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

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.
Just not as far west.

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.

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

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 ..

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. . .

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 .. .. 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 ..

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

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.

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!

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.

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

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

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.

bloody hell