I want to go back

[KarenCee 3]

I"m sure there are lots of people who want to move back soon thereafter..

what are the reasons you want to move back to Canada though..?

My reasons (if you mean that as a question for everyone) are...I have no family here, just my daughter and my husband. All his family are back in Nova Scotia, friends too, not to mention that I adore the Maritimes. He wants to move back as well...he only immigrated here because I couldn't emigrate there due to custody issues with my daughter's DNA contributor. Anywho...those are my reasons.

I got chuckle out of this statement , but if it wasnt meant to be funny...SORRYYYY

It was meant to be funny. My husband is more of a father to her than the "father" she sees every other weekend. In my mind, that's all he is and ever will be...her DNA contributor.

[ramos96 1]

I keep bugging my fiancee to come to Canada with me in a couple of years. Does anyone else want to go back to Canada?

We decided that for now that home is in the US. My job is more versitile and i can teach anywhere. Ramos has been at his job longer and i only was only at my job one year as i just changed jobs to try a management position at a school. Since i have lived in Hk i have found that it takes a good while to decide if you like a place. Its all of what you make it. Give it a chance you may end up likeing it. Except for the rude drivers, and Ramos having to work long hours lately i am enjoying it.

[Cassie 8]

We're in the process of trying to figure out exactly what we want to do. Do I get citizenship? Do we want property in both countries? Would it be better to move closer to NS but stay in the US? We're confused, but Jerry loves Nova Scotia and my family, so he is certainly not opposed to living there. He's mentioned looking at property prices while we are home a number of times, so we shall see.

[Carlawarla 1]

I know I've answered many times on this forum how we'd move in a microsecond to Canada if it wasn't for Gene's job. There is no way we can leave here until he retires. That might only be another 8 or 9 years though. That being said, who knows where or what circumstances we'll be living in then. I think of several things when I think of returning to Canada. All the good ones of course!!! I guess financial issues will be a consideration though. I never thought I'd say that, but with the medical system here, the nursing home situation etc. I really don't know what the best options are. Someone mentioned here about taxation. That has to be a consideration as well. Owing property, retirement benefits, withholding taxes. The list can go on and on. I think once it's time to move from St. Louis, something we're going to do anyway after Gene retires, we'll have to think about all of these issues.

Didn't mean to make this some morbid deep post!

I just think, given our ages, so many things will need to be considered financially before we can say where we'll live etc. Just a few of my thoughts.....

Carla

[Reba 2]

here's another reason to move back home! Federally mandated vacation time!

Canadians need more time off work, labour group says

If you've been thinking your vacation this summer was too short, you're not alone.

The Canadian Labour Congress agrees, and has some numbers to back it up.

Canadians give more waking hours to their employer than most workers in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, a new report by the CLC has found.

"We're very far from Europe in terms of our statutory annual leave and our paid public holidays," says CLC executive vice-president Barbara Byers. "Our workers don't get the same kinds of time to be with their family, their friends ... to get some rest and relaxation, to recharge their batteries so they can go back and give a hundred per cent to their employers."

She said it's time for the government to pass a law that guarantees a minimum of 10 paid statutory holidays and three weeks vacation.

Currently, Canadian workers, on average, receive two weeks of paid vacation and 10 statutory holidays off after their first year of employment, the report found.

The exception is Saskatchewan, which has legislated that employees receive three weeks paid vacation after the first year, with 10 statutory holidays every year.

European workers fare much better when it comes to leisure time. Austria, for example, gives workers a minimum of 30 days of paid vacation time and 13 paid public holidays every year.

While Sweden gives no paid public holidays, workers get five weeks of paid vacation.

In Australia and New Zealand, workers get four weeks paid vacation after their first year. And shift workers in Australia get an additional week after the initial year of employment. In Japan, employees get two weeks off after the first year but there no statutory holidays. In the U.S., there is no legislated vacation or statutory holidays.

But a lot of people have trouble taking all their vacation time. An Ipsos-Reid survey from 2005 suggested that, on average, Canadian workers squander three vacation days a year.

Hugh Gunz, a professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, says some people have difficulty taking time off work because of a North American work culture where people feel guilty and insecure.

