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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Emigrating - highs and lows
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Oscar the Grouch
Adopted Cascadian
# 1916
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Posted
At the start of this year, I left the UK and moved to the west coast of Canada. I know that a number of other shipmates have also migrated and it's got me thinking.
If you've emigrated:
- Was there anything you would have done differently?
- Has there been anything that has really surprised you in your new country?
- What have you missed most about your old home country?
- What advice would you give to someone considering emigration?
Was there anything you would have done differently?
I would have made a different decision about my banking arrangements. As we wanted to open accounts in Canada and still have UK accounts available (Mrs Grouch will still be earning money from freelance work in the UK), we decided to move our banking to HSBC. BIG mistake! The Canadian part is OK, but the UK people have given us nothing but grief from day one. They're supposed to be a global bank but no-one in the UK has the slightest idea of what that might mean.
Has there been anything that has really surprised you in your new country?
Lots of small things. But mostly the way that people eat early around here. Most evening activities start by 7:00 and everyone will have eaten before that. I was so used to the UK commuterland style of life where people probably don't even get home until 6:30 or 7.00.
A number of times, we've gone round to a friend's house for a meal and we've finished and been ready to come home by 8:00. In the UK, we would probably just be sitting down to eat by then.
What have you missed most about your old home country?
Nothing much - except a few close friends. I really miss them. But to be honest, there not much else I have missed about the UK.
What advice would you give to someone considering emigration?
Don't be afraid. If the chance comes, take it. I didn't want to look back in 10 years time and be filled with regret that I was too chicken to take a risk. I've spent most of my life playing it safe. It's been good for once to buck the trend.
Overall, I'm really glad we made the move. It's been very scary at times, but so worth it. At the moment, I can't imagine ever wanting to return to the UK.
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Faradiu, dundeibáwa weyu lárigi weyu
Posts: 3871 | From: Gamma Quadrant, just to the left of Galifrey | Registered: Dec 2001
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
I retired in 1997 at the ripe old age of 48 [medical/psychiatric grounds] so have been here about 17 years and I was coming to a place I knew reasonably well - very much a feeling that I was going TO something rather than running away, despite the breakdown, etc.
Was there anything you would have done differently?
I might have timed some of the bits that were in my control a bit better but no, I wouldn't have changed anything significant. Banking was a bit of a headache to me, too, but new banking regulations here and the globalisation of banking and the ubiquity of ATMs has made things a lot easier since. I still have a UK bank and my work pension goes in there every month and I then transfer some/most here, just retaining enough to pay off my UK credit card every month; when/if I get my indefinite right to remain I will probably tell the work pension people to pay direct to my India account as I do with my State Retirement Pension.
Has there been anything that has really surprised you in your new country?
India is a surprising sort of place but no, not really as I knew the place fairly well from a number of visits. Perhaps I was surprised at the comparative cost of living which means we can live quite well on my pensions. I'm probably too used to it now.
What have you missed most about your old home country?
Like you my main thing is friends - for a long time I missed good cheese but that is now available here, which makes me a happy WW.
What advice would you give to someone considering emigration?
Again, just like you I'd say Go For It - you're a long time dead so do it whilst you can. One of the most frequent comments I have had from folks back in UK has been about how brave I've been branching out like this! I don't see this at all, I see it as knowing where I'm going to be happy and going to live there. End of story. Any fool can be miserable and say "If only..."
If I get my Right to Remain I don't know that I'll ever go back - I really miss some of the folks there but most of them are able to come here occasionally. Perhaps I might do the odd flying visit to see the closest of friends but I couldn't live there again.
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Oscar the Grouch
Adopted Cascadian
# 1916
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Posted
Cheese! Man, I forgot about the cheese! I know Canadians can produce good cheese, as we used to get it in the UK. But the only place to get decent cheese here is the store that specializes in overseas food and we'll have to take out a mortgage to shop there. We're saving up to hit there for Christmas - a bit of decent cheddar and maybe some Cheshire. If we're feeling rich, we'll even get some brie.
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Faradiu, dundeibáwa weyu lárigi weyu
Posts: 3871 | From: Gamma Quadrant, just to the left of Galifrey | Registered: Dec 2001
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Horseman Bree
Shipmate
# 5290
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Posted
Do they only produce decent cheeses in eastern Canada, OtG? We seem to have a good variety of identifiably-local cheeses available around here.
