No doubt this will probably spark a riot, but I am just interested in the whole argument about 'Quality of Life being greater in Canada vs UK' as well as more aviation opportunities.
Some people state Canada is one of the best countries to live in the world, higher quality of life, cheaper, less taxes, vancouver being the greatest city etc etc
I have not been to Canada myself and will probably go out there for the first time around May - therefore I have nothing to benchmark against!
As they say the 'Grass is always Greener on the other side', but is it really greener?
Your thoughts please... It will be interesting to get some comments from Brits out in Canada as well as Canadians themselfs
Quality of Life in Canada better than U.K? or not?!
Moderators: lilfssister, North Shore, sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, Right Seat Captain
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Rudderless
- Rank 3
- Posts: 137
- Joined: Wed Feb 07, 2007 6:36 pm
Not necessarily better - but different. I find Britain's lifestyle a tad more laid back in general. Not as much rushing around all the time. It's hard to explain, but you'll see what I mean when you get here.
Some consumer goods are cheaper here. Houses are cheaper here. It's all relative though. The pound is worth two dollars, but what you can buy for a pound in the UK you can buy for a dollar here.
Taxes? I wouldn't bet on them being lower here, but flight training is tax deductible. It's cheaper to learn to fly in Canada or to rent an aircraft.
You're coming at a good time of year, the spring flying season is starting.
Some consumer goods are cheaper here. Houses are cheaper here. It's all relative though. The pound is worth two dollars, but what you can buy for a pound in the UK you can buy for a dollar here.
Taxes? I wouldn't bet on them being lower here, but flight training is tax deductible. It's cheaper to learn to fly in Canada or to rent an aircraft.
You're coming at a good time of year, the spring flying season is starting.
I spent a couple months working in the UK in 2005. In that 2 months I put in about 50 hours in 172's doing aerial photo work.
Some things you will like about Canada are:
-Our airspace and ATC, (maybe its just my unfamiliarity with your system)
- its free to check weather and notams
-The sky is much bigger here.
-almost no landing fees for GA.
-QNH &QFE. One altimeter setting is fine with me.
-When referring to distances (in aviation) we use one system not km, nm, statued miles & meters.
-fuel is cheaper
-small airports are mostly uncontrolled.
-We don't have any 'plane spotters'
-You can leave your funny vest at home.
A few things that I found better in the UK:
-there is action at even the smallest airfield, you can get a snack, coffee, or a beer almost anywhere you land.
-You don't have Transport Canada to worry about. Their motto “we're not happy till your not happy”
-All the women in the UK can speak 5 different languages, they just cant say “No” in any one of them.
-Pilot wages are much better in the UK.
You will enjoy living, visiting, or working in Canada
Some things you will like about Canada are:
-Our airspace and ATC, (maybe its just my unfamiliarity with your system)
- its free to check weather and notams
-The sky is much bigger here.
-almost no landing fees for GA.
-QNH &QFE. One altimeter setting is fine with me.
-When referring to distances (in aviation) we use one system not km, nm, statued miles & meters.
-fuel is cheaper
-small airports are mostly uncontrolled.
-We don't have any 'plane spotters'
-You can leave your funny vest at home.
A few things that I found better in the UK:
-there is action at even the smallest airfield, you can get a snack, coffee, or a beer almost anywhere you land.
-You don't have Transport Canada to worry about. Their motto “we're not happy till your not happy”
-All the women in the UK can speak 5 different languages, they just cant say “No” in any one of them.
-Pilot wages are much better in the UK.
You will enjoy living, visiting, or working in Canada
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mellow_pilot
- Rank 10
- Posts: 2119
- Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2005 1:04 am
- Location: Pilot Purgatory
If you want the laid-back lifestyle, forget Vancouver, go for Vancouver Island.
Nanaimo or Comox.
http://www.retiretonanaimo.com/
http://www.comox-valley-tourism.ca/
Nanaimo or Comox.
http://www.retiretonanaimo.com/
http://www.comox-valley-tourism.ca/
Dyslexics of the world... UNTIE!
