Missing the UK?
 

Hi
I am jsut trying to get some more information about Canada before I make a decision about leaving the UK and wondered, from those that have already moved to Canada, what everyone misses from the UK?

Thanks,
Caz

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Nothing of any consequence really...other than family/friends, but that's a given really for almost everyone who makes the move...

Re: Missing the UK?
 

As previously mentioned friends and family. I have been here for 2 years with wife and 3 kids and love the place. I missed Rugby and soccer but got that solved by getting a sports channel and involved in refereeing and coaching in schools and the local Uni.
Before we moved over we asked the children to make a list of pros and cons of staying in the UK........needless to say there was such a positive response to a new life in a new country that we moved..........You can always return !

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Re: Missing the UK?
 

For me I missed my family especially once I had kids and I just never felt at home in Canada, oddly enough either did my Canadian OH:blink:

It might be worth reading the Moving Back forum. Good luck with you decision.:thumbup:

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Roast chicken crisps, my mum's Sunday lunch and my mum, Eastenders and a decent wage for a job .. Not in that order ..

Nothing else.

Re: Missing the UK?
 

I miss being upto date
in a fashion aware world
where people do know whats happening in the rest of the world
Where snow come's maybe once a year
where a days travel means going to new and intresting places and not staying in one province
Where you can buy quality
Where people don't spend all there time trying (or pretending) to be 'better' than their southern neighbours
Or where peole like to think they're 'green' when any quick observation of a highway wil prove beyond doubt otherwise

Other than that not much :blink:

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Strangely enough, the rain. We only seem to get sun & snow here in Kamloops.

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Pretty much what everyone else has said, my friends and family, my job (I'm not working at the mo) and going out with my buddie's!! Thats it really, I don't miss the doom and gloom of the UK thats for sure, good luck with you investigations into coming to Canada :thumbsup:
Bella

Re: Missing the UK?
 

I'm not rich .. just working class .. but i loved how i could walk into M & S and not have people looking down at me ..

Here (some) people seem to be stuck up snobs almost pretentious .. I wont go to the mall on Saturdays because of it ..

In England, even if you were/had been working at McDonalds, its a job and you at least you aint on the dole .. Here, i feel "maccy D's is not good enough" and looked down on ..

That is just my opinion though ..

:unsure:

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Family & friends. x

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Family and friends.

But nowadays technology is great so I get to speak to them 3/4 times a week via Skype or a phone call which is bloody cheap. Other than this we don't miss anything about the UK.

Re: Missing the UK?
 

what do i miss about the uk......


absoultly nowt:lol:

whatever happens I shall never set foot in that basket case country again

Re: Missing the UK?
 

I find that really interesting, as I felt that way in the UK. Not arguing with you, but it just goes to show, it could be the same in both countries. Have never felt that way here in BC, so maybe back east really is more uptight than here on the west coast. ;)

Re: Missing the UK?
 

What the man said.

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Just like everyone else...absolutely No.1 is family & friends that know you warts and all.
No. 2 - The milder climate
No. 3 - Amazing supermarket choice and cheap groceries
No. 4 - Way better choice for take-away food
No. 5 - The seaside...and I mean a REAL seaside, not a lake beach
No. 6 - School uniform for the kids and British education
No. 7 - Courteous drivers that will flash to let you in and blink to say thanks
No. 8 - British telly that doesn't have the same aggravating commercial interruptions like over here
No. 9 - Close proximity to Europe & Mediterranean for holidays
No. 10 - British history
No. 11 - British architecture
No. 12 - British humour

Nuff said ;)

Re: Missing the UK?
 

I agree. I have encountered no snobbery here either. Had to laugh at 'back east' though, given how much further east I am compared to Ottawa.:)

It's all relative of course, but to me, Ottawa is out west.:lol:
Just not as far west.:)

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Hi, can I ask when you emigrated? Just wondering because of the point about British education and courteous drivers?

My husband has said that he would miss the British history/architecture too and yet here he pays no interest to it, it was something he commented on whilst on our reccy.

Re: Missing the UK?
 

It would be different if it was Timmie's - everybody in Canada loves the people who sell doughnuts and coffee, hehe!!

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Really .. my 11 year old is smart (brain like a sponge), here in Canada he is behind (in England he was in the top of all his classes) and my 13 year old well bless him, he is so far behind, he is bringing alot of work home (french and math last night, oh joy and we spent the xmas break going over the math) and has joined the homework club at school just to get him up to par ..

I DO NOT miss the English education ..

Re: Missing the UK?
 

My 2 kids seem to have settled ok into school - only thing I miss so far is the lack of "internet" use - for ordering stuff, insurance etc. . .

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Funny you should say that .. i went to an agency yesterday and was so disheartened, i felt like i was treated like a process as opposed to a person. Wanted to offer me $9.50 hr .. :thumbdown: .. Anyway got to redo my resume to look more cust serv oriented.
Was online earlier looking for jobs .. i typed in Timmie's .. if i am going to get near min wage, i wont be sitting at a desk, i will be running around in a shop .. not giving up hope yet though ..

