Anyone feel like they've made a huge mistake?

[Jo&Si 9]

Hi

I am here since March and I really understand how you all feel!

Galeteia Please email me! I'm sorry that I was out the country and you were having such hard time!!! I don't have solution but we can get together and talk...

Hope it could help!

Take care!

Have a nice sunday every one

Jo

[Tater&Bugger 3]

Btw, speaking of hook-ups...any Canadian Michiganders out there who wanna get together, I'm up for that!

Although he lives in North NY now my fiance is actually from Owosso, MI. Luckily the only times I've been he's driven me so I didn't need to worry about getting lost through Detoit. We'll be visiting in 2 weeks for his cousin's wedding and I can't wait.

When I first visited he asked me how I'd feel about living in MI and I couldn't do it. I'd be dealing with a lot of the same feelings you all are. He understood that and so MI will always remain 'back home' to him, but a 'vacation' spot from now on to us. We love our visits.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

That's just awesome....what a happy random thing!

I've been reading this thread since it started, not sure if I should add my piece...but I will.

I moved from Ontario to Michigan. Not a huge move mile-wise, but a huge move indeed. I've been here for just over 7 months. In my first few months I had some bad days (pretty much as you all have described & missing home). I would tell my fiance/husband why I was feeling sad. I couldn't keep those feelings inside for 2 reasons. 1. I'm BAD at hiding my feelings when I'm sad. 2. I wanted him to know. He is a great comforter.

But as the months went on, I started looking towards what was coming...AOS (couldn't wait to visit Canada), job searching, ordered a new car, weekend road trips with my husband. I still miss home & really think about it somedays (last week I went shopping for a new dress & got sad in the store thinking how it sucked doing that alone & how I would love for my best friend or mom to be there with me). But I can honestly say I'm happy.

I want to share something that happened just last night. My husband & I went to a wedding. The people I knew there were just aquaintances, so I didn't know if I would find the time long doing the small talk. BUT...I found out one of the guys that work with my husband's fiancee was Canadian & lived in Toronto! OMG...this would sound so lame to some people, but I felt (this stranger) comforting! She & I talked most of the night together & shared the same stories (getting lost in Detroit on our first visits to our boyfriends had us laughing!!). As well, a guy that works with my husband is also Canadian & talking about random stuff was awesome. Who knew you could feel so good from some strangers???

Btw, speaking of hook-ups...any Canadian Michiganders out there who wanna get together, I'm up for that!

[OBX 51]

Yep! OBX and I are both from Welland.

And I went to Brock in St. Catharines

My husband went to Brock!

the neck bones connected to the shoulder bone

AND my son is currently at Brock.

In fact Huggles I'm pretty sure if we compared my son's and your Facebook friends list we would find a lot of overlap!

.......it's a small world after all

One of the many reasons VJ can be such a support

Edited August 2, 2010 by OBX

[Sprailenes 47]

It's true and I've met some of the greatest people from this board.

There's nothing more fun than a VJ Canadian get together, first you just understand eachother and what it takes to go through immigration and you can laugh about things back home.

On Canada day i think the funniest thing was this band playing and they yelled out: "Come guys, lets see some audience participaction"

lgg and I just looked at eachother and laughed our butts off, and my husband had no clue why.

It's the little things that make a whole lot of difference.

Edited August 2, 2010 by Sprailenes

[arya 22]

I've been reading this thread since it started, not sure if I should add my piece...but I will.

I moved from Ontario to Michigan. Not a huge move mile-wise, but a huge move indeed. I've been here for just over 7 months. In my first few months I had some bad days (pretty much as you all have described & missing home). I would tell my fiance/husband why I was feeling sad. I couldn't keep those feelings inside for 2 reasons. 1. I'm BAD at hiding my feelings when I'm sad. 2. I wanted him to know. He is a great comforter.

But as the months went on, I started looking towards what was coming...AOS (couldn't wait to visit Canada), job searching, ordered a new car, weekend road trips with my husband. I still miss home & really think about it somedays (last week I went shopping for a new dress & got sad in the store thinking how it sucked doing that alone & how I would love for my best friend or mom to be there with me). But I can honestly say I'm happy.

