Happier Abroad Forum Community

I am in Canada once again after living the last 5-6 years in China and will begin my university studies in a month and a half. My original plan was to study at a university in China or Japan (maybe even Vietnam because it's the first country that I will check out) but I realized that it could not work out. Although I'm a Canadian passport holder I'm still considered an international student because I sent my application from abroad. I arrived in Vancouver 4 days ago and still haven't gotten over jetlag.

Returning to the Anglosphere after spending more than half a decade abroad has made me realize how oppressive and how undesirable it is. With my new mind that I have gained from living overseas I absolutely detest Canada now, well, except that I have faster and uncensored internet. But what's the point of living in a place just to go on a few damn blocked websites? There are VPNs.

To sum up the things I hate:

1. Vancouver's climate is the best among all Canadian cities, but during fall and winter it rains pretty much all day leaving behind a chill that goes into your bones. Beijing's climate is pretty extreme and add that with air pollution but being in China is still 1000 times better than spending a year or two in Canada. I have to spend 4...... Maybe 3 if I can get into some sort of exchange program.....

2. Taxes! I guess I'm not the only one that gets annoyed by this. Why can't you just fricking include the % of tax in the item's price tag? I know that it is the same in the USA, and as someone online put it: "You see how much you pay for while they are really asking you to pay more." Something like that. Canada has a national tax (HST) and each province also sets their own rates of taxation which just makes it more screwed up.

3. The country is so damn big and has so many time zones! It takes 4.5 hours to fly from Vancouver to Toronto while I could go from Beijing to Bangkok / Saigon, from East Asia to Southeast Asia in the same period of time. Russia is bigger but from what I've heard it has an interesting history, culture, and gorgeous women.

4. Watching a movie in the cinema is a pain in the ass. If it says that the movie starts playing at 7:30 PM, what it really means is the advertisements and previews start at that time. Films in Chinese cinemas almost always start exactly on time with no more than a 6 or 7 minute delay. These pre-movie ads / previews in Canadian cinemas take 20-25 minutes. What I find strange is you have to get coupons that you exchange for food and drinks while at Chinese movie theaters you buy directly using cash. What irritates me even more is that everything is so spread out. You order and get the coupon at one place but you actually GET what you ordered somewhere else.

5. Automobile reliance. This sucks. You have to drive to get everywhere. To take a taxi you need a reservation by phone as opposed to just hopping into one in China. The closest shopping mall (with a cinema) to where I live in Vancouver is 30 minutes away by foot while the one in Beijing is right beside my neighborhood. Where I live in Beijing (Wangjing) has so many restaurants, shops, and cafes. ALL within walking distance. People here DRIVE from one end of the street to the other end.


6. The food sucks in comparison to China. I am in Richmond, a suburb of Greater Vancouver with a huge Chinese / HK / Taiwanese population, but eating Chinese food in Vancouver just doesn't feel the same as eating it in China. Oh and PLEASE don't mention Canadianized / Americanized "Chinese" cuisine.


7. It's expensive to live in. Obvious fact.



8. It's the Anglosphere. Unhealthy diet. Although I guess there are less obese people in comparison to the USA but Canadians aren't the lightest either.....

No, I'm not going to even look into the dating scene here. If I change my mind, it will just be for the sake of experimentation. The Chinese girls here lack the femininity of those back in China. FOBs quickly become assimilated to a large degree. I just don't get along with most people here because like the USA 99.5% have barely or never left the country or were just in another country for a while due to work / career purposes.


9. Multiculturalism. Real definition: Uniting people of all nationalities and skin colors under the Western capitalistic, robotic system. We don't care if you are white, black, yellow or brown, because all we need is to get money from you and make you work your ass off. If you are coming over to study we will make sure it is expensive as hell unless you pass our difficult citizenship test and become one of us.


10. The Canadian government keeps coming up people's arses and informing them of taxes, bills, as well as stuffing shit into their mailboxes.


