England V Canada Your thoughts

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS EX-PAT BRITISH TRUCKERS (INTERACTIVE)
21

OOOOOOHHHH its a Laneway is it :unamused: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: You would’nt get a class mix like that over here never will do either the classes are just becoming wider apart. Yes its a big plus the way folks are over your side, my wife, girlfriend at the time met me in Toronto before I came home & was gobsmacked at the friendliness of all & sundry. I really miss Canada as it goes & as it goes from bad to worse here I wonder should I have stayed everyday of the week now. If BFS had’nt pulled my offer of employment I’d have been back for sure. Oh well such is life.

I’ve just had a letter off the DVLA asking for my Canadian drivers licence to be returned to them as the Canadian authorities have just informed them they want it back, it expired in 2008 :laughing: Thats laid back for you :laughing:

22


Heres my old KW up the path, never a mither I can even remember there being 3 tractors at the house & not a whiff of a problem from the neighbours. Its parking wars here with the cars!

23

I am going for coffe and a ■■■■■ now at Tim Hortons…with my bank manager.

24

Not much chance of getting a bank manager on the phone here Dave let alone a social pot of tea. Tim Hortons are getting a few gaffs over here lately, not quite the same staff wise though. I was in one in Southampton tother week. Enjoy your ■■■■■.

25

fly sheet:
Not much chance of getting a bank manager on the phone here Dave let alone a social pot of tea. Tim Hortons are getting a few gaffs over here lately, not quite the same staff wise though. I was in one in Southampton tother week. Enjoy your ■■■■■.

Starting to look like a ■■■■■, but the bank manager is also a good friend and an excellent country singer, as you say no class distinction.

26

The attitude of the people here is so different, even the Brits (well most of them anyway) there is no class distinction as such, people see you for who you are and not what you are. A perfect example of this was mentioned by FTTM and his reference to a BMW on the drive, I have two cars, one my old yank tank Lincoln, which I’m currenty lending to a friend, the other my Hemi Charger, nobody treats me any different when I’m in either, it’s just a car and means nothing.

Before I came to Canada I ran my own trucks and lived very comfortably, it was part of my reason for making the move here in fact, I found myself surrounded by people who were my friends because I lived in a certain area, had a certain type of car, went to a certain gym etc, not one of these people were in the least bit interested in me the person, just what I had, it was very shallow, I admit I got caught up in it myself for a while, one day I looked in the hypothetical mirror and hated what I saw, so I went on a mad one and got my arse over here, I now have genuine friends and no longer have to compete in a materialistic competition with people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

As Wheelnut says, there are different opinions from those of us that have been over here, some failed, some didn’t like it, some, like Coop, loved it, but circumstances dictated they leave, others stayed and do well at BFS/H&R/Ayr/Siemens/Yanke and the rest, others have stayed at their first job and ■■■■ and moan about it on a daily basis and finally there are those of us who stayed and moved on to bigger and better things, each one of us has a story to tell, each one of us will view things differently, personally I absolutely love Canada and my life here, there could’ve been a very different outcome though, had I continued at BFS I would’ve been back in the UK by now, my time there painted a very different picture of Canada, luckily I saw through that and went on to live the dream.

27

Spot on with your last paragraph NMM,work through the crap and move onto better ways.any vacancies at your place, I’m getting severely upset with the cold weather these last few weeks and could do with some SoCal warmth ? As you wouldn’t allow me to reply on another thread to which you’d posted,I had trips missing out of my pay cheque ALL the time I was with my former employer,sometimes to the tune of $500 every two weeks.It became a fiasco as they realised I was keeping tabs but still short changed me…
Upwards and onwards(eh) :slight_smile:

28

FTTM, I hear you mate, I was up your way yesterday, bloody freezing, I popped into Safeway in Victoria Mall for some of that delicious soup they have in the deli, nearly froze my goolies off walking from the truck, it was -32c without the wind chill :cry:

I’ll be thinking of you when I’m sitting in sunny SoCal next week :sunglasses: :wink:

29

Ah bollox,I was out fuelling 80 reefers and 10 trucks in that crap at Loblaws,took me 2 1/2 hours,had to keep jumping up and down to stop the buggers hibernating :slight_smile: Yet again I hope you get sunburnt :sunglasses:

Only minus 12 tomorrow so I’m going to work in a tee shirt :exclamation: :exclamation:

Were you pulling a Brandt trailer? Might have past you Eastbound Broadview area late morning as I bounced my way to Esterhazy mine .

