I agree
Just because people want to return to the UK does not make them a failure. My wife and I are in Canada for a couple of years. She was transferred to Canada by her company and we intended to move and settle here. I am still at law school in the UK, so am frequently going back to the UK for that, and my wife has a very good well paid job here in Canada. We are not failures.

However we have decided to return to the UK in a year’s time. We just prefer it to Canada. We miss the history and culture of the UK, we find people have more substance and a better sense of humor in the UK and we miss being part of the great nation we feel we belong to.

Plus London has so much heritage, history and a reputation as both a top party destination and the gateway to the rest of Western Europe. You have 26 different countries and their culture on your doorstep in the UK. We appreciate the UK a lot more now we have been away and are glad to have experienced the Canadian way of life.

No one is slagging off "your country" we enjoy it here in Canada but some people prefer their home country and just decide that it is time to go home, not because they hate Canada or have failed, but they miss their home and sense of belonging.

With regard to cutting ties with our miserable Monarchy, you know that will never happen. Canada's constitution is made up of a variety of statutes and conventions that are mostly British in origin, which gives Canada a similar parliamentary system of government to the UK. All powers of state are constitutionally reposed in the Monarch of Canada (the Queen), who is represented at the federal level by the Governor General of Canada, with the Queen as the person at the centre of the constitutional construct.

The vast powers that belong to the Crown are known as the Royal Prerogative, which includes many powers such as the ability to make treaties, as well as certain duties such as to defend the realm (Canada included) and to maintain the Queen's peace. Canadian Parliamentary approval is not required for the exercise of the Royal Prerogative; moreover, the consent of the Crown must be obtained before either House may even debate a bill affecting the Sovereign's prerogatives or interests. The Royal Prerogative belongs to the Crown, and not to any Canadian ministers. Therefore the Monarch is very powerful in Canada.

The Crown will never let the Commonwealth of Canada become a republic and I think you will find the majority of Canadians are in favour of the Queen remaining the head of state in Canada.

As I said I love it here in Canada but just prefer the UK and that is why we are going home. It is a personal choice.

Rant over : )

I doubt that Canada will becomes a republic anytime soon but not for the reasons you give. The queen and the GG on this side of the pond these are simply meaningless irrelevant figureheads who wield no power.

Canadians are largely apathetic towards the monarchy .. it simply is a non-issue. Even in quebec it isn't a topic much discussed.

Me, I favour keeping the monarchy because it is a moneymaker and great for tourism. The yanks just luvvvvv buckingham palace and are much in awe of the monarchy. Why I do not know. In any event it is up to brits to decide.

Howard I see you are up to your old tricks again...have you forgotton the warning Admin gave you?

Perhaps you aren't familiar with this Site Rule:

4. Trolling on this site is not tolerated. We define trolling as any inflammatory threads or posts that are started with the sole intent of upsetting or antagonizing other members. Anyone found making such posts will be removed from the forums.

My family and I fly back to the UK next Wednesday. I am actually sitting here today wondering what I am doing. It is not that I dislike living in Canada, in fact my 6 years here have been perhaps the best so far, I have 3 lovely boys (all born here) and a supportive wonderful husband who in fact is the main driving force for the move.

So I am sure there will be folks out there who ask why we are going then if things are that wonderful here. Well basically it boils down to a few things. My OH has always wanted to work somewhere other than Canada and in his current position there is no possible advancement available. We moved from Calgary last year as he was offered a transfer, we thought it would be could to try as whilst with hindsight we acknowledge that we don't hate Calgary, at the time the traffic etc was becoming a little too much for us - Red Deer looked to offer a different lifestyle and ultimately a move that would allow a return to the Uk in a further 2-3 years. Well what the move proved to us is that we like to be close to family, I want my sons to be able to see their grandparents on a regular basis and being 2 hours away from this family is just not for us.
A move back to Calgary would finanically and emotionallly be a move backwards for us (we believe), ultimately we would have been going to the UK so that my parents and family have a chance to know their grandsons and so that my OH can experience and life his dream of working somewhere else other than Canada - we just happen to have moved that date forward by a couple of years - it is also easier to move the kids when they are this young.

We have certainly not ruled out a move back to Canada if that is what we agree upon. We will be giving at least 5 years to life in the UK and will then reevaluate.

I have my romantic views of the UK, the footpath walks, life in the country, holidays to Cornwall, explore parts of the country that I have never seen, showing my husband the little corners of 'green and rolling hills' (well the ones that haven't been built upon) - the closeness of europe and seeing as I have now experience life as a Canadian I will think nothing of driving for over 5 hours to go somewhere for the weekend!!!!!!!!
I also have the same views of Canada, the rockies, the great lakes, Vancouver Island to name but a few and yes I will miss them, perhaps even more than I anticipate but we are young (ish) and can always come back but until we have exercised that ghost of living in the UK I honestly don't think we will be able to settle anywhere permanently.
So packing continues, the movers are in next Monday and Tuesday, things are being sold and we are dealing with the ups and downs of toddlers who one minute want to go and the next are refusing to do anything.
The only thing that would make this better is if we were to be moving with our dogs as planned - unfortunately that is not the case, we shall just have to travel with our pictures and memories.
Nikki

Best wishes polarbearmum. Hope you like the UK and get settled - even if it is only the next stepping stone or a step to returning to Canada or going elsewhere. Wishing you and all the family well

I know what u mean I have had people round for meals and they dont come or when they come they dont eat that much. Last year we did a party and been british we did lots of food. most of the people turned up but they did not eat anything or very little i was told by one of them that they only nibble things when they go out.