But back to the topic. I suffered from having been emigrated from England at age 2, with middle-aged parents who resolutely never left England in their minds. And we went back just often enough, including a year of school for me (when Dad had a sabbatical) that I became confused about where I had actually grown up. Too many of my reference points were receiving mixed signals, if you like.
If you do emigrate, make sure you aren't messing up someone else. And please try to fit in, rather than deliberately maintaining "home" style.
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It's Not That Simple
Posts: 5372 | From: more herring choker than bluenose | Registered: Dec 2003
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John Holding
Coffee and Cognac
# 158
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Posted
There's a Costco not that far from where you live, Oscar. Well, it's on the road from Victoria to Nanaimo, so a couple of hours away.
Costco stocks excellent cheddar (Balderson 5 years), a wide variety of bries and similar cheeses and, this year, pretty good real stilton at pretty afforable prices. The selection will vary somewhat from outlet to outlet, but the next time you drive down to Victoria, give it a try. Membership may be an issue, but maybe you can borrow someone's card to have a look.
John
Posts: 5929 | From: Ottawa, Canada | Registered: May 2001
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Oscar the Grouch
Adopted Cascadian
# 1916
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Posted
Thanks. We'll try that. We've been to Costco a couple of times before, but not really enjoyed the experience.
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Faradiu, dundeibáwa weyu lárigi weyu
Posts: 3871 | From: Gamma Quadrant, just to the left of Galifrey | Registered: Dec 2001
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
...but for cheese it will be worth it!
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
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Posted
The gouda, smoked cheddar and goat cheeses are all pretty good from Costco. The pickled herring too.
They often source locally and their treatment of employees is reported as positive.
On topic, when you emigrate, from experience, I recommend giving good info to those family you leave behind regarding how to do things where you're going. So far I have dealt with helping and bailing out relatives who emigrated to Mexico and Brazil. With Taiwan on the horizon. Info is: where is the will, listing of assets, banks and insurance companies, people who are trustworthy advisors and friends, names of trusted lawyer, accountant and realtor (estate agent), church contact info. Who all speak your language.
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Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
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Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
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Horseman Bree
Shipmate
# 5290
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Posted
I second the Costco recommendation, both for the cheeses (lots of Quebec and even some Maritimes on offer) and the treatment of staff. Costco is being noted as paying something like 2.5 times what WalMart does (American figures, given that the minimum wage is so low in the uS), while still being profitable - and their staff are pretty consistently happy on the job.
[ 09. November 2014, 18:07: Message edited by: Horseman Bree ]
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It's Not That Simple
Posts: 5372 | From: more herring choker than bluenose | Registered: Dec 2003
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Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564
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Posted
We moved from the UK to the US midwest about 10 years ago.
Was there anything you would have done differently?
Had I known this was going to be a permanent thing, I'd have shipped more possessions at the start, but the original plan was a temporary move for a year or two.
Has there been anything that has really surprised you in your new country?
Arriving jetlagged, dumping our bags in the hotel and going out to find an early dinner at 4.30 or so on Saturday afternoon, we found everywhere full with 30 minute - 1 hour wait times. We've been here a decade and I'm still not used to how early people seem to eat around here. I've been practically thrown out of restaurants barely past 9pm because they wanted to close up.
What have you missed most about your old home country?
The little things - bread that isn't sweet is probably top of the list. I'd prefer not to be 4,000 miles away from my family, but realistically we don't see them less often than I saw my grandparents growing up. It's going to be more of a challenge when they need more looking after, though.
[ 09. November 2014, 20:36: Message edited by: Leorning Cniht ]
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013
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Oscar the Grouch
Adopted Cascadian
# 1916
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Leorning Cniht:
We've been here a decade and I'm still not used to how early people seem to eat around here. I've been practically thrown out of restaurants barely past 9pm because they wanted to close up.
So it's not just West Coast Canada, then?
We went into a few restaurants when we moved here and were surprised at how empty they were. It took us a while to work out that we were arriving after everyone else had come and gone.
We were talking about this to a friend just yesterday. She was literally gobsmacked when we told her that when we eating out in the UK, we would often not sit down to eat until 8:00.
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Faradiu, dundeibáwa weyu lárigi weyu
Posts: 3871 | From: Gamma Quadrant, just to the left of Galifrey | Registered: Dec 2001
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Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Oscar the Grouch:
So it's not just West Coast Canada, then?
