What have you noticed is different in Canada?

[ColorMePanda]

Like what are some of the things you have noticed are different in Canada then other places?
What things have taken you a while to get used to?

Maybe it is food, people, manners, clothes, accents, etc.

Lets here them.

 

[Karlshammar]

It's impossible to find good Chinese food in Ottawa. I found one good place in Gatineau.

 

[AllisonChains08]

Only province I've been to is Alberta, so it really didn't seem that different than the US.

 

[ColorMePanda]

It's impossible to find good Chinese food in Ottawa. I found one good place in Gatineau.

Really?
My bf would freak. He would live off of Chinese if he could. He now has me addicted to it. Lol.
In fact we ate some on Saturday before we went to the movies. It was good.
Maybe you should come here to Newfoundland or you could just look up some recipes and make it at home.

 

[AlanWales]

The main thing I noticed in BC (I imagine the other provinces are the same) is that the price shown on the shelf for items that are taxable, don't show the tax, I am going to find that hard to get used to.

Canadians compared seem to be a lot more polite and respectful to people.

 

[Karlshammar]

Same thing in all the provinces, as well as all U.S. states that have a sales tax. It was hard for me to get used to, because back in Sweden the VAT is included in the shelf price as well.

The main thing I noticed in BC (I imagine the other provinces are the same) is that the price shown on the shelf for items that are taxable, don't show the tax, I am going to find that hard to get used to.

 

[AllisonVSC]

I'm from the southern United States. It is hard to get used to the metric system (well not that hard but) when the produce at the grocery store is advertised for sale at x dollars per pound and the scale is in kilograms!

I'm also finding that personal space is a LOT smaller here (I live in Mississauga ON). For example, the distance between cars on the freeway...we call that tailgating and you can be ticketed for it. Another example is that drivers here will pull into a vacant parking spot adjacent to a parent trying to load small children into the car. OR when walking, shopping, etc. people stand closer but don't make eye contact or acknowledge your presence. To me this is very strange. Where I'm from we greet strangers walking towards us on the streets with a smile and eye contact, wait for others who need extra time, or say "excuse me" with we pass too closely in the supermarket aisle. My partner says this is "big city stuff."

To balance these observations of how strangers interact, I will say that the people that I have met socially, conversed with during business transactions, or otherwise have gotten to know have been genuinely nice, friendly and engaging people!

 

[ekristensen]

Well I've not lived in Canada since I was 7 (and my husband hasn't even visited there yet - he'll experience it for the first time next May!) so when I go back I'll be almost like a foreigner myself, having lived in Europe since a child.

I'm not looking forward to the items which don't show their full price incl. tax... I'm horrible at math and I don't know which items have it and which don't so, I'll probably be horrible with money :/

I'll also have to get used to driving there, because I've only ever driven in England and of course it's a whole different side of the road/car that you drive on/with. Luckily I have my license which can be converted easily in Ontario, so I'll do that and maybe read a book about the road rules, too (well not maybe, I will definitely do that!) So will also need to get used to driving rules and laws...

The rest of it I'm not too worried about. It'll come as we adjust and explore the city It'll be interesting to hear what my (Danish) husband thinks of the differences. I'm really going to miss the beautiful Danish buildings and cities here :/

 

[Karlshammar]

Yeah, the incessant tailgating here in Canada annoys me too. When I was in Los Angeles we had a million times as many cars, but nobody would ever dare cut that close to your car unless it was bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Which city are you in, AllisonVSC? Here in Ottawa people are more like you describe, but I suspect that it gets worse the bigger the city gets. I found people in Toronto to be rather reserved compared to Ottawa.

That being said, I don't think you'll find any urban area in Canada where people are as friendly as in the American South.

 

[ColorMePanda]

I'm from the southern United States. It is hard to get used to the metric system (well not that hard but) when the produce at the grocery store is advertised for sale at x dollars per pound and the scale is in kilograms!

I'm also finding that personal space is a LOT smaller here (I live in Mississauga ON). For example, the distance between cars on the freeway...we call that tailgating and you can be ticketed for it. Another example is that drivers here will pull into a vacant parking spot adjacent to a parent trying to load small children into the car. OR when walking, shopping, etc. people stand closer but don't make eye contact or acknowledge your presence. To me this is very strange. Where I'm from we greet strangers walking towards us on the streets with a smile and eye contact, wait for others who need extra time, or say "excuse me" with we pass too closely in the supermarket aisle. My partner says this is "big city stuff."