He says their rationale is, "I don't take time off when other people aren't taking off. If I do, will they discover they don't need me? What if I'm not around at a critical time?"

There is also the problem of coming back to a mountain of work "and 400 emails" that is difficult to get through.

Gunz, who has worked in the U.K. where employees get a minimum of four weeks holiday, hopes three weeks of mandatory vacation comes into practice.

He said it would be good for Canadians, as long as they leave their laptops and BlackBerrys – the corporate umbilical cord – at the office.

From The Toronto Star.

The US is I believe the only developed country that does not have federally mandated vacation time or statutory holidays.

[KarenCee 3]

We're in the process of trying to figure out exactly what we want to do. Do I get citizenship? Do we want property in both countries? Would it be better to move closer to NS but stay in the US? We're confused, but Jerry loves Nova Scotia and my family, so he is certainly not opposed to living there. He's mentioned looking at property prices while we are home a number of times, so we shall see.

This is something we've thought about too...seriously. Joel definately wants citizenship...won't have to deal with USCIS anymore. I have no family here...friends, but that's it. Joel's family is my family now. We've talked about finding a small piece of land there, just to have something. Probably close to or in Tusket. Of course this will all be in a few years, but doesn't hurt to plan ahead. I love Nova Scotia and I know Joel would love to go home again. As for property in both countries...I dunno. Taxes on two properties...I suppose it would depend on how often we'd be coming back to the States to visit. We're thinking about a small vacation spot in NC, if we wind up with that then we'd sell our primary residence in the States, have primary residence in NS and keep (if affordable) the vacation spot.

*sigh* I wish so much we could go home now though.....

BTW...I think the federally mandated vacation time for Canadians is awesome!

Edited August 6, 2007 by KarenCee

[Cassie 8]

We're in the process of trying to figure out exactly what we want to do. Do I get citizenship? Do we want property in both countries? Would it be better to move closer to NS but stay in the US? We're confused, but Jerry loves Nova Scotia and my family, so he is certainly not opposed to living there. He's mentioned looking at property prices while we are home a number of times, so we shall see.

This is something we've thought about too...seriously. Joel definately wants citizenship...won't have to deal with USCIS anymore. I have no family here...friends, but that's it. Joel's family is my family now. We've talked about finding a small piece of land there, just to have something. Probably close to or in Tusket. Of course this will all be in a few years, but doesn't hurt to plan ahead. I love Nova Scotia and I know Joel would love to go home again. As for property in both countries...I dunno. Taxes on two properties...I suppose it would depend on how often we'd be coming back to the States to visit. We're thinking about a small vacation spot in NC, if we wind up with that then we'd sell our primary residence in the States, have primary residence in NS and keep (if affordable) the vacation spot.

*sigh* I wish so much we could go home now though.....

BTW...I think the federally mandated vacation time for Canadians is awesome!

I hear you, Karen. It's a lot of information to digest. We have friends that have property in NS, and we are going to pick their brains for info about what to expect r/t taxes, etc etc. We are also thinking about the possibilities of adopting kids too, which adds yet another layer of paperwork to things. *sigh*

[jw07 0]

In a perfect world,i would go back to Canada,and have my husband with me.BUT(and this is a huge but) he has 3 kids from a previous marriage,has lived in the same city all his life,and is greek.Need i say more? (meaning he has a shitload of family here and they are all very close)...basically,the only reason i'd ever be living back in Canada is if my husband and I don't work out(gassssp) -no,i'm not a pessimist,but hey you nevvvver know And also,if the worst were to ever happen (divorce) i'd like to think that by that time,i'd be rooted here and while i will NEVER consider myself an American,and will always feel deep ties to Canada, once a life is routinely established,especially in terms of a career,friends,etc..it would be just as hard to leave here as it was to leave Canada.

