England calling

Old Jun 23rd 2015, 4:36 pm
  #31  
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Default Re: England calling

Originally Posted by amideislas
That depends on your perspective.
I would say it depends on actually having lived in the US or Canada. You only have to look at the US/Canada forums (or indeed the MBTTUK forums) to see how many people experience huge culture shock when moving to Canada or the US.

It's often said on the US forums that the only similarity is the language - and even that's not the same!
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Old Jun 23rd 2015, 4:38 pm
  #32  
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Default Re: England calling

Originally Posted by Lineabove
Why do I see more posts about NEGATIVE England.

I have not been in England for about 58 years and I look forward to going to England. Whatever you see as a negative I see as a positive.

I wish England.
100 %
Go

Treat it as a whole new experience, which it is really, as you must have virtually no memories of the place.

Revel in the history, the old buildings, the narrow lanes, cobbled town streets, the castles, the variety of landscapes in different areas.

Its my home and I love it even though I am exiled to soulless Queensland. Its not perfect, but nor is any country, but its a pretty blinking gorgeous place and even though you will find some faults with it I am sure you'll find plenty to love.

Have fun
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Old Jun 23rd 2015, 4:40 pm
  #33  
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Default Re: England calling

Originally Posted by christmasoompa
I would say it depends on actually having lived in the US or Canada. You only have to look at the US/Canada forums (or indeed the MBTTUK forums) to see how many people experience huge culture shock when moving to Canada or the US.

It's often said on the US forums that the only similarity is the language - and even that's not the same!
Much like Australia. Many Brits come here thinking that because we all speak the same language it'll be much the same as the UK. However as this forum shows, the culture shock here is just as great as the US & Canada - and yes, the language here is different again once you get down to specifics! I work with a Canadian and several Aussies and we spend ages comparing languages and cultural differences.
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Old Jun 23rd 2015, 4:52 pm
  #34  
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Default Re: England calling

Originally Posted by Pollyana
Go

Treat it as a whole new experience, which it is really, as you must have virtually no memories of the place.

Revel in the history, the old buildings, the narrow lanes, cobbled town streets, the castles, the variety of landscapes in different areas.

Its my home and I love it even though I am exiled to soulless Queensland. Its not perfect, but nor is any country, but its a pretty blinking gorgeous place and even though you will find some faults with it I am sure you'll find plenty to love.

Have fun
Agree. Don't worry - it's not like moving somewhere all that different. It's a doddle. All the same stuff, really.

-- oh, and by the way, the NHS is NOT 'free' unless you are skint or on state pension. Otherwise you pay a tax that funds it. It only appears to be 'free' at point of delivery, but it does cost the UK economy upwards of £80 billion, and taxpayers pay for that.

Having said that, I am a believer that considering that it's 'free' and people therefore consume it like water, the NHS is probably the single most efficient and effective public healthcare system in the world - despite the many complaints.. But it probably should have a negligible 'cost' associated with it (like most public healthcare systems), so it isn't operating in full overload 24/7, which is its main problem.
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Old Jun 23rd 2015, 4:53 pm
  #35  
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Default Re: England calling

Originally Posted by Pollyana
Much like Australia. Many Brits come here thinking that because we all speak the same language it'll be much the same as the UK. However as this forum shows, the culture shock here is just as great as the US & Canada - and yes, the language here is different again once you get down to specifics! I work with a Canadian and several Aussies and we spend ages comparing languages and cultural differences.
True. My guess would be that Canada is most like the UK, but I am only guessing as I've never lived in Oz or the US. And even if it's the most alike, it's still a heck of a different culture.
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Old Jun 23rd 2015, 5:00 pm
  #36  
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Default Re: England calling

Originally Posted by amideislas
Agree. Don't worry - it's not like moving somewhere all that different. It's a doddle. All the same stuff, really.

-- oh, and by the way, the NHS is NOT 'free' unless you are skint or on state pension. Otherwise you pay a tax that funds it. It only appears to be 'free' at point of delivery, but it does cost the UK economy upwards of £80 billion, and taxpayers pay for that.