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happy_flyer
- Rank 2
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 10:16 am
- Location: Nelson B.C.
I came here 8 years ago for some mountain flying experience and never left. I still believe the grass is greener here, although like anywhere, over time it sseems like it's turning slightly brown. Temporarily out of aviation having fallen back on my pre-aviation career for financial reasons, I find that I rarely fly for pleasure as there just aren't the same opportunites for the $100 hamburger as there are in the UK...at least over here in the BC interior anyway. I do miss the hop from Blackbushe to Compton Abbas on a Sunday afternoon, but will I go back ? Not likely !
Well I've experienced several years of both and would have to say Canada has a far higher quality of life. It depends on your profession of course, pilots are much better paid in the UK and there are more opportunities there.
A couple of years ago I "ran the numbers" on which country has the better tax regime (from a purely financial perspective - assuming equal income in your profession from both countries). I assumed a typical well-paying "established-professional" income of 100kCAD vs 45kGBP.
For the UK I included:-
- Income tax & National insurance
- Council tax for a typical 3-bed home
- VAT on my typical annual grocery & discretionary expenditure
- Cost of fuelling a typical car for daily commuting & general use (thereby taking into account the huge disparity)*
- Vehicle tax
- Maximum contribution to an ISA for the tax-deferrment purposes
For Canada I included:-
- Federal & Provincial tax, EI & CPP
- Property tax for a typical 3-bed home
- PST + GST on my typical annual grocery & discretionary expenditure
- Cost of fuel for the car*
- Maximum contribution to a RRSP (like an ISA but better) for the tax-deferrment purposes
* I know that the cost of gas isn't entirely tax - but I wanted something to compare with. UK gas tax is ~650% I believe whilst in Canada I think it's closer to only 2-300%.
My conclusion: In Canada, 34% of annual income goes in tax. In the UK the figure was 46%.
Plus just about everything's cheaper in Canada - typically half the price of the UK. Of course, nobody moves country just for these purposes but you'll find your dollars go a lot further than your pounds. The key thing is, Canada gives much better value for my tax dollar than the UK. No doubt folks will moan incessantly about that but the roads, transportation, police, healthcare, civic facilities, education & general cleanliness far exceed those in the UK and are cheaper too.
A couple of years ago I "ran the numbers" on which country has the better tax regime (from a purely financial perspective - assuming equal income in your profession from both countries). I assumed a typical well-paying "established-professional" income of 100kCAD vs 45kGBP.
For the UK I included:-
- Income tax & National insurance
- Council tax for a typical 3-bed home
- VAT on my typical annual grocery & discretionary expenditure
- Cost of fuelling a typical car for daily commuting & general use (thereby taking into account the huge disparity)*
- Vehicle tax
- Maximum contribution to an ISA for the tax-deferrment purposes
For Canada I included:-
- Federal & Provincial tax, EI & CPP
- Property tax for a typical 3-bed home
- PST + GST on my typical annual grocery & discretionary expenditure
- Cost of fuel for the car*
- Maximum contribution to a RRSP (like an ISA but better) for the tax-deferrment purposes
* I know that the cost of gas isn't entirely tax - but I wanted something to compare with. UK gas tax is ~650% I believe whilst in Canada I think it's closer to only 2-300%.
My conclusion: In Canada, 34% of annual income goes in tax. In the UK the figure was 46%.
Plus just about everything's cheaper in Canada - typically half the price of the UK. Of course, nobody moves country just for these purposes but you'll find your dollars go a lot further than your pounds. The key thing is, Canada gives much better value for my tax dollar than the UK. No doubt folks will moan incessantly about that but the roads, transportation, police, healthcare, civic facilities, education & general cleanliness far exceed those in the UK and are cheaper too.
However, and this is HUGE, Canadian pubs suck. All of 'em. However, with the possible exception of a Plowman's Lunch, all English pub food sucks! I mean, really, whitebait?? (Well, there was one little place in Hampshire waaay out in the countryside that made a pretty good lunch and didn't try and make me eat gammon or tongue...).
"What's it doing now?"
"Fly low and slow and throttle back in the turns."
