First Impressions of Life in Canada vs the US | USA to Canada Life

Hi, I'm Jen and I do things in Canada.Yay!It's so great to be caught up.It's so great to be able to speak to you from a more current standpoint.We did arrive on July 1st.As a family, we all got here.

Phoenix and I got here on the 30th.Road trip vlogs were posted.It took me a while to edit them because I wanted them to be really good.But now we're all caught up.So now as I'm filming this, it is July 23rd.So we've been here for over three weeks and I have lots of thoughts and lots of things to share people been asking Am I going to continue with this channel because the journey to get here is done.

Oh my gosh Yes, of course.I'm not going anywhere.That's the beginning like that's just the start now I get to live here and I get to talk to you about what it's like Living here as a person that grew up in the US my entire life What's it like living in Canada?And one thing that I'm realizing is that living in Victoria specifically is probably a very different experience than living in a lot of Canada.I'm learning how varied just life experiences are.It's similar to the U .

S.in that living in Texas is very different than living in California or in New York or in Colorado.Depending on where you live, it's going to be very different.So I want to make sure I'm very clear that I don't think that my experience here in Victoria is in any way representative of all Canadians or all people who move from the U .S.to Canada.

can speak to is my experience and I'd like to do that and I'm excited to do that today.Some of the things that I have experienced for the very first time is going to Canadian Tire for the first time.That was interesting because you know it's easy to say oh Canadian Tire or whatever store it is it's like this in the U .S.but Canadian Tire and Shoppers Drug Mart and a lot of these stores there really is no equivalent in the U .S.

It is uniquely Canadian and it is a uniquely like There's no real comparable store in the US.I think the biggest one of the big things as far as shopping goes is figuring out where to get the thing that I need Because the stores carry different things.It's just like something I'm gonna have to get used to but I did enjoy Canadian Tire very much I was able to find lots of things that I needed there and I felt like the prices were very Reasonable and really what we've been focusing on the past few weeks is just focusing on our little circle of area.Where are we going to go grocery shopping?Where are we going to get this or that?How is our daily life going to look?

And just kind of focusing on that and then we'll slowly expand outward to explore.We just kind of need to get a handle on basic life first.So one thing that I've noticed about the Victoria area is that there are so many grocery stores.and if you've been around the show for a little while you know i love to grocery shop it's one of my favorite things it's very strange i know that it's not a love that a lot of people share with me but i love grocery shopping so i've been to i think five different grocery stores not counting walmart walmart would make six and i still haven't fully decided where my home grocery store is going to be i think i'm deciding between save on foods and thrifty foods so you have any advice or thoughts on which one you think is better let me know because i'm still trying to figure that out i've been to save on more times but I kind of like thrifty foods too.I went to Urban Grocer and I feel like that's a good place to get like very specific things but that's not like the weekly haul.There's a grocery store in Vic West that was so fun.

Oh my gosh that's another place that I want to go like once every couple of weeks or once a month or whatever and just grab a couple of things.Absolutely loved it.I'll put it on the screen.I can't remember what it was called.can never remember it for some reason but it's really cool i also experienced booster juice for the first time i wrote down i got a canadian colada because of course i had to get something with the name canadian in it and it was fabulous i now have my little booster juice account on my app and on mymy points and I'm excited about that because I loved it.

It was so good.Another thing I wanted to share with you is that the family got bikes uh all three of them got bikes they've all been using their bikes my husband has been using his bike the most park his bike and lock it and then take a run or he'll just ride his bike down the beach or ride his bike in the city my son and phoenix have also been riding their bikes quite a bit and that has been wonderful i do not ride a bike and i'm still working out how what i want to do with that whether i want to officially make myself learn how to ride a bike or if i want to get an adult tricycle which my family laughs at me about but also it makes me feel comfortable and happy, so we will see what happens there.I am not worried about that right now.That's a tomorrow problem.That is not a today problem.That is something that I will work out in months from now.

That is not a priority for me. I'm trying to just get my head on straight.Another thing that has been a big learning curve is the recycling, and I don't know how it is throughout Canada, but in Victoria, it is a process to recycle.Now, in comparison, In the U .S.there was trash and there was recycling.And recycling in the U .

