What do you miss most about Canada

[The Mean Lady 604]

No kidding... I cringe often when I see the people on the freeway paying no regard at all to others trying to merge. It can be quite scary sometimes - and the people I know down there just kind of shrug and say "It's the person's job to merge - they have to figure it out" -- It is a courtesy to make sure they can merge safely! Whatever happened to defensive driving... /grumble

Man I have no idea what you guys are talking about.

I feel like everyone in Canada is constantly running me off the road.

And I see merge signs all over in the US....

My husband refers to them as MAN POOPING BY A WALL

[codygrace 14]

Man I have no idea what you guys are talking about.

I feel like everyone in Canada is constantly running me off the road.

And I see merge signs all over in the US....

My husband refers to them as MAN POOPING BY A WALL

hahahahahahahahahahaha

I actually find people who drive on the interstate in Ohio are much more respectful. With that being said though, I've driven in other areas Syracuse, Detroit, etc, and they're worse!

[The Mean Lady 604]

hahahahahahahahahahaha

I actually find people who drive on the interstate in Ohio are much more respectful. With that being said though, I've driven in other areas Syracuse, Detroit, etc, and they're worse!

I'm from Chicago, we're all by far very very offensive drivers.

But i'm also extremely defensive.

Also, my husband has names for all of the road signs

[alizon 77]

Some of these things (e.g. multiculturalism, public transit, Ikea) are urban, not Canadian. American cities have those things too!

[Krikit 1,163]

Man I have no idea what you guys are talking about.

I feel like everyone in Canada is constantly running me off the road.

Yeah, I'm with you there. I don't find drivers in Canada any different than the drivers in the US. Except, maybe, that you get more thank-you waves in Canada than you do in the US if you let someone in. But I'm used to urban driving so I prefer that to small town I've-got-nowhere-to-go driving. Florida is an exception, though, because they're on an entirely different planet there.

[Holliday 4]

I thought that I would start this topic for fun to see what some fellow VJ Canadian expats miss about the homeland. Being that I am living in a very small town in Western NY and coming from a city as big as TO, I never realized that there would be alot of things that I would miss but do .

Here is a list of things that I love from Canada but cannot buy or find down here:

Cherry Nibs

Pealmeal Bacon - the ####### that they sell at Tops cannot even compare and this bacon can rock it out of the park when it comes to eggs benny

Fresh Squeezed OJ - no one sells it here and I have tried everywhere...Tops, Wegmans but to no avail

Woody's pink grapefruit vodka coolers - yummy nuff said

Robaxecet and Gravol - again no where to be found

Glysomed hand cream - this stuff is awesome and again cannot find it at Riteaid or Walgreens

International Eggs benedict sauce - nothing compares to it

The Mercer Report and CBC...I know, you can watch on-line but not the same thing

CBC News, again see comment above

My running group from York Mills Running Room!!!

And last but not least - decent soft cheese especially Bleu Brisse and La Savergine...hmmmm La Savergine...the best sofest cheese from Quebec ever.

Woody's pink grapefruit vodka coolers - GAAAAAAHHH!! I had totally forgotten about those! #######! Now I miss something else!

Gravol to me seems similar to Dramamine (or as I call it "the thing people on TV say to give to people on boats") It may actually be different, but my Dramamine was made in Canada and looks/tastes (awful) the same as Gravol back home.

Regarding the TV stuff... If you've got easygoing relatives back home, GET A SLINGBOX! It is - without a doubt - the best purchase I've ever made in my whole life. Seriously. I really only watch TSN and Sportsnet, but it is my ritual! I'm still horribly homesick, but less so thanks to the Slingbox.

Also, yeah! What's with the crappy cheese here?!? Unacceptable!

Other things I miss include - but aren't limited to:

- Freezies. I've got a stock in my freezer of white and blue ones (THE BEST) that I purchased in Woodstock a few years ago. I swear, I almost hugged the lady who sold them to me. I was so happy!!

- EVERYTHING President's Choice! Particularly the veggie lasagna. And the seafood lasagna.

- Sidewalks

- Vehicles with daytime running lights (or whatever they are called)

- Acceleration/deceleration lanes of a reasonable length on highways. (Also, what the ####### is a Turnpike? No.)

- Wunderbars!

- Coffee Crisps!

- Coffee Crisp commercials! Nobody understands "you don't know from jokes!" here and it is bothersome.

- Recycling, in general.

- BAGELS! The bagels where I live are #######. I still have some Kettleman's bagels in my freezer, thank goodness.