11. The fake politeness of people. Do you know how annoyed I am when the waiter or waitress comes every 3-4 minutes to ask whether I am enjoying my food? Also, tips. Although tipping isn't so big in Canada like it is in the USA, it is simply not my habit to give tips.


12. Rules and regulations. It's basically a police state. Like the USA, you can do and think whatever you want as long as it is P.C. and stays within the box.


I cried when going back to China 6 years ago, now I feel like crying AND exploding returning to the Anglosphere after living overseas. I know I won't adjust or re-adjust. I'm a Chinese-Canadian but I feel like a FOB now. Whatever.

Canada is a country without soul, culture, and vitality. Just like the USA. It is basically a watered down version of Britain with heavy US elements, and of course, the North Pole.

Bao3niang wrote:
9. Multiculturalism. Real definition: Uniting people of all nationalities and skin colors under the Western capitalistic, robotic system. We don't care if you are white, black, yellow or brown, because all we need is to get money from you and make you work your a** off. If you are coming over to study we will make sure it is expensive as hell unless you pass our difficult citizenship test and become one of us.

10. The Canadian government keeps coming up people's arses and informing them of taxes, bills, as well as stuffing shit into their mailboxes.

.....

12. Rules and regulations. It's basically a police state. Like the USA, you can do and think whatever you want as long as it is P.C. and stays within the box.

Even though I've encountered similar sentiments on the internet, it still rocks me to hear someone coming from Red China decry North America as overregulated.

Amazing....very good points...All I can say is perfect.....You described the frustrations right down to a science...

Being from India, the largest democracy on earth..China is far more free than India...Much easier to travel and navigate...Also, Nightlife is Amazing, women easier to date etc etc....Chinese are going places ...Conquering the world ....Considering the state of planet earth we are in..no place is perfect but China looks like a good place for you compared to Canada

Even with all its social problems Canada is still the best country in the world all things considered. At least everything operates efficiently and you can still find a job. However, finding a reliable girlfriend is very difficult at best.

I Canada you don't have to worry about food poisoning when you eat out in China you do.

I visited Vancouver when I was in high school with my family. It was a lovely city but being a teenage I had no idea about any of the social or economic realities of Canada.

I now know that ALL English speaking countries are horrible when it comes to dating and finding a wife. It is now clear that ALL Anglo countries need to be avoided like the plague if your trying to meet women.

If I do move to another country you can bet the farm, I won't be moving to an English speaking country (like the UK, Canada, Australia or New Zealand). The women in those countries are shit and are not marriage material.

Ok ppl, here's the scoop on places like Vancouver. One, it's the warmest city in Canada and thus, that's worth something in itself.

I'd felt some of those huge temperature drops in Ontario & Quebec and let me tell you, they make Boston MA look like the South during the winter.

Next, unlike Boston which BTW, is a full blown police state, Vancouver takes it too easy and thus, when they'd lost the Stanley Cup to Boston in '11, a riot broke out before the police took action.

If the situation were reversed, the first few rioters would have been dead in Boston and a bunch of rowdy ppl would be in lockdown. The Boston PD has no tolerance for a crowd out of control. A college student was accidentally killed by the BPD, ten years ago, when a pepper gun cap went off, after the baseball team won a series; no one in the Boston PD was prosecuted.

As for culture, Vancouver is very close to Seattle WA, which means it has no culture but here's the difference, esc@ting is legal in BC and thus, it trumps Seattle immediately

So while you've got Seattle's overcast and boring crowd, at least there's a way to get some. And there you have it, Vancouver in a nutshell.

And as for food, cmon folks, how can you expect authentic Chinese when P.F. Chang is the prototype of a successful North American franchise? Chinese food is like candy-on-protein in the US. If you dine out, just go to an American steakhouse & enjoy a nice NY Sirloin, or if you're in Quebec, perhaps crepes.

Bao,

Did somebody make you go to University in Vancouver? If not, go someplace else for university since you don't like Vancouver. There are lots and lots of universities. That Canadian passport that somebody let you have should allow you to do that.