"Fly low and slow and throttle back in the turns."
The question was "Quality of life".
In this respect Canadians are very different.
They are wary of what others think and try not to be different and yet we are all individuals and all different!
It is very rare to have a good conversation with a Canadian... It's related to my last sentence, they don't want to appear different!
In an English Pub or an Irish Pub for that matter, you can be a stranger and end up in a good conversation with a decent pint with someone else.
In Canada you can go into a Pub and sit down to be served rather than visit the bar and be lonely all night.
I love flying in Canada, I love my job, and I like people very much.
You come to my school and you will get good conversation and a good cup of tea.
All Brits eventually pine for like minded people with humour and chat.
Financially for me Canada has been a disaster... The government sent me a letter to say at 65 my pension will be $62.50 a month!
I have earned a lot more money and lived a lot better in England, and I likely have more pension from there.
But there are compensations to living in Canada, that's why I stick it out...
Right now though I am in heaven on Earth where my $62.50 might just get me by, except, unlike the British pension a Canadian pension is not payable if you are outside the country more than 6 months.
The UK pension is paid anywhere!
Heaven on Earth = Thailand
In this respect Canadians are very different.
They are wary of what others think and try not to be different and yet we are all individuals and all different!
It is very rare to have a good conversation with a Canadian... It's related to my last sentence, they don't want to appear different!
In an English Pub or an Irish Pub for that matter, you can be a stranger and end up in a good conversation with a decent pint with someone else.
In Canada you can go into a Pub and sit down to be served rather than visit the bar and be lonely all night.
I love flying in Canada, I love my job, and I like people very much.
You come to my school and you will get good conversation and a good cup of tea.
All Brits eventually pine for like minded people with humour and chat.
Financially for me Canada has been a disaster... The government sent me a letter to say at 65 my pension will be $62.50 a month!
I have earned a lot more money and lived a lot better in England, and I likely have more pension from there.
But there are compensations to living in Canada, that's why I stick it out...
Right now though I am in heaven on Earth where my $62.50 might just get me by, except, unlike the British pension a Canadian pension is not payable if you are outside the country more than 6 months.
The UK pension is paid anywhere!
Heaven on Earth = Thailand
Did they rebuild ko phi phi? I miss the buckets too!-
happy_flyer
- Rank 2
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 10:16 am
- Location: Nelson B.C.
ah sweet Hampshire indeed. DId my PPL at Blackbushe there right next to Hook. Bit of a joke really..on my flgiht test.." right then Chris, do a steep turn to the left when you are ready".. " A what ?"..... "right Chris, do a rate 1 turn to the right"... " a what ?"...I had never even heard of these things before my test ( i know I should maybe have made myself aware of the syllabus but where was my instructor ? ). Good job the examiner was a nice guy and taught me during my test....
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Cat Driver
- Top Poster
- Posts: 18921
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2004 8:31 pm
Is that because it's getting harder to find another white born in England person to talk to?All Brits eventually pine for like minded people with humour and chat.
The hardest thing about flying is knowing when to say no
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
This topic doesn't belong in Flight Training, it belongs in Life Training!
I was born in Leicester and like Surrey BC, if I was born there today there would be a 90% chance I would be born of Asian Indian origin.
But that is more a reflection of our euro-american cultural change... White women don't always want babies and when they do they are often too old and spend a load of money at the fertility clinic!
I read about the spread of breast cancer... One of the factors is the lateness or no-ness of a women's pregnancy.
Women who have babies in their 20s are less likely to suffer from this horrible illness.
One of the things I read in Vancouver recently was that 70% of white males who marry, marry asian women.
One of the things that really inflamed a Canadian woman in Speeds Pub one evening was the fact that a mutual friend had tied up with a Thai woman and he would never consider marrying a white Canadian woman!
Anyone who knows some Canadian women can imagine the rage!
PC is good to a large extent, and I believe in equality.
People who know me know I left a potentially beautiful relationship in recent years because the lady concerned had a ten year contract to fly helicopters... This is not a problem in Canada, but in some countries women still are not considered fit to be pilots, what if she wants a baby?
She is the only one in her country.