- Kraft peanut butter

- Tuna that isn't weird

- The Keg

- Good food (wow! I really like food!)

- NOT paying to not die of pneumonia

- The lack of the 'word' "y'all" - particularly in those instances where only two people are being addressed. We are "you", or "both", but not "y'all".

- Everything else!

- Harvey's

- Kilometres

- Keith's

- Heinz EVERYTHING! Including ketchup, tomato soup, Zoodles, Alphagetti, etc. I don't care that I'm 30 and should no longer enjoy that stuff. I do!!

- Public transit

- Not calling hockey "ice hockey"

- Listening to people speak different languages or with different accents

- Everything!

- Things I used to hate, but now miss.

- Seasons

- Winter (yes, also a season, but it deserves its own mention)

- Feeling safe everywhere (even if it was a false sense of security. It was nice.)

- Kinder Surprise

- Good KitKats

- Good Mars bars

- Fuzzy Peaches (the candy)

- Everything... again!

- YELLOW BEANS!

- Other stuff

- Good bread

A lot of that stuff is probably regional rather than national, but since I live here I feel it applies. Thankfully I am (hopefully) going to be home for Christmas.

[The Mean Lady 604]

You must live in a small town or further north.

Take a trip to a major city a little south and go to a mcdonalds drive through.

Suddenly you won't miss hearing accents so much when you're sitting there going WHAT?!

Also, I equate harvey's to fudrucker's but I don't know how prevalent those are everywhere in the states.

I also want to know where your sidewalks went

Edited October 24, 2012 by KDubovik

[warlord 72]

Yay Colorado! I don't know the statistics, but it sure feels like Denver gets more snow than Southern Ontario. But it is definitely not as cold!

A hell of a lot warmer here in the winter, and we get more snow during our storms than southern Ontario, but our snow will be gone in a day or so usually. In Ontario it would stay for the season. Helps being at almost a mile up and 300+ days of sunshine to help melt that ####### away. Oh and yes we also can get snow storms from Sept to May as well which you don't typically get in Ontario. Hell I've seen it snow in June before and Labor Day weekend as well in the past here...

[Gypsyangel 11]

Man I have no idea what you guys are talking about.

I feel like everyone in Canada is constantly running me off the road.

And I see merge signs all over in the US....

My husband refers to them as MAN POOPING BY A WALL

Sigh. A merge sign! Don't see many of these around here (NJ, Pennsylvania). Plus the onramps are about 12 feet long. And, like was said earlier, people don't generally move over to let you in. Even my husband doesn't ... he says it's not his problem. And he's right in theory ... the sign says yield, not merge. I miss merging. The other day I was getting onto a highway, doing it as fast as I could. This guy who is doing at least 80 mph (130 km/h) in the slow lane runs right up behind, blasts his horn, then goes around gives me the bird and deliberately swerves way too close to me and then cuts me off getting back in that lane. By the time he had caught up with me I was doing at least 65 mph (105 km/hr) in a 55. All I was trying to do was get on the friggin highway. Maybe I'm a crappy driver, but that's a pretty nasty way to drive. And not unusual. There are rude drivers in Canada too, but around here it's a whole new level. Mind you, I realize that's just around here ... it's not necessarily the same in the entire USA.

My experience is that you need to be assertive driving in places like Toronto and people drive way too fast on the highways, but for me it's definitely less stressful to drive in Canada. Less attitude. Less dangerous.

[The Mean Lady 604]

Sigh. A merge sign! Don't see many of these around here (NJ, Pennsylvania). Plus the onramps are about 12 feet long. And, like was said earlier, people don't generally move over to let you in. Even my husband doesn't ... he says it's not his problem. And he's right in theory ... the sign says yield, not merge. I miss merging. The other day I was getting onto a highway, doing it as fast as I could. This guy who is doing at least 80 mph (130 km/h) in the slow lane runs right up behind, blasts his horn, then goes around gives me the bird and deliberately swerves way too close to me and then cuts me off getting back in that lane. By the time he had caught up with me I was doing at least 65 mph (105 km/hr) in a 55. All I was trying to do was get on the friggin highway. Maybe I'm a crappy driver, but that's a pretty nasty way to drive. And not unusual. There are rude drivers in Canada too, but around here it's a whole new level. Mind you, I realize that's just around here ... it's not necessarily the same in the entire USA.

My experience is that you need to be assertive driving in places like Toronto and people drive way too fast on the highways, but for me it's definitely less stressful to drive in Canada. Less attitude. Less dangerous.

I'm sