Today is exactly 6 months to the day since we packed our lives into two suitcases and left England for our new life in British Columbia. We have named it our "Canniversary" and we're still quite surprised at how quick everything has gone. When we look back at how we were when we first landed we feel a lot more aware of what is going on around us now and less like 'a couple of fish out of water'. As well as being very supportive of each other this has also been partly down to the great help of Vancouver based people and mostly our good friends in CJ, Sam and Julie (I wanted to mention you guys particularly as you've been awesome). Our families have also been great keeping us up to date with things back in England and providing encouragement and support.

Although 6 months is not a long time in the scheme of things we already look back and laugh at some of the silly things we thought or did in those first few weeks here - many of which seem so stupid now that we prefer keep quiet about them! There have also been a couple of moments where we've 'wobbled' a little bit too but not as many times as we predicted and this has definitely subsided a lot since I started work myself. I think more of the concerns have come from me as I can sometimes over-think situations in my head. Lou seems to have taken most of it in her stride which has really amazed me and that's one of the things that make me love her even more (sorry to get a bit soppy guys!). Lou just gets on with stuff and her independence, motivation and determination have really helped her (and us) settle in and become proper Vancouverites. I myself felt slightly out of place until I was bringing home money myself, I felt bad because I wanted to pull my own weight but couldn't get the opportunity to do so. Now I'm doing exactly that and I feel less like an observer and more a part of the whole puzzle. One thing that makes me laugh is that when I finally got a job some of my mates back in the UK said jokes like "It's about time you got off your arse" etc, but the funny thing is I do more sitting down now at work then I ever did before when practically each day was an opportunity to explore something.

Money worries were probably the biggest concern during the initial few months. Whilst money isn't everything to us it's pretty hard to live without much of it. I was glad that we managed to save as much as we did before we moved otherwise we may have found things tougher. I think we have done well since we got here, we were sensible and got by just on essentials at first and we delayed some of the more luxurious purchases until later down the line. Only recently have we finally started to furnish our apartment with a good sofa and dining table etc. Things maybe weren't quite as cheap as what we anticipated but many things weren't too much of a shock because we'd done a lot of research. Overall things balance themselves out here now that we're earning and spending in the same economy and financially we are slightly better off. Weekly grocery shopping and clothes are about the same price if not slightly more expensive here but the overall service and experience is more pleasant when buying something. Eating out is cheaper and better too, in fact I can only think of one bad meal we've had in 6 months. Visiting indoor attractions tend to be about the same price but we have way more alternatives here to do outdoor stuff for free, for example some of the parks we've been to are awesome!

Strangely I do occasionally find myself thinking "woah that's expensive" and it's always for something really random which I've never even thought about before but then other times I see something and can't believe it's so cheap too, sometimes I'm like "well we might as well get two or three of these"! Fuel works out to be around 60p a litre as opposed to £1.05 and we have no MOT or road tax to pay. On the flip-side however second hand cars are also unbelievably more expensive here (and so is the insurance in comparison). In fact most secondhand things in Canada hold their value way more compared to the UK where we found that secondhand things are practically worthless most of the time.

People ask us if we miss the UK, and the answer is always the same. We do, but we mainly miss our family, friends and the football culture not too much about the actual country. Maybe we will start to miss it more the longer we've been here, we'll have to wait and see. Being able to chat to the family via Skype and seeing each other via the webcam has been a tremendous help too, it really does help us feel like we're maintaining that strong connection despite being over 4,000 miles away. I still find it weird at weekends watching football matches at 7am in the morning but it also means that after 9:30am the rest of the day is free and we don't have to rush back for anything. 

I think the phrase "life is what you make of it" really is apt. We were reasonably happy in the UK but we both feel more so here, it feels like this is just where we are supposed to be right now. The differences between the two countries have been interesting and occasionally unusual, bizarre and even frustrating but we've found them equally refreshing. England (for the majority of things) definitely seems more organized, structured and established but there also seems to be a lot of unnecessary pressure / stress that comes along with that too. We've both said to each other that we feel like we're really living now and no longer on pause, I guess that true feeling is hard to convey into words really but hopefully you'll understand what I mean. Often (not always) when we were in the UK things sometimes seemed really routined, rarely was there something new to do and many things were either just boring or over priced and I felt myself getting more and more pessimistic about things - a trait which I really don't like. Don't get me wrong though I don't exactly always walk around with a beaming smile on my face here (especially at rush hour on the SkyTrain) but I do feel more upbeat and positive about things in general. In some ways the Canadian mentality can seem a little bit old fashioned and behind the times but that also gives it it's own unique feel too. Technology wise Canada doesn't fall behind Europe and it's about the same, well at least that's what it seems like to me because I haven't been left wanting so far. 

I'm definitely starting to see a few things from a different perspective too but I don't think I'll ever totally lose my English-ness (nor would I want to). Sometimes at work I'll be busy talking away before suddenly seeing a slightly bemused expression on the face of the person I'm talking to - only then do I realize I've said something "really English" but we have a good laugh about it. In the same sort of manner occasionally they'll be the odd conversation which goes completely over my head because it's about something or people I don't know. I usually tend to keep quiet when that happens or simply tell them "I ain't got a clue what'cha chatting on about"!

There are still aspects of UK life which I preferred to honest (such as the average vacation allowance from employers), but it's just that the majority of things here are a bit more easy going (although it's not always a good thing especially if you want something sorted out quickly)! I'm not sure exactly how Lou feels about this herself but personally I still and always will love England, however it's easier to love and feel affection for the place from afar than when you're actually there! One of the reasons we didn't go back for Christmas was that we thought it would really disrupt us from settling in to Canadian life and it could potential undo some of our hard work. We're starting to feel more and more settled by the day and I think if we'd have gone back so early for a visit it would have through us off-track a little bit (especially with Christmas time being more joyous and relaxing than usual everyday life).

One thing that is strange is that we arguably had better jobs in the UK but didn't enjoy life as much, here our jobs are not as good but our life is a lot better, I think we both prefer to have it this way rather than the former. Often we get pushed for a definitive answer on wether we'll stay here forever both by Brits and even Canadians. Whilst it is our intention to I'm always hesitant to give out a an answer that locks us in to some kind of promise, especially this early. We don't see it from the point of view that this move has to be an outstanding success or otherwise we'll return to the UK in a spectacular cloud of failure. We're a bit more easy going than that! Our view is that if we ever get to the point where we are no longer enjoy living here then we'll simply just move, maybe to another city or maybe even to another province but we certainly won't force ourselves to be somewhere we no longer want to be.

However, at the moment we can't see ourselves leaving this beautiful country. We're still loving Vancouver and we have so much to see, do and experience here. It's not some glorious utopia devoid of problems but it's vibrant, interesting and certainly the best city I've ever lived in, I'm sure Lou would say the same. We don't know what is around the corner for us and I'm sure they'll be both good and bad things ahead but that's all part of the excitement of life isn't it?