You would not believe the underhanded efforts a Canadian company and the company in the country concerned went to split us apart.
She was on the carpet in front of her boss being told that I had a really bad reputation in Canada and she should have nothing to do with me. I visited her country to find a very upset woman... Men sometimes treat women badly in the country concerned especially when they do a 'man's' job.
I am glad that the woman concerned has developed the strength to gain respect and she should be captain soon!
I already have a low opinion of many companies that operate in the Canadian aviation scene, and the company concerned above is a major player. Their dirty business left me with little respect for them.
I could write at length about what I have seen and what I have learned...
There is no perfect society, all decisions we make have outcomes that we can't always imagine.
As for Canadian society... It would be better if Canadians turn their televisions off, go out and meet their fellow Canadians, and start to talk to each other about subjects over and above the horrible state of the roads, hockey, and other non-threatening topics such as the weather.
Talk about life and the state of the universe!
In England people can converse on a wide variety of interesting topics, people are curious.
And of course travel! There's a huge World out there containing small worlds with different opinions.
There is huge danger in not travelling, and not knowing different peoples well...
Micro worlds such as are contained in religious organisations, and other institutions of ignorance are what cause so much unhappiness.
People who do not travel, who do not know beyond what they have been told, are very poor people.
Canadians glued to the goggle box watching the News, and those awful adverts, do not develop a credible opinion, or minds of their own.
Canadian and American television are micro worlds equivalent to a religious organisation where someone elses opinion becomes one's own.
We must learn to think for ourselves and be open minded.
We have minds to see and learn and brains to store it for our lives.
Life is a learning experience, and we as aviators are always learning, that's why we never get bored.
It's a small step to learn more about our humanity and what makes this world.
What I like about Buddhism is that it does not rely on a man created God with falible human beings interpreting the word of that God for often evil purposes.
In Buddhism you take control of your own life, and aspire to be the best you can be using the talents you have. You show respect and understanding for your fellow human beings.
You aspire to be Buddha, and Buddha is perfection become enlightenment.
What you do, the actions you take can't be forgiven by or blamed on some God, they are yours...
Thailand is a peaceful and lovely country for this... In the south though, there are religious nutcases with ignorant minds who kill in the name of their God.
I am not saying I am Buddhist, but what I am saying is that what we should aspire to be is ourselves. We are much more interesting people for doing it!
I was born in Leicester and like Surrey BC, if I was born there today there would be a 90% chance I would be born of Asian Indian origin.
But that is more a reflection of our euro-american cultural change... White women don't always want babies and when they do they are often too old and spend a load of money at the fertility clinic!
I read about the spread of breast cancer... One of the factors is the lateness or no-ness of a women's pregnancy.
Women who have babies in their 20s are less likely to suffer from this horrible illness.
One of the things I read in Vancouver recently was that 70% of white males who marry, marry asian women.
One of the things that really inflamed a Canadian woman in Speeds Pub one evening was the fact that a mutual friend had tied up with a Thai woman and he would never consider marrying a white Canadian woman!
Anyone who knows some Canadian women can imagine the rage!
PC is good to a large extent, and I believe in equality.
People who know me know I left a potentially beautiful relationship in recent years because the lady concerned had a ten year contract to fly helicopters... This is not a problem in Canada, but in some countries women still are not considered fit to be pilots, what if she wants a baby?
She is the only one in her country.
You would not believe the underhanded efforts a Canadian company and the company in the country concerned went to split us apart.
She was on the carpet in front of her boss being told that I had a really bad reputation in Canada and she should have nothing to do with me. I visited her country to find a very upset woman... Men sometimes treat women badly in the country concerned especially when they do a 'man's' job.
I am glad that the woman concerned has developed the strength to gain respect and she should be captain soon!
I already have a low opinion of many companies that operate in the Canadian aviation scene, and the company concerned above is a major player. Their dirty business left me with little respect for them.
I could write at length about what I have seen and what I have learned...
There is no perfect society, all decisions we make have outcomes that we can't always imagine.
