We adapted pretty quickly, although to be fair there are a lot of Brits living in Canmore & this place (apart from the scenery) reminds me of a small English town with it's good selection of pubs. The hardest thing is making new friends, luckily we have a really active local football team & having a 9mo old kid at the time we moved made it easy for my missus to meet other mums.
There are positives & negatives, overall the good outweighs the bad & thankfully we don't suffer too much as a nation from the loutishness that seems to be on the increase in the UK.
Coming to Lugano was a shock, after London. When I arrived I'd never spoken a word of Italian or worked in the financial services sector. Everything changed and I found the first 2 years daunting but my relationship held strong and I gained confidence as time went by. I returned to London for 2 days a couple of weeks back, for work purposes and I felt strange.
I would certainly approach things differently with hindsight but I would still have come over.
Being slightly scandinavian already the culture shock hasn't been too great for me here in Sweden. And perhaps that background has helped me to be accepted by my peers and colleagues. Jobwise I've been made to feel tremendously welcome and the feeling of making a difference has been really great, workwise.
To be honest the thing I miss more than most is Saturday lunchtimes at the Oak. I'm already looking forward to the Sheffield Thursday game.
Strangely one of the benefts of getting relegated is that a televised game suddenly becomes an event and we are looking forward here to 3-4 other Swedish addicks joining us on Saturday for beer and football.
This is a tough question because ultimately it depends on:
1. whether you're asking about moving within Europe or not
2. if the move was intentional as this changes things psychologically
Lifestyle doesn't change too much if you move to France (as I have) as opposed to Indonesia (where I have been).
And when I came here it was with the intention of staying for one year (as I did in Indo) so in that first year the changes were (psychologically) all good. When you begin to realise that you're going to stay a while the realities hit you e.g. buying a place to live is tricky. Now, as I'm beginning to realise I might never move back, I have to accept other more acute issues regarding particularly family and children e.g. my children won't get to see so much of their cousins, my parents won't be able to look after them as much etc (+that any children we have will be French and so may support OL (lol)).
The big thing though is the language. It is quite literally a handicap to different degrees (depending on your level). It can at worst be like being deaf. It hits you after some time in the first year or so that you've taken on a disability. Even when your language level gets good it will never be the same as your native language. Then the more you understand the more you realise you don't understand e.g. if you're having a party with friends and the subject of conversation becomes anything cultural - music, TV, life as kids, funny things your granny did - whatever - you again are in some way out of touch.
Then when your wife is also not French (or English) they are further matters of being ignorant - just not knowing how the system works and always having to try to pick people's brains - stuff like that.
I could say a lot more on the subject but I think they are the essentials.
I've got to agree with the Oakster...I do not miss the English thugs one bit. They are on the increase and spoil many parts of our beautiful country. For me, home sickness was terrible for the first year. Footy, family/friends and papers/tv, all the familiar things you take for granted. Now, after 2 and a half years, I love it here and would never go back to England. I love England and will go back for yearly visits but not to live.
I can certainly relate to what Jimmymelrose has posted. The one thing that really upsets me is that my 2 boys will miss out on playing with their cousins and being looked after their Nan. My inlaws are in South Africa which makes it impossible for them to visit us and breaks the bank for us to visit them. If you are comtemplating moving abroad these are issues you should really think about (if you have kids).
I was 21 when I moved to Australia on my own, Strangest thing was the fact that I didn't tell my family initially, I left then told them a couple of months later. I joined the Australian Navy so have been lucky to have made plenty of friends in the mob over the past 12 years so fortunatly I haven't had that difficulty oakster mentioned but admittedly, if I were told to name civilian mates in Oz I would struggle to name 3. Internet has been a blessing for the football (until recently) and my credit card usually takes a hammering for new kits. I usually live in perth so there are plenty of brits there (I met the missus there who is a scouser) but being in Sydney is a different world and i do miss Perth when I am away from it because of the similarities culturally with England. I never miss Perth when I am in Thailand or Malaysia though lol. Having a baby on the way, I have just realised how lucky we are to have the in-laws over here after reading bcaddicks post, I will never admit that to the missus or mother in law though!!!!!!