I want to share something that happened just last night. My husband & I went to a wedding. The people I knew there were just aquaintances, so I didn't know if I would find the time long doing the small talk. BUT...I found out one of the guys that work with my husband's fiancee was Canadian & lived in Toronto! OMG...this would sound so lame to some people, but I felt (this stranger) comforting! She & I talked most of the night together & shared the same stories (getting lost in Detroit on our first visits to our boyfriends had us laughing!!). As well, a guy that works with my husband is also Canadian & talking about random stuff was awesome. Who knew you could feel so good from some strangers???

Btw, speaking of hook-ups...any Canadian Michiganders out there who wanna get together, I'm up for that!

I would love to And we don't live too far away from each other, which is great!

I also have been feeling homesick a lot, especially lately. Alberta is far from Michigan so it's not very easy to get there, but Windsor is just around the corner and as soon as I got my GC I told DH that we're going to Windsor lol We haven't been able to do it though, since my father in law is sick and it doesn't look good so we'll have to wait for that. I don't know, any part of Canada would feel like home.

[MalaysianGirl 26]

I'm not Canadian [and thus I'm sorry in advance if I'm not allowed to reply to this thread], but I've been reading this whole thread until the reply quoted below - and ashenflowers said the precise thing that has been on my mind throughout...

I can't imagine what the adjustment is like for people from countries overseas, who's distances are even farther, and cultures vary even more significantly. I have a brother, sister in law, niece and nephew all living in Cambodia right now, and no clue of when I will see them next. So actually, I suppose I do sort of know what that is like... but still. It makes me sad how large this world still is some times...

If it's so difficult for US/Canadian couples, imagine how much harder it is/would be for couples with SOs from other countries. Flying to and fro is not an option open to many couples, and it saddens my heart to know that it is more difficult for them than for US/Canadian couples. Of course, this is not to say that it is easy for US/Canadian couples - I'm just saying it's more difficult for others.

To end my post, I just want to say that I feel a lot of your pain/frustration although I'm not living in the US (yet). My best wishes to everyone!

[warlord 73]

I also have been feeling homesick a lot, especially lately. Alberta is far from Michigan so it's not very easy to get there, but Windsor is just around the corner and as soon as I got my GC I told DH that we're going to Windsor lol We haven't been able to do it though, since my father in law is sick and it doesn't look good so we'll have to wait for that. I don't know, any part of Canada would feel like home.

The cess pool of Canada ha ha. Maybe you really don't want to go over there if you can help it or at least find a better place beyond Windsor. Only reason I go there once every year or two is to see all my friends and college buddies from the UofW. City wise the place has gone into a wasteland...

[CDAgirlMI 51]

The cess pool of Canada ha ha. Maybe you really don't want to go over there if you can help it or at least find a better place beyond Windsor. Only reason I go there once every year or two is to see all my friends and college buddies from the UofW. City wise the place has gone into a wasteland...

You realize that you're comparing Windsor with someone that lives just outside Detroit right?

[Kimbear 53]

The cess pool of Canada ha ha. Maybe you really don't want to go over there if you can help it or at least find a better place beyond Windsor. Only reason I go there once every year or two is to see all my friends and college buddies from the UofW. City wise the place has gone into a wasteland...

The only reason i moved to windsor was to be closer to David in chicago during our K1, ugh. no offence..but i really disliked the ppl there and the area overall. i rarely if ever even left my apartment unless i had to. shudder. then again, i was right near all the boarded up houses on the side of the bridge. blech.

Sometimes i really miss the quiet and the clean air of vankleek hill ontario. living in des plaines with the noise from the airport, sirens etc, i go out with my dogs, and my head just wants to explode from all the ramdom noises and loudness even the cicadas are too damn noisy. i know eventually i'll get used to it. but every time i complain my husband thinks that i think it was a mistake to come down here.

we finally talked this weekend about why i seem sad lately, and i told him i am happy to be with him, but that i'm just having a hard time adjusting. And just like huggles, i occasionaly let the "but in canada...." slip out too. but i've only been here for 3 months, so that is normal.

i dont miss canada due to family, because well, i dont really have any family. or anyone i would consider family, which i discussed in another thread. to be honest, i think it's just the fact that i am still getting used to the area, where stuff is, and sometimes i feel like a kid in a shopping mall that wandered away from her parents.

