So many from Canada!
 

So many expats on here returning from Canada, quite a telling story, you don't see many on here from NZ and Australia.

You have to be pretty stupid in the first place to move somewhere so cold anyway, and I am not just talking about the climate.

Re: So many from Canada!
 

Since I have been home (UK) I have met quite a few people who have returned from either Aus/NZ and even S.Africa and not one of them knew about this site...I myself found it out by accident after many years living in Aus....there might be a lot more returing from these countries that you might think...our removal guy said they were so busy I had to wait for a delivery date.....3 weeks....he also said at one time some use to return back...but these past few years he said that was not the case with their company....Canada..our neice is talking about living there....her new OH has a cousin who is over there (been there for nearly two years) and he is constantly bending their ears about how wonderful life is there...that might be the case...my neice asked me what I thought...a difficult one and I just said...if it were me and I had a lovely family....great home..and I job that I loved (as our neice does)....well it would be hard to match that anywhere in the world and I would have to do some serious homework to see if I could match it and then I would have to decide.......some still go though....

Re: So many from Canada!
 

Id say you arent looking close enough! There are certainly more than usual at the moment, but its still only half a dozen, if that.

Today, FWIW, in my corner of Ontario, the high is 31C, feels like 40 with the Humidity.

Ill take cold over that any day. Very poor skiing conditions at present:D

Canadian people? Some are great and would walk through fire for you, some are superficially friendly but hard to get to know, some are downright hostile.

Just like UK people in fact. I dare say Ive met more annoying tits and bad mannered yobs in the UK though than I have here, but YMMV.

The truth is, emigration works for some people, doesnt work for others.

There are no perfect places and the grass is always just a different shade of green. The UK is not a third world country, it has good and bad like anywhere else. You can say the same about Canada, or Australia, or the US etc.

If you cross the ocean to live somewhere else you are likely to miss family and old friends, that affects some people more than others.

In many cases how well you adapt to life in a new country depends on landing a job that uses your skills and pays the bills and that you are happy with, some people get lucky with that right away, some never find it.

All of the above applies to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain... pretty much anywhere.

Re: So many from Canada!
 

I noticed that too. Or it looks that way anyway. Of course it could be that the level of education of those who choose to live in Canada is generally higher than those who choose to live in Oz, so they are more likely to be able to express themselves better. Also, I doubt as many people in SA or OZ have access to high speed internet as they do in Canada.

Or maybe people in Canada just don't get insulted enough on a daily basis as they do in Oz, or live in fear of being a victim of crime like in SA. This could certainly lead to boredom for some.

Re: So many from Canada!
 

Usually when I pop on here it's people returning from Aus or the USA, just because there are a couple of threads of people returning from Canada doesn't mean there are more or less than anywhere else in the world. It has been interesting for me to see why people are returning from Canada, it is helping put my position into perspective.

Re: So many from Canada!
 

I think 6 people returning to Canada DOES constitute an overwhelming amount heading back to the UK - that's double the normal figures ;).

Have to go turn the hose on my polar bear, he can't stand the 36C heat :rofl:

Re: So many from Canada!
 

Well I guess that makes me stupid then since I moved there. Must be even stupider because I loved it for the 6 years I was there. Moved again because work brought me to the US.

I think that a place is just a place and is usually what you make of it. Canada has good and bad, as does England, as does the US. Also Canada is so huge that living in one part of it is nothing like living in another so sweeping generalizations don't work.

I am thinking of returning from the US now but it's not because there's anything wrong with the US, just as I didn't leave Canada for negative reasons. I just find as I get older that family and friends are more important than adventure and new experiences. But je ne regret riens as the great singer once sang! (I'm sure that's not right but you get the gist)

Re: So many from Canada!
 

Batten down the hatches, Canada is emptying !!! :rolleyes:

Re: So many from Canada!
 

:lol: :rofl:

Re: So many from Canada!
 

I don't think you can really draw a lot of conclusions from the posts on this forum. Most of them are from people who are, by definition, thinking about coming "home" for one reason or another; and this doesn't take any cognisance of the expatriates who have never heard of this site, or are perfectly happy in their "new home"? The majority?

Re: So many from Canada!
 

Look to be fair...there are some really stupid decisions. People watch Grizzly Adams on TV relaize it is Canada and think "I want to live there." Do next to know research ,reccie trips etc....move out there lock stock. Within a month decide "it's not for them" move back and whinge.

I have seen many such posters here and it is absolutely amazing. Such a huge decision is done on so little common sense.

"I want to live in Aussie just watched neighbours.."

Have you visited or even lived here for a while..?

"NO..why would I need to do that I saw pictures on the Net.."

UNBELIEVABLE! :o I kid you not.

Re: So many from Canada!
 

Some people are quite unbelievable, moving to Canada (or in fact anywhere) without any real research trips, but to a certain extent the value is overstated. Of the top long distance emigration destinations, despite sharing a common language, Canada is in many ways the most alien to the Brits. You just won't notice this during a research visit or two of a couple of weeks each time. It can range from simple things such a completely different idea on what constitutes humour, down to the downright oppressive formality and political correctness of the work environment in some places.

The same applies to the extremes of cold that you are likely to encounter in some parts of Canada. During short visits there is probably a novelty value, and it is not until you experience the day to day realities of living in -30 or colder that it really hits you.

Re: So many from Canada!
 

YAWN....more sweeping generalizations. I've lived here 18 years, never expereinced minus 30, "a work place culture of oppression" and Canadians, do have a sense of humor.

Re: So many from Canada!
 

I have experienced 4 winters and temps of -30C but you know what, it's part of living here and you just get on with it. No roads grinding to a halt at the first sign of snow. I actually struggle more with the heat and humidity than the cold. Last week it was +36C with very high humidty for a few days so I found it hard to cope with :eek:.

I also find that being a Scot, Nova Scotia is very similar to home in many ways. The people from the Maritimes are the friendliest I have ever come across and have a fantastic sense of humour, very similar to a British one - must be their Scottish and Irish roots ;)

Re: So many from Canada!
 

Oh dear, it appears that someone can't read/understand basic English and lives in pampered BC.

I never said that Candians don't have a sense of humour, just that it is completely different to the British sense of humour.

Calgary regulary experiences temperatures of -30C and below during winter and it is damn unpleasant being outside. It also gets damn windy at times so the windschill makes feel even colder. We had a windchill corrected temperature of -50 or so while I was there. As some have said, low temperatures are pert of the Canadian experience and you just get on with them, but they do tend to get you down especially if one of you main pleasures in life is walking your dogs. Ours would simply refuse to go out in those conditions.

As for the office environment, I quite agree that not all workplaces will be the same. But, I have the experience of same job, same company in both the UK and Canada. Take a simple pleasure that is common place working the the oil industry service sector in the UK. The Friday lunchtime team building pint. This was completely frowned upon in the Calgary office but is thoroughly enjoyed by all in the UK. Other simple things such as office banter also had the Canadians looking at the expats as if we were from another world. Guess which office has just been closed!!

None of these things in themselves are major, but they all contibute to a feeling that you are not home. Don't get me wrong, I actually loved Canada and we came home for other reasons, but we found it to be a far more alien place to live than for example Australia.