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Came to Canada in 2009, now PR. Canada had been my dream for years, and it took a lot of time and effort to get here. Thought it would be a better life, after having visited for many years, but how wrong I was.
The place is boring, full of passive aggressive people, over priced goods, incompetent drivers, people have an almost child like attitude. Canadians have a veneer of politeness, but thats as far as it goes. Dig a little deeper and you will see aggression with nothing in between. The supermarkets are dirty, the"fresh" fruit and veg leaves a lot to be desired. The winters are colder than you could ever imagine, and the summers are just one big sweat fest.
The tv is rubbish, the food diabolical, there is no kind of consumer assistance such as the sale of goods act.
I miss my family, my friends, and feeling "part" of something. I miss my heritage, my country, feeling part of a community and a sense of belonging. I miss Sainsburys and Waitrose, Debenhams and John Lewis. I miss being able to buy quality goods and having a large choice of products. I miss the BBC, the countryside, driving on the left, seeing sheep in fields, and I even miss 3 pin plugs that don't fall out of the wall socket. I miss the shared sense of humour, not having to repeat myself constantly, being able to say "butter" instead of "budder" and using hairdryers/irons/kettles that do the job in half the time.
I miss having a laugh with complete strangers who don't take my comments literally. Putting my washing on the line and the smell of fresh linen. I miss my home. I didn't appreciate it when I was there. I miss roundabouts and driving on curvy roads. Listening to radio stations with interesting topics and recognisable guests. I miss the feeling of belonging.
If I could go home I would. I do not have a choice in the matter. I am stuck here.
I am not looking to tread on anyone's dreams, but please think long and hard, then think again before deciding to leave your home. Your standard of living may be better, but your quality of life may not. If i can help just one person avoid the same mistake. Don't think that living somewhere is like going on holiday, it is a completely different experience.
Haha, thought the same thing, that this person is almost definitely living in Toronto.
I do of course sympathize with the OP. Immigrating to another country is not for everyone. It's a transformative experience that means slowly transforming from one nationality into another as a place shapes your life and changes you. I was extremely attached to my home culture when I moved to Vancouver, and I still deeply identify with it, but I see myself slowly becoming a little less a person of that place and a bit more a person of this one as time goes by. Maybe time will help.
That said, there's a reason lots of people are pretty lukewarm on Toronto. Of course some people love it and it's their home, but it's not the place for a whole lot of people. I think you might prefer somewhere smaller or somewhere more British, like maybe Newfoundland.
I empathize with the OP. I had 2 ex-colleagues who moved here after marrying Canadians that didn't work out. Back home, they are close to their families and even if they do not live on the same street, they make it a point to meet regularly at the local pubs. There must be lots of Brits in Toronto, I know there are a significant number in Calgary. The Toronto Expat Brit Meetup Group (Toronto, ON) - Meetup
Came to Canada in 2009, now PR. Canada had been my dream for years, and it took a lot of time and effort to get here. Thought it would be a better life, after having visited for many years, but how wrong I was.
The place is boring, full of passive aggressive people, over priced goods, incompetent drivers, people have an almost child like attitude. Canadians have a veneer of politeness, but thats as far as it goes. Dig a little deeper and you will see aggression with nothing in between. The supermarkets are dirty, the"fresh" fruit and veg leaves a lot to be desired. The winters are colder than you could ever imagine, and the summers are just one big sweat fest.
The tv is rubbish, the food diabolical, there is no kind of consumer assistance such as the sale of goods act.
I miss my family, my friends, and feeling "part" of something. I miss my heritage, my country, feeling part of a community and a sense of belonging. I miss Sainsburys and Waitrose, Debenhams and John Lewis. I miss being able to buy quality goods and having a large choice of products. I miss the BBC, the countryside, driving on the left, seeing sheep in fields, and I even miss 3 pin plugs that don't fall out of the wall socket. I miss the shared sense of humour, not having to repeat myself constantly, being able to say "butter" instead of "budder" and using hairdryers/irons/kettles that do the job in half the time.
I miss having a laugh with complete strangers who don't take my comments literally. Putting my washing on the line and the smell of fresh linen. I miss my home. I didn't appreciate it when I was there. I miss roundabouts and driving on curvy roads. Listening to radio stations with interesting topics and recognisable guests. I miss the feeling of belonging.
If I could go home I would. I do not have a choice in the matter. I am stuck here.
I am not looking to tread on anyone's dreams, but please think long and hard, then think again before deciding to leave your home. Your standard of living may be better, but your quality of life may not. If i can help just one person avoid the same mistake. Don't think that living somewhere is like going on holiday, it is a completely different experience.
Please don't make the same mistake I did.
I'm stuck here too. I moved here a year ago from the southern U.S., and I can't stand it. I agree with everything you've said. I miss that sense of community that Canada doesn't have. It seems like a place of disparate strangers, very hard to just strike up conversations with people like I used to do back home. People don't seem to have a sense of humor. I miss the cashiers calling me 'hon' and being on a first-name basis with store owners, and sales people who don't argue with you if you want to return something, and warm-hearted and friendly people, and passionate discussions about politics, and neighbors who would bring over pie when I first moved into a neighborhood and who looked out for each other. It's so different here.
Reebok;;;OK it didnt turn out as well as you thought,at least you gave it a try and now you can go back to England and live happily ever after without ever having the delema of ever again wishing you had moved to Canada.Been there,done that, didnt like it.
I would say when you are back in England and you are describing your experiences in Canada that you point out they are just your experiences and not the feelings of everyone that immigrates to Canada,most people i know including myself who have immigrated to Canada from elsewhere really like Canada.
Ellemint you obviously have the same issue as the op,solution seems simple enough..
Came to Canada in 2009, now PR. ....... If I could go home I would. I do not have a choice in the matter. I am stuck here.
I'm sorry you're stuck. I wish you could go back home too because if you're really so unhappy then it would be better for you and better for Canada if you could return home. I can't imagine what it must be like to feel misplaced and stuck with a bunch of strangers in an alien place that makes you miserable and being unable to go back home to your comfort zone.
Canada is a big place and you've only been a resident for 3 years. Try not to judge the entire country by one location in such a short period of time because Canada is different in different locations. Maybe it is just the location where you are now that doesn't feel comfortable. Since you say you are now stuck with Canada perhaps you can find another location in Canada that is more suited to your standards and expectations of quality of life. I'll wish you luck with that, and if you can't find a better location then I wish you luck with adapting to what you're stuck with.
Sorry Reebok/Ellemint i missed the being stuck here part.
I suppose there are circumstances that could arise that would prevent you from leaving Canada, But If its just a matter of selling the house ,quitting the job,and jumping on a plane back to the UK or USA i'd say you aint that stuck. If permanent exile to Canada is all you have to look forward too you need to somehow get an attitude adjustment about living in Canada or you'll spend your whole life being miserable, if its just a temporary need to stay in Canada then look forward to that day you can return to where you want to be..
Reebok, may I ask you whereabouts in Canada do you live?
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