im sure not all) theres not a whole lot going on. I was told that if you want to be social in london, you go to the pub. For me, this used to be, you go to tim hortons, go for a walk with your friends, go to a bbq etc etc...I was not used to this culture of socialising via drink. Or atleast, not to the levels that I have witnessed myself. Anyways, I think we will eventually both have what we want, and that is to be close to the people we care about, in a place that we feel comfortable living in. For me that is Canada, for you it is UK. Best of luck to you |
Re: First trip back to the UK - what a dump!
Originally Posted by dbd33
(Post 9820287)
I don't recognise your Canada. Where are you thinking of?
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Re: First trip back to the UK - what a dump!
Originally Posted by teacher1000
(Post 9820298)
LOL, Ontario. It's much less populated than London as I'm sure you are well aware. I will probably end up somewhere like Grimsby, or Burlington. Perhaps even Hamilton (mountain) if we find a house we like. Obviously, first we have to be accepted. So, I won't get to far ahead of myself.
I can understand, of course, that if one is in Hamilton, personal hygiene isn't much of an issue, one could rollerblade in a heatwave after a curry and still not be more odiferous than the steel plant. |
Re: First trip back to the UK - what a dump!
Originally Posted by teacher1000
(Post 9820276)
Toronto has given me a very poor impression of Canada. I know I shouldn't stereotype Canadian people, but living here has made me very very unhappy. For me, the idea of space, and the freedom that space provides, is what I ultimately want to have. I want to have a nice house, with a gargage, backyard and car. Coming from England, I was used to driving everywhere, not being sat on the underground where people are crushed like sardines together. I guess I'm a bit spoiled having come from a place like England to Canada, where I was forced to take public transportation (VERY EXPENSIVE AS WELL) everywhere. I just find Toronto to be sufficating. .
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Re: First trip back to the UK - what a dump!
Originally Posted by dbd33
(Post 9820322)
I know the GTA passably well, yes. I lived in the Beach, Leslieville and in Toronto proper. I wouldn't say that any of them were less densely populated than Camden Town. One does have a feeling of space on the boardwalk but that's also true of Kew Gardens. Once you get out as far as Hamilton or Grimsby then that's not like London at all, I suppose you'd compare them to Sheffield and, indeed, Grimsby.
I can understand, of course, that if one is in Hamilton, personal hygiene isn't much of an issue, one could rollerblade in a heatwave after a curry and still not be more odiferous than the steel plant. There are things about London that I will miss. One is the moderate temperatures. Much less sun than in Ontario, but the temperatures are good. I mean, I don't even think its gotten down into the - yet this year and it's January (In London at least) and Lloyd Grossman. BUuuuuuuuut that being said, Ill have my Kraft Peanut Butter back, and Tim Hortons, so, it's all good |
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