How did you prepare?

[Dreamman 1]

Thank you for the posts, I know the hardest part will be not seeing my daughter. I've been single mom for most of her life. I guess I think about how hard it will hit her once I leave. I am cherishing all the time while i'm still here in Canada.

Thanks again

[floridaboundcanuk 7]

"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).

Hallelujah! - but that's not really a discussion for this kind of forum.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

"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).

I've always thought that..Democrats in the US are about as liberal as PC's in Canada. It's cute taht they 'think' they're liberal though

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Thank you for the posts, I know the hardest part will be not seeing my daughter. I've been single mom for most of her life. I guess I think about how hard it will hit her once I leave. I am cherishing all the time while i'm still here in Canada.

Thanks again

I sympathize - I was a single mum for the first 16 yrs of my daughter's life, probably only away from her about a total of a week in the 16 yrs) and I dragged her down here...in hindsight I wish I'd done differently. She's eventually adjusted...but I know it was what I wanted, not what she wanted.

[JensJrny2Ray 367]

1) I moved to the Washington DC area - to a town called Greenbelt, MD. This is pretty far from west coast BC!

2) Everything is different here! The people (mostly black and hispanic), the way people talk, there are SO MANY people. Driving makes me nervous as there are just so many highways and so much traffic! I always say to my husband, "where are all these people going?!". While food and gas are cheaper, everything else is so expensive. The weather is crazy hot and humid in the summer and I'm glad that part of the year is over! Customer service can be pretty lackadaisical but overall the people are friendly. Oh yes, and the medical system is crazy insane.

I feel more restricted, or "watched" here even though the states is touted as "land of the free". I thought Canada was the land of conservative, but the USA is way more conservative in their attitudes and actions, I find.

3) I guess I didn't do too much to prepare. It was a fairly big culture shock to me and still is sometimes. I knew I wouldn't be able to work for a while, and then I got pregnant right away with no insurance. Ouch.

Edited October 16, 2013 by JensJrny2Ray

[Udella&Wiz 325]

1) I moved to the Washington DC area - to a town called Greenbelt, MD. This is pretty far from west coast BC!

2) Everything is different here! The people (mostly black and hispanic), the way people talk, there are SO MANY people. Driving makes me nervous as there are just so many highways and so much traffic! I always say to my husband, "where are all these people going?!". While food and gas are cheaper, everything else is so expensive. The weather is crazy hot and humid in the summer and I'm glad that part of the year is over! Customer service can be pretty lackadaisical but overall the people are friendly. Oh yes, and the medical system is crazy insane.

I feel more restricted, or "watched" here even though the states is touted as "land of the free". I thought Canada was the land of conservative, but the USA is way more conservative in their attitudes and actions, I find.

3) I guess I didn't do too much to prepare. It was a fairly big culture shock to me and still is sometimes. I knew I wouldn't be able to work for a while, and then I got pregnant right away with no insurance. Ouch.

My goodness you hit it on the head - I live on the opposite side of DC in Centreville VA and what a difference from Ontario. Customer Service in regular everyday stores can be sketchy - so many stores don't seem to have managers onsite so employees are constantly on their phones or chatting and not paying attention to their customers...that or they're all about 18 ......but overall I would say my neighbours are friendly. They wave to us when we drive by which is kind of cute. Back in ON I didn't even know who lived across the hall from me!

The people are different - and I am not racist, my daughter is biracial - African american/ black people are quite different - in ON I was quite accustomed to friends who had parents from the West Indies and everything that went along with that culture - Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados etc.... Here in this area - which is suprisingly 'Southern' in its attitudes...black people have been here for generations, potentially descended from slavery. There are some very poor areas around here - I can't even describe it, nothing like I'd ever seen in ON and it makes me sad. Those TV shows you see about the 'projects' in America are actually, sadly, common.

[JensJrny2Ray 367]

My goodness you hit it on the head - I live on the opposite side of DC in Centreville VA and what a difference from Ontario. Customer Service in regular everyday stores can be sketchy - so many stores don't seem to have managers onsite so employees are constantly on their phones or chatting and not paying attention to their customers...that or they're all about 18 ......but overall I would say my neighbours are friendly. They wave to us when we drive by which is kind of cute. Back in ON I didn't even know who lived across the hall from me!

The people are different - and I am not racist, my daughter is biracial - African american/ black people are quite different - in ON I was quite accustomed to friends who had parents from the West Indies and everything that went along with that culture - Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados etc.... Here in this area - which is suprisingly 'Southern' in its attitudes...black people have been here for generations, potentially descended from slavery. There are some very poor areas around here - I can't even describe it, nothing like I'd ever seen in ON and it makes me sad. Those TV shows you see about the 'projects' in America are actually, sadly, common.