Luc Furr wrote:Bao,

Did somebody make you go to University in Vancouver? If not, go someplace else for university since you don't like Vancouver. There are lots and lots of universities. That Canadian passport that somebody let you have should allow you to do that.

I have an even better idea, if the OP doesn't need to be in let's say an on-campus, lab intensive program, how about some of the distance bachelors program.

Here's Penn State Online:

http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu

Here's London Univ Online, the best bang for the buck (low cost, high prestige):

http://www.londoninternational.ac.uk

Here's UMaryland Online:

http://www.umuc.edu

Then, he can live anywhere in Asia and still get the so-called western credentials.

OP is making a good decision to get a Western education. I went to London University, and that certificate still opens doors (especially if I want to teach in Asia).

Hopefully OP will immerse himself in his studies, get a good degree then have a good career that will enable wealth accumulation on a grand scale.

I'm enjoying being back in the West. Food quality is much higher here - as an ex-food scientist it's something I take an interest in. I should have taken more photos in the supermarkets I had to shop in back in China. Dusty noodles, rotting vegetables - I lost weight because it was just too hard to find stuff that was good to eat. It wasn't a poverty thing either - there were more poor people in Thailand but the food quality there was outstanding.

Also it's easier to travel here. You don't need to show a passport to buy train tickets, and at least the trains aren't so busy that you can't even get on a train.

Maybe William N. Dowd has more to say about the dating scene in Vancouver.

There's 7 types of girls in Vancouver and they all hate you before they even meet you.

7 Types Of Girls In Vancouver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXQCABue8y8

Their is no dating scene in Vancouver, unless you are some work out loving tattooed bad boy and/or a filthy rich stock market golf club asshole. Even then the girls you get would be hot but trashy and nasty and if they are attracted to guys like that you know they are not worth it.
That's why I only dated foreign girls, usually ESL students. You could have read about it here but some guy deleted it.
Do what I did, get out ASAP, or you will lose your mind!

What really turns me off is the happy go lucky attitude of many people in Canada / the US, pretending everything is positive and going well. "We live in a wonderful country! Yes we do have issues but we are still way ahead of the rest of the world!" Brainwashing.

Well maybe in terms of development and $$ you are, but are you really living happily? I often doubt the credibility of those so-called "happiness surveys."

Beijing is a hellhole in terms of having a crappy dating scene and being workaholic / work oriented, but come on at least it is in a civilization and there are many places that I enjoy going to. It's so much easier to talk with people as well.

Canada is basically America's pawn that can barely or not do anything big without America's support. Same applies to other US allies but considering how Canada and America are neighbors and share the world's longest unprotected border it's an obvious fact that both countries are very alike, except that the former is larger in land mass, has a smaller population, has another official language, and has a few exotic creatures.

I just watched the video. Which street do I want to go to? Any street that can get me to the airport fast so I can get out!

That HK female's accent is pretty disgusting IMO.

I am living with my uncle and aunt and my uncle is messed up. He asks me do I want this do I want that every 2-3 minutes. Like WTF if I want something I will tell you or just go out and get it myself.

All what I can say about Vancouver is that my younger daughter (50 Europe, 50 Japanese) and her husband (Canadian-Japanese) moved away last year from Canada/Vancouver to Western Japan after living there for about 10 years. The father of her husband (USA-Japanese) followed them soon to Japan, after his wife (Canadian-Japanese) left him for another.

Also one of my friends (European, Canadian citizen) left Canada, Vancouver. He was suddenly divorced by his wife in Vancouver who cheated him with a rich Arab, she got everything and he had no home anymore. He moved to Thailand for retirement and tells me he does not miss Vancouver at all. He told me social life for men is really bad in Vancouver and ALL of his friends, who were mostly working for airline services and often not at home as on night duty or on international flights etc. are now divorced. ALL of them, about 20 men in their 50 - 60, lost almost everything. It seems to me, Vancouver for sure is not a place to socialize with nice women.