snoopster

Well, we are just celebrating our first milestone in the waiting game.

It was a year ago almost that we received our AOR (36months) and we cracked open a bottle of bubbly to celebrate our first big achievement, finally after all the form filling and e-mailing for different bits of evidence that we are decent intelligent people who simply want to move abroad, we had something to show for it.

Trouble is, 12 months down the line I'm having a bit of a mini crisis. Doubts are creeping in....are we completely bonkers? We want to give up good well paid jobs, sell our home, leave behind our very very best friends in the whole world (friends who can't afford to come and visit every year), family who are getting older and may not have that long to go (my dear sweet nanna is 93 soon) and start a new life.

Does everyone else get these moments of self doubt? Do they pass? Or are these feelings symptomatic of a deeper rooted desire to really stay put after all and carry on as before.

I love Canada with all my heart. It is a fantastic place. I hate living in Swindon, it's the armpit of the universe, but......

thing is... I'm not a risk taker, never have been. I'm such a safe reliable person normally. This whole decision is a total break from the norm for me. However, I want to do something brave, exciting, take a few risks for the sake of a better life for me, Mr Snoops and the kids.

Help me out guys. I need a pep talk....

Tiggy

Hi

Know exactly how you feel, we are now 3 months to the very day in our new life in Alberta. Kids love it, they settled in very quickly. We all love where we live and are enjoying the country. I do have family 30mins drive from where we are living and they have lived here for 20 years. I miss family in UK, definitely not the UK itself. Mum is coming in a few weeks and staying till mid January.

We have spent quite a lot of money settling, i.e. house, 2 cars, furniture and stuff to carry us through until the container arrives on the 24th Oct. Also car insurance is very expensive when you arrive - bring history of your previous insurance, both car and house - it may help. I no longer have a UK Driving Licence - swapped it for Alberta Licence.

When I got moments of doubt I thought of the great life my kids would be getting, safer and genuine. I know there is trouble where ever your are, but up to now my kids love school, they have some very nice friends. My son said to me the other day that he loved living in Canada. He had some really good friends in the UK and keeps in touch with them, but his school wasn't too good. Maybe I am an overprotective parent, but I used to worry about him so much when he was out.

Family is the hardest thing to deal with when you are into the emigration process. We tried not to talk about it too much with family especially in the early days, but it is so difficult when it is part of your life. Our family have been very good and want whats best for us which made it a bit easier.

The process of leaving the country on that one-way flight was hard, we had so many leaving parties, dinners with friends, kids leaving parties, it became stressfull, don't know if there is a easier way to do it, we didn't want one big farewell party.

Sitting here typing this I can say that I am very happy that we did it, tomorrow I may feel different, I know there will be good days and bad and I know that we will have to deal with it. If I am feeling down, all I need do it queue up at Tim Horton's drive-in with everyone else for their special coffee and all will be well again!!!!!

Try to be positive and look forward to a great future in Canada.

All the best

Rosie Alcock

I've just signed onto this site today because I'm having a terrible bout of homesickness and I feel a bit discouraged today. I am living in Canada as a visitor with my Canadian partner and have my papers in progress. The strain of waiting for them to come, not earning, not having my own job, even though I volunteer a lot can get me down. I could live back in the UK and work while we wait for the papers but I would miss my man too much. Canada is a great country and I really like the people I've met but after a year of being here on and off, I still don't feel I've reached a comfort zone with new friends and I miss so much about the British lifestyle. I know that i will have to climb new mountains when I get my papers to become professionally registered here and sometimes thoughts of doubt creep into my mind. I do think canada is a better place to raise a family, being a teacher and having seen not even the worst of british schools. I think moving to a new life is easier when you are younger and more flexible and more ignorant to what can go wrong in life!!
But at the end of the day, I moved here for love and it is worth all of the changes. I just hope the papers come soon!!

R2D2

These up and downs seem to go on throughout the yrs from what I have read from other ex-pats. I too have had a bit of a homesicky session this last week or so. Been here 17 months, not truly settled, love the lifestyle though, have gained so much, but seem to have lost a fair bit too.

I miss aspects of UK life, but does that mean I want to rush back to it ???
Sometimes its hard to differenciate the two!

yonk

Sometimes, it just means you would just like aspects of both in the one place, which is sadly impossible.

I've moved all over until all my friends and family are widely spread - I was very homesick after spending a month "at home" with my mother in the Spring, something I haven't done since leaving home and it unsettled me but currently my "life" is here, so you manage and make the best of it as you can or change aspects or go back with a new perspective....

rizwan_fareed

I am planning to move, not for me but for my kids and their future generations.

When I look at it from that point of view then yes i feel it's the best thign to do, however if i looked at it from a selfish point of view then perhaps No.

Hope this helps.

hot wasabi peas

Become one!