PART I
Is immigrating to British Columbia (BC) a great choice for you and your family?
Well, this is only for you to decide. Let me share with you this advice:
If you are immigrating (or better, escaping) from an economically deprived, unstable, even war-torn country, then yes it is!
If you are moving from a well developed European country like we did, you should read on!
(For clarification: when I use the word BC I am referring to the Greater Vancouver and Lower Mainland area).
Nearly four years ago The Best Man of All (aka husband), our three boys and I left our then home turf,The Netherlands, and embarked on a grand adventure: immigrating to the west coast of Canada.
We moved to a small community called Maple Ridge, 56 km east of Vancouver. Maple Ridge is, what the Vancouverites call farm and horse country- if they ever heard of Maple Ridge at all! Well, truth to be told, sometimes I do feel we landed in an idyllic backdrop for a movie called "Back to Yesterday!"
(I will come to this in Part II).
The following is an honest account of one happy German mother who loves to Kiss her Excuses Goodbye, lives her bucket list and is as plain speaking as most Canadians are not!
We arrived with our bags in our hands, a container full of stuff and memories of a superb life left behind.
Upon arrival we had nothing! No friends, no connections, no jobs!
All we had was each other!
And our energy and ambitious dreams to make it happen in yet another country of our choice (Canada is my seventh country to live in).
We arrived as landed immigrants! Today we are permanent residents.
Everything we've done so far in our life is in the name of new adventures and new life experiences for our family.
This was then, this is today:
Both The Best Man (Dominic) and I wrote our long overdue books.
We both started our own journeys into the business world - again (mine took a bit longer than his)!
Dominic runs his own advertising business.
I morphed into a videographer, Take Action Consultant and You Tube presenter of my own web show, Motherpreneur TV!
Immigrating to BC was full of surprises for us for lack of a better word!
If you are a 'newbie' to this province you may relate to some of the topics I am talking about!
If you are planning on moving West the following may be news to you!
Here is what shouldn't surprise you:
Canadians have the reputation of being the friendliest people on the planet.
And yes, they are.
Passionate and outspoken? Definitely not!
Nice, friendly and helpful? Yes, for sure!
Canadians will stop you in the middle of your trail run only to have a chat with you.
You can stop any Canadian in the middle of the road 'cause you want to have a chat with them! Or, you're genuinely lost!
If a Canadian knows the answer to your question, he/she will help you. And if they don't have the answer at hand they will search it up on their phone.
As far as I am concerned, Canadians are awesome!!!!!
Canadians are a tough breed!
They run around in their shorts and short sleeve shirts during rain or the occasional snowstorm.
They love to volunteer!
For each and everything! Let me make this blunt statement: Whole sections of the private, business or non-profit sector wouldn't exist if it wouldn't be for volunteers!
What a noble invention!
You won't find passion!
Regardless of which festival or outdoor event you are going to visit or even participate in- rest assured it's all nice!
You won't find any of the loud rowdiness associated with Bavaria's Oktoberfest,
or King's Day in The Netherlands, to name a few!
!
What you will find are bands playing live music, merchants selling their goods and the occasional display of Chinese dancing (or any other group for this matter)!Canada is a country of immigrants.
Canada celebrates our differences! It encourages and supports inclusion of all levels.
Whereas in Germany and Holland for example, we need to fit in to get accepted! Huge difference!
Canadian living is brilliant for our boys! All of a sudden they fully appreciate their ability to understand and speak three languages!
Canadians don't care about fashion!
Year after year Vancouver is voted as the most unfashionable city in the world!
Great news for a non-fashionista like me!
Sure, just like everywhere else in the world there are pockets of trendy suburbs; groups of women who love to show off their frilly skirts and high heels. But all in all, when it comes to fashion, it's pretty relaxed on the West Coast!
Meeting friendly, helpful Canadians on a daily level was not a surprise for us. However, the following day to day experiences totally caught us off guard:
Schools
Exciting news! Our kids bring home excellent report cards!
