scott reid

[QUOTE=Silvermist;11591113]Hello again

For all of you that moved to Canada and lived there for many years, why did you move back to the UK?

How different is Canada from the UK in general?

Schooling?
Country benefits as perm resident vs UK citizenship benefits?
Quality of Living?
Job scope and availability?

moving to canada is not for the faint hearted I spent time in the British army and many years contracting overseas and so I know how good life can be moving to canada was the worst mistake I have ever made very tough country to make anything of yourself unless your willing to work minimum wage and expect to do a lot for it in my eyes very much a slave wage system. To most Canadians what I have said and am going to say will probably annoy or frustrate many but what I am writing is about personal struggles in a system that needs to come forward ten years.

I have been a Canadian citizen since birth as my mum is Canadian and got my brother and myself citizenship which was a smart move on her part moving here was the dumbest move on my part if I had known what I know now after being here since 2008 I would never recommend anyone to move to canada I find it a very money grabbing society the infrastructure is dreadful the roads are by far the worst I have ever driven on even afghanistan and Iraq have more even dirt roads then what canada offers ( now I know everyone will say it's because of the bad weather) in my opinion what a lame excuse, Canadians need to travel to Norway Sweden Iceland etc and see smooth roads and they have it even more severe then north America , instead it's patched up and that seems OK by Canadian standards. But yet they can send millions of dollars to overseas countries and neglect home issues
The driving standard is dreadful everyone thinks they can drive in canada when In fact they can drive but drive an automatic instead of truly driving a manual car which most Canadians seem alien too and the standard is terrible
the lane discipline on the highways well let's just say what lane discipline!!! I'm shocked there are not more fatalities the police are a joke and the Healthcare system well let's just say it's OK although having to have a different Healthcare dependant on province is absolutely anal just have one for the whole country I could go on and on but it will end up being about 200 pages long
everything in canada is like 10 years behind anywhere else I feel that I will be heading back to blight very soon

feelbritish

My OH and I say all the time that Canadians would not last 5 min on UK roads They have no idea what a "merge" lane is and stop still and you have to be careful you don't go right into the back of them. When you are merging they slow down!!! Happened to me only today! Don't give them roundabouts!
All our roads are also patched up and the middle lines are not visible. Now in BC they have changed the price structure of the wine stores! Adding tax afterwards instead of before when it was included. First day in I thought I had a bargain on some nice Australian wine I rarely buy as it is so expensive and got a shock when I got to the till! My list would also be about 200 pages Lucky you, I am stuck here for the time being as OH does not want to go back yet! If he told me he was ready I would be packed in a day!

scott reid

It's not that a hate Canada as a country just the systems are completely backwards but it's funny Canadians are very quick to judge when you make a comment in comparison to the UK
Don't get me wrong the UK is definitely up & @+*'s Creek and our immigration is something the whole world should laugh at but Canada needs to do more in regards to integrating professionals when they come to live in Canada
The public transport is great where and when you can find it but in no way a comparison to the integral public transport the UK has to offer with three times the amount of people they build a new sub division and no thought at all is placed on public transport
I find the good jobs require a degree in every aspect of a company and what they get and what they want are two completely different aspects of the spectrum
I spent 8 years in the British army 5 years in Iraq as a private security contractor and 3 years in afghan as a security advisor yet can I land a decent job in Canada No highly annoying and a major let down to me

Shard

Canada is built around the car, not public transport, so there is no point in comparing it. The population densities are completely different. Canadian driving habits and road quality are inferior, but there again that probably is a function of space. In crowded countries people learn to drive efficiently as that is the only way traffic will move.

Sorry to hear of your job issues, but there are plenty of ex-service people in the UK that struggle to find work too. Having said that, I disagree with your comment that the UK is up the creek. It's thriving, and back on the up.

Mike Gas

UK thriving LOL

scot47

"Thriving" ? Depends which part you are in !

Rosie Lee

If I lived anywhere other than BC, a big reason would be the winters!
But as I do live in BC, than the cost of living is a big reason.
Also, schooling, travel, and culture.
Unless your into Hockey!!

Shard

I'm guessing that you have no clue about what a current account deficit means.

canadian_critic

Moved a few years ago from BC. Main reasons are:
- cost of living in Vancouver area not sustainable
- potentially high cost of healthcare that MSP doesn't cover
- employment in my field being through personal referrals mostly
- feeling of social isolation
- concerned about the Canadian education particularly teacher strike impact

Overall, we're satisfied that our move back to England was not far from expectations (acknowledging that it's never too close to what you imagine). It's unusual feeling like a foreign immigrant in your country of birth but it's a genuine and not insignificant feeling. I do actually like mentioning my citizenship, particularly when I'm told I don't sound Canadian. Beats being asked which part of Australia I'm from I suppose.

I have met many people who dream of doing what we did and lost hope somewhere on that journey. I feel lucky that I had the Canadian experience and it's really fortunate having the freedom to move back at any time in the future.

When I first moved to Canada my thought was that they could learn a lot from Britain. I now feel the reverse is also true, not least in managing immigration. Why should a country not insist on weighing up the contribution that an immigrant might make before admitting them? Ok our partnership within the European Union has a lot to answer for, but in Britain we seem to just inherit other countries problems, not made easier by 'reality' shows that show immigrants who are just out to exploit the weakness of our system.

We are even considering moving back to Canada in the future, but this will be carefully orchestrated to not interfere too much with schooling. We can reflect more closely on what we're looking for and armed with the experience of living in two quite wonderful countries, make much better decisions for our future.

Lineabove

Love that comment.

Editha

Answering the OP question, although I'm not sure 8 years counts as 'many'.

The appalling climate.

The remoteness from civilisation.

The dreadful coffee.

The expensive booze.

Chickens sold wet, as if they slaughtered them by drowning.

Wet vegetables also, mysteriously sprayed on their displays in the supermarket, as if they'd been mistaken for a lawn.

Mosquitoes.

The tarsands and the general hopelessness of the nation's long term economic strategy, based as it is on a denial of science.

Laws demanding that people license their cats and against 'jaywalking'.

Country and western music or anything Canadians call 'folk'.

Accountants driving pickup trucks.

Mike Gas

I know exactly what it means chimp face and your point?

Howefamily

Wow. whereabouts were you? I love the climate where I am especially compared to the south of England.
Coffee is good here too but then I like starbucks
I havent come across a wet chicken yet but I have seen the wet vegetables, its certainly interesting..but I now also find it weird and a worry that eggs are not refrigerated in UK stores.
Whats wrong with accountants driving pickup trucks???

Englishmum

Eggs should not be refridgerated (with the exception of heatwave temperatures, not usually a problem in the UK!).

To test if an egg is fresh, put it in a bowl of water. If it sinks to the bottom then it is fresh. If it is floating partly off the bottom it is ok to use.....if it floats to the top then do not use it.

Editha

Nova Scotia and Alberta. Different.