Stuck in Canada
#91
Re: Stuck in Canada
I certainly know how you are feeling, i remember it well. As Quoll said in another thread, you get so excited about your new life and once the dust has settled you think, err is this it? Im glad i got my citizenship though. We do intend to return in a few years to put our feet up. All the best mate.
#92
Re: Stuck in Canada
How about an actual literacy league table study. Granted, things are very close, but these are the actual results:
The Literacy League:
1 Russian Federation 565*
2 Hong Kong 564
3 Canada, Alberta** 560
4 Singapore 558
5 Canada, British Columbia 558
6 Luxembourg 557
7 Canada, Ontario 555
8 Italy 551
9 Hungary 551
10 Sweden 549
11 Germany 548
12 Netherlands 547
13 Belgium (Flemish) 547
14 Bulgaria 547
15 Denmark 546
16 Canada, Nova Scotia 542
17 Latvia 541
18 United States 540
19 England 539
20 Austria 538
21 Lithuania 537
22 Chinese Taipei 535
23 Canada, Quebec 533
24 New Zealand 532
25 Slovak Republic 531
26 Scotland 527
27 France 522
28 Slovenia 522
29 Poland 519
30 Spain 513
31 Israel 512
32 Iceland 511
33 Moldova 500
34 Belgium (French) 500
35 Norway 498
36 Romania 489
37 Georgia 471
38 Macedonia 442
39 Trinidad and Tobago 436
40 Iran 421
41 Indonesia 405
42 Qatar 353
43 Kuwait 330
44 Morocco 323
45 South Africa 302
See also the BBC article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...on/7115692.stm
BBC table summary
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...on/7126388.stm
Canada and Australia both above average for math and reading, UK Average for both.
Last edited by iaink; Dec 1st 2009 at 1:12 pm.
#93
Re: Stuck in Canada
I was looking at the results from the Guardian.
Still so close, not really worth the fuss.
Our school used to have more freedom (here in US) But lately I'm not looking forward to my youngest starting next Autumn, she'll be our last at school. I wish I could move before she goes, and start her in UK (Where she'd still be a year behind) As she's 5 in January
Still so close, not really worth the fuss.
Our school used to have more freedom (here in US) But lately I'm not looking forward to my youngest starting next Autumn, she'll be our last at school. I wish I could move before she goes, and start her in UK (Where she'd still be a year behind) As she's 5 in January
#96
Re: Stuck in Canada
I applied to move to Canada 2 years ago.
Sounds like some of you on here have really been through the mill.
Tbh I am really excited about the move but really scared at the same time. I don't know what to expect.
Is there anything you think you could have done better to help yourselves adapt or is it mainly a case of missing family & friends etc...
I hope those of you going through the hard times get better soon, and if you do move back I hope it goes smoothly.
Sounds like some of you on here have really been through the mill.
Tbh I am really excited about the move but really scared at the same time. I don't know what to expect.
Is there anything you think you could have done better to help yourselves adapt or is it mainly a case of missing family & friends etc...
I hope those of you going through the hard times get better soon, and if you do move back I hope it goes smoothly.
#97
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 12,830
Re: Stuck in Canada
I applied to move to Canada 2 years ago.
Sounds like some of you on here have really been through the mill.
Tbh I am really excited about the move but really scared at the same time. I don't know what to expect.
Is there anything you think you could have done better to help yourselves adapt or is it mainly a case of missing family & friends etc...
I hope those of you going through the hard times get better soon, and if you do move back I hope it goes smoothly.
Sounds like some of you on here have really been through the mill.
Tbh I am really excited about the move but really scared at the same time. I don't know what to expect.
Is there anything you think you could have done better to help yourselves adapt or is it mainly a case of missing family & friends etc...
I hope those of you going through the hard times get better soon, and if you do move back I hope it goes smoothly.
The busier you are and the more folks you meet up with the easier it is. Don't expect it to be easy though, it can take a few years to settle in.
#98
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2008
Location: oakville ON
Posts: 350
Re: Stuck in Canada
I applied to move to Canada 2 years ago.
Sounds like some of you on here have really been through the mill.
Tbh I am really excited about the move but really scared at the same time. I don't know what to expect.
Is there anything you think you could have done better to help yourselves adapt or is it mainly a case of missing family & friends etc...
I hope those of you going through the hard times get better soon, and if you do move back I hope it goes smoothly.
Sounds like some of you on here have really been through the mill.