Yes, the black culture is just so different! I know there are more black people in Ontario than BC for sure. In BC most are actually from Africa or just recently arrived etc. So here it's like a different sub culture! My husband thought it would be shocking to me to see so many black people in one place and I don't find it shocking and it doesn't bother me, it's just different! He was worried I'd be afraid of black people I think, you know all the stereotypes there are! I told him, look, where I'm from...it's the white people who are sketchy! But yes, my husband has said that Virginia is more southern than anything, though I haven't seen too much of it other than Alexandria. We are actually going to McLean VA this weekend for the Colonial Market. One of the things I definitely love around here is there is a lot to do! Especially in DC (when the gov't opens again anyway) I love all the museums open to the public etc.

One thing I do notice though, is there lack of mention of much of First Nations in this area. They are buried very deep, which is a crying shame as I KNOW there is a lot of history here in that regard. The Native American museum in DC is really cool.

[Lakehouse 293]

I just went out and purchased Fire and Ice, sounded like something that I could learn from:)

MsHogan, I'm envious of your timeline, as your NOA2 came so fast!

[Fayeara 8]

I moved from Quebec to Alabama.

I didn't really do much to prepare, I came to visit for a few months before, so I knew a little bit how things would be like, but I still discover new things everyday . I think I'm still so new to this place that the differences amuses me more than annoy me for now. It's really a lot more conservative around here. And the accent some people have O_O!! Oh my. I don't know if I'll ever be able to understand them on the first try. XD

The food is sooo different too. And cheap food products in Quebec are expensive here, and some expensive food stuff is cheap here. The choices of meats and fruits and veggies is.... very sad though T_T and I think that will be one of the things I miss the most ; the variety.

But it's a nice place, people are really friendly and welcoming so far. I think the key is going with the flow and embracing the differences and not to expect that everything will just be the same, because it probably won't.

[kc247 22]

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

Nice! I am moving from NS too To Utah..just north of you! You're lucky & get the warmer weather!

Edited October 16, 2013 by kc247

[*Snowdrop* 604]

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.

Wow - you pretty much described my exact experience. The bank stuff (and cell phone companies) drive me crazy here - the land of the customer service and it feels like the dark ages for the customer with bank charges all the time and terrible contracts with charges. And cheques! I hadn't used cheques for about ten years before I arrived here.

I arrived in 2008 and have a big bout of homesickness about every two years - something different sets it off each time.

And I'm another Virginia resident - just over an hour from DC.

Edited October 16, 2013 by *Lynne*

[ricnally 259]

I moved from Quebec to Alabama.

I didn't really do much to prepare, I came to visit for a few months before, so I knew a little bit how things would be like, but I still discover new things everyday . I think I'm still so new to this place that the differences amuses me more than annoy me for now. It's really a lot more conservative around here. And the accent some people have O_O!! Oh my. I don't know if I'll ever be able to understand them on the first try. XD

The food is sooo different too. And cheap food products in Quebec are expensive here, and some expensive food stuff is cheap here. The choices of meats and fruits and veggies is.... very sad though T_T and I think that will be one of the things I miss the most ; the variety.

But it's a nice place, people are really friendly and welcoming so far. I think the key is going with the flow and embracing the differences and not to expect that everything will just be the same, because it probably won't.

Wow, you really made a move! According to Fire and Ice, Quebec is THE MOST liberal part of Canada, and Alabama is THE MOST conservative part of the U.S.

Hallelujah! - but that's not really a discussion for this kind of forum.

How so?

[Fayeara 8]

Wow, you really made a move! According to Fire and Ice, Quebec is THE MOST liberal part of Canada, and Alabama is THE MOST conservative part of the U.S.

I don't have a hard time believing it XD

I know I'll be trying my best not to talk too much about politics with people because I'm pretty liberal myself and that could turn into pretty bad arguments.

Did you know that selling sex toys is criminalised in Alabama? And our grocerie store won't sell us beer on sundays before noon (used to be the whole sunday). We can't order alcohol from out of state and have it delivered here either.

[floridaboundcanuk 7]

Wow, you really made a move! According to Fire and Ice, Quebec is THE MOST liberal part of Canada, and Alabama is THE MOST conservative part of the U.S.

How so?

Because this isn't politico and specific discussions about politics seems to make people wacky.

[inlovesalem 17]

Moved from NB to Mass...not a huge dif, besides the food taste funny at first. And the prices on some groceries a lot cheaper. Do most of our shopping in NH no tax. It's really just like a heavier populated NB around where I live. Oh and was in shock I didn't have to drive 2 hrs to the nearest "big" mall, even Moncton has nothing on the malls all within 20 min drive from here...