Missing you all

[Val50]

Well it's 7 weeks now since I left France to start our new life in Canada and what a move it has been.  Undoubtably the worst of our life (it is the 6th in the last 25 years).   Forget moaning about BF, Ryan air etc.  you've experienced nothing until you travel Air Canada (or Air Geriatric as we've renamed it).  Although my husbands salary is now double what it was in France, his take home pay is just about the same as it was  there, mainly due to the high taxation here.  The cost of educating children at both university and high school level is unbelievable.  The cost of housing is more compatible to UK, there is a lack of fresh food in the supermarkets,  a health service that is worse than the NHS (I kid you not).  Not a day goes by when we don't ask ourselves why we did it and wish we could turn back the clock.  The sense of isolation is overpowering,  BBC Canada is a joke, not even 50% of the programmes broadcast are from the BBC).  Once your phone is connected, you can't just pick it up and make a call anywhere outside the city you live in, you have to buy a card for that - they even consider phoning other parts of Canada a international call!  Our saving grace is that we were lucky enough to buy a small house in Normandy before we left, and I am counting the days until I can get back there.  So, for all those bemoaning life in France (I even  miss Teamed Up) just stop and look around you and appreciate all you have.  Vive la France!!!

[Christine Animal]

Exactly Val, it is so easy to moan, but there is so much to be appreciated here....... La Vie can be so Belle en France.  Wasn't it you who wrote so beautifully a while ago about all the little things you were going to miss here, the morning mist, etc.?  So sorry you are not enjoying things over there, stay with us, we'll help you through........ until you can get back to your little house in Normandy.  I'm sure Furryknickers will agree   [8-|]

 

[Tourangelle]

It sounds hideous, Val, whereabouts are you exactly?[:(]

[Alcazar]

[quote user="Tourangelle"]It sounds hideous, Val, whereabouts are you exactly?[:(]
[/quote]

CANADA!! She just said! I mean, how big a place is it.......................? Dear Me!

Alcazar[:D]

[Teamedup]

Sorry Val50 about your trials and tribulations. I have family in Canada who love it there and I have visited them. I love my family and we have a fantastic time when with them.

 But what can I say..... as we drove over the bridge at Niagra Falls and back into the USA my husband and I in unition gave a huge phew sound of sheer relief.  And he was the one who wanted to visit Canada more than the States as he had never been with me before on my travels.

In Quebec they serve a local cheese with chips and gravy and that is really nice. See I can say something nice.

 

[Anton Redman]

[quote user="Alcazar"]

[quote user="Tourangelle"]It sounds hideous, Val, whereabouts are you exactly?[:(]
[/quote]

CANADA!! She just said! I mean, how big a place is it.......................? Dear Me!

Alcazar[:D]

[/quote]

Canada is huge. In practical terms it is like Chile turned thru 90 degress as there is only about 100 miles (North to South) but huge east to west. Allowing for Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchel and NeilYoung it is not a cultural desert but if I ever have to listern to Terry Jack's version of Jacque Brel's Seasons in the Sun I may run amoque. Californian friend said it was like listening to Judy Collins sing Liverpool Lullarby you knew Jackie and Bridie or at worse Cilla Black were there doing accent coaching. 

[Miki]

 But what can I say..... as we drove over the bridge at

Niagra Falls and back into the USA my husband and I in unition gave a

huge phew sound of sheer relief.  And he was the one who

wanted to visit Canada more than the States as he had never been with

me before on my travels.

TU,

Some years ago now, we found a long lost side of our family who live

half the year in Toronto and the other half on Lake Niagara. We

personally have never been to see them but family that have say it is

just magnificent and the house is to die for, so where did our part of

the family go wrong then !!

Also a great pal of mine played for Vancouver Whitecaps for a while

and said just how lovely Vancouver was. I read last year, that it is

said to be, the best place in the World to live in......and I thought

it was Chiswick ! (and that's apart from the Fullers brewery being

there).

[Russethouse]

A couple of years ago I met a chap who had been traveling around the world, when asked where he would choose to live he said 'Vancouver Island' without hesitation.

He gave such a wonderful description that I felt quite inspired, so I am watching this thread with interest.

[Evianers]

Gay

Our South African friends, now resident in Perth Oz, went to visit their son in Vancouver where he had been transferred. They told us the countryside was lovely but that the number of beggars and drug addicts in the streets was unbelievable. Only having been to Quebec ourselves, cannot comment on their findings but they did say the trip was spoilt for them because everywhere they went they were tripping over people with outstretched, grubby hands.

[Val_2]

Always rather fancied a visit to Canada rather than the USA or Australia but this account has put quite a downer on that idea now, not that we could ever afford to go now whilst propping up the french economy.