Of course, the flip side is that everyone seems to start work / school at obscene o'clock in the morning.
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013
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Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
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Posted
I'm not sure if I count as emigrating as I'm on a three year work visa, and doing it half time so it's three months here and three months back in Scotland. But, who knows, as LC found out an initial plan for a short term contract sometimes changes.
Was there anything you would have done differently?Probably started to learn Japanese a bit earlier.
Has there been anything that has really surprised you in your new country?
First big surprise was I couldn't get a pre-paid SIM or phone here. So, I have a smart phone but I can only use it for internet stuff when I have wi-fi. Now I have a residence card I can get a contract phone/SIM if I want, but will think about that before I get back next year.
People totally ignoring earthquakes was a surprise. Did the building just spend the last 15 seconds shaking, well no one else seems to have noticed it!
I'd been here several times so the friendliness of the people, their gratitude to westerners to simply come and visit Fukushima, let alone bring their expertise to help out, and the stunning landscape were not a surprise.
What have you missed most about your old home country?The children. Without a doubt that's the big thing, being half way around the world and only getting the occasional Skype session when I'm practically heading for bed and they're only just up.
I thought I might miss cheese, because it's not a big part of Japanese diet. But, that's been OK - plenty of other wonderful foods to eat. It's breakfast that's the worst meal of the day; I'm used to a simple breakfast of muesli or other cereal and maybe toast - breakfast cereals here are very sugary and lack substance ('granola' that's more or less rice crispies with added sugar and a bit of dried fruit), and bread comes in very small loaves and is mostly indistinguishable from cheap, sliced white bread with some added sugar. I finally found a supermarket that stocks a decent (French) muesli and bread that looks like it's been sliced from a proper loaf, slightly brown with some pumpkin seeds added. But, I'm going to gorge myself on wholegrain multi-seed bread and weetabix, muesli and shreadedwheat come December.
What advice would you give to someone considering emigration?Go for it.
Do some research, if you can visit the place and meet local people before hand to cut down on the surprises, start learning the language (may not be as important for moving from UK to US, for example, although American isn't the same as International English it's close enough). Don't just be a long-term tourist who happens to have a job there, meet local people, eat at the regular restaurants rather than just the ones catering to tourists (I have an advantage there in that Fukushima isn't exactly a tourist destination), find a local church, gym or other social group.
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Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
I totally agree with Alan about not eating in tourist places - in India that is a recipe for getting ill. Eat in local places full of locals - if it is popular with locals the food is going to be good and it will be fresh. In tourist places it may have been sitting for hours and may well give you a fungal infection or two!
[In Andhra Pradesh check before ordering the chilli content of the food or you could blow your head off with the first mouthful!]
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Piglet
Islander
# 11803
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Oscar the Grouch:
... If we're feeling rich, we'll even get some brie.
You can get really rather good Quebec brie in Costco, although British cheese tends to be a rip-off.
What would you have done differently?
I'm not sure what we could have done differently, but as some of you know, we had the devil of a fight to get Permanent Residence, because a bloke here thought that D's job should have gone to him, and created merry hell with the immigration authorities. However, that's all behind us now and we're hoping to apply for citizenship in the next year or two.
What do you miss?
Proper newspapers (and cryptic crosswords, although we can get them on the interweb), decent television, and the things we have to stock up on when we go home (Tiptree jam, Bisto granules, lamb and ham stock-cubes ...)
Surprises
I don't think anything prepared me for the sheer length of winter here - we'd spent the previous 15 years in Northern Ireland and in that time we'd had a total of about 6 inches of snow, none of which lasted more than a day or two. Getting 3 or 4 feet of it at once in January and it staying until Easter came as a bit of a shock.
Advice to anyone considering it
Yes - go for it! Despite the minor details above, moving here has been the best thing we've ever done. We've been here for nearly 12 years now and we love it, long winters notwithstanding ... ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
I'd add the caveat that if possible, you should try and get back home occasionally. In our case, it's partly because when you live on an island you sometimes need to get off it*, and it is nice to see friends and family once in a while - you tend to appreciate them more when you don't see them very often. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
* I found that when I lived in Orkney - after about 18 months without leaving the islands I'd get itchy feet.
