Power

Hi everyone, a newbie here!

We have (maybe) the opportunity of living in Canada for 12 months!! wahhoo! we're really up for it and think it's a nice education for the kids to be away for a bit etc. and also a good change for us, we're not long since a disasterous time in New Zealand but still like the idea of experiencing a new country and having a year out from England.

Not even sure whereabouts in Canada the job is (OH is in bed and didn't tell me! doh!)...

We've got the impression that Canadians are very laid back but very much into work and are quite boring? what do you think?

Ta v. much.

dbd33

That's fair.

Power

LOL! ha ha! is it really true? hey! I have family over there and eerrrm yeah.. they are quite boring.

I was also interested to hear that the work ehtic was quite strict.. ie: work till you drop before you go home and no holidays.. sounded quite mental to me but this is what someone told us!! eek!

TrishP

I woudl agree to some extent that they are quite work orientated - its not unusual for people to start work at 7am and work overtime unpaid. Up here tho' its pretty laid back in and out of work. People here play hard too - everyone owns the 'boyz toyz' - snow machine, ATV, boat, etc. Very outdoorsy too - fishing, canoeing, skiing, etc (tho not at the same time!!).

I don't know about anywhere else in Canada, but I find a lot of the women here like I imagine women were in the UK in the 50s and 60s - very into cooking/baking their own cinnamon buns, quilting and needlecrafts, etc. Quite homey! I don't know if that's particulalrly related to the Mennonite influence here in Red Lake. People are generally very genuine too.

Rich_007

LOL

My 2c...depends where you are (province wise), where you work (sector) and whether they're US-aligned/owned (means less vacation, longer hours, more brutal management approach). If they deal with eastern Canada but are based on the west coast then that adds complexity cos of the time zones.

Seems to be a culture of working longer hours but achieveing less than the UK/US (study Canadian workforce productivity, you'll understand the issues). 40+ hours a week doesn't mean better faster smarter more productive happier workers. I see a lack of drive, leadership and professionalism in many areas of business.

Humour is generally different, less cutting sarcasm but some dry humour too. Less piss tasking in general. Still bitching, moaning etc. Work is work, people is people.

Day to day, getting your groceries, driving, banking, all very familiar with a few tweaks you have to get used to (paying for your banking services, going right on a red stop light, buying in bulk, etc).

Once settled, I believe it's hard to feel 'odd' or 'uncomfortable' here, communication is very easy, just mind the slang ('fags' etc). Find a way to accept the differences, you'll not change their world. I think generally speaking most Canadians like Brits, or are apathetic to our plight, we fit in OK, we work hard, most try to Canadianize themselves etc despite the 'Little Engurlanders' who try to create novelty ghettoes of Burberry, jam making, and Earl Grey cuppa-thons, I guess most them live in Victoria or in quaint enclaves somewhere in the GTA.

Rich.

Power

Thanks for your reply.

It's not a bit stepford wifey then? :scared: mind you, we're a normal family with a husband who's in the trades so won't ever get the chance! ha!

What have you found the Canadian Women like? I ask this cos my Canadian cousin was seriously boring and hard to get a laugh out of! all my family agreed that he was boring too!

Power

That's really interesting.. thankyou for writing that I appreciate it loads! I will show my husband in the morning... (he is asleep).

I am particularly interested in whether the people in Canada are easy to get on with in the working environment cos my husband found the kiwi's to be a horribly racist bunch of idiots and it's put him off a bit... ******* kiwis eh!

Power

Also., if you don't mind me asking. what is the cost of living like? is it expensive in Canada? what are your thoughts about that?

Thanks so much.
Px

TrishP

Actually most of my friends here have a pretty good sense of humour, probably why they're my friends and not just acquaintances! I find the women particularly friendly here - Red Lake is a transient community, most families moving here because one or both in the couple are working at one of the gold mines, the biggest employer in the area. We have some pretty good laughs. So most folks are a long way from home and extended family, so the sense of community is strong.

I think the 'homeiness' struck me hard as we arrived on Thanksgiving weekend and ended up going to someone's house for dinner - it was a big do with loads of women fussing in the kitchen while the men stood in the living room talking snow machines!