Having said that, I am a believer that considering that it's 'free' and people therefore consume it like water, the NHS is probably the single most efficient and effective public healthcare system in the world - despite the many complaints.. But it probably should have a negligible 'cost' associated with it (like most public healthcare systems), so it isn't operating in full overload 24/7, which is its main problem.
Don't put words in my mouth.

I didn't say it was a doddle. I don't think that emigrating anywhere would be a doddle. Every country is different, you just have to expect that and be ready for it.

And nowhere did I say the NHS is free. I didn't even mention the NHS. Ifs a darn sight freer than healthcare in Australia, Canada or the US, and is free at point of use, but obviously it is paid for 'behind the scenes' as it were.
I have actually been in the situation a few times in Aus where I have desperately needed some medical help, but due to the cost of even seeing my GP, to be paid on the day, I have put it off and off and off for many weeks, simply for lack of money. At home I would have been able to see the doctor a lot more quickly, and get the drugs and help I needed to stop a bad situation getting worse.
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Old Jun 23rd 2015, 5:06 pm
  #37  
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Default Re: England calling

If your wife is Canadian and has no British/European ancestry then you might be looking at sponsoring her for a settlement visa to live in the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/join-family-in-uk

There are visa fees and a National Health Service surcharge, together with financial and accommodation criteria to meet.

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...equirement.pdf

You may as well know about these before you make a final decision.
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Old Jun 23rd 2015, 5:06 pm
  #38  
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Default Re: England calling

Originally Posted by Pollyana
Don't put words in my mouth.

I didn't say it was a doddle. I don't think that emigrating anywhere would be a doddle. Every country is different, you just have to expect that and be ready for it.

And nowhere did I say the NHS is free. I didn't even mention the NHS. Ifs a darn sight freer than healthcare in Australia, Canada or the US, and is free at point of use, but obviously it is paid for 'behind the scenes' as it were.
I have actually been in the situation a few times in Aus where I have desperately needed some medical help, but due to the cost of even seeing my GP, to be paid on the day, I have put it off and off and off for many weeks, simply for lack of money. At home I would have been able to see the doctor a lot more quickly, and get the drugs and help I needed to stop a bad situation getting worse.
I didn't. I was agreeing with you. And it would be a doddle compared to say moving to, well, Spain for example, because the UK is pretty similar.

Someone else mentioned that you get 'free' healthcare in the UK (much like Canada). I was only clarifying what 'free' means.
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Old Jun 23rd 2015, 6:34 pm
  #39  
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Default Re: England calling

Originally Posted by Pollyana
Much like Australia. Many Brits come here thinking that because we all speak the same language it'll be much the same as the UK. However as this forum shows, the culture shock here is just as great as the US & Canada - and yes, the language here is different again once you get down to specifics! I work with a Canadian and several Aussies and we spend ages comparing languages and cultural differences.
Very true, and as you may know I mainly lived in Australia for 51 years before returning to England to live three and a half years ago.

Despite my many trips back here and to Germany, two for a year and others for several months, I still found it a shock to my system when I came back to live. I thought it would be easy to slip into the English way of life again, but the differences, plus health problems which developed here, shattered my retirement dreams.

We can all criticise the far away countries where we've lived for so long, and for me Australia's hot summers were becoming a big problem, but I've suffered more in Germany's hot and humid summers, and in the cold and wet weather in England.

Back in the 1950s I remember a Canadian in England telling me that he felt colder here than in Canada, and he blamed it on the dampness. However I have no experience of living in Canada to comment.

I'm feeling cold in my flat at the moment despite wearing a long, heavy winter cardigan, and have just switched on the central heating. This is not something I would have done in Oz in the summer!
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Old Jun 23rd 2015, 6:40 pm
  #40  
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Default Re: England calling

Originally Posted by amideislas
Complicated question, worthy of a detailed reply, but you'll lose interest quickly, really, so I'll *try* to be brief:

> Language (obviously).

> Culture: Whew - where do I start?

Americans (and Brits to a large extent) are extremely consumer-ish (for lack of a better term). Shopping malls, chain restaurants, attentive customer service, extreme things... I probably can't explain it well enough without adequate frame of reference.

Here, the 'mindset' is much different, and pace is much slower. Most businesses are family-owned, you find precious few chain restaurants or fast food ... people are much more relaxed. Attentive customer service is rare. The economics are different - cost of living is cheap, but utilities and taxes are high, bureaucracy is jaw-dropping.