In comparison to the German and Dutch curriculum schools are way easier!
Furthermore, don't be surprised your kids will get extra holidays.
Teachers go on strike! And when this happens (twice in the last four years) it's up to us parents to keep them 'entertained and off their devices!"
Schools are operating on the country's principle of inclusion, acceptance and tolerance!
Translated into the real world it reads,
your child is sharing the classroom with physical and mentally challenged students!
See, this is what Canadian living does to me and my choice of language, I mellowed down.
I don't want to hurt somebody's feelings...
Back in Europe we have other words to describe these kids. I will leave it up to your imagination to figure out which ones they might be!
My point of view? It's ridiculous! It's totally inefficient!
But then, this is Canada for you!
Infrastructure
If you live outside the downtown Vancouver area you need a car, or two.
The local skytrain system sucks.
Whatever you do, do not compare this nearly non existing transit system to the grand subways of Paris, London, Hamburg, Berlin. Once you get here you will know what I am talking about.
Buses and skytrains within the Vancouver area are running on a regular basis. If you live outside their radius, like we do, it takes forever to get anywhere with public transport!
Pay as you cross:
Depending on which bridge you are using to travel from one suburb to the next, you need to pay to get across. Or add another two hours to your travel time!
If you want to avoid a huge bridge toll-fee you need to
choose the location of your home and your work place wisely! Depending on which bridge you are crossing you need to pay up to $3.50 per trip (do this twice a day, five days a week, all month long and it adds up).
Quality of houses
Wham, this was a huge one for me! As daughter of a German builder/real estate professional I grew up in a well insulated, sound proof, energy efficient brick building,
These flimsy wooden homes here are below substandard to what we were used to.
The house prices are huge! The quality they are build in is, as I said, very poor!
However, it always depends where you are coming from and what you expect.
Furthermore, I can't speak for living in an apartment building or house in Vancouver. I have no clue if you can hear your neighbour doing their business!
Most British Columbians live like sardines, huddled together!
We left one of the smallest countries in the world (Holland) and moved to the second biggest one. And guess what we found out: Canadians love to live like the Dutch, very close together!
Sure, there are pockets of land you won't have a neighbour; when it comes to living on the West Coast, you huddle together. (BC is vast, however, only 5% is a arable. More on that in Part II).
BC stands for Bring Cash
British Columbia is named after the Goddess of Wealth!
And wealthy thou shall be to prosper and enjoy West Coast living!
And you don't need just a little bit, you need to bring lots of dough!
Vancouver might be a cool city with lots of fun outdoor activities, it is expensive to take part in the fun.
Take skiing for example:
Our family loves skiing!
Maple Ridge is an hour or three away from Hemlock, Grouse Mt.,Seymour or Whistler!
The average day ticket is $90.00.
Multiply this by five, add parking fees (depending on where you go it's between $10-$30/day or free), add lunches and you know why we put "skiing with the family" under 'special occassion!'
Depending on what you love doing, recreational activities are very pricy to take part in. Having said this, in Part II I will share with you lots of free activities to enjoy!
Watch out, Wheat Gut is growing!
Only God and the huge US and Canadian food manufacturers know what they put into their products. Bread, pasta, cakes, cookies etc. are filled with sugar, salt, fortified and filled with fillers. Their ingredients list include words I can't pronounce!
You eat this stuff and I will guarantee you, you will develop the dreaded wheat gut!
This was the biggest riddle for us to solve a few months after our arrival: we exercised on a regular basis and still, our stomach grew! Grrr! Finally, we discovered the secret. We cut out the staple fillers from our daily diet and now we are back to our slim self!
Brands you know from Europe like Knorr or Maggi are catered towards the North American market. Here, they taste bland! I am missing my beloved 'umph' to the spaghetti sauce mixes! Thankfully, my mom is sending her care packages on a very regular basis!