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I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music
Posts: 20272 | From: Fredericton, NB, on a rather larger piece of rock | Registered: Sep 2006
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Oscar the Grouch
Adopted Cascadian
# 1916
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Piglet:
I'd add the caveat that if possible, you should try and get back home occasionally. In our case, it's partly because when you live on an island you sometimes need to get off it*, and it is nice to see friends and family once in a while - you tend to appreciate them more when you don't see them very often.
* I found that when I lived in Orkney - after about 18 months without leaving the islands I'd get itchy feet.
We went back to the UK in Sept. A lot of people said that was too soon, but we had a Very Importantly Wedding to go to. As it turned out, it didn't unsettle us - rather the opposite. It confirmed to us that we had made the right choice. We found ourselves eager to "go home" (ie Canada).
So far, I would say "Don't go "back" too soon or too frequently". Use holiday time to explore your new country. For example, I'm getting very eager to visit the Okanagan and Kootenays. And then there's a return visit to Stratford, Ontario. And a trip to the East Coast....
As for "getting off the island", so far I don't feel in anyway restricted by being on Vancouver Island. It feels like the mainland - especially when I go to some of the smaller islands like Salt Spring. Having said that, I've done a couple of day trips to Vancouver, which was fun. "Wow! Look at all those tall buildings! Where did the sky go?"
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Faradiu, dundeibáwa weyu lárigi weyu
Posts: 3871 | From: Gamma Quadrant, just to the left of Galifrey | Registered: Dec 2001
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Stercus Tauri
Shipmate
# 16668
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Posted
Difficult topic! After many years in Canada, it still isn't 'home' for me. My Dear Wife has the gift of being able to settle anywhere and make it her home, but I still can't do it. It's been like an organ transplant that needs constant anti-rejection therapy. Probably the worst thing that happened (for me) was not getting back to the UK for 10 years after my father died, and then having to catch up with the changes after a particularly change-filled period. When your children are growing fast and work takes most of your time, it's easy for that to happen. It's different for everyone, so I won't generalise. Many friends in Canada have never looked back and are completely content. Some bad work experiences here and a wonderful one for a few months back in Scotland have biased me, and probably made it worse. Our children, grandchildren and well-loved in-laws are in the USA, so moving back isn't really a practical dream.
I liked living in Quebec, as it mostly felt foreign. The language is interesting (though tough after grammar school O-level French) and the culture just feels different. Southern Ontario doesn't seem different enough to be very interesting.
The last few years have changed the importance of health care for us, and I'll be the first to say that it's hard to imagine better cancer care than you can have in southern Ontario, and is probably why I am still kicking and can still post rubbish on the Ship.
And the beer... After years of drinking vile mass-produced North American beer and an unrequited thirst for a good Scottish heavy, the saintly people who run the Grand River Brewing Co have had a significant impact on the quality of life of some of us.
The best advice to someone considering the move? Make up your own mind - don't listen to people like me.
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Thay haif said. Quhat say thay, Lat thame say (George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal)
Posts: 905 | From: On the traditional lands of the Six Nations. | Registered: Sep 2011
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
I think getting quality TV is a problem in most of the world - here we have several hundred channels most of which peddle absolute tripe - but then I only really watch the cricket. An interesting discussion of cause and effect could follow from that!
The English language press here is surprisingly good and eventually I settled on The Hindu which is a sort of Grauniad/Independent serious minded paper. It's well worth it for the Sudoku alone!
One thing I love about not being in UK any more but rather in India is that approaching a gang of lads standing under a street light at a corner during an evening walk I steel myself for a longish chat so they can practice their English rather than for the possibility of abusive comments.
I think sound advice to anyone doing this is to be open to difference - don't try to recreate where you came from but enjoy where you are. I'm not necessarily talking assimilation [as an older white guy living in southern India this ain't a possibility for me] but I am talking celebrating where you are. Heaven knows there is loads wrong with India but...
Of course, even though I know it isn't so any more, my picture of Britain is how it was in 1997 - I have been back since but still only briefly.
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Lucia
Looking for light
# 15201
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Posted
It's interesting to read you all. I've lived in North Africa for 7 years and there is stuff you say that resonates but the thing that is different is I know that this is not permanent. We have not emigrated and plan to return to the UK so there is more sense of a link and continued connection there.
But if I could do one thing different I'd wish I'd done better at learning Arabic and bonded more with local people than just with the expat community.