The beer is so expensive and not that nice i tend to buy asian beer which is a lot nicer.

like you say its very hard breaking in to a group other then people from other places like india asia any one but Canadians.

You know when u work with them they are so nice to u but if u go sick or miss aday or two from work none of them ring u in the UK if i had a day sick a lot of people would ring me to see if i was ok.

and work u start at the bottom and stay here unless u have canadian education its very hard to find decent work.

I have just found these messages and I feel thankful that I am not alone in my views of Vancouver. During our time here we have made virtually no friends and those who we have found to be friendly do not originate from Vancouver. We have found the people here to be rude and insular with no common courtesies - I'm not saying we are all perfect and the English are any better, but, I had better expectations. Previous to Vancouver, we had spent three years in NZ where the people we met were genuine and friendly, hellos in the street from neighbours, thanking the bus drivers and general acts of kindness from complete strangers.

Vancouver is beautiful, but beneath it's beauty lies it's dark secret, the homeless, the street people, the bin divers, the 100's of people forced to live rough in Stanley Park, the mentally disturbed wandering the streets because the authorities have turned their backs on them. Have you ever visited East Vancouver? I am well travelled and have lived in four major cities and do not conisder myself naive but I am shocked and sadened on a daily basis by what I see here. That said, even though it's not the place for us, it may be the place for you just try before you buy.

Speaking of bin divers I regularly see them behind my building going through our bin or skip as you call it. A couple of times I've accidently hit them with my rubbish bag as their crawling around the bottom of the bin. I've also seen people shooting up in our back alleys. The locals just accept this type of thing as 'normal'. I was talking to my sister in London and she said she thought BC was an affluent province. She hasn't visited here in years. I disagreed with her strongly.

My kids finished school early yesterday, so I took them for lunch. We went to Timmies, and had to leave because two really nasty drug addicts I have had issues with were sat inside. Crossing Safeway's parking lot, I was greeted with the sight of four of Chilliwack's loveliest also shooting up by the loading bay.

My six year old looked at me and asked what they were doing. My eight year old answered "drugs, they do it all the time behind our school".

I've been gone from the UK a long time. The only time I ever saw this level of open drug use was in one council estate in Scotland. :curse:

For the past year or so I have felt an overwhelming urge to return to the UK - this is our second time in Canada, and we returned with such high hopes, expecting it to be the same lovely, welcoming place it was back in the 80's. The truth of the matter is that where we live is a racist and ageist community.....we've met with nothing but hostility and rudeness in this small town. The laughable thing is they actually promote themselves as "the friendly place"....it's on the town boards as you drive in. The only people who are friendly are, like us, "out of towners" who have experienced the same thing. I tell you, it's like a weird Stephen King film....when you walk down the street you can hear the silence and feel the hostility.
Now I know plenty of you on the web site will say how well they have settled, and how friendly Canadians are, and I really don't want to get into an argument with anyone..............we can only go off our own personal experience...........and this time round, we find it just isn't for us. We are now planning a return to the UK and hope to sell up next Spring........it's only that thought that's keeping me going through this cold snowy winter.

How long have you been here this time?

And do you think anywhere else in Canada could tick a few more boxes for you first, before heading back to the UK? Your Stephen King town does not offer what you need - have you found it anywhere else ?

Best wishes, which ever way you go

Hi Dingbat - To answer your question and ann m's.....we've been here just over six years this time, and no, I don't want to move within Canada as there really is too much here I don't like. I've had my eyes well and truly opened this time (there was a gap of over fifteen years in between out two Canadian outings); maybe it's because I'm older and (hopefully) wiser, maybe it's because the world in general has changed, but I feel I need to be back amongst my friends and family, even though it will entail a certain amount of hardship financially. It's a very strange feeling, but it's like a part of me has died while I've been here. We have a lot of planning to do, but for us, I'm sure it's the only way to go.
Thank you for your good wishes, ann m - and Merry Christmas to anyone who glances at this thread

That's how I feel. I think I may have written your post a few thousand times over the past few years. Thirteen years out here this time for me, it was also the second time. A part of me does feel like it died being stuck here! I used to be such an adventurous soul, living here has knocked the stuffing out of me. I hope to get that "ooomph" back once I am home again. I cannot wait until I hit Heathrow and this tedious nightmare is finally over.
Happy Christmas and onward and out for both of us.

Where do you live if you don't mind me asking?