Tbh I am really excited about the move but really scared at the same time. I don't know what to expect.
Is there anything you think you could have done better to help yourselves adapt or is it mainly a case of missing family & friends etc...
I hope those of you going through the hard times get better soon, and if you do move back I hope it goes smoothly.
We moved for slightly different reasons than prob the norm.
A) We had the opportunity having the kids and myself citizenship,
B) my hubby had the opportunity to set up the canadian side of the business he came from and be his own boss. Which for us was a no brainer as the industry is not half as swamped as it was in the UK and we are starting to see the results!
We didn't leave cos of the place - i loved my village and the community within it (my biggest miss)
Yes, i hated the weather and dreamed of the kids having a proper outdoors summer like i used to, which they have had.
Yes i felt frustrated as the house prices in the village were always so high (some bargins now though!), having said that, the size of the house i have come to realise isn't the bee all and end all!
I think in certain situations it has been stressful circumstances (jobs etc) that can inhibit the settling in period. Ulimately though i think it all depends on who you are as a person, what you expect to get out of Canada that you can't get in the UK.
We have found the move hard. We have made lots of nice friends and have thrown ourselves into the canadian way of life etc. There is just something always missing though! This is frustrating as there is lots i like about Canada, just think its not somewhere i love and find i'm living away from the rest of the world! The initial idea of skiing/lakes etc etc was very appealing but its not a realistic everyday world . I find myself needing more around me, however what i find boring and stagment might not be what others find!
True there are lots of activities etc etc - which on paper sounds great, but in reality you need a lot of money to do all there is to offer.
I also miss being on the doorstep to beautiful countryside with proper access to getting away from everything! Being in the part we are in, the countryside is IOM not half as pretty as the UK, and we live in a very built up area - needed though for work purposes.
Hence the reason why we are still renting and not intending to buy untill we have been here another year to see how we feel. We are going back to the UK in a couple weeks so that will be interesting to see whether we just have our rose tinted specs on backwards!
My hubby was very much a Yorkshire fella and missess the banter/footie/pubs, days at the local cricket ground etc.
All depends on situation of your leaving the UK, personality types, what draws you to Canada.
I would always encourage people to give it a go as you'll never know till you have tried it, if you like it then it will be the best desion you will have made, if you don't then at least you had the guts to try and will never have the nagging feeling of "what if".
#99
Re: Stuck in Canada
Never had much of a problem ourselves adapting, although we had been to Canada a lot before moving here to live. We took the approach Canada was home from the get go and Britain was the old country. When working I went back quite a few times each year, the OH and kids had the chance to do this (at no cost) and rarely ever wanted to. I think in 15 years they went back no more than two or three times.
The busier you are and the more folks you meet up with the easier it is. Don't expect it to be easy though, it can take a few years to settle in.
The busier you are and the more folks you meet up with the easier it is. Don't expect it to be easy though, it can take a few years to settle in.
Hi,
We moved for slightly different reasons than prob the norm.
A) We had the opportunity having the kids and myself citizenship,
B) my hubby had the opportunity to set up the canadian side of the business he came from and be his own boss. Which for us was a no brainer as the industry is not half as swamped as it was in the UK and we are starting to see the results!
We didn't leave cos of the place - i loved my village and the community within it (my biggest miss)
Yes, i hated the weather and dreamed of the kids having a proper outdoors summer like i used to, which they have had.
Yes i felt frustrated as the house prices in the village were always so high (some bargins now though!), having said that, the size of the house i have come to realise isn't the bee all and end all!
I think in certain situations it has been stressful circumstances (jobs etc) that can inhibit the settling in period. Ulimately though i think it all depends on who you are as a person, what you expect to get out of Canada that you can't get in the UK.
We have found the move hard. We have made lots of nice friends and have thrown ourselves into the canadian way of life etc. There is just something always missing though! This is frustrating as there is lots i like about Canada, just think its not somewhere i love and find i'm living away from the rest of the world! The initial idea of skiing/lakes etc etc was very appealing but its not a realistic everyday world . I find myself needing more around me, however what i find boring and stagment might not be what others find!
True there are lots of activities etc etc - which on paper sounds great, but in reality you need a lot of money to do all there is to offer.
I also miss being on the doorstep to beautiful countryside with proper access to getting away from everything! Being in the part we are in, the countryside is IOM not half as pretty as the UK, and we live in a very built up area - needed though for work purposes.