There are foods that I miss, but we manage to get regular supplies of Marmite and people often bring us cheese from the UK when they come. Trips to the UK usually involve at least one visit to a good Indian restaurant.
I suspect the experience of emigrating to somewhere where you have a language in common with the local people makes for a different experience from one where you are struggling to communicate alongside having to negotiate your way around an unknown place and culture.
Posts: 1075 | From: Nigh golden stone and spires | Registered: Oct 2009
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Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
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Posted
We moved country every three to four years when I was a child.
As a family we reckoned 8-12 weeks to get over the sense of dislocation / culture shock. Also when you are unpacking get your pictures on the walls and some books out asap and the place you are living will feel more your own, even if you don't finish your unpack for some weeks. (If you have some suitcases with trunks being shipped separately, makes sure you have some of these things in the luggage that arrives at the same time as you.)
Learn the local language.
Tips from people I know who have emigrated I know include:
Make sure you have visas / permits allowing you to be in the country and work in your own right not dependent on spouse - and ideally not solely dependent on a specific job. Essentially you don't want to end up being turfed out if a current job or relationship ends - especially in the latter case as child custody arrangements across national borders are horrendous to sort out (and potentially legal separation in two different jurisdictions.)
Pre-emigration counselling might be useful for any children involved, depending on their age etc.
Be sure you understand financial and healthcare arrangements and their implications, likewise political representation issues. (Including who pays for your children's higher education, and on what those rights are based - birthplace, residence or citizenship.)
Ensure you understand the citizenship rules for any children you subsequently have, we had friends who ended up witheir children accidently stateless for a period of time - it was a total nightmare to resolve and of course caused all sorts of complications in organising university education. There are currently similar funding problems for kids in the UK on with indefinite leave to remain status, without citizenship.
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All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
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Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
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Posted
Wise advice from many, and Doublethink mentions birthplace, residence and citizenship.
Do particularly remember that if you return to a country you once lived in, your status and that of your children (especially if they too were born there or anywhere outside the UK) could cause difficulties. It can have its benefits but on the flipside, some countries still have conscription!
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"He isn't Doctor Who, he's The Doctor"
(Paul Sinha, BBC)
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
At the advanced age of forty mumble I still find the social and cultural norms, mores and landscape of the UK confusing and bizarre enough. I can't imagine would would happen should I emigrate.
Best not.
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Sherwood
Shipmate
# 15702
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Posted
I moved from UK to Finland two and a half years ago due to my then girlfriend and now wife being Finnish.
Was there anything you would have done differently?
Not really. The move wasn't without its hiccups, but everything got sorted reasonably quickly.
Has there been anything that has really surprised you in your new country?
I guess the biggest one is that state benefits such as unemployment and what I get, integration benefit, being taxable. It was a shock at first, but I soon came to appreciate that I was still contributing to society as society was helping me.
What have you missed most about your old home country?
Friends and family and being able to hop on a train and visit Canterbury, mainly. As far so food goes, it's cheese. While I like the cheese over here, especially leipäjuusto (literally "bread cheese") and Finnish cream cheese (it's a hard cheese, not a soft one) I can't help but miss proper vintage Cheddar, Wensleydale, Five Counties, Stilton and Sage Derby.
What advice would you give to someone considering emigration?
If you know in your heart that it is what you want to do, then don't hesitate. Do as much research as you can, try and visit your future home town at least twice so you can be sure you do like it there, and be ruthless when it comes to deciding what belongings you need to get rid of to make the move easier!
Posts: 62 | From: Finland | Registered: Jun 2010
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
...and don't worry, you'll soon accumulate a whole load of new belongings to clutter up your previously wonderfully empty spaces!
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Oscar the Grouch
Adopted Cascadian
# 1916
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Welease Woderwick:
...and don't worry, you'll soon accumulate a whole load of new belongings to clutter up your previously wonderfully empty spaces!
Ain't that the truth!
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Faradiu, dundeibáwa weyu lárigi weyu
Posts: 3871 | From: Gamma Quadrant, just to the left of Galifrey | Registered: Dec 2001
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Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink.:
Be sure you understand financial and healthcare arrangements and their implications,
Let me add retirement to Doublethink's sensible list. Particularly if you're moving once or twice mid-career, juggling various countries' pension entitlements, retirement plans and so on can be less than trivial. And if you know that you intend to retire and live in country X, you should plan with that in mind.