As for Canadian society... It would be better if Canadians turn their televisions off, go out and meet their fellow Canadians, and start to talk to each other about subjects over and above the horrible state of the roads, hockey, and other non-threatening topics such as the weather.
Talk about life and the state of the universe!
In England people can converse on a wide variety of interesting topics, people are curious.
And of course travel! There's a huge World out there containing small worlds with different opinions.
There is huge danger in not travelling, and not knowing different peoples well...
Micro worlds such as are contained in religious organisations, and other institutions of ignorance are what cause so much unhappiness.
People who do not travel, who do not know beyond what they have been told, are very poor people.
Canadians glued to the goggle box watching the News, and those awful adverts, do not develop a credible opinion, or minds of their own.
Canadian and American television are micro worlds equivalent to a religious organisation where someone elses opinion becomes one's own.
We must learn to think for ourselves and be open minded.
We have minds to see and learn and brains to store it for our lives.
Life is a learning experience, and we as aviators are always learning, that's why we never get bored.
It's a small step to learn more about our humanity and what makes this world.
What I like about Buddhism is that it does not rely on a man created God with falible human beings interpreting the word of that God for often evil purposes.
In Buddhism you take control of your own life, and aspire to be the best you can be using the talents you have. You show respect and understanding for your fellow human beings.
You aspire to be Buddha, and Buddha is perfection become enlightenment.
What you do, the actions you take can't be forgiven by or blamed on some God, they are yours...
Thailand is a peaceful and lovely country for this... In the south though, there are religious nutcases with ignorant minds who kill in the name of their God.
I am not saying I am Buddhist, but what I am saying is that what we should aspire to be is ourselves. We are much more interesting people for doing it!
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Cat Driver
- Top Poster
- Posts: 18921
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2004 8:31 pm
Enjoy yourself MichaelP, and come back to Canada well rested and in a forgiving frame of mind......I am not saying I am Buddhist, but what I am saying is that what we should aspire to be is ourselves. We are much more interesting people for doing it!
...there is still M&M to deal with.
The PRM thing can make a Bahi follower turn into a raging maniac.
The hardest thing about flying is knowing when to say no
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
I worked hard for the six months prior to coming to Thailand...
Yes I get very frustrated with what I see as nonsense... In aviation everything is supposed to be done to a standard and a procedure, and I am more than willing to comply with the regulations.
But this MCM business is stupid. There should be a standard as there is in every other country I've dealt with.
Flying schools should not have to repeat the process by creating their own MCMs and waiting and waiting and waiting for someone to be able to spend the time to approve and/or make recommendations for it.
If there was a standard, the workload at Transport Canada would be reduced and everyone would be happier.
The flight training side has a standard, you comply with all they ask for in their document on starting a flight school, they come and inspect, and the job is done.
I have a strong background in aircraft maintenance, I ran my own maintenance at one time, and I have years of experience at BAC and BAe, as well as working as a mechanic at Blackbushe.
I believe in maintaining the aeroplanes properly and I have to say that what TC asks for from me has not proven to be effective in maintaining some aircraft at Boundary Bay.
All aircraft on the Canadian training fleet should be maintained to a much higher standard than the average I see.
I take the Thai way of sabai sabai, it'll get done in time I hope, but if it doesn't then I should not be trying to do what I am doing in Canada and should move elsewhere in this world in the search for logic.
Yes I get very frustrated with what I see as nonsense... In aviation everything is supposed to be done to a standard and a procedure, and I am more than willing to comply with the regulations.
But this MCM business is stupid. There should be a standard as there is in every other country I've dealt with.
Flying schools should not have to repeat the process by creating their own MCMs and waiting and waiting and waiting for someone to be able to spend the time to approve and/or make recommendations for it.
If there was a standard, the workload at Transport Canada would be reduced and everyone would be happier.
The flight training side has a standard, you comply with all they ask for in their document on starting a flight school, they come and inspect, and the job is done.
I have a strong background in aircraft maintenance, I ran my own maintenance at one time, and I have years of experience at BAC and BAe, as well as working as a mechanic at Blackbushe.
