How did you prepare?

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

There are a lot of similarities between Canada and the US and I am gambling that a majority of the Canadians emigrating are anglophones, so our grasp of the language is pretty good, too, no need for ESL classes for a majority of us (though I'm sure some take advantage of those depending on background). That being said, there are differences beyond just food, and those differences seem to vary based on the destination location.

So I guess my question is three fold. 1) What area did you move to/are you moving to? 2) What extra special things are there about the area that differed for you from your own region? 3) What did you do to prepare and smooth your transition?

For example, I'm moving to Austin and my understanding is that Texas, in general, has a large Spanish speaking population. I've never learnt any Spanish beyond 'dos cervezas, por favor' and I don't even like beer! For this reason, I'm currently trying to learn Spanish to improve my job prospects when I get down there. I know that most of what I am finding in terms of Spanish courses I can do at home are European Spanish, so I'll probably join a Spanish conversation class just after I get down there, which will help me socialize and find friends who aren't just my spouse's friends. That way I can learn the local accent and colloquialisms.

What things have you done to prepare your transition while you wait? The waiting is endless, I know. I'm not even married yet, but I can't stop looking forward to what my new life will be with my future wife. I should probably be planning weddingy stuff, but I honestly don't care about the wedding. I just want to be with her. My life with her is MUCH more important.

Edited October 14, 2013 by Not a Tailor

[NikLR 13,232]

Colorado isn't much different than AB except it's warmer. I need a new winter coat but thus far I haven't been too worried. The food differences are more pronounced than you'd think. Ketchup and bread taste totally different. So does milk IMHO. I can't find little things I normally make, like perogies (there is a mrs T brand at walmart) and spices. Even trying to order honey garlic wings is a no go. Maybe it's where I'm shopping?!

It's better to be concerned about your life together than the wedding day. 1 day vs whole life... yeah dude, you have your priorities straight IMHO!!!

[floridaboundcanuk 7]

Prepare? Maybe it's because lots of my extended family is American or that I've spent a lot of time there already but for me there's nothing to prepare for. It's pretty much exactly the same, with better services and more restaurants..lol People taking about filling their suitcases with ketchup or buttertarts comes across as silly lunacy to me. Seriously, chill out and try a slice of pecan pie..lol

As for Austin, you'll love it. I've been there many times. Tonnes to do, lots of great food and reasonable home prices. Don't worry about speaking Spanish, truth be told those who only know Spanish are few and far between and are probably illegals (yes, it's true not trying to start something). If you like music, Austin is the place too.

Edited October 15, 2013 by floridaboundcanuk

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I moved from Southern ON to VA outside DC. Six years later I can safely say that you will be surprised no matter how much you think you've prepared. What no one realizes is you are comfortable in Canada, you've lived with certain attitudes, read the news papers, watched the news.....you know the status quo and how everything works. Upon moving everything is new right down to where the cereal aisle is at the grocery store.

I thought I was ready because I had visited so much before we were married, but it all felt slightly different when I wasn't 'going home' after my visit. Little things pissed me off - like having to fill out paper work as a new patient because I was going to new doctors.....I found it oddly unconstitutional to have to provide my SSN every time I filled out paper work (exactly who needed this info and were they tracking our every move?) ! I hated having to fork out a $20 copay for every doctor's visit. I had to fill out a freaking deposit slips and write checks (aka cheques!)something I hadn't done in years at TDCanada Trust. After about 2 months of feeling like a fish out of water where little stuff drove me nuts, I was insanely homesick by Christmas. I had a few meltdowns and I am surprised my husband didn't send me home.

After starting work it became much better because I realized I was missing that daily routine. I made some acquaintances who've eventually become friends which has helped tremendously.

Politics is huge in the US - you practically declare your affiliation at birth. Back in Canada people at work could have pleasant stimulating political discussions without coming to blows over lunch, it's a little more intense in the US - election years are always enjoyable - the ads starting in Feb and go for months until the election in Nov - everyone I know laughs when I say Canadians can get an election together from start to finish in 2 months.

Expect racism - I was surprised, annoyed and upset by it - not everyone is racist of course but you'll hear people say things at work and in your community that will cause your inner Canadian to feel uncomfortable. You wouldn't ever hear those same things in Canada because we consider it bad manners. Also expect religion to come up in the same discussion as politics....and odd coupling when you're used to everything being fairly separate in Canada.