Having said that, don't let the retirement tail wag the dog.
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
I'm afraid I don't have many exciting answers to the questions of the OP. I left the Netherlands around 20 years ago, living mostly in Brazil. I don't think there are any things I would have done differently, or big surprises. What I miss sometimes are family and some friends. And my advice would be to relax, don't exclude yourself from local culture, and enjoy it.
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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David
Complete Bastard
# 3
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Posted
I emigrated from Perth, WA to Australia when I was 15.
Was there anything you would have done differently?
I would have learned the local accent sooner, so my children (when I had them) wouldn't have an excuse to mock me.
Has there been anything that has really surprised you in your new country?
I haven't seen a single "Fuck off we're full" t-shirt! Also, some people actually think the country is more important than the state you live in, something that took me about 20 years to come to grips with.
What have you missed most about your old home country?
Being regularly beaten up by the local bogs and/or aborigines. Actually, I don't miss that a great deal.
What advice would you give to someone considering emigration?
From Perth? Nah, stay over there. You simply won't fit in. If you absolutely have to move, I have three pieces of advice:
1. Stop saying that everything in WA is better than "the Eastern States". It isn't, and even if it was nobody wants to hear about it.
2. Pick a local team to go for.
3. Lose the t-shirt.
Posts: 3815 | From: Redneck Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2001
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la vie en rouge
Parisienne
# 10688
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Posted
In distance terms I haven’t moved all that far (UK to France), but culturally it’s a very different place. I think the people who do it successfully are those who learn to speak French and make friends with French people. You can have a good time in Paris hanging out with other expats but you’ll never really experience the country.
I think up to a point the culture shock never really goes away. In my case it’s French bureaucracy that does it. A trip to the prefecture or mairie is guaranteed to make my head explode. Example: on Monday my beloved and I went to the mairie to hand in our marriage file. They insist that we have to travel 700 km all over again for an interview before they’ll accept it, presumably because I’m not French. We tried to talk the lady round and she told us they do this for every couple that gets married in their commune. Later on we had coffee with the neighbours who got married in same commune a couple of months ago and they told us they didn’t have to do an interview. So they are indeed making me come back because I’m a foreigner, despite my being European and not getting any immigration advantages whatsoever from marrying a French person. Crash bang boom my brain explodes. This is the kind of major culture shock moment that can make me very frustrated and annoyed but I’ve learned to just kind of accept that I’ll never understand it. David was joking, but he’s right that going off on a “everything’s so much better in my country” diatribe doesn’t do you any good in the long term. It is what it is. It makes sense to them.
On the subject of weddings, babies etc: if your major life events are going to happen in another country where the protocols can be different I think you need to be careful about explaining stuff to your family at home so they don’t end up feeling lost and confused (unless you don’t like your family very much that is ![[Snigger]](graemlins/snigger.gif) ). The way a French wedding works it quite different to an Anglo-saxon one. Because no religious marriages are recognised under French law, you first go for a civil ceremony performed by the mayor and then go off together for the religious wedding. This means that my Dad won’t walk me up the aisle at the religious ceremony because by time we get there we’ll already be married. My Dad is a traditionally-minded British gentleman and I don’t think he’s ever been to a wedding where the bride’s father didn’t walk her up the aisle, so there was obvious potential for disappointment. This required some tactful explanation to avoid him feeling upset (you’re going to escort me to the mayor’s office, which is pretty much the same thing honest guv.)
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Rent my holiday home in the South of France
Posts: 3696 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
My advice to anyone thinking of moving abroad would be, English might be the main language in the country you're going to, but it doesn't mean the culture will be the same. Be prepared for that.
Also, small but crucial point, consider the weather of the place you're going to. I've been in England for a long time now but I still miss the heat, bright sunlight, blue skies and roughly equal lengths of day and night that you can get elsewhere in the world. The seemingly endless grey skies and mild overcast days can be quite dispiriting and the overlong summer evenings/winter nights require a bit of psychological adjustment. Conversely, the lack of familiar seasons in other parts of the world may prove disconcerting, if you're the kind of person who notices these things, as you swop summer for "the rainy season" or winter for "hot desert winds".
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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That's one thing I'd miss - the gentle British climate. Seriously. It seems like it's one of the only places in the world that isn't at some time trying to kill you with heat, cold or hurricane force winds.
