It has been one year since packing up and leaving Canada. It has been a wild ride. Click here to read about how our journey got started! Life as an ex-pat; one year in…
The moment we touched down in Manchester it changed our lives forever. As soon as we arrived at our new home in Sheffield, it felt like a different planet. Nothing was familiar and we didn’t know anyone. As soon as I opened my mouth to talk, it was obvious that I wasn’t from Yorkshire or England. I felt like an outsider, and I was. The people of Sheffield were very welcoming and friendly, so it didn’t take long for those feelings to fade.
We had nothing except our belongings and a few of the essential bits we had ordered ahead of time.
Getting our flat up to speed with the necessities took a few weeks.
It’s funny that I didn’t think about needing a spatula or veggie peeler until I didn’t have one. We didn’t even have a tv for three weeks. After a month, we no longer needed GPS to get to the supermarket. I think the best way to describe that first month, was learning how to do life again.
When we decided to go with a flat rental, we were hoping that it would help us meet some new friends. Having the dogs with us and being out and about around the building also was a great way to socialise, even if it was a brief conversation. It wasn’t long until we met a group of fellow residents, who were all very welcoming. After being invited to an afternoon get-together, we started making some genuine connections. We were making friends! It felt like we were settling into a new home instead of feeling like a visitor.
Hayley and I love a good sporting event, we took in a football match.
Since Bramall Lane, home of Sheffield United F.C., was so close, it was the obvious choice. That and our friend Jack had been clear that being a Blades supporter was the only option. The Sheffield Steelers are the local pro hockey team, so it was off to the arena to cheer them on. I guess the first steps in becoming a “local” are to do things that “locals” do! If feeling a part of the community was what we wanted, we had to jump in head first! I loved every second of it!
Travelling was our biggest motivator for moving to the UK.
Being here makes travelling to Europe unbelievably easy. It’s close and cost-effective. Our first trip was two weeks of city breaks through the Netherlands and Belgium. It was so liberating to put our plan into action, especially after covid had disrupted travelling for a couple of years. We did try our best to make up for the lost time in the last year. All in all, we spent ten weeks travelling in 2022. We visited 30 cities, in 7 countries (make sure you check them all out on our destinations page). What an experience!
There were some growing pains along the way.
Learning to be away from all our friends and family in Canada had some tough moments, but we still had each other. As the first few months passed, those moments became less frequent. Technology today does make it easy to keep in touch from abroad, with texts, calls and video chats being free and easy to use. But making an effort to meet people and immerse ourselves in the culture were huge parts of “settling in”.
When we returned from our trip to Croatia, we were going home. Sheffield was home. This was a turning point. Hayley had started teaching fitness classes at a small gym and was officially working. It felt like we were living abroad and not just hanging about.
My hiatus from work continued through the summer. I still wasn’t ready to get a job, but I did occasionally miss a little bit of routine in my days. But I was also totally fine not having a schedule to follow. We spent the summer days with our new friends as we continued to invest time in new relationships. We had visitors from Canada; Hayley’s friend Renee came to stay with us for a week in June; Hayley’s Mum and Aunt were in town for a week in August. It was a lot of fun to show them around our new city and even visit some new places together. We were proud to have made such a huge move and wanted to share that.
A two-week trip through Italy capped off the summer.
It brought us to six months of living in the UK. Finally, we felt like we were hitting our stride. It was hard to believe that it had been less than a year since we decided to move. All of the familiar things from our life in Canada were gone. It wasn’t about replacing anything but adding to our lives. Adding adventure, travel and wonder. Not every day was filled with exciting activities. Yet every day felt fresh and new. The novelty of living in a new place doesn’t wear off when the decision to live abroad pays off.
We bought a car.
When we first moved, I was sure that I would never have a use for our own vehicle again. But we thought it would make moving about the UK easier and allow us to get to more places where public transport is limited. Particularly the Peak District, which sits on the outskirts of Sheffield. We did some shopping around online and found a car that would suit us. The process of buying a car here in the UK is drastically different than what is customary in Canada. We were getting to be experts in learning new ways of doing things on the fly. You can sit around and try to figure out why it’s not done a “better” way, but it’s irrelevant. It’s just how it’s done and it’s up to you to roll with the punches.
Getting our own wheels definitely added a new sense of freedom and added another new skill to learn. Driving on the opposite side. Not the “wrong” side, the opposite side. It’s the side that’s driven on and cannot be negotiated. With caution and patience, it didn’t take long to get accustomed to it. Although several months later I still walk to the wrong side of the car.
With the end of 2022 approaching we planned our final trip of the year.
I’m not one to typically get caught up in the Christmas spirit, but I thought that visiting some Christmas markets might add a bit of extra excitement to our first holiday season away from Canada. Germany had been in the mix in almost every conversation as to where to travel on our next trip and is well-known for its Christmas markets. This was our longest trip of the year at three weeks. It was an amazing way to close out our travels for the year and certainly did light the fire of the holiday spirit for both of us.
The holidays came and went.
It did feel different this year. With all our family back in Canada, it was definitely quieter. Like all the other changes over the last year, it wasn’t a bad thing. Just different. Another experience to build on. I know that we as humans resist change. For most of us, it is in our nature to keep life comfortable and familiar. Nothing can surprise us when we know what to expect.
Did we know what to expect when we chose to move to the UK? Not at all. Did we know how we would feel after separating ourselves from our friends and family? Nope. We had no clue about how any of this would shake down. What we did know; we were embracing change. We also had each other to lean on. Having a partner to share this experience with will give us so many memories to remember together is truly special. Moving abroad is not something that everyone can relate to.
So, after one year, I find myself asking; “What’s next?”.
The answer; I still don’t know. I’ll find out when I get there. That’s part of the thrill for me. It has been incredible to carve out my own path as I go. Imagine being at a fork in the road and choosing a third option that is not marked by a sign. That option will always be more appealing to me. It might not be the perfect decision, but that’s part of the journey. Take the good with the not-so-good and use it to grow. This is my choose-your-own-adventure story, no one else’s. Besides, when you are focusing on moving forward, there’s no time to look behind you.
So here we are, life as an ex-pat; one year in…
For more information on how you can move abroad, read our blog post on moving to the UK from Canada.
Leave a comment below if you have any questions for us, what your experience is like as an ex-pat, or just to say hello!