[Furry Knickers]

Maybe it is just the initial shock to your system Mrs Val? I know a woman that lived in Edmonton for 10 years and she hated it there and went to live in Coventry! I find it hard to believe that anyone would prefer Coventry to Canada.

Have you seen a bear or a Mountie yet? (I love the Mountie's Clothes) Maybe you will feel better when you start to come into contact with all the lovely creatures that inhabit Canada? But for me you can't beat that France place! I have travelled extensively throughout Worcestershire and County Kildare and still can't find anywhere that comes close to me little wooden house with all the lovely and friendly bats and squirrels that have become me friends, I am on first name terms with all of them now except for one huge owl that I still have to address as Madame Florence.

I am pleased to hear you managed to keep a little bit of  Normandie to give something to look forward to. I dream of having tea and a bit of brack with a bear in the Mounties Uniform sitting under a maple tree on a regular basis and it takes me mind off the more mundane things in me everyday life. A Maple tree is so lovely!

If you come across a bear at a reasonable price, please let me know and should I aquire one that you introduced me to, I shall of course give you a fee.

Good luck to you!

[Val50]

Thank you all for writing, reading your comments made me laugh for the first time in weeks.

We are in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Not a Mountie in sight!   Originally from Birmingham I can honestly say Coventry seems a better bet than here.  We are surrounded by tiny little box houses, no privacy (you are not allowed to put up fences between the properties!!!).  They have  electric shock systems to keep your dogs on your property.  Needless to say our poor things are inside all the time.  Have a bit of a wood behind us but not a maple tree in sight, just lots of tatty pine.  The town is filthy.  We also lived in Johannesburg for 10 years before moving to France,  and I can honestly say this is very much like life there.  There is so much rubbish in the steets (it is only collected every other week, and we live in the middle of town).  There are so many people begging and a lot of people really do live in poverty here.  Quite a few have to work  2 jobs just to make ends meet.  I am sure there are pretty parts to go visit, but it is more expensive for us to fly to Vancouver from here than it is to fly to London, the country is that big!

Our eldest daughter finally managed to get into 2nd year at university here after completing her first year in France.  She is so bored.  Work she is doing now is the same as she did for her bac in France!  She got 100% in nearly all the exams she sat in December, but you have to wonder exactly how good this degree is going to be worth when she finally gets it.

We are only about 5 mins from the sea, but they have built the railway all along the coast so you can't get access to it, having to drive for over a hour until you can find somewhere to walk.  I miss the Normandy countryside so much - the freedom to walk along the beach, listen to the birds (we just how crows here and seagulls).  Even miss our barn owl and the bats!  Got excited when we saw a small red squirrel the other day, but otherwise the wood looks pretty empty and downright spooky at night!  If you've seen the Blair Witch movie you know what I mean.

Haven't seen a single Mountie yet, just the local Police.  Cannot believe the high crime rate here, every day there is a story of someone being shot, raped etc.  We were surprised to see we had a alarm system in the house we bought, and didn't want to connect it but have been advised by everyone we've spoken to here to do so as there is such a high rate of break ins.

Not big drinkers, we have given up completely since we arrived here.  1 bottle of wine here is the equivalent of what you could buy 6 bottles for in France, and I am not talking just cheap plonk either!  Even the local beer is about 10 euros for a 6 pack.

I know it will take time, make new friends etc. but it has just made us so aware of how much we had in France and how much we miss life there.  They don't even have the equivalent of Living France forums!!!

At least being able to log on and catch up with what you are all  doing helps - just enjoy it whilst you can!

Thanks again for all your emails, you have no idea how much they help.

Val

 

 

[Monika]

My sister in law who is English lives in Winnipeg. She finds everything much cheaper over there and praises the Health System (well perhaps she has to, she is a nurse). But says it is difficult to make friends (she has been there 30 years) and her only friend is another English girl. Further education is very expensive, her daughters had all sort of jobs for four years to earn enough money to go to University. She drives everywhere, so do her daughters. She loves coming back to England and can't wait until we take her to Normandy next time she is over. I think she will love it.

I am so glad you kept a house in Normandy and you will be one day back there. But perhaps in the mean time you might come to love it.

[Teamedup]

Thanks Val50 in few words you have explained a lot about Canada to me that I had suspected but was not sure about.

I was so disappointed in the place as I had really had high expectations of Canada. My second trip, it was me comforting my husband as to the reality of the place, whether it be french or english speaking, we found the people just the same in both. Still my family are superb hosts and they are always worth visiting even in Canada.

One thing about the place, I have come away with so many funny stories. One I had trouble finishing  the other night, as I was doubled up laughing so much.

[Russethouse]

Many years ago I applied and got a job to be a mothers help in Canada, from the UK the salary looked good but when I wrote to a family friend she said I would have problems even buying a lipstick or pair of tights (Remember mothers helps are live in so it's just pocket money) I turned the job down, and sometimes have wondered 'what if?', I don't think I will again !