I think lot depends on your own circumstances. When I initially went to Australia after my separation, I didnt know anybody in Oz. The first year was one of mixed feelings despite returning to England every three months. There were times when lonliness made me want to come back. However, once I got off my backside and started to socialise, having adopted the process of if someone invited me somewhere, I do it even if I didnt feel like it, things started to really improve. There were obviously no language barriers, but surprisingly lots of cultural differences. Upon reflection, it was possibly the best thing Ive ever done for me. Moving abroad isnt something to take lightly, youd be surprised how tough it can be, especially if you are alone. My own opinion is....if you do it, stick it out for at least two years before you give up.
I came to Thailand five years ago as I was bored with the rut I had got into in London. I went from a well-paid job, nice house, car to nothing, all for a change in lifestyle.
I spent the first two years in Bangkok doing very little. I had hoped top get a job but didn't and even in a cheap(ish) city like Bangkok, my money was disappearing fast, therefore I decided to get a business of my own somewhere else in Thailand and I now run two guesthouses in Phuket with my girlfriend and we have a two year old daughter, something that I'm pretty sure would not have happened in England at my age.
I had never run my own business in England (27 years in the insurance industry), had no kids but a number of failed relationships. So my life has changed completely.
Like many expats here, I have not developed a true Thai lifestyle. I eat Western food quite regularly (I sell Western food!), watch English language television, don't speak very much Thai, crave real English language conversation and shop at Tesco!
I am less materialistic than before, though a 42 inch LCD TV is next on my shopping list, and have to watch the pennies or baht a lot more but that doesn't concern me. I miss several aspects of English life (CAFC, TV, real ale, decent live entertainment) and although I really enjoy trips back I'm glad not to be living there full-time now.
Comments
There are positives & negatives, overall the good outweighs the bad & thankfully we don't suffer too much as a nation from the loutishness that seems to be on the increase in the UK.
I would certainly approach things differently with hindsight but I would still have come over.
To be honest the thing I miss more than most is Saturday lunchtimes at the Oak. I'm already looking forward to the Sheffield Thursday game.
Strangely one of the benefts of getting relegated is that a televised game suddenly becomes an event and we are looking forward here to 3-4 other Swedish addicks joining us on Saturday for beer and football.
1. whether you're asking about moving within Europe or not
2. if the move was intentional as this changes things psychologically
Lifestyle doesn't change too much if you move to France (as I have) as opposed to Indonesia (where I have been).
And when I came here it was with the intention of staying for one year (as I did in Indo) so in that first year the changes were (psychologically) all good. When you begin to realise that you're going to stay a while the realities hit you e.g. buying a place to live is tricky. Now, as I'm beginning to realise I might never move back, I have to accept other more acute issues regarding particularly family and children e.g. my children won't get to see so much of their cousins, my parents won't be able to look after them as much etc (+that any children we have will be French and so may support OL (lol)).
The big thing though is the language. It is quite literally a handicap to different degrees (depending on your level). It can at worst be like being deaf. It hits you after some time in the first year or so that you've taken on a disability. Even when your language level gets good it will never be the same as your native language. Then the more you understand the more you realise you don't understand e.g. if you're having a party with friends and the subject of conversation becomes anything cultural - music, TV, life as kids, funny things your granny did - whatever - you again are in some way out of touch.
Then when your wife is also not French (or English) they are further matters of being ignorant - just not knowing how the system works and always having to try to pick people's brains - stuff like that.
I could say a lot more on the subject but I think they are the essentials.
I spent the first two years in Bangkok doing very little. I had hoped top get a job but didn't and even in a cheap(ish) city like Bangkok, my money was disappearing fast, therefore I decided to get a business of my own somewhere else in Thailand and I now run two guesthouses in Phuket with my girlfriend and we have a two year old daughter, something that I'm pretty sure would not have happened in England at my age.
I had never run my own business in England (27 years in the insurance industry), had no kids but a number of failed relationships. So my life has changed completely.
Like many expats here, I have not developed a true Thai lifestyle. I eat Western food quite regularly (I sell Western food!), watch English language television, don't speak very much Thai, crave real English language conversation and shop at Tesco!
I am less materialistic than before, though a 42 inch LCD TV is next on my shopping list, and have to watch the pennies or baht a lot more but that doesn't concern me. I miss several aspects of English life (CAFC, TV, real ale, decent live entertainment) and although I really enjoy trips back I'm glad not to be living there full-time now.
Oh yeah, it's always hot here as well!