Every area is different depending on its history and racial make-up - VA is different than Texas which is different than California . By definition Texas is a heavily republican state according to statistics but that doesn't mean every community is or isn't

The point here is that expect to feel different once you move, do what you can to feel comfortable and at home once you arrive.....call home (for many of us its taken a couple years for the US to feel like 'home') and talk with family often. Plan a visit to Canada once you get your AP or GC - that first visit home really helps. You will feel sad unless you haven't left much behind but its totally ok, just know you'll have periods where you can feel kind of down- it may be the first time in your adult life you haven't worked for a long period - I wish I'd enjoyed it more.

Come talk with us often - there's always someone who feels the same as you!

PS and 99% of us thought we had it covered before moving and still felt homesick in some way...it's ok!

Edited October 15, 2013 by Udella&Wiz

[warlord 73]

I moved to Colorado from Southern Ontario back in 1997. I spent a lot of my time though visiting friends in New Jersey, Indiana, Florida and other places all the time for weekends so the transition wasn't very much. People wise I had always bonded more with Americans anyways so that was easy.

Only thing I had a bit of a transition to make was finding groceries that may have been a bit different (like you mentioned perogies were a bit of a challenge for me to find, other than Mrs. T's, that was until I discovered Russian stores that of course had the real ones).

Other than that, I was used to the North East where the Southern Ontario weather was humid in the summer and freezing ### cold in the winter. Here, it's much more milder which is good because I hate winter and fall. Having 70 degree days in January is not unheard of here (then again in the city I've seen it snow in every month but July and August). Trees are another big thing, just go a bit east and you're in the great plains which is so cool. Back in Canada, there were so many trees that I hated it.

Guess that's why I'm happy to now be living in an Alpine Desert. Plus the bonus is I can do a simple day drive to Arizona, or Vegas or Texas any weekend I want to get away. So that's always nice...

[Lakehouse 293]

Considering my move will be to New England, I've been watching miniseries like 'John Adams' and the Ken Burns version of 'the Civil War', which greatly increases my understanding of the history and politics that have led the US to where it is now.

Both fantastic pieces of work I must add! Even for someone without much prior interest in such topics.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I would also add I think younger folks, with less life 'baggage' have an easier time. They have fewer preconceived notions and less previous life experience to compare to so small things don;t bug them as much either. I was in my late 30's with a teenager, well established in my own right personally and professionally and found a lot of things I took for granted hard to change.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

Politics is huge in the US - you practically declare your affiliation at birth. Back in Canada people at work could have pleasant stimulating political discussions without coming to blows over lunch, it's a little more intense in the US - election years are always enjoyable - the ads starting in Feb and go for months until the election in Nov - everyone I know laughs when I say Canadians can get an election together from start to finish in 2 months.

Expect racism - I was surprised, annoyed and upset by it - not everyone is racist of course but you'll hear people say things at work and in your community that will cause your inner Canadian to feel uncomfortable. You wouldn't ever hear those same things in Canada because we consider it bad manners. Also expect religion to come up in the same discussion as politics....and odd coupling when you're used to everything being fairly separate in Canada.

Every area is different depending on its history and racial make-up - VA is different than Texas which is different than California . By definition Texas is a heavily republican state according to statistics but that doesn't mean every community is or isn't

The point here is that expect to feel different once you move, do what you can to feel comfortable and at home once you arrive.....call home (for many of us its taken a couple years for the US to feel like 'home') and talk with family often. Plan a visit to Canada once you get your AP or GC - that first visit home really helps. You will feel sad unless you haven't left much behind but its totally ok, just know you'll have periods where you can feel kind of down- it may be the first time in your adult life you haven't worked for a long period - I wish I'd enjoyed it more.

Yeah, US politics is terrifying. My fiancée and I talk about it a lot, because I find the whole topic daunting. I feel like a lot of American politics is cutting off your nose to spite your face and is entirely driven by indivdual social agendas of the rich and uberrich with nothing left for those underneath.

As for racism, I'm sort of terrified of that. I'm part First Nations (non-status) and if I avoid the sun, you can't tell, but put me in the sun for ten minutes and I go quite dark. My father looked Mexican in the summer. I'm really worried, and I know how horrible this is, that people will mistake me for Mexican and discriminate against me because of it. I, personally, believe that Mexicans have more of a right to be there than most of the white people there, but the fact is that there's a tonne of discrimination from what I hear from Mexican friends who have lived in that area, especially if you leave a large urban centre. I'm worried that if I get too tanned, I might have trouble finding a job.

I'm not leaving very much behind at all. The only family I have left is my grandmother and she doesn't take visitors. She prefers talking regularly on the phone so I call her everyday as it is. The only thing I'm leaving behind that I'm sad about is my three rats, but they'll be very elderly by the time I can move, if they're still alive, and I don't want to risk them, so they'll be staying behind to enjoy their twilight time with a good friend of mine.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

As for Austin, you'll love it. I've been there many times. Tonnes to do, lots of great food and reasonable home prices. Don't worry about speaking Spanish, truth be told those who only know Spanish are few and far between and are probably illegals (yes, it's true not trying to start something).