Hence the reason why we are still renting and not intending to buy untill we have been here another year to see how we feel. We are going back to the UK in a couple weeks so that will be interesting to see whether we just have our rose tinted specs on backwards!
My hubby was very much a Yorkshire fella and missess the banter/footie/pubs, days at the local cricket ground etc.
All depends on situation of your leaving the UK, personality types, what draws you to Canada.
I would always encourage people to give it a go as you'll never know till you have tried it, if you like it then it will be the best desion you will have made, if you don't then at least you had the guts to try and will never have the nagging feeling of "what if".
We moved for slightly different reasons than prob the norm.
A) We had the opportunity having the kids and myself citizenship,
B) my hubby had the opportunity to set up the canadian side of the business he came from and be his own boss. Which for us was a no brainer as the industry is not half as swamped as it was in the UK and we are starting to see the results!
We didn't leave cos of the place - i loved my village and the community within it (my biggest miss)
Yes, i hated the weather and dreamed of the kids having a proper outdoors summer like i used to, which they have had.
Yes i felt frustrated as the house prices in the village were always so high (some bargins now though!), having said that, the size of the house i have come to realise isn't the bee all and end all!
I think in certain situations it has been stressful circumstances (jobs etc) that can inhibit the settling in period. Ulimately though i think it all depends on who you are as a person, what you expect to get out of Canada that you can't get in the UK.
We have found the move hard. We have made lots of nice friends and have thrown ourselves into the canadian way of life etc. There is just something always missing though! This is frustrating as there is lots i like about Canada, just think its not somewhere i love and find i'm living away from the rest of the world! The initial idea of skiing/lakes etc etc was very appealing but its not a realistic everyday world . I find myself needing more around me, however what i find boring and stagment might not be what others find!
True there are lots of activities etc etc - which on paper sounds great, but in reality you need a lot of money to do all there is to offer.
I also miss being on the doorstep to beautiful countryside with proper access to getting away from everything! Being in the part we are in, the countryside is IOM not half as pretty as the UK, and we live in a very built up area - needed though for work purposes.
Hence the reason why we are still renting and not intending to buy untill we have been here another year to see how we feel. We are going back to the UK in a couple weeks so that will be interesting to see whether we just have our rose tinted specs on backwards!
My hubby was very much a Yorkshire fella and missess the banter/footie/pubs, days at the local cricket ground etc.
All depends on situation of your leaving the UK, personality types, what draws you to Canada.
I would always encourage people to give it a go as you'll never know till you have tried it, if you like it then it will be the best desion you will have made, if you don't then at least you had the guts to try and will never have the nagging feeling of "what if".
I am hoping that as we both have family there it will make things a little easier for us at least I can't imagine moving and not knowing a single soul
#100
Just Joined
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 21
Re: Stuck in Canada
Hi Jon Frank- if you don't mind me asking when did you move back? What line of work is your wife in? Did you have any issues renting/buying a home? Also do the car insurance companies treat you like a foreigner re car insurance or if you can produce letter from previous insurance in UK proving before you left you had no claims bonus?
#101
Lost in Space
Joined: Oct 2009
Location: Stockport, Cheshire, UK
Posts: 804
Re: Stuck in Canada
I'm hoping not to be stuck for too much longer. I'm trying to make this move as smooth as possible and not push too hard or my hubby will dig in his heels although he is also fed up of island living too. I get nervous palpitations when someone says 'organic' or 'rice tea' or 'yoga'. It's just too BC west coast healthy for me....so boring and predictable it hurts!
Anyway, I hope everyone gets through this holiday season with a smile. It's a tricky time of year and we're all more likely to miss home. I'd love to don a pair of heels and go out with my hubby and our lovely Brit friends. I would be sure of a good belly laugh and a memorable time....and no mention of yoga, organic chick peas.....and so on.
Anyway, I hope everyone gets through this holiday season with a smile. It's a tricky time of year and we're all more likely to miss home. I'd love to don a pair of heels and go out with my hubby and our lovely Brit friends. I would be sure of a good belly laugh and a memorable time....and no mention of yoga, organic chick peas.....and so on.
#103
Re: Stuck in Canada
Were your children in school in the UK? I'm just curious. I can only go by friends' and family's opinion of current UK schooling.
I'm not as convinced as many that class size is crucial. I was mostly taught in large classes and didn't suffer from it. Better chance to read in the back row.
