Canada v's UK - an immigrants point of view
When Mary and Ian contacted Muchmor Canada Magazine asking if we would be interested in their thoughts about immigration, obviously we were. They emigrated to Brockville, Ontario in June of 2006 and thought that their story was too much like other peoples - apply, wait, move and enjoy. So, we asked them instead to look at the differences between their old and new lives and we are sure you will find this very interesting.
Things we like about Canada
Our house: In the UK we lived in a compact three bedroom semi with one small bathroom and no garage just a carport. Here in Canada we own a three bedroom home with two bathrooms, a double garage and an acre of land. The Canadian house is probably three times the size of the house in the UK but actually cost us less than we sold for.
Wildlife: We love the wildlife in Canada which is much more accessible than in the UK. We get lots of birds, squirrels, raccoons and deer in our garden and just a short drive away we can see many more varieties either at the local provincial parks or down by the lake and riverside. We were shocked to get hummingbirds in the garden as we had always thought of them as tropical birds.
Roads: We love the fact that where we live the roads are never busy. In fact you can drive for miles and not come across too many other vehicles, making driving a pleasure. You can travel much further here in less time than you could ever do in the UK where there is too much congestion. Driving in Canada is definitely less stressful.
Security: We feel much safer here in Canada. In know that if you live in the big cities such as Toronto there is still ample crime, but out here in the sticks there is very little. People often leave their car windows down and cars unlocked in car parks even if there is visible stuff inside. We still cannot allow ourselves to do this though.
Peace and quiet: Although we lived close to the countryside in the UK, we still had cars going past day and night. We also had neighbours who, shall we say, were not the most considerate when playing music, revving up their cars and generally being teenage boys.
Here in Canada we still have some neighbours, but we rarely hear a peep out of them. We are on a very quiet road, and we can sit outside and not hear anything other than the birds and squirrels etc.
When we first moved into our house we had trouble sleeping, as it was too quiet in the night. The most we have to deal with is the odd raccoon squabble or a few coyote howling.
Eating Out: This is much cheaper than in the UK and we eat out here far more often than we ever did in the UK. In our local town of Brockville you can find loads of restaurants which cater for every taste and budget.
Things we don't like about Canada
Bugs: We honestly didn't expect as many bugs as we get here in the summer. I personally don't seem to suffer too much, but Ian is like a bug magnet and spent most of the summer months with several bites at any one time. even after several years being here, we still haven't got used to them.
TV: The TV in Canada/America is good in many ways, but so, so bad in others. Many of the programs are great, some of which we were watching when back in the UK like House, CSI etc. However, we cannot get used the terrible comedies they show and the constant advert breaks. An example is Coronation Street: This is a half hour show with three ad breaks, each lasting 3-4 minutes - agh!
Shopping: Food shopping is more expensive than the UK and we feel the quality is not as good in many cases. We also have to shop at more than one store to get everything we want rather than just the one as in the UK. Food prices have definitely risen a lot since we moved here, although I suppose it has in the UK too.
Lack of Manners: We have been constantly amazed by the lack of manners we see in Canada. This extends from motorist blocking junctions without a thought to other road users, to having doors slammed in your face by people not bothering to look behind them and hold a door open.
Table manners also leave a lot to be desired and many people seem incapable of using a knife and fork together. We often see someone holding a fork like a dagger and stabbing at his or her food - strange.
Lack of doctors: When we arrived in Canada we were unable to get a family doctor. This was not just a problem where we live, but countrywide, there just aren't enough doctors for everyone. This means you either just don't bother, or you have to go to a walk-in clinic. These clinics are generally packed with people and you have to wait for many hours to be seen: not an ideal situation.
We do have a doctor now as a new practice opened last year and we were able to get onto his patient list. Although, thankfully we have not had to use his services, i feel much better knowing we have a doctor to call upon if required.
Work: Ian found a job soon after moving here, but it was not in his field of work (IT), but he took it anyway. It took him two years to find a job in IT and it does not pay as much as he earned in the UK for similar work.
I found it very hard to get a marketing job here as my qualifications were not recognized and my UK experience didn't seem to count. Rather than a managerial position, which I have been doing for ten years in the UK, I had to take a lesser role and work my way back up the ladder.
Although both of us could do the preferred jobs standing on our heads, we both had to almost start from scratch which we found very frustrating.
What we miss about the UK
Friends & relatives: We only have a few relatives in the UK, Ian's mum, my parents and we both have brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces and we do miss them all. However with technology as it is we can keep in touch really easily and even see each other on our webcams. Most of them have visited us in Canada so it perhaps isn't as bad as we thought it might be.
Next: I really, really miss shopping in Next. They had great clothes that fitted me, oh how I wish they had a store in Canada. I have heard others say this too, so come on Next open a store here.
TV: As we mentioned before North American TV leaves a little to be desired. We miss some of the UK dramas that we used to watch and although some are shown in Canada, we are definitely missing most of them. We have taken to downloading some from the internet so it's not too bad. We do seem to spend a lot of money buying DVD's of British TV, but it is worth it.
Food: Although we can get most of the same types of food we had in the UK here in Canada there are a few items we miss. Ian misses pork pies and I miss garibaldi and malted milk biscuits.
What we don't miss about the UK
Driving: I don't miss driving 35 miles to and from work every day on busy A- roads. We don't miss the road rage and the tailgating and the excessive speeding.
Noise: We don't miss the constant noise of the UK, be it roads, kids, cars, music etc.
We lived on an estate that meant our house was overlooked front and back by lots of other properties. Here we have wide-open spaces and privacy.
Our house: We lived in our house quite happily for over twelve years, and although it was no mansion, we never considered it cramped. Since moving here, we realize how small the house was and now wonder how we ever managed.
Summary
Although we had a pretty good life in the UK, we have a better quality of life in Canada. We have a better house, better car, more wildlife, more countryside etc. Our cost of living is a little less than the UK but not as much as we were led to believe. Houses and cars are cheap but day to day living is similar.
We have never regretted moving to Canada and hope we never will.