30

newmercman:
I’ll be thinking of you when I’m sitting in sunny SoCal next week :sunglasses: :wink:

Don’t be so shrill, whatever that means :laughing: and I hope your a/c packs in :laughing: :laughing:
All for one and one for all :wink:

31

newmercman:
Canada everytime, but only if you’re prepared to adopt the when in Rome philosophy, it’s a less stressful more fulfilling life over here in my opinion, living standards are higher and people are far more friendly and you don’t have to hang your head in shame when youi admit to being a lorry driver :wink:

How wrong you are, there is class in Canada just like anywhere else, and as I’ve said before unless they are connected to the transport industry, they look down on truckers more than in England

32

Dieseldogsix:

newmercman:
Canada everytime, but only if you’re prepared to adopt the when in Rome philosophy, it’s a less stressful more fulfilling life over here in my opinion, living standards are higher and people are far more friendly and you don’t have to hang your head in shame when youi admit to being a lorry driver :wink:

How wrong you are, there is class in Canada just like anywhere else, and as I’ve said before unless they are connected to the transport industry, they look down on truckers more than in England

excuse me dieseldog,there is class distinction everywhere,but as you KNOW very well truck driver’s are not looked down on here at all,never mind england.

33

Dieseldogsix:

newmercman:
Canada everytime, but only if you’re prepared to adopt the when in Rome philosophy, it’s a less stressful more fulfilling life over here in my opinion, living standards are higher and people are far more friendly and you don’t have to hang your head in shame when youi admit to being a lorry driver :wink:

How wrong you are, there is class in Canada just like anywhere else, and as I’ve said before unless they are connected to the transport industry, they look down on truckers more than in England

Is that why you would be back in England and bitter against Canada :laughing:

34

Dieseldogsix:

newmercman:
Canada everytime, but only if you’re prepared to adopt the when in Rome philosophy, it’s a less stressful more fulfilling life over here in my opinion, living standards are higher and people are far more friendly and you don’t have to hang your head in shame when youi admit to being a lorry driver :wink:

How wrong you are, there is class in Canada just like anywhere else, and as I’ve said before unless they are connected to the transport industry, they look down on truckers more than in England

I have wealthy (seriously minted) cousins in Vancouver Island, and they certainly are down to earth and not snobbish. They asked if me and the wife would like to house sit for 3 months whilst they were wintering in Aruba, and also had a list of people for me to ring regarding driving jobs on the Island (they didn’t know there were restrictions).
I met plenty of other people in both the USA and Canada, and the class thing is probably more about money at the very top than ‘class’ or ‘upbringing’.

35

dave_lol66:

Dieseldogsix:

newmercman:
Canada everytime, but only if you’re prepared to adopt the when in Rome philosophy, it’s a less stressful more fulfilling life over here in my opinion, living standards are higher and people are far more friendly and you don’t have to hang your head in shame when youi admit to being a lorry driver :wink:

How wrong you are, there is class in Canada just like anywhere else, and as I’ve said before unless they are connected to the transport industry, they look down on truckers more than in England

Is that why you would be back in England and bitter against Canada :laughing:

No , I prefer it here as does my wife who’s Canadian, I don’t believe I was being bitter, I wish you all well over there, I was just commenting that, they do not look up to you, like some people seem to think.

36

vastly exp:

Dieseldogsix:

newmercman:
Canada everytime, but only if you’re prepared to adopt the when in Rome philosophy, it’s a less stressful more fulfilling life over here in my opinion, living standards are higher and people are far more friendly and you don’t have to hang your head in shame when youi admit to being a lorry driver :wink:

How wrong you are, there is class in Canada just like anywhere else, and as I’ve said before unless they are connected to the transport industry, they look down on truckers more than in England

excuse me dieseldog,there is class distinction everywhere,but as you KNOW very well truck driver’s are not looked down on here at all,never mind england.

What planet are you on?

37

Dieseldogsix:

dave_lol66:

Dieseldogsix:

newmercman:
Canada everytime, but only if you’re prepared to adopt the when in Rome philosophy, it’s a less stressful more fulfilling life over here in my opinion, living standards are higher and people are far more friendly and you don’t have to hang your head in shame when youi admit to being a lorry driver :wink:

How wrong you are, there is class in Canada just like anywhere else, and as I’ve said before unless they are connected to the transport industry, they look down on truckers more than in England

Is that why you would be back in England and bitter against Canada :laughing:

No , I prefer it here as does my wife who’s Canadian, I don’t believe I was being bitter, I wish you all well over there, I was just commenting that, they do not look up to you, like some people seem to think.