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Enoch
Shipmate
# 14322
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
... I've been in England for a long time now but I still miss the heat, bright sunlight, blue skies and roughly equal lengths of day and night that you can get elsewhere in the world. The seemingly endless grey skies and mild overcast days can be quite dispiriting and the overlong summer evenings/winter nights require a bit of psychological adjustment. Conversely, the lack of familiar seasons in other parts of the world may prove disconcerting, if you're the kind of person who notices these things, as you swop summer for "the rainy season" or winter for "hot desert winds".
This may surprise, but if you've grown up here, and find yourself living in a place where the day is the same length all the time, it feels really peculiar. You lose all sense of the passage of time.
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Brexit wrexit - Sir Graham Watson
Posts: 7610 | From: Bristol UK(was European Green Capital 2015, now Ljubljana) | Registered: Nov 2008
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Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
That's one thing I'd miss - the gentle British climate. Seriously. It seems like it's one of the only places in the world that isn't at some time trying to kill you with heat, cold or hurricane force winds.
Also spare a thought for the gentle British flora and fauna. Unless you have a habit of swallowing random fungi that you happen to encounter, the worst you're likely to encounter in a walk in the British countryside is a stinging nettle, and the most dangerous animal is probably a badger.
It seems like basically everyone else has a long list of snakes, spiders and the like that will kill you, a good collection of bears, tigers, lions, komodo dragons and other things with big teeth, and a collection of plants that really won't improve your day if you happen to brush against them.
In Britain, the countryside is friendly.
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013
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David
Complete Bastard
# 3
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Leorning Cniht:
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
That's one thing I'd miss - the gentle British climate. Seriously. It seems like it's one of the only places in the world that isn't at some time trying to kill you with heat, cold or hurricane force winds.
Also spare a thought for the gentle British flora and fauna. Unless you have a habit of swallowing random fungi that you happen to encounter, the worst you're likely to encounter in a walk in the British countryside is a stinging nettle, and the most dangerous animal is probably a badger.
It seems like basically everyone else has a long list of snakes, spiders and the like that will kill you, a good collection of bears, tigers, lions, komodo dragons and other things with big teeth, and a collection of plants that really won't improve your day if you happen to brush against them.
In Britain, the countryside is friendly.
Paris, for example, has tigers!
Posts: 3815 | From: Redneck Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2001
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Oscar the Grouch
Adopted Cascadian
# 1916
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
That's one thing I'd miss - the gentle British climate. Seriously. It seems like it's one of the only places in the world that isn't at some time trying to kill you with heat, cold or hurricane force winds.
That's what I like about Vancouver Island.
Whilst Calgary et al are freezing their butts off with temperatures below -10C, we're noting mildly that it's got a little nippy recently. Weather patterns here are very similar to the UK.
Having said that, VI does have a threat of a major earthquake, which isn't something you would worry about in the UK, or in most of the rest of Canada.
No poisonous snakes, though. And although there are bears and cougars aplenty (allegedly), they tend to stay out of the town. A friend has lived on the Island all her life and reckons she has seen a bear (at a distance) about 3 or 4 times. And she's a real out-doors kinda person who thinks nothing of cycling 50km in a morning.
All in all - it's swings and roundabouts. But it is certainly important to find out about such things and take them into consideration before you make a decision.
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Faradiu, dundeibáwa weyu lárigi weyu
Posts: 3871 | From: Gamma Quadrant, just to the left of Galifrey | Registered: Dec 2001
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
I've got heat, lots of rain and the possibility of poisonous snakes. But no earthquakes.
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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Oscar the Grouch
Adopted Cascadian
# 1916
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quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
I've got heat, lots of rain and the possibility of poisonous snakes. But no earthquakes.
And piranhas! Don't forget the piranhas! They're in every film I've ever seen about the Amazon.
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Faradiu, dundeibáwa weyu lárigi weyu
Posts: 3871 | From: Gamma Quadrant, just to the left of Galifrey | Registered: Dec 2001
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Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528
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Posted
That's why he won't have to worry about them IRL. They're all away working as extras in the movies.
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Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!
Posts: 20059 | From: off in left field somewhere | Registered: Feb 2004
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
quote:
Oscar the Grouch: And piranhas! Don't forget the piranhas! They're in every film I've ever seen about the Amazon.
I've gone piranha fishing sometimes. They bite very easily, but there's not much meat on them.
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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