britmomma

You lucky dog! Just thinking of three whole days of eating christmas puds, roast goose, and cadburys roses is turning me green with envy. Not to mention actually having a real beer again. Ahhhhhh.............bliss! Enjoy!!!!

NotTooShabby

Congratulations Ciderman. Good feeling isn't it?. You're just a few days behind us, we're out of here on Dec 7th. Looking forward real beer, real sausages and real life. Cheers squire.

jonfrank123

Ok, I had a business that I was running in the UK from Canada, so I hit the ground running, in fact things are going great now that I am actually physically here to run it. My wife was job searching for 2 weeks, and got offered 3 well paid jobs in Oxfordshire. In fact there doesn't seem to be too many signs of recession where we live.

We found a house pretty easily, but I went out 6 weeks ahead of OH, she kept looking on rightmove and booked me a viewing each time something that looked nice came up and it didn't take long at all. You might want to get ciderman back to the UK for a couple of weeks before you go for a house recce, or yourself for that matter.

I also brought a car so by the time that I brought wife and kids back from Canada I had everything set up waiting for them.

Ciderman

Many thanks from myself and my wife to everyone for the support and encouragement we've had to date. It's great to know we're not the only ones in this position and we all have similar experiences. Things are really picking up speed now; my wife has managed to sell/pre-sell all the furniture we're not taking back in under a week!

Real weight off our mind now the house has sold and the flights are booked. Keep tuned to this channel for more updates prior to take-off day and later after arrival.

The4BellsLondon

hey - did you craiglist the furniture??

Ciderman

No, just struck lucky with friends and friends of friends who all had an eye for a great bargain, I think we sold everything too cheap! It's been an amazing week, the great thing is everyone is letting us hold onto their purchases until moving date otherwise we would just be left with a bed and a dining set for 8 weeks.

The4BellsLondon

Nice one!!!

Bevm

Congratulations, Ciderman!

I'm not sure about Australia and Canada being the same, though, from reading here. Both have the same problem -- that people move for the "good life" then find out that it's not all it's cracked up to be. But I gather Australia lacks a lot of stuff -- variety in the shops and such, and that's not true in Canada. OTOH, the climate in Canada is mostly harsh in winter, whereas I think in Australia there are many temperate places to live.

Might be wrong, though,

Bev

shelley748

Congrats- I am envious- hubby and I are at logger heads becos Mr Doom and Gloom says the UK economy is worse than Canada, and I am peed off becos he cannot get retraining here and I keep telling him that he will get help re job hunting in UK.

We are looking to move back to Poole/Bmth Soton area..where my Dad is-the magnet is really strong for me- only thing that is holding me back is our elderly dog- whe is coming up to be 13.... should I go over alone or what?

Nother piece to the puzzle is that he is not working here so any money I get I would have to send back for hi to pay the mtg until we have sold house. I am so miserable- sorry to hijack thread - reading it makes me want to go back now!

The4BellsLondon

GOd we are a bunch of grumps arent we!! am off to sulk under the duvet!

Ciderman

No worries, we're here to help each other out when we're feeling down.

I wouldn't say the UK economy is any worse than Canada to be honest. It's numbers looks bad I think because there's twice the population in England compared to Canada but i think percentage wise the two countries aren't far apart in terms of unemployment numbers.

Your dog may be a tricky decision as the move and possible quarantine in the UK will be stressful for him/her. Wonder if doggy could remain in Canada until the requisite 6 months have passed after the rabies test then he/she could come straight home in the UK without quarantine.

Ciderman

Yep, shopping here in western Canada has been frustrating for us to say the least. Seem to spend most of your time driving around multiple shops trying to buy what you'd normally get in one shop such as Tesco or Sainsbury.

There's been many times I've been looking to buy a non-food item and been told "it's not in stock but we can get it in in six weeks". Good god where are we- Mars? Internet shopping is really frustrating as it's basically non-existent given the cost of getting the stuff shipped.

I read an article on shopping, particular Internet shopping here in Canada, the other day and apparently it's all to do with supply and demand- small population, long distances equals hassle. Strange how you can get a pickup or SUV in any colour and any spec level though!

jonfrank123

The economy isn't any worse or better than Canada. In fact if you have Canadian Dollars now is probably the best time to get them back into pounds and over here. The exchange rate is amazing!!

My wife was offered 3 jobs after looking for 2 weeks, My business is moving along nicely, Ok our house is a little smaller than what we were renting in Canada and our car a bit older, but I really couldn't care less

jonfrank123

We tried internet shopping once in Canada for our groceries. Delivered by a guy in a broken down old Chevy Van, ohh and it wasn't even refrigerated and the temp was 35 celcius in the middle of a Montreal Summer, Never again!!

Compare that with our weekly shop with Ocado in the UK, who are the delivery arm of Waitrose we use now. Brand new Vans, always on time, uniformed drivers, free newspaper with each order. It's a different world

dunroving

Sorry, this is OT, but I just got a flyer about Ocado ... also indicated they match Tesco prices or something like that(?)

Few quick Q's:

How much does it cost?

Do you have to have a Waitrose nearby? Nearest to me is Edinburgh (42 miles), though they are supposedly opening a branch in the West End of Glasgow, about 10 miles from me ...

And lastly, do you not end up with the fag-end produce (i.e., when you're in the store you can pick out the strawberries that are already going off, etc.)?

As a busy person who hardly has time to do grocery shopping, the idea of delivery is very appealing.