As for friends, well even the ones i have kept in touch with via facebook, rarely if ever ask me how things are, they are all too wrapped up in their own lives to remember why we were friends it seems, and that saddens me as these are ppl i have known for 20 plus years. oh well I have met a few people here, mostly the gf's / wives of davids friends, but we dont really have too much in common, and more often then not when we are with them i end up sitting alone in the corner not knowing what to say.

then there is the shopping, trying to find brands items to replace what i'm used to in canada, trying to figure out why one brand is not the same in both countries, trying to remember that temps are in F not C, and converting gas prices so that i can understand them lol, like 3$ for gas a gallon when i'm used to 1$ litre, i'll be like omg thats so expensive, and david reminds me to convert it and then i figure out its cheaper lol. Or if i see him doing 80 in town i have to remember miles not KM, hehe,

But it's little things like that which just add up some days, and make me miss canada ya know?

You realize that you're comparing Windsor with someone that lives just outside Detroit right?

i'll never forget the time david drove down from chicago, had to get off the hwy in detroit due to construction, got lost and called me in windsor in a panic, cuz every gas station he passed had cops with sirens LOL. poor guy was scared so bad.

[The_Dude 1,142]

I can definitely understand that. Moving from Welland to Denver was a big transition. We can almost fit the entire population of Welland in the Rockies baseball stadium Pretty interesting to look around and realize that this is what Welland would look like if we put everyone together!

Fortunately the suffocation thing went away for me, or at least became manageable. The nice thing about living here is that seclusion is just a short drive away. When city life gets to you, just take the car and drive up into the mountains.

I always thought that it wouldn't be that big of a transition moving from a city of 500K +, but I suppose when you move to a state where the population of the southern portion of the state exceeds the entire population of Canada, It can be a bit daunting.

To the person who got all defensive about a perceived slight. If you are an American reading this sub-forum, you need thicker skin. A vast majority of the posters are Canadians and as such going to have a different viewpoint than you. A lot of it is frustration, a lot of it is regional differences. I really don't think some of the posters here realize the subtle anti-american sentiment that is perpetuated.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Youa re welcome to post here, we don;t exclude anyone.

I think you should reconsider you comment about it being harder for some then others. I don't think it matters what country you're from - it's just plain harder for some people then it is for others. Some people can adjust easily, others need time and for others it may never be quite right...just human nature and nothing to do with which country you're from.

I'm not Canadian [and thus I'm sorry in advance if I'm not allowed to reply to this thread], but I've been reading this whole thread until the reply quoted below - and ashenflowers said the precise thing that has been on my mind throughout...

If it's so difficult for US/Canadian couples, imagine how much harder it is/would be for couples with SOs from other countries. Flying to and fro is not an option open to many couples, and it saddens my heart to know that it is more difficult for them than for US/Canadian couples. Of course, this is not to say that it is easy for US/Canadian couples - I'm just saying it's more difficult for others.

To end my post, I just want to say that I feel a lot of your pain/frustration although I'm not living in the US (yet). My best wishes to everyone!

[arya 22]

You realize that you're comparing Windsor with someone that lives just outside Detroit right?

I know! I'm just happy that Canada is right there, and the first thing we hit on our way to Windsor is Zellers haha Love it!

[arya 22]

Youa re welcome to post here, we don;t exclude anyone.

I think you should reconsider you comment about it being harder for some then others. I don't think it matters what country you're from - it's just plain harder for some people then it is for others. Some people can adjust easily, others need time and for others it may never be quite right...just human nature and nothing to do with which country you're from.

I agree. I had to make the big move and change countries twice in my life. I was born in Bosnia and when I was a teenager my family emigrated to Canada. That move was so easy, I instantly fell in love with Canada and living there for 16 years, it feels like home. Moving here was much harder, and somehow just doesn't feel like home. Something's off!

[warlord 73]

The only reason i moved to windsor was to be closer to David in chicago during our K1, ugh. no offence..but i really disliked the ppl there and the area overall. i rarely if ever even left my apartment unless i had to. shudder. then again, i was right near all the boarded up houses on the side of the bridge. blech.

I think those homes are all still boarded up and it's been a few years now. That's where my college dorm used to be behind the McDonalds right there by the bridge, until the took that down a few years ago. My friends are telling me how much downhill the city is getting and how they want to move out if only they could. I have a number of friends that have moved to distant suburbs now just to be away from the city. There's only 200k people in it, and that amazes me how a town like that could have such horrible problems, but guess that's what it gets for being Detroits Southern Suburb...