To balance these observations of how strangers interact, I will say that the people that I have met socially, conversed with during business transactions, or otherwise have gotten to know have been genuinely nice, friendly and engaging people!

I am from the south too. Probably not as far south in the states as you but still the south none of the less.

But everything you say, is exactly what I have noticed. Luckily though I don't think the tailgating is so bad over here. Thank goodness.

 

[Suin]

as for me I was surprised that I couldn't find any cash machine that could let me take the money from my European Visa card, unlike in the US one can do it everywhere.

 

[toby]

An interesting variety of first impressions of Canada.

Karlshammer: There used to be some very good places for Chinese food in Ottawa. It is unlikely they have all disappeared since 2002 when I left, so look again. There was one particularly-good Szechuan restaurant in downtown Ottawa. And, the eggrolls at the Golden Palace on Carling Avenue in Ottawa west are famous! People have them imported to them abroad.

It’s funny that you consider the people of Ottawa more friendly than Torontonians. Ottawa is a government town, and therefore less open than the more culturally-diverse Toronto. At least that’s what I have been told, and it matches my personal experience.

But when the sun shines, and tax-freedom day has arrived, ALL Canadians are joyous and friendly.

Alan Wales:
I notice the same thing in Vancouver: people smile at you, are very friendly and polite. In the central parts like Ontario, people are more reserved on the street, but still friendly in social situations.

AllisonVSC:
I had not noticed people standing too close. I guess I’ve been in Costa Rica and China too much, where there is VERY LITTLE respect for personal space.

For all those who hate tailgaters -- and who doesn’t? – tap the brakes a few times to get his or her attention, and if there’s no improvement, put the car in a lower gear and let it slow down. Not too quickly, but enough to alarm the tailgater, who should then back off. If all else fails, use the last resort of the famously-friendly southerners of the USA: bring out the gun. (ONLY KIDDING FOLKS!!!)

 

[AllisonVSC]

toby,

Clearly you've driven behind me (lol) as that is exactly what I do to tailgaters. With my South Carolina tags they think I'm a tourist who doesn't know where I'm going (or possibly how to drive!) and that helps momentarily...

 

[tgchi13]

Yes, there use to be several places to get excellent Chinese food in Ottawa. I was born and 1/2 raised there. Last visit, I noted the same thing. I remember the egg rolls from childhood. They may still be great but my health requires spring rolls doesn't allow for egg rolls anymore. Even so, I recall driving around most of one night trying to find vegetarian egg rolls, with not success

Are we all just stomachs and taste buds in the end?

 

[Karlshammar]

Yeah, I've been to the Golden Palace. I found the food ok, but not more than that. I didn't try the egg rolls in particular as I'm not a big egg roll fan, but I'll have to try them if they are that good.

I tried so many places as Chinese is my favorite food! After tons of disappointment I thought "Maybe I just need to go to Chinatown for something more authentic," but I have to say that the result of that was a big FAIL!

Having lived in Los Angeles, New Jersey and Sweden, and having visited big cities in Germany, Denmark, Russia and Bulgaria, as well as having visited Las Vegas, San Francisco, San Diego, Toronto and Montreal, I'd have to say that Ottawa is definitely one of the friendliest cities I have ever been to. Being a government town makes for boring nightlife, but it certainly hasn't made people any more closed or less friendly. I was surprised when I first came here that people would strike up conversation and smile at you at the bus stop, chat with you in the grocery store, or just smile and say hello as you walked past. I didn't expect that from a big city.

I talked to a waiter at a restaurant who used to live in Toronto who said that one of his first impressions after coming to Ottawa was how friendly the people were. He said he was surprised when he went for a walk in the park and every person he passed smiled and greeted him, and that that didn't happen to him in Toronto.

Maybe you just had bad experiences in Ottawa? Who knows. It's been a big positive for me, anyway!

Yeah, I do the same thing with tailgaters. They get upset some times, but better that they are upset away from me than content in my tailpipe...