Farmers Markets
The idea itself is wonderful: Local farmers given the opportunity to bring their products to the wider public!
My Hausefrauen brain doesn't grasp the concept though! Products at the market are at an average four times more expensive than at the supermarket. Even if I chose the same category, BC grown, local and organic! Help me out here!
Back in Europeland I spent 50 Euro at the weekly market and bought vegetables and fruit feeding our family of five. I even had enough change left for two big bunches of flowers.
Fifty dollars here buys us five apples, two bundles of BC grown carrots and a small container full of no-spray blueberries. Ok, I am exaggerating! Add a bag of popcorn and three hot dogs and I have no change left!
The buzz words in the food industry are Gluten Free, Organic, BC grown, Sugar Free, Sustainable, Fresh!
Now that we are talking food I need to add my little something about BC's liquor policy and prices! If you love a good beer (like the Best Man does) your eyes will tear up when you come face to face with the liquor prices! We nearly got a heart attack! What used to cost us eight Euro for a case of 12 beer bottles sets us back $54.OO for 24 cans! No wonder Dominic started using a local brewery.
Supermarkets were not allowed to sell any alcohol (go figure!). Only this year the law has changed and selected, huge supermarket chains are selling alcoholic beverages!
Btw, you can't take your kids to a pub. Canadians are very peculiar this way. If you are an 18 year old waiter at a restaurant you are not allowed to clear empty glasses off the tables which may have contained alcohol (!!!). And I thought these young waiters were ignorant!
Networking is huge.
And what's more, multi level marketing is huge! Everything from Mary Kay, Avon, Norwex, Primerica...marketers are everywhere!
If you are new to the province and you are looking for ways to make connections don't be surprised to meet MLMers, they all want to sell you something...!
There is a Sucker Born every Second
The Best Man told me this a long time ago. Until we arrived to Canada I wasn't really aware of this!
We are surrounded by the biggest marketing machine in the world, the USA! Our TV is infiltrated with rubbish commercials of the American BUY-ME-machine.
The promotion is relentless.
Commercial radio is the same. All we hear is fun music with short bursts of weather and traffic updates. The rest are commercials! The CBC does it's best to keep us up to date. Choose your TV channels and radio stations wisely if you want to escape this 'dumbing down' of the masses!
SALES, SALES more SALES
Holy Moly! The relentless marketing machine never, ever stops!
If there's not a
Mid - Week,
Mid-Year,
Valentines-
Easter- Holiday
Pre-Season Summer- Special Sale going on then it's
the 'Special of the Day/Week/Month-
Special Preview-
Extra Mark-Down-
Customer Appreciation Day-
Don't miss this deal-
Pre- Post- Christmas- Black Friday Sale on!
It's exhausting. It's tempting!
Who else in their right mind would go shopping on Boxing Day? Only the North Americans. Boxing Day is the biggest (!!!) shopping day for a retailer in the year!
As I said, the promotional machine is relentless, it never stops!
Be prepared to step back in time
Prudish, reserved, conservative or considerate, call it what you want. Canadians are a step behind our European ways of living (more of that in Part II).
OK, and one last thing: Who sat on the board of traffic-speed-decision making? Where in the world do you drive 80km/h on a highway? Please, get real Canada!
After all this I know you would want to ask me this one question: Would I immigrate to BC again?
My answer is YES!
Moving to Canada is a wonderful opportunity to show our children a different way of living. It showed our children they are more than the clothes their wear or the address they live at.
And for me? Home is where the heart is. And my heart is where my family is! The grass isn't greener on the other side. It's just a different shade of green!
It doesn't matter where you live in the world, everything is up to you! You are in charge of your own life and happiness. You want and need something? You go after it!
Nobody is coming knocking on your door to invite you out for a margarita. Unless, you live in Maple Ridge/BC ...
Life is good! See ya' on Part II!
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