If that's the case, then why have I found butcher shops and grocery stores where their websites and sale flyers are entirely in Spanish? And whose Yelp reviews talk about how the store clerks speak mostly Spanish? And who have better pricing than English-flyered butcher shops and grocery stores so I'll probably do most of my shopping there?

[Dreamman 1]

Hello

I'm in the process of moving from Halifax, N.S to Tuscon Arizona . I'm very excited, but i'm leaving behind a large family and my 19 year old daughter. I have been thinking about these changes and this was a great post to read. I'm wondering how the transition will go and how often I will miss my family. My fiancée is amazing and will be there for me. Going back to visit as often as possible a must.

Thank you

[ricnally 259]

"Fire and Ice: The United States, Canada, and the Myth of Converging Values" by Michael Jamieson and others, is a fascinating read about how different Canadians and Americans really are. One thing in the book that blew my mind (and a good thing for those of us making the move to the US to keep in mind) is that even the MOST liberal region of the US (New England) is still waaaaay more conservative than the MOST conservative part of Canada (Alberta).

[Ms Hogan 295]

My move was from Ontario to Ohio so not a lot of difference. My husband is very liberal. He'd fit in better in Canada than I ever will here but we can do so much more and afford so much more here in the U.S. than we'd ever be able to in Ontario. I have traveled a lot to the U.S. all my life and have spent winters working here in the past. So none of it is new to me. A lot of things are disappointing but there are no surprises. I am just happy to be with my husband in a home that we can own without me having to work full-time allowing me to be a mom to my small children for the first time in my life. Things are good and I am happy to be here. I'm also able to go back to Ontario on a regular basis to get the things I miss so that makes it easier. I don't think I'd feel the same way if I had moved somewhere else that isn't so close to Canada.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Hello

I'm in the process of moving from Halifax, N.S to Tuscon Arizona . I'm very excited, but i'm leaving behind a large family and my 19 year old daughter. I have been thinking about these changes and this was a great post to read. I'm wondering how the transition will go and how often I will miss my family. My fiancée is amazing and will be there for me. Going back to visit as often as possible a must.

Thank you

I would expect differences...it helps to not expect it to be the same (Halifax vs Tucson is a pretty big difference). You will miss them everyday if you're used to family togetherness but I can tell you it gets much better as time goes on - there was another VJ member who left her teenage daughter in ON with the father when she moved to Chicago, perhaps she can add some insight if she still posts?

It happened for me when I couldn't do regular Sunday supper with my parents and brothers and their extended families - we used to do it every week and I complained occassionally about seeing them 'too much'. Now I'd give anything to see them once a month. My nieces who I used to have over on weekends are becoming young ladies and I'm sad to not be around to help - my brother is a single dad..

You take for granted that you go to the grocery store and you say hi to the lady behind the counter that you've seen for the last 15 years or you run into someone you haven't seen in a while - that won't happen once you move. Sometimes I dig the anonimity...at least you don't run into that chick from highschool who you hated or your ex!

It's easy to imagine all the things that won't happen but you must move forward and embrace wherever you move. Look for things to do, phone home regularly, do things that make you feel connected to back home. Have a good cry occassionally and mourn a little...it passes, certainly helped me

[Udella&Wiz 325]

My move was from Ontario to Ohio so not a lot of difference. My husband is very liberal. He'd fit in better in Canada than I ever will here but we can do so much more and afford so much more here in the U.S. than we'd ever be able to in Ontario. I have traveled a lot to the U.S. all my life and have spent winters working here in the past. So none of it is new to me. A lot of things are disappointing but there are no surprises. I am just happy to be with my husband in a home that we can own without me having to work full-time allowing me to be a mom to my small children for the first time in my life. Things are good and I am happy to be here. I'm also able to go back to Ontario on a regular basis to get the things I miss so that makes it easier. I don't think I'd feel the same way if I had moved somewhere else that isn't so close to Canada.

That's a great move - not too far . We've considered moving to OH or PA since our work is portable just to be a little closer so our trips don't take 9 hrs each way

[floridaboundcanuk 7]

If that's the case, then why have I found butcher shops and grocery stores where their websites and sale flyers are entirely in Spanish? And whose Yelp reviews talk about how the store clerks speak mostly Spanish? And who have better pricing than English-flyered butcher shops and grocery stores so I'll probably do most of my shopping there?

The same reason why you find business catering to French outside Quebec. The rest is kinda self explanatory. Be careful in a lot of those shops, not all but some are the equivalent to buying seafood she side of the road.