Looking up or down at people, as happens in the UK based on your job, is a class distinction which I have never noticed in Canada. People generally accept other people as they find them. Bums, drunks, druggies and welfare soap dodgers get looked down on. Hard workers and acheivers are looked up to regardless of their actual occupation.

38

Dieseldogsix:

newmercman:
Canada everytime, but only if you’re prepared to adopt the when in Rome philosophy, it’s a less stressful more fulfilling life over here in my opinion, living standards are higher and people are far more friendly and you don’t have to hang your head in shame when you admit to being a lorry driver :wink:

How wrong you are, there is class in Canada just like anywhere else, and as I’ve said before unless they are connected to the transport industry, they look down on truckers more than in England

What a load of bollox :unamused: Maybe for you it was, but I don’t suffer from an inferiority complex, I’m proud of what I do and nobody gets given the chance to look down their nose at me, mind you, I’m not your average rigger boot wearing, spit on the floor, don’t wash for a week, type of driver, so why would anyone think they’re better anyway?

39

Dieseldogsix:

dave_lol66:

Dieseldogsix:

newmercman:
Canada everytime, but only if you’re prepared to adopt the when in Rome philosophy, it’s a less stressful more fulfilling life over here in my opinion, living standards are higher and people are far more friendly and you don’t have to hang your head in shame when youi admit to being a lorry driver :wink:

How wrong you are, there is class in Canada just like anywhere else, and as I’ve said before unless they are connected to the transport industry, they look down on truckers more than in England

Is that why you would be back in England and bitter against Canada :laughing:

No , I prefer it here as does my wife who’s Canadian, I don’t believe I was being bitter, I wish you all well over there, I was just commenting that, they do not look up to you, like some people seem to think.

I always thought anywhere you went there’s always going to be that ‘one’ person who looks down there nose at you, no matter where you are in the world. It’s like me going upto scotland and getting looked down upon because I am born in yorkshire, but its funny how they look down upon you when they don’t know anything but when they get deeper into it they soon get a different picture.

The point i’m trying to make, is that from my experience you’ll always have people looking down at you, it’s a case of whether it bothers you or not. When people look down there noses at me, they soon get a shock when I laugh in their faces at how they tell me i’ll get no where in life doing what I want to do and I just say well at least I won’t have to ‘work’ a day in my life. If you enjoy what you do you’ll never have to work a day in your life. Everytime I go with dad, or my grandad and I’m doing the ‘drivers mate’ lark, it’s funny I don’t see it as ‘work’. But from what I’ve seen so far, Canadians are more accepting than most brits for what you do for a living and they don’t look down there noses at you for what occupation you’re in. More than for what can be said for brits.

But then, I couldn’t give a monkeys what people think of me for doing what I want to do, It’s took 17 years for me to get my dads respect for what I want to do. That in itself is enough. :wink:

And for the record, I asked this question in trying to find what people thought like positives & negatives of each country, Like from people who have moved and stayed, and what they think of their lives now compared to how their lives use to be when they lived in England. And from people who have moved but came back, for what their opinions are how their lives were and how they are now. Just curious, :grimacing:

40

newmercman:

Dieseldogsix:

newmercman:
Canada everytime, but only if you’re prepared to adopt the when in Rome philosophy, it’s a less stressful more fulfilling life over here in my opinion, living standards are higher and people are far more friendly and you don’t have to hang your head in shame when you admit to being a lorry driver :wink:

How wrong you are, there is class in Canada just like anywhere else, and as I’ve said before unless they are connected to the transport industry, they look down on truckers more than in England

What a load of bollox :unamused: Maybe for you it was, but I don’t suffer from an inferiority complex, I’m proud of what I do and nobody gets given the chance to look down their nose at me,This is the kind of driver which gets my respect :wink: Not often you find people who are proud of what they do for a living. mind you, I’m not your average rigger boot wearing, spit on the floor, don’t wash for a week, type of driver, so why would anyone think they’re better anyway?
I know a few of them kind of drivers, Then again there use to be a lad at college that never reeked the benefit of a shower, he just reeked! Least I can safely say non of my family are of that type regarding for the drivers, Don’t see how drivers could go for weeks on end without getting a shower, I hate it when I can’t get a shower, I rather smell nice then something of a fat blokes gym bag after gym :wink:

Not often there are people who are proud of what they do for a living. Question you have to ask yourself, are you proud of what you do. If not, why the hell do it. Sorry if i seem cynical, but being proud of what I do seems a lot better than doing something I’m not proud of. :smiley:

But thats my opinion on life in general!! :grimacing: :grimacing: