Our 1st Canniversary!

Well we can't believe it, 12 months ago, as two very excitable and nervous 'Brits' we arrived at Calgary airport for the start of our great adventure!  We surprise ourselves as much as others with what we have achieved in the last year, and we can't believe how quickly it has gone.

We are still sticking to our original plan of being here for about two years before we decide on our long term plans.   The only thing that we haven't achieved is to have brought a house out here, but the longer we've been renting, the more money we have towards a deposit, so we're hoping our Permanent Residency won't be long so we don't spend much of what we have saved already.

Having just got back from almost two weeks in the UK it gave us the opportunity to reflect on our move and the quality of life we had there, compared to what we have here in Canada.  For both of us this trip had really poor timing, but due to our close friends wedding, we knew we had to make the trip.  With the PR situation being very uncertain, we left Calgary feeling very unsettled about the future.  I think that secretly Sophie was worried that she would see all our family and friends and that and the worry about not being able to work etc might have meant that she didn't want to come back.  As strange as it sounded to some though, as Domino was going to be here waiting for us when we got back, that at least meant that as well as our belongings, we still had strong family ties here in Calgary.

I must admit though that even though it made us realise just how much we had missed our family and friends, it also made us realise that we had taken a lot for granted.  When we left the UK we were, to all intents and purposes, extremely happy with the lives we had, although I had recently been made redundant, Sophie was in a job she loved, our house was exactly how we wanted it and we both had great cars.  We had an amazing group of friends and a busy social life, and loved living in the UK.  Then when we first arrived in Calgary, it was all a novelty living in another country and it took a long time before it no longer felt like a holiday.  So returning to the UK after having been here for almost a year, the things that we previously had noticed became glaringly obvious.

Things we had missed.

• Friends and family and being able to go round to the neighbours with some bottles, unplanned and have a fantastic night.
• Decent clothes shops (Sophie rather than me!)  the clothes here tend to be very expensive or rather 'dowdy' as Sophie put it.  Thus giving her the excuse to have a days shopping to buy a new small size wardrobe in Primark Liverpool, spending a small fortune.
• Chocolate, it just isn't the same here, so remember visitors, bring plenty of supplies when you come!
• Fish, chips, mushy peas, curry sauce and battered sausage............mmmmmmmmmmmm
• Proper breakfast sausages, although you can get them in Calgary, we know of only one butchers that sells them and they ain't cheap!
• Sausage rolls from the Co-op...........yum, yum, yum!
• Not having to watch TV that's interrupted every 7-10 minutes with a commercial break, here it takes 3 1/2 hours to watch a film!

Things we hadn't missed.

• Very Rude sales assistants.  Before leaving the UK, Sophie could spend around 4 hours and a small fortune in Asda, our local supermarket, and would never have a bad word said about them.  However, when we went for some essential chocolate purchasing and a spot of breakfast, we just couldn't believe how rude everyone was.  Here you always feel like they can't do enough for you (unless you get someone on a bad day which is rare!)
• Traffic jams and roadworks.....how long were we delayed with a 40mph speed limit, going through supposed roadworks, which appeared to have a lot of cones dotted about yet no one actually working?  We live in the city here and yet even when there are road works we don't really seem to notice!
• The cost of fuel.....WTF.....is over double what it is here, we were just gobsmacked.  Thank goodness we only had a hire car for a few days that's all I can say!

Things we missed while we were away.

• Tim Horton's (Obviously eh? goes without saying!)
• A dry climate, OK so we didn't need to slap on the moisturiser twice a day like you do here (unless you don't mind looking like a flaky raisin) but whats with all the rain!!
• A proper steak.  Although Sophie's mum bravely took on the task of cooking some Steaks for our first meal, and they were fantastic, it just wasn't quite the same as a 'triple A' Albertan steak from Costco.....mmmmmmmmmmm

So although, apart from family and friends, there isn't anything from the UK that we CAN'T live without (although its borderline with the Co-op sausage rolls!!)  and most of what we miss is allowed to be sent to us or brought over by family and friends.

So hopefully our next post will be our Permanent Residency medical request, Fingers crossed!  But for now we shall be hoping for sun and enjoying a nice long relax!