Re: Missing the UK?
 

That would've been Randstad then ... OH went to them a while back and got the runaround from them.

Re: Missing the UK?
 

I think it's only once you move away that you appreciate a lot of the stuff that you take for granted. I moved back to Northern Ireland in July 2007 after 8 years in Canada and realize now how many beautiful places there are close to home.

Re: Missing the UK?
 

We first landed here in 2003 but went back home for 8 months in 2005 (Jan-Aug) then came back here for a 2nd crack at the whip. Don't get me wrong...I did pay attention to the complaints my son made about the idiots in his class there and that the poor teacher hardly had the time to teach them anything but it's the "content and variety" that they learn about I miss. Kids in the UK learn so much about UK's history, Britain's diverse culture & many religions, Geography covers practically everywhere worldwide. Here in Canada, my kids don't have History, R.E. or Geography...they mold it all into one subject called Social Studies, which in my opinion, offers very limited worldwide knowledge. Also, my daughter is in Grade 6 right now, she'd be in Yr 7 and in her first year of high school if we were in the UK. My niece is in Yr 6 in primary school and she is doing the same stuff in Math that my daughter is currently being taught. Me personally, am not happy with the education my kids are being offered...I'm not saying everyone feels the same as me..this is just how I feel.

Driving: The drivers over here don't have a clue what you mean when flashing your headlights to let them out of a side road or into a gap. I believe to flash your headlights is a sign of anger..not 100%. Canadians tend to beckon their finger "if" they're feeling exceptionally courteous and let you out!! It's a well-known and accepted practice in the UK to flash your lights if someone needs to move out or pull into a lane and it's usually greeted with a raised hand in the rear view window or a couple of blinks on the indicators. I know this is still the common thing to do as I was back in the UK twice last year and it was such a relief to see such good road manners!

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Wow. There you go .. people of British expats do not use Randstad ..

I do not think i will be going back there.

I deserve better.

:thumbsup:

Re: Missing the UK?
 

And OH is Canadian, with 2 degrees - they were offering him stuff at $10 per hour, like c'mon!!!

Re: Missing the UK?
 

I can really relate to that.....it's only now that I am taking such an interest in the Cathedrals, old churches and those olde-worlde buildings you find in towns like Chester, Shrewsbury and the Cotswolds

Re: Missing the UK?
 

The move was a big change for the children as well, they are adapting. I am glad mine went down a year .. they don't need anymore pressure on them ..also your daughter is at a good age, had she been in secondary school for a few years, you may of been happy her going back a year (i sure am). In secondary school, kids become a statistic, a way to achieve high OFSTED marks/results, primary school teaching was nice, the kids wanted to impress.

Re: Missing the UK?
 

bloody hell :huh:

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Aha, you see my kids go to a fabulous school here but we have to travel half an hour each way for it which isn't a great use of time but I do feel blessed we have this as an option here. However when I moved them to the school they were in classes of 18-20 (3 classes per year), but because the school gets such good grades the LEA just cut their budget and all they had to get rid of five teaching staff so the kids are now in classes of 34 with several other children due to move from other schools it is getting a little bit to cramped in there. These budget cuts seem to be happening to many of the schools that get good grades - so that the resources can be put into inner city schools. It really feels as if we are being sold down the river in many ways.

Re the driving I was surprised because people seemed a lot more courteous when we were out there - they actually stopped at four way crossings where nobody stops at a round about anymore and people doing right turns just seem to pull out regardless of whether there is any space or not.

Horses for courses isn't it? I guess if everyone loved there, everyone would be there and vice versa for it in the other direction.

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Well, after a year of applying for every job possible in the government, sitting government exams and doing interviews weekly, he's finally got his foot in the door! Started just before Christmas in the cushiest job ever .. totally mind-numbing, but the government benefits are great!! :thumbsup:

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Excellent. The hard work finally paid off ..:thumbsup:

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Now I want in :p

Re: Missing the UK?
 

I dont miss the Uk as such, I miss my mom and some of my family but mostly the silly things I miss, like oxo cubes ect does that count:blink:

Re: Missing the UK?
 

You can buy Oxo cubes in Canada ;)

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Not in Calgary or possibly Alberta.:p

What you can or cannot get in Canada varies by region. ;)

Re: Missing the UK?
 

Miss nothing, maybe my old job ( which is much changed anyway since I left ), but apart from that can't see myself returning barring any disaster.

Re: Missing the UK?
 

yep...... we can get most things in the GTA

suppose thats the benifit of being the true centre of the Universe

and not some down trodden god forsaken frozen backwater (read rest of Canada)

:p

Re: Missing the UK?
 

I see you've adopted the Toronto attitude toward the rest of the country quite readily. :p:D