You find few modern buildings (except in the cities, and even then, it's not many). My home, for example is older than the USA, and that's not unusual...

But this isn't because it's economically 'poor'. Mallorca is quite a wealthy place - one of the wealthiest in Spain, it's just that people don't have the same inclination to show it, nor the same need to have every gadget or modern convenience.. it's just ...different... I know some incredibly wealthy families that live very conventionally.

People are extremely family-oriented. They spend their Sundays together - almost always... Family money is often pooled together. Many keep a lot of money in cash in hidden safes rather than in banks ('Banco de Familia'). Family houses can be very big and can accommodate 2 families. Kids often live with their parents well into their 20's and early 30's and will even raise their family in their parent's house.... it's a very different mentality.

Food: Heavily mediterranean, heavily veg and fish. Not meat and potatoes. It's difficult to find a decent cut of beef (but you can get it). Pork is pretty popular. Snails are a staple diet. But fish and chicken - wow. Superb. Fresh fruit and veg abundant.

Packaged food can be found, but limited selection. Most food is made fresh. Milk, on the other hand is 99% UHT (unrefrigerated) and fresh milk is very hard to find and expensive. Local cuisine is very oily (olive oil), too much IMO, but that's subjective. Nothing is spicy here. You need to get curry or Mexican stuff to get spicy food. or make your own.

Excellent wines are abundant and cheap and locally produced (and a staple with every meal). We buy a lot of our wine from the barrel - you bring your own bottles - Nice, round, pleasurable reds at about €1.50 per litre. For better wines you pay from €3 to €10. More than that, it must be exceptionally posh.

It takes a little getting used to for some. But in the context of this discussion, and with that frame of reference, Canada, the US, and the UK start to look pretty similar.
Sounds like France
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Old Jun 23rd 2015, 7:06 pm
  #41  
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Default Re: England calling

Originally Posted by Pollyana
Go

Treat it as a whole new experience, which it is really, as you must have virtually no memories of the place.

Revel in the history, the old buildings, the narrow lanes, cobbled town streets, the castles, the variety of landscapes in different areas.

Its my home and I love it even though I am exiled to soulless Queensland. Its not perfect, but nor is any country, but its a pretty blinking gorgeous place and even though you will find some faults with it I am sure you'll find plenty to love.

Have fun

I am so looking forward to it.
As it stands right now we will leaving in October.
Not my choice of date but that it the way life happens.
Thank you for your comments.
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Old Jun 23rd 2015, 7:11 pm
  #42  
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Default Re: England calling

Originally Posted by Lineabove
I am so looking forward to it.
As it stands right now we will leaving in October.
Not my choice of date but that it the way life happens.
Thank you for your comments.
for a holiday or is it a permanent move?
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Old Jun 24th 2015, 7:23 am
  #43  
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Default Re: England calling

Originally Posted by aries

Back in the 1950s I remember a Canadian in England telling me that he felt colder here than in Canada, and he blamed it on the dampness. However I have no experience of living in Canada to comment.
!
Maybe he should have bought a wind proof jacket, but back in the days it probably wasn't common People are people and there is always something to moan about, especially weather. I have some work colleagues who were moaning last winter and they said they'd rather have a dry/sunny cold winter, because it would feel a lot warmer than our winters, that are overcast & wet. The next day it was dry/sunny & cold and they started complaining how cold it was. We certainly have the options to adapt these days with all the different types of outdoor clothing available for various climates. I remember the last heat wave in Europe (also Britain) when thousands of people were dying and look at Pakistan now. That is certainly a lot worse than feeling a bit cold in a flat.
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Old Jun 24th 2015, 7:47 am
  #44  
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Default Re: England calling

Of course, back in the 1950s it was a lot colder in the UK. But how old is aries?

Last edited by Editha; Jun 24th 2015 at 7:50 am.
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Old Jun 24th 2015, 7:58 am
  #45  
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Default Re: England calling

Originally Posted by Editha
Sounds like France
Yes, quite similar to France; but a (mostly) different language, a slightly different mindset/culture and climate/geology, but otherwise just a different variety of the same tomato.

Last edited by amideislas; Jun 24th 2015 at 9:54 am.
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