I believe in maintaining the aeroplanes properly and I have to say that what TC asks for from me has not proven to be effective in maintaining some aircraft at Boundary Bay.
All aircraft on the Canadian training fleet should be maintained to a much higher standard than the average I see.
I take the Thai way of sabai sabai, it'll get done in time I hope, but if it doesn't then I should not be trying to do what I am doing in Canada and should move elsewhere in this world in the search for logic.
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Cat Driver
- Top Poster
- Posts: 18921
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2004 8:31 pm
MichaelP I feel your frustration, M&M in the Pacific Region is a disgrace to Canada.
But don't feel bad, I have been working as an airplane mechanic for fifty years and when I finally retired in 2005 I had been running my own business rebuilding, repairing, and training people to fly warbirds all over the world. We worked on everything both piston engine and turbines.
We were based out of North Weald and known in the industry for the quality of our work well enough to be written up in dozens of European flying magazines.
Yet when I put myself forward as PRM for a two Cessna 150 flight school I was turned down by M&M in Vancouver because they claimed I did not have sufficient knowlege of maintenance issues.( incidently I had previously held that position in two companies I had owned in B.C.)
The truth is I have forgotten more than those idiots at 800 Burrard will collectively ever learn.
I wish you luck and hopefully everything will work out for you before you are forced to quit.
But don't feel bad, I have been working as an airplane mechanic for fifty years and when I finally retired in 2005 I had been running my own business rebuilding, repairing, and training people to fly warbirds all over the world. We worked on everything both piston engine and turbines.
We were based out of North Weald and known in the industry for the quality of our work well enough to be written up in dozens of European flying magazines.
Yet when I put myself forward as PRM for a two Cessna 150 flight school I was turned down by M&M in Vancouver because they claimed I did not have sufficient knowlege of maintenance issues.( incidently I had previously held that position in two companies I had owned in B.C.)
The truth is I have forgotten more than those idiots at 800 Burrard will collectively ever learn.
I wish you luck and hopefully everything will work out for you before you are forced to quit.
The hardest thing about flying is knowing when to say no
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
We must have met...We were based out of North Weald
I flew the WAR FW190 G WULF that Rod Dean owned a share in.
One day we went to North Weald in the T67A for Rod to fly the Harvard prior to flying the Mustang...
He had 685 hours in tailwheel and I tried to calculate the multiple of that many I had!
But I didn't have the FAA licence to fly the US registered Mustang!
Rod would relate to me the fun he was having, and how easy the Mustang was compared to the frightening little replica FW190.
I was in and out of North Weald from time to time... I even flew the AN2 there with a bunch of passengers...
I flew out of Cranfield as well, knew Dizzy Addicot, Sandy, and that crowd... Nearly got to fly the JP3! Constant thrust variable noise jet.
I flew with Egidio in the 'Italiyak" G BVXK to do aerobatics with him... I slowed his rolls right down so we could see how much rudder we had!
England's a very different world when it comes to having access to odd aeroplanes.
This is interesting. I too believe that we Canadians have become a very inward looking bunch. We congratulated ourselves for being less inward looking than Americans, but look at us now, obsessed with the Canadian Dollar (irrelevant in the world), gas prices, celebrity news. Just watch the BBC world news for a comparison. We think that people will like us 'cause were Canucks.
Down at the Cozy Corner last night I met a Canadian from Edmonton...
Football was on the television screens, real football you know where you kick the ball with your feet and you don't dress up like some sort of Japanese film hero ready to deal with Godzilla... The Thai's are in love with English football and display Liverpool, Manchester, Arsenal and other team stickers on their cars, trucks, and tuk tuks.
The Canadian was naturally miffed that there was no hockey, a dead give away to his origins.
He was of the same opinion as the last poster.
I think that people who travel make very interesting conversational partners.
Canadians should get out more!
Every visitor to Vancouver is asked how much they like Vancouver, it's the best place to live in the World according to this and that source via the media... If you say anything against Vancouver they are stunned, you don't belong here, if you don't love the place go away!
What I see in Vancouver is a beautiful location, but pan handlers begging, needles discarded here and there, and some other disgusting sights.
