canada vs the uk

When a British person finds out I’m Canadian, one of the questions that comes up is which place I prefer. Canada or the UK? I wish I had a simple answer. In my 2023 reflection, I was comparing twenty-two years living in Canada with nearly eight years here, and there were things I loved and struggled with in both.

England had become my second home. I loved being able to walk places, take my time in a cafe and enjoy the life I’d built here. My family and childhood friends were still in Ontario, though, and nothing I liked about England could make them live closer. That was the part of the comparison I found hardest.

I like being able to stay for a while

One of my favourite things to do here is try a cafe, pub or restaurant, perhaps somewhere I’ve never been before. I can have a drink, sit down and enjoy myself without feeling pushed out of the door. The pace feels relaxed to me, and I like that. Eating doesn’t have to be followed by immediately getting up and leaving.

That isn’t always how I’ve felt going out for dinner in Ontario. The rhythm I noticed was sit down, order, eat, pay and get out. Of course there are places in Canada where you can relax, but I often felt that I ought to get moving. As someone who loves food and trying cafes, having the time to stay is a difference I appreciate in everyday life.

Time away from work mattered too. I felt strongly that work-life balance was a problem back home, and the idea of returning to Ontario and starting a new job bothered me partly for that reason. I wanted enough holiday time for myself, even if I wasn’t going anywhere and was staying home to save money. A break from work still counts when it doesn’t involve a plane.

Getting around without my car

I sold my car in 2020 and had been using public transport since then. From where I live in England, I can walk to the station, a grocery store, a cafe, the post office and bus stops. Being able to leave the house and go somewhere on foot affects my life constantly. I don’t have to drive every time I want to do something.

There are limits. I can’t get everywhere, and an expensive train ticket can break my heart a little, especially when the barriers are open and nobody checks it. Even so, walking and public transport were important reasons I liked living here. Going back to driving everywhere would be a difficult adjustment for me.

Back home, I couldn’t make those same everyday journeys on foot. I found relying on a car isolating, and liked being able to walk and feel part of a village community instead. I wasn’t saying every journey in Britain was easy. I was comparing the life I had here with the life I knew in Ontario, and that difference was on my mind every day.

A cheaper house somewhere else isn’t a whole answer

Buying a house looked difficult in Kent, my home base in England, and in southern Ontario, where I’m from. In both places, the advice I heard was to move somewhere else. People would suggest the north of England, or somewhere more rural in Ontario, as though relocating again was a straightforward answer.

I didn’t know anybody in the north of England and didn’t have a life there. I could move again, I suppose, but that was a different prospect from simply finding a cheaper house. Food costs also stood out to me when I went home. In that 2023 comparison, shopping for ingredients at Tesco felt more manageable than the prices I was seeing back in Ontario.

The people I can’t bring with me

When someone asks what I miss most about Canada, my friends and family are the first things that come to mind. I can find similar food here, and do the same or similar hobbies. I have lovely friends in England. None of that replaces the family and friends I’ve known since I was a child, and nearly eight years hadn’t made missing them easy.

Loving England didn’t mean every interaction felt welcoming either. I’d received emails telling me to leave, and British people had told me to go back where I came from. I’d gone through so much to live here and wanted to stay, so those comments were upsetting. I hoped the people saying them were a loud minority. They didn’t speak for everyone I’d met.

So was life better in Canada or the UK? I still didn’t know. I loved the pace and the everyday freedom to walk places here, but I struggled with being away from my family every year. Over time, I’d tried to see having two homes as a privilege. It wasn’t easy, but being able to experience life in both places had improved my life.

Watch the original Is life better in Canada or UK (An Honest Review) video.