Been here 6 months now and still don't know the first thing about how to make cinnamon buns! Getting pretty goos at Indian cooking tho' as the nearest Indian restaurant/takeaway is 5 hours away in Winnipeg!!!! Needs must and all that!!!

Hudman

Coming from 2 high risk employment areas in UK, I find the total disregard for any form of Health and Safety at work, home and especially on the roads pretty alarming. Although they do pay a lot of lip service to H&S with a lot of petty bureaucracy.
I am pretty paranoid about such things so maybe its the West Coast mentality towards life.

Rich_007

Oh you've not lived til you're heard a redneck ranting about asians, gays, hippies, dope heads and whatever or a white middle class bod diss the aboriginals (whole big thing, you'd need to do weeks of research to udnerstand the past and the present) and asians like they were subhuman. We're fortunate there's nobody like the BNP for these morons to harness their cart to. They tried it in Kelowna with the white supremacists back in the day, didn't last long but they cast a long dark shadow and they managed to burn down Chinatown after the railways were finished In BC they didnt just want the Japanese interned during WW2, they wanted them all deported and all their property seized.

It's not all social tolerance and tree hugging over here

Rich.

Interested

Life is pretty good for me in Canada (Toronto).

I have a good job and income - 3 weeks a year vacation plus all the bank holidays (just had Good Friday and Easter Monday off). I work a standard 35 hour work week - occasionally I will have to work a bit later if there is a tight deadline to meet, but it really is quite rare. My workplace is very friendly, but although we'll go out for lunch, it's rare to go out for drinks after work - I think that might be beacuse the majority have kids to look after.

As a society I'd say Canadians are about the most tolerant people you'll meet - racism is really forwned upon at least in Toronto. I'm sure that racism still exists as it does every where, but it just doesn't seem that bad here.

I find it quite cheap to live in Toronto even though some things are a little more expensive, like bread and car insurance!! Overall, I have enough disposable income to go out and have fun without worrying.

There seem to be alot of critical people about on this board recently - I'm not sure why they're so bitter, but please don't be put off by them! I recommend you take the opportunity to come and see Canada for yourself - espeically as it's only for a year. The biggest hurdle to overcome is home sickness, but it sounds like you've already lived in NZ so know what it's like.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

R2D2

I would second that. Those I have met are friendly, considerate, and generally respectful of one another.
I may be wrong, but i get the impression, you don't get as much bitchiness and talking about people behind their backs over here. The Mums at my son's school all get along very well, no obvious personality clashes and there are 20 of us.
People seem accepting of others too, not critical or p**s taking.
English humour is sometimes lost on them though. Quite often I'll say something in jest and they'll look at me very seriously,. Hubby misses the office banter and sarcasm !
Not so much of the home baked Cinnamon buns here.......not in my social circle anyway.......................but SCRAPBOOKING..................now theres a thing !!!!

Judy in Calgary

These things go in phases. When I was at the stage at which you are now (that is, with young kids), paper tole was all the rage here. If you don't know what paper tole is, don't worry, you aren't missing anything.

bananahammock

Hi Power,
Its a great education for the kids, mine are teenagers :scared: & are finding school completely different here. They went to an inner city school in Bristol & both found it fairly hard going whereas here its much more laid back.
I work with kids here(preschool) & did so in the UK & its fascinating the difference in the kids........I know its a bit of a broad statement but kids here seem easier going generally & more tolerant of others, where I work they put a lot of emphasis on respect for other kids & I find the teens less sullen & pretty friendly.
We are a mixed race family & I did wonder if it would make a difference as there are not a lot of black (OH) people here but no-one bats an eyelid, the kids both said they had had racist comments in school in the UK but none here.
OH finds work hard going.........he worked for the NHS in Bristol but they work a lot harder here, also extra hours are expected with few benefits.
Personally I would say the jobs are the downside but our standard of living is up. My daughter (17) is taking a course later in the year to be a qualified riding instructor & my son (13) says he's happy now as he "hasn't got anything to worry about"
I dunno about boring people, just different. They seem happy with simple pleasures, movies, community events etc.