I saw discarded needles in Phuket, it reminded me of Vancouver! Such things should not be reminders...
I stood outside a pub in England and watched the fireworks one November the 5th in recent years. Like my friends I had a pint of real ale in my hands...
If you open a can of beer while watching the fireworks in Vancouver it will be confiscated and you could be arrested!
I came back to Canada to learn a young chap had ended up with a bullet in the back of his head, he died execution style and the bullet was from an RCMP officer's gun! I was stunned. His crime was to open a can of beer in public in the Okanagan.
Even in my neighbourhood, South Delta... Some girls were caught skinny dipping after midnight... Innocent fun many kids do.
These girls were arrested and paraded around the police station semi naked...
Then that Tazer business...
Canada's police forces have too much power and are losing respect.
Then Y2000... The new year was a big party in every city but Vancouver.
A bomb threat in Seattle caused the Vancouver police to close access to the city to anyone not a resident there.
While the World partied Vancouver was dead.
In any free country the police do not have this right. It requires the declaration of Marshal Law and a proper reason.
The police apologised afterwards...
I'm not a Canadian, I am a free thinking human being and I am a citizen of this World.
I was shocked at how Canadians simply accepted the police had the right to restrict travel in a free country! "They must have had good reason" they told me...
London, a town where bombs are not unknown, played host to 5 million people all revelling in the new millenium.
In Britain life does not stop for some threat... There are always threats.
Football was on the television screens, real football you know where you kick the ball with your feet and you don't dress up like some sort of Japanese film hero ready to deal with Godzilla... The Thai's are in love with English football and display Liverpool, Manchester, Arsenal and other team stickers on their cars, trucks, and tuk tuks.
The Canadian was naturally miffed that there was no hockey, a dead give away to his origins.
He was of the same opinion as the last poster.
I think that people who travel make very interesting conversational partners.
Canadians should get out more!
Every visitor to Vancouver is asked how much they like Vancouver, it's the best place to live in the World according to this and that source via the media... If you say anything against Vancouver they are stunned, you don't belong here, if you don't love the place go away!
What I see in Vancouver is a beautiful location, but pan handlers begging, needles discarded here and there, and some other disgusting sights.
I saw discarded needles in Phuket, it reminded me of Vancouver! Such things should not be reminders...
I stood outside a pub in England and watched the fireworks one November the 5th in recent years. Like my friends I had a pint of real ale in my hands...
If you open a can of beer while watching the fireworks in Vancouver it will be confiscated and you could be arrested!
I came back to Canada to learn a young chap had ended up with a bullet in the back of his head, he died execution style and the bullet was from an RCMP officer's gun! I was stunned. His crime was to open a can of beer in public in the Okanagan.
Even in my neighbourhood, South Delta... Some girls were caught skinny dipping after midnight... Innocent fun many kids do.
These girls were arrested and paraded around the police station semi naked...
Then that Tazer business...
Canada's police forces have too much power and are losing respect.
Then Y2000... The new year was a big party in every city but Vancouver.
A bomb threat in Seattle caused the Vancouver police to close access to the city to anyone not a resident there.
While the World partied Vancouver was dead.
In any free country the police do not have this right. It requires the declaration of Marshal Law and a proper reason.
The police apologised afterwards...
I'm not a Canadian, I am a free thinking human being and I am a citizen of this World.
I was shocked at how Canadians simply accepted the police had the right to restrict travel in a free country! "They must have had good reason" they told me...
London, a town where bombs are not unknown, played host to 5 million people all revelling in the new millenium.
In Britain life does not stop for some threat... There are always threats.
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DAVE THE RAVE
- Rank 1
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- Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2005 8:43 am
- Location: AT A MEGA CLUB NEAR U
I am a displaced Canadian working in the UK. MikeP isn't far off from the truth. Canadians by and large don't travel. If you travel throughout the world you will always bump into a Brit, Aussie and Kiwi.
Canadians also think they live in a free country. Not to say the UK is the land of the free but they do enjoy a more free country than Canada. Why is drinking in public illegal in Canada, in Britian nobody cares. In some countries a street vendor will even sell it.