S., I'm going to be honest with you, is kind of a joke.Because we know when we do recycling, even though we do it, that the vast majority of the things that we're putting in for recycling are not going to get recycled.But we don't know which of those things are.So we just do the best that we can.It says on the thing what things go in the recycling.

We do it and just hope for the best and send it off.And I don't know whether it works or not.In contrast, here we have five, I think, different recycling containers.We have our regular trash.Then we have our regular recyclables.It's the foils, the cans, the glass, all of that.

Then we have the compost bin, which I am personally loving.I've always wanted to do some kind of compost, but just never did it.So excited about that.Then we have our bendy plastics that we have to take to the farmer's market every week.So we're doing that.And then also we have paper, which is

in the blue bag it is a whole thing and i was very intimidated at first but now i'm actually really loving it and what i'm noticing is that because it is such a big deal here it's making us more conscious of how much trash we're creating and we are creating we there's literally less trash coming out of our family now because we're much more conscious of it because the people around us are conscious of it.And there's a program for it that is like, Hey, you need to pay attention to this.And we're like, Oh, okay, let's do that.Let's make sure we're paying attention to that.And it's really been fantastic.And it's not a pain.

It's not feeling bad.It's actually feels really good.We're also realizing how many things there are to do here in the summer specifically.

I don't know what it's going to be like in other seasons, but in the summer, Oh my gosh, so much stuff to do.So the first thing we did is we went to the Saanich Strawberry Festival, and that was fabulous.I was surprised at the lack of strawberries there.I expected there to be, like, strawberry everything, but really, the Saanich Strawberry Festival is all about the ice cream with strawberries on it, and it was delicious.Delicious.amazing i'm gonna brag about my husband real quick because this is this is something he did and i love this so we had gotten food at one of the stalls and um the ladies that work in the stall were talking about how they really wanted to get ice cream but they couldn't go get it or whatever so john my husband had the idea well i'm going to buy them ice cream and bring it to them and he did and it's just what canada inspires in us you know where we might have done that in the u .

s but we're definitely doing those kinds of things here where it's just kind of knowing that that's part of the culture to look out for each other we know that when we try to do something like that to try to help out that it's going to be received as trying to help without any kind of ulterior motive you know what i'm saying i had another situation to happen like that where i went to go get coffee down on cook street i really went to that area because i wanted to try morning people i had heard such good things about it we loved it it was amazing it was

everything I wanted it to be.But across was a coffee shop.And I told John after we finished our breakfast, I was like, you know, I'm going to go over and grab a coffee.Well, it turns out that he didn't take cards and we hadn't acquired any cash yet because we'd only been in the country really like three days.So we just hadn't gotten there yet.We hadn't done the bank account thing yet.

We just hadn't done it.Now we have.But anyway, so I didn't have any cash on me.And you know what this man did?This man gave me a coffee.He was like, you'll get me back next time.

And I was like, you're darn right I will.That's what I was thinking.Like that was such a kind thing to do.Like that would never, I don't think that would ever happen.And he was like, yeah, you know, even if it doesn't come back from you, I'll get it back some other way.Like it'll be fine, whatever.

And it was interesting because the lady that was standing behind me, she was an older lady and she was not happy with him.Um, she had been kind of listening to our conversation.I said, you know, we're new to Canada.We just haven't picked up cash yet.I'm so, so sorry.And she commented, um, something really negative and was kind of, you know, joking, but not joking about, us using the Canadian health care system for our own gain and um she really was just not happy with me existing in that space and that he was giving me a coffee.

I was not upset with her.I get that perspective and I said oh I said something like oh you know I'm gonna pay him back you know I'm gonna get him back and she's like I don't know that I don't know you.Which fare?absolutely fair like i get that she doesn't know me but i tried to reassure her but she was not having it at all uh which is which is fine i was not mad at her for that but i did make sure and i had planned to do this even before she said anything so what i did was i went back the next weekend because he's only open on weekends and i got another coffee and i gave him ten dollars for both now they're only two dollars and fifty cents each and i said you know i just just keep it you know just keep it which i feel like was fair to give him that as a thank you for you know giving me that coffee and trusting me to toyou know bring it back and he genuinely wasn't worried about it and i just feel like people like that should be given a little bit extra for their kindness because it encourages more kindness encourages more kindness in me it encourages more kindness in people around encourages him to be kind in the future like it just is this whole kindness cycle of awesomeness you know and and that is really what i feel like is different about canada because i don't think that ever would have happened in the u .ss in a million years they've just been like sorry come back when you have cash the ends you know and it would have been fine if that had been the answer that would have been fine too but it is different it's a different way of thinking it's a different way of living it's a different way of processing and in my heart and this is what i've told you all before in my heart i've always felt like i didn't fit in in the u .

