Newbies to the US from Canada: Anyone else having trouble adjusting?

[oncefuturealien 45]

They're pretty easy to make, although it takes some time. For me, the hard part is figuring out which dough recipe to use, because there are a lot out there. The fun part is when you make them yourself, you can choose all the fillings you like. I like bacony ones, and have made some nice ones with a mixed mushrooms and onion filling.

They do freeze well though, so if you make a project of it and put a bunch in the freezer, you can have a couple-few perogy feasts.

I'm not churchy but you might look for Eastern Orthodox churches in your areas and see if they have perogy nights.

[warlord 73]

Yes in Southern Ontario being between Detroit and Buffalo there is a large population of Ukrainian and Polish people. In fact both Detroit and several burbs and Buffalo rank as the cities near the top of percentages having the most. So anyone from Michigan, New York, Southern Ontario, etc, would see a much larger variety of Peirogies in stores than you would say where I live in the mountain west where we have much smaller pockets and hence not the demand...

[NikLR 13,227]

Hey guys, no more heinz ketchup in Canada. French's are taking over the ketchup to make up the slack.

[goolia 54]

Hey guys, no more heinz ketchup in Canada. French's are taking over the ketchup to make up the slack.

I was so confused after reading that, had to look it up. I thought you meant that Heinz was no longer selling ketchup, whatsoever!

For anyone else who's interested, here's an article explaining Heinz moving jobs out of Canada and French's stepping in.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/ketchup-ontario-facebook-post-1.3466932

[HollywoodNorth 22]

?

There's still Heinz here, lots of it. It's just not made in Canada anymore, it's made in the US, the plant in Ontario is making Frenches brand now.

[NikLR 13,227]

US Heinz is NOT the same as Canada Heinz. Blargh

Edited March 2, 2016 by NLR

[oncefuturealien 45]

Canadian Heinz ketchup is more vinegary than the American kind

[NikLR 13,227]

US kind is made with high fructose corn syrup. You can taste it. The ingredient list is in a different order.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

US kind is made with high fructose corn syrup. You can taste it. The ingredient list is in a different order.

Maybe that's why I don't like ketchup

[NikLR 13,227]

Maybe that's why I don't like ketchup

Ive turned to hunts natural with sugar. But I have cut down on my ketchup since moving for sure.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Ive turned to hunts natural with sugar. But I have cut down on my ketchup since moving for sure.

I'll have it on a burger or hot dog but not a fan with fries.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Heinz Organic has natural sugar instead of HFCS - it's been my go to since moving here

[Lights 56]

I moved to the US in October... and it seems like everything is just going wrong! Is anyone else feeling the same way? I'd love to talk to some other Canadians.

My AOS is messed up, missing my family, problems with health care. aka I just got an unexpected medical bill in the mail for 2 grand... can't work yet, haven't made any friends.. And a million other things have gone wrong lately of a more personal nature.

Not to mention, I miss Tim Horton's so much! Ketchup chips! Hickory sticks! Driving here scares me because the roads are so busy. And people constantly make fun of my accent It took ten months to get my visa and I thought we were so prepared... HAHA, no. I think I miss OHIP most of all. People here don't eat fish and chips.. they don't know what coffee crisp is.. and they do rock, paper, scissors differently. I feel like I am learning something new and totally unexpected about American life every day, and my whole life people have told me our countries are so similar. I miss sidewalks and bus service, too! And being able to actually walk places!

Can anyone relate?

Late to the party but wanted to chime in.

AOS was a process. Even though mine wasn't messed up other than a small delay when our package didn't reach our local admin office for our GC interview. DMV was a total nightmare because no one knew what to do with a Canadian license. I was there at least 2-3 times on average for everything I needed because they couldn't understand how to process my papers.

I've been in the US for almost 2 years and I have not gone without ketchup chips. LOL! When I visit or when anyone comes and visits me, this is their entry ticket into our house. Half kidding...