Also gambling. In the UK, legalized bookies are everywhere. A cornerstone of any town or village along with the pub, church and Tescos. You can bet on anything from the Ponies, dogs, football, to what colour tie Gordon Brown is going to wear during PMQ. As soon as you walk into a major football ground there is a bookmaker ready for your wager. Couldn't really see that at the Air Canada Centre anytime soon.
I also agree with MikeP about the Pubs. In Britian it's a social event. A place to meet up with friends and have a good chat. It's hard to get conversation with a Canadian at the pub anyway 'cause they are too busy playing those stupid interactive games on the TV screens.
Canadians also think they live in a free country. Not to say the UK is the land of the free but they do enjoy a more free country than Canada. Why is drinking in public illegal in Canada, in Britian nobody cares. In some countries a street vendor will even sell it.
Also gambling. In the UK, legalized bookies are everywhere. A cornerstone of any town or village along with the pub, church and Tescos. You can bet on anything from the Ponies, dogs, football, to what colour tie Gordon Brown is going to wear during PMQ. As soon as you walk into a major football ground there is a bookmaker ready for your wager. Couldn't really see that at the Air Canada Centre anytime soon.
I also agree with MikeP about the Pubs. In Britian it's a social event. A place to meet up with friends and have a good chat. It's hard to get conversation with a Canadian at the pub anyway 'cause they are too busy playing those stupid interactive games on the TV screens.
Quality of life is subjective like most things.
Ownership of things, being able to eat cheaply in fast food joints, and having 100 channels on the TV is considered a good quality of life for many.
Being able to converse, being alive to different ideas, and learning new things all the time means quality of life to others.
Yesterday I had lunch with a friend who did his multi IR at Pro this year... He lives in Pai here in Northern Thailand, but he originally learned to fly in the USA where he grew up.
He asked a girl if she had a boyfriend and got a sharp response... "Of course I have a boyfriend, I live in Vancouver".
Here and in the UK the girls are polite about such things and are often pleased that you would ask.
For many reasons Vancouver did not impress my friend from Pai.
But each to his own.
There are many things to recommend Vancouver, but IMHO Vancouver is not the best place to live on this planet.
Sit in the traffic during rush hour and consider the bad urban planning when there are so many examples of how it can be done better in this World.
Fly over the ever increasing sprawl of chipboard and 2x4 houses as the cancer spreads in the lower mainland... Surrey, city of parks indeed!
In England they have the Green Belt policy... The EEC want to erode this policy, but so far it has ensured that England is as much a park as an urban area.
Travel is so very important to be able to give a considered answer to the question posed by the originator of this thread.
Ownership of things, being able to eat cheaply in fast food joints, and having 100 channels on the TV is considered a good quality of life for many.
Being able to converse, being alive to different ideas, and learning new things all the time means quality of life to others.
Yesterday I had lunch with a friend who did his multi IR at Pro this year... He lives in Pai here in Northern Thailand, but he originally learned to fly in the USA where he grew up.
He asked a girl if she had a boyfriend and got a sharp response... "Of course I have a boyfriend, I live in Vancouver".
Here and in the UK the girls are polite about such things and are often pleased that you would ask.
For many reasons Vancouver did not impress my friend from Pai.
But each to his own.
There are many things to recommend Vancouver, but IMHO Vancouver is not the best place to live on this planet.
Sit in the traffic during rush hour and consider the bad urban planning when there are so many examples of how it can be done better in this World.
Fly over the ever increasing sprawl of chipboard and 2x4 houses as the cancer spreads in the lower mainland... Surrey, city of parks indeed!
In England they have the Green Belt policy... The EEC want to erode this policy, but so far it has ensured that England is as much a park as an urban area.
Travel is so very important to be able to give a considered answer to the question posed by the originator of this thread.
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Cat Driver
- Top Poster
- Posts: 18921
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2004 8:31 pm
How long did you live in those two countries?are you kiddddddding me! i ve traveled to Europe, to France to England. and quality of life in Cnada is 100 times better than there.
The hardest thing about flying is knowing when to say no
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