Are your children in French immersion or English with core French. In many places French immersion has seriously damaged the content in the English streams, and I happen to have problems with the whole concept of French immersion. Whole other subject.
I found there was a lot of redundancy and repetition in the Canadian syllabus and less striving for excellence in academics, which I do see in some schools here. I think the lack of something like the exams here and the SATs in the States is a real problem. There should be a national exam. Everyone complains here about Offsteds etc, but Canadian schools have very little outside supervision and can get away with atrocious sloppiness. Apart from sports, there seem to be less extra curricular activities and trips.
But this is absolutely only my opinion. I'm sure schools are different area by area everywhere.
Perhaps other people here who've experiences both systems with their kids can chip in.
Bev
I'm not as convinced as many that class size is crucial. I was mostly taught in large classes and didn't suffer from it. Better chance to read in the back row.
Are your children in French immersion or English with core French. In many places French immersion has seriously damaged the content in the English streams, and I happen to have problems with the whole concept of French immersion. Whole other subject.
I found there was a lot of redundancy and repetition in the Canadian syllabus and less striving for excellence in academics, which I do see in some schools here. I think the lack of something like the exams here and the SATs in the States is a real problem. There should be a national exam. Everyone complains here about Offsteds etc, but Canadian schools have very little outside supervision and can get away with atrocious sloppiness. Apart from sports, there seem to be less extra curricular activities and trips.
But this is absolutely only my opinion. I'm sure schools are different area by area everywhere.
Perhaps other people here who've experiences both systems with their kids can chip in.
Bev
It was a joke. Ill funded, pressured teachers, kids who mostly didn't care about their education, parents who dumped them and ran each day, in order to work 40 hours a week. Bullying, drugs, under age sex and children at risk were throughout the school, as were children who met the hardship fund criteria. My children went to the feeder primary school.
Due to inclusive education in the primary they were trying to work with kids who were autistic to a rather serious extent in the classrooms with 30 other children at a time. My son was horrified to see one child being dragged down the corridor by two members of staff, as he had as my son said "gone mental". (My son was 7)
My daughter was never picked up on as having speach therapy needs, or having anything else that was picked up on here in the education system, where she is in a class with 15 others. She now speaks much more clearly and is a more confident little girl. Although yes, I must admit she did suffer at the hands or a rather worrying kindergarten teacher here in Canada. So yes, for sure there are issues concerning the quality of the teacher.
But what my point is, and this is as someone who would return to the UK in a heart beat, is the kids here at our school which goes up to a junior high, they are lovely. Nothing like the kids I worked with, and when I say that I mean, they are nowhere near as hardened, cynical or show a need to survive. These are just children. Do I want to give my kids that opportunity to enjoy being children in an environment where you don't have the same worries as the UK, yes for sure. Will I be able to stand Canada for that to happen, I'm not so sure...............
There is a difference, of that I am convinced. I just sometimes think that as parents we are left trying to figure out do we give up living to give our children the opportunities here to grow, that they wouldn't have back there. Then I look at them and think, how can I not?
As the 4 bells said earlier - life eh.
Mrs M x
#104
Lost in Space
Joined: Oct 2009
Location: Stockport, Cheshire, UK
Posts: 804
Re: Stuck in Canada
Rae, definitely it depends a lot on location, but in the UK as much as anywhere else. For example, I'll take a class of 30 with a really good teacher over a class of 15 with a bad one. Anyday, anywhere.
I was just trying to point out that Canada isn't inevitably a better place to raise and educate kids. Everyone has to assess it for themselves, their situation, and their children.
Bev
I was just trying to point out that Canada isn't inevitably a better place to raise and educate kids. Everyone has to assess it for themselves, their situation, and their children.
Bev
A blend of the two could be perfect maybe! Could people explain there aversion to French Immersion Schooling? Cheers.
#105
Lost in Space
Joined: Oct 2009
Location: Stockport, Cheshire, UK
Posts: 804
Re: Stuck in Canada
I don't have that but I will say that my children did extremely well out of the Ontario education system. They went to a French school (not immersion, one run in French by the French language school board) and took the Bac (www.ibo.org) as well as the US SAT exams for which they were coached intensively. I can't imagine that they could have been educated elsewhere in such an atmosphere of privilege and academic excellence without having affluent parents willing to fund their education. The starkest contrast with their cousins in the UK is that they made it to university; they got out of high school without once being pregnant.