s in ways like that where i always wanted to help i always wanted to um to be the person that lives like that but I lived in a place that wasn't conducive to that kind of thinking and that kind of way of treating people.So I was kind of always walked on.And that was something I was really looking forward to in Canada.So to experience that on like day three was wonderful.It was absolutely wonderful.And knowing that I'm probably gonna have more experiences like that and that I want to continue to Support local businesses like the flowers that are behind me, the flowers that are on my main channel that are behind me.

Those are all from local growers.I want to keep up doing that.I think that it's cool to have fresh flowers behind me, especially when it supports, you know, people that are local that are, you know, small businesses.And the more we're here, the more we realize that we just as a family fit here we just fit here better and i know victoria is not for everybody like i get that but i do think that it is the place for us and we absolutely love it i forgot to mention something i went topride how did i forget to mention i went to pride oh my gosh pride was amazing y 'all pride was so cool i have never seen that many people who are dressed in a non -traditional way in a way that feels authentic to that many people.Everybody was so unique, living so authentically, wearing what they wanted, being themselves, and looking like they felt completely safe.

There are so many people in the U .S.that are so judgy based on how you dress, whether you're dressing to your gender.People just cannot feel comfortable in the U .S.if you're not dressing a more traditional way.

And I freaking loved how comfortable everybody was.And it's not just at Pride.I have seen people dressing in non -traditional ways at the grocery store, walking around the streets, like, I mean, and nobody makes a big deal out of it.It's not a big deal.And it's like, this is the way the world should be.The world should be just like this.

Because is it hurting me that this person is dressed differently than I want to dress?No, it's not hurting me.It's not hurting me at all.Why do I care?I don't.I care that they're living authentically and that they're happy because I care about them human to human, but the way they dress is not affecting me. in a negative way in any way i'm happy that they get to live their lives authentically and is definitely different than anything i've ever experienced in the u .

s very thankful to the people that i met at pride it was incredible i think i met six different people that watch this channel at pride and it was like my kids were like blown away they're like what mom i'm like yeah it's so cool right like if people and of all places to meet people pride is something a place that i am so honored to have been able to meet people that watch this channel because it shows me that i give you a place that you feel safe and that you feel seen and you feelOne more example I want to give you before I let you go is that there is a very very cool thing that happens in Fernwood on Wednesday nights and it is an open mic night and there is a man who's been organizing it for five years.I believe his name was Glenn and Glenn has just been doing this.He doesn't get paid.There's no fee to enter.There's no fee to play.

You just set up a blanket and you go sit and you listen to music.wants to play and it's amazing and everybody's just sitting there there's a woman next to me knitting there's dogs running around off leash there's people just laughing there was a guy there on his first date and he brought a bottle of wine and he forgot to bring his wine key with him so he went up to glenn and was like hey glenn can you hook me up and glenn's like hey this guy's on his first date and he forgot his wine key so of course someone else had a wine key and they gave it to the guy and the guy got to open his wine and it was just the most freaking wholesome amazingness and the music was good, and it just felt like being in true community.And that's so different.And it's so appreciated and I'm noticing all these things.I'm gonna go ahead and let you go.I've been yapping your ear off.

I'm sure there'll be more things to share with you on the next update.Lots of things happening.I have lots of things to share with you.Actually, the next update, I did vlog John and I getting our stuff to show you what that process was like.

Because our stuff was shipped from Maryland all the way over to Canada and we had to go through a whole process to get it.So I did vlog that.

And that's probably what's going to be up next.And then there'll be another update after that in a few weeks.So thank you so much for watching.I hope you continue to be happy and healthy and safe and I will see you in a video soon.Bye!

I just want to let you know I just fixed the shopping carts.I'm officially home.