I totally get the being able to walk to places. I'm from Vancouver and we're outdoorsy people. Even for those who aren't outdoorsy, we just know how it feels to walk in the rain, wind, fresh cool air of Vancouver. I'm in California now and absolutely LOVE the sun but hate the traffic and lack of nature. We do a lot of hikes, but it's just a different kind of nature.

The thing that I find the hardest to adjust is the automatic "Canadian Vs. American" mentality. For some reason everyone assumes I'm local (I guess I don't have a strong Canadian accent) and when they find out I'm Canadian all the jokes start to come. Jokes are fine, but when it gets political or patriotic, that's when I clench my jaw and bite my tongue. I just can't with some American's... Also, there are a lack of manners, I definitely notice that compared to Canadians.

All in all, I do love being here. I miss my family loads but they visit often and I go back often. We're in the same timezone, not a long flight/always direct, so it's been easy to adjust in some capacities. I started working right after I got my EAD. I actually accepted an offer 2 months before my paperwork came in. My boss's wife immigrated from Australia so he completely understood what I was going through and I got lucky because he loved me enough to wait. I've since moved on from that company to start my own and he's one of my mentors. I would say in general, life has gotten better because my husband and I are able to work towards our shared goals and dreams together. Moving and adjusting is hard, but you will get through it!

[Lights 56]

I miss Cheemo perogies. I have only been able to find Mrs T's so far and I don't really like them. Plus, when I ask at the store if they have perogies, the clerk looks at me like I have a second head on my shoulders; I haven't found anyone who even knows what they are.

I miss perogies too! I even liked the no name brand ones and used to eat them all of the time

I thought this was only me! I had a craving for perogies one day and coudln't find them ANYWHERE in the frozen food aisle. Then one day, Costco had a traveling display and it was perogies! I thought they would be there to stay, but nope... after that one weekend, they were gone. A year has gone by and a few weeks ago, I found them again! I loaded up on a few bags, but they're not the same... I didn't think I'd miss perogies with sour cream as much as I do. LOL

[caliliving 606]

i have never had a problem with my canadian license in LA and my canadian frainds in LA have their canadian license too and drive insured no problem.. i called geico and got insured on my canadian license and when i got my visa i went to DMV did a written test and then a driving test and i passed 'with the minimum' lol i actually did bad but im a goo sales person haha but i got my CA license.

i actually drove 2 years with a canadian license, california plates and insured in america.. so i dont know why you had a problem? maybe you were confused:/

Late to the party but wanted to chime in.

AOS was a process. Even though mine wasn't messed up other than a small delay when our package didn't reach our local admin office for our GC interview. DMV was a total nightmare because no one knew what to do with a Canadian license. I was there at least 2-3 times on average for everything I needed because they couldn't understand how to process my papers.

I've been in the US for almost 2 years and I have not gone without ketchup chips. LOL! When I visit or when anyone comes and visits me, this is their entry ticket into our house. Half kidding...

I totally get the being able to walk to places. I'm from Vancouver and we're outdoorsy people. Even for those who aren't outdoorsy, we just know how it feels to walk in the rain, wind, fresh cool air of Vancouver. I'm in California now and absolutely LOVE the sun but hate the traffic and lack of nature. We do a lot of hikes, but it's just a different kind of nature.

The thing that I find the hardest to adjust is the automatic "Canadian Vs. American" mentality. For some reason everyone assumes I'm local (I guess I don't have a strong Canadian accent) and when they find out I'm Canadian all the jokes start to come. Jokes are fine, but when it gets political or patriotic, that's when I clench my jaw and bite my tongue. I just can't with some American's... Also, there are a lack of manners, I definitely notice that compared to Canadians.

All in all, I do love being here. I miss my family loads but they visit often and I go back often. We're in the same timezone, not a long flight/always direct, so it's been easy to adjust in some capacities. I started working right after I got my EAD. I actually accepted an offer 2 months before my paperwork came in. My boss's wife immigrated from Australia so he completely understood what I was going through and I got lucky because he loved me enough to wait. I've since moved on from that company to start my own and he's one of my mentors. I would say in general, life has gotten better because my husband and I are able to work towards our shared goals and dreams together. Moving and adjusting is hard, but you will get through it!