Thing is..in terms if culture and lifestyle,things aren't so different here.So in that regard,it's not too difficult to adjust.But whenever i fly back home..i swear,as soon as i step out of the airport..there is a different feeling in the air.Maybe it's just me and i'm nuts,lol,but it's that feeling of home,and that sense of familiarity...even if I have landed in a Canadian city i'm not from.Basically,i don't feel as though i belong here.Perhaps it is because right now, i don't have any freedom in terms of working,school,or really any normal freedom i would have in Canada such as establishing credit-which not being able to do that here right now causes so many limitations. But in the grand scheme of things,none of these things even remotely compare in level of importance to what i feel for my husband,and the happiness that our relationship alone brings me. I know he would never leave where we are,so i have to accept that.Krispy Kreme is pretty damn good,though nothing beats a snack pack of timbits..but it would take a pretty drastic set of circumstances to get me to go back to wonderful Canada.

[thetreble 19]

But whenever i fly back home..i swear,as soon as i step out of the airport..there is a different feeling in the air.Maybe it's just me and i'm nuts,lol,but it's that feeling of home,and that sense of familiarity...even if I have landed in a Canadian city i'm not from.

I know that feeling!! I haven't been home in awhile now because of AOS and no AP yet but every time I get on that plane back home or I drive back into Canada, there is a bit of a sense of relief. It is a very funny feeling which usually has a couple tears but ends in a smile Some times you don't realize how attached you are to your country when you are living in it. But when you go away, not knowing if or when you will return home, you can find yourself saying "well in Canada...." etc.

I can't wait to go home next for so many reasons. But mostly, because there is always going to be a big part of me in Canada and every time I go back I feel like I'm pretty complete.

[KarenCee 3]

But whenever i fly back home..i swear,as soon as i step out of the airport..there is a different feeling in the air.Maybe it's just me and i'm nuts,lol,but it's that feeling of home,and that sense of familiarity...even if I have landed in a Canadian city i'm not from.

I know that feeling!! I haven't been home in awhile now because of AOS and no AP yet but every time I get on that plane back home or I drive back into Canada, there is a bit of a sense of relief. It is a very funny feeling which usually has a couple tears but ends in a smile Some times you don't realize how attached you are to your country when you are living in it. But when you go away, not knowing if or when you will return home, you can find yourself saying "well in Canada...." etc.

I can't wait to go home next for so many reasons. But mostly, because there is always going to be a big part of me in Canada and every time I go back I feel like I'm pretty complete.

These sum up pretty good how I feel about Canada...even though I am the USC. I've lived here all my life, but I've not ever felt like I truly belong. I feel that way back home in NS...even though it really isn't my home...yet. I'm happier there...I feel relieved to be there...and I feel like I'm home. Joel moved here for me and my daughter simply because I couldn't move there at the time. He knows I've felt this way from the very beginning. One day we'll both be going home.

Edited August 7, 2007 by KarenCee

[L_n_O 3]

I wonder if I'll be homesick once I move...

[vnoe 0]

I have only moved 7 miles south of the Cda/USA border, so of course it really doesn't seem all that different. Now that being said....I have been in the USA now for 1 month without returning....I miss my shopping. I love the stuff down here....but the produce in the local supermarket at home is WAYYYY better. So could be I'm just missing my good veggies!!!

[L_n_O 3]

good thing I love me meats..

[Reba 2]

even the meats are different down here. Its cut different er sumthin' so it doesn't always cook up the same as what it would back home. Even my Auntie Gene, who lived in the US for 44 years says so. She's quite happily back in Toronto cooking meat again. She said I made her the BEST dang hamburger she's eaten in a good long while too. totally neither here nor there, but I'm tellin' ya, it ain't easy pleasin' the elder generation eh? She just turned 90 this past March.

Flour is different as well, so favourite cookie recipies never turn out right. More mushy. No idea why.

And of course, no Real Canadian Bacon.

[G&A 1]

even the meats are different down here. Its cut different er sumthin' so it doesn't always cook up the same as what it would back home. Even my Auntie Gene, who lived in the US for 44 years says so. She's quite happily back in Toronto cooking meat again. She said I made her the BEST dang hamburger she's eaten in a good long while too. totally neither here nor there, but I'm tellin' ya, it ain't easy pleasin' the elder generation eh? She just turned 90 this past March.

Flour is different as well, so favourite cookie recipies never turn out right. More mushy. No idea why.

And of course, no Real Canadian Bacon.

I know the eggs, milk and kitkats are nasty in the states. But canada doesnt have my husband or yoohoos...i think its a good trade off