Val, how soon can you leave ? [:-*]

[Evianers]

Sent you a private message Val

[Sprogster]

Val,

Your problem is that most Canadians would not want to work or live in Halifax, Nova Scotia either!

Unfortunately, you are living in one of the most economically depressed and least developed parts of the country.

Why did you not go elsewhere in Canada, such as Toronto or Vancouver?

[le val charente]

Hi, here are my happy memories of Canada, though just on a visit -

Toured western Canada, mainly Alberta and British Columbia - just passing through, backpacking in 1991 with an Aussie pal admiring the fantastic scenery of the Rockies in autumn.

It was just around when Thelma and Louise came out - went to a cinema to see it and the whole place was cheering when the girls got their revenge on various guys in the film (the truck driver and his burned truck spring to mind!!)  We were just about to embark on a road adventure too!!!

First though, we hitched around on Vancouver Island, meeting an old character who picked us up and informed us that the only visitors were usually "the newly wed or the nearly dead"!!  Later when our car had problems, a guy stopped and offered to help, but couldn't get to his toolbox as he had a dead moose in the back....!   Stayed at a hostel in Banff which was like a picture postcard, complete with elk wandering outside.

Really enjoyed Calgary and Vancouver as cities to visit and found everyone we met really friendly - remembered Canada last weekend when it turned cold here and I dug out my trusty Canadian walking boots to go through the mud all round our renovation project!  They're still going strong...

I guess the sheer scale of a country like Canada with varying time zones is probably the reason phone calls are not cheap. 

Have never been to eastern Canada, but met someone from Halifax once - she was importing Turkish leather jackets there because there was only one shop selling them and the range was so limited and expensive!

Hope things improve for you over there

val

[Teamedup]

I used to know someone who emigrated to Halifax and left and went back, so there you go. Good job we are all so different isn't it.

[YCCMB]

[quote user="Teamedup"]

Thanks Val50 in few words you have explained a lot about Canada to me that I had suspected but was not sure about.[/quote]

.........and for me it's more than I've read or heard about Canada in any medium, ever (I exaggerate only slightly). Is it just me, or can anyone point me to a place in the UK media (other than some magazine that's maybe appeared as guest publication on Have I Got News For You) where anyone EVER mentions Canada?? It seems to be a black hole for news, and from poor Val50's comments, maybe it's just a black hole full stop!!

[Furry Knickers]

I think it's wrong to judge a whole huge country on one area that is not nice to live in! Canada is a big place, much bigger than Upper Beagle and Wyre Piddle put together! We had crime in Wyre Piddle too, I remember reading in The Piddle Gazzette about a woman that stole a pack of Bernard Matthews Turkey Steaks last July and another woman that deliberately killed her husbands rare Orchid by watering it with her cats wee! You will have crime where ever you go, even in France there is places that I would not want to live, like Gorron or Tours and Calais.

Here in England we have very rough places like Wales and Bognor Regis, but that can't be used as a yard stick to measure the whole of the UK. Canada has some magnificent landscape, I have seen it in a film about Husky dogs (I love Husky dogs) They made a film in the 60's set in the Rockies about a man that wished to become a fish, The amazing Mr Limpet it was called. It was really good and he did become a fish in the end.

Never judge a Duck by it's liver (as they say in the Dordogne)

[Russethouse]

FK, There is something very 'Mr Blobby' about your post.............help !!!

[Christine Animal]

... lovely Strawberry flavour, with a dash of Worcs sauce.  Now I have to do a "Yahoo" to see who Mr. Blobby is !

[Russethouse]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ilove/years/1993/toys3.shtml

Mr Edmonds is making a comeback with 'Deal or No deal' - luckily Mr Blobby has been left behind !

[Val50]

My husband works with seaweed and Nova Scotia has the biggest seaweed industry in Canada.  Halifax is actually one of the fastest growing areas in Canada.  They have set up a Nominee Programme to encourage people to move here but one of the problems they have is that after 6 months or so, people do move on to Vancouver or Toronto - if they can afford to.  Unfortunately they don't have much seaweed there so we can't!  It is supposed to be a permanent job, but then so was the one in France!!! Hubby has just let me know that he has a conference in Spain in May and we can go via Normandy.  Amazing the difference a phone call can make.

One thing I have learnt by using the Living France forums is that a person can make a difference, how ever small and insignificant you may be.  My husband's boss wants me to be actively involved in bringing to the Canadian gov. attention how difficult it is for new immigrants and how much they are discriminated against when they first arrive.  Maybe a new career beckons!!!!

Thanks again for all the replies, feel so much better - had almost forgotten what it was like to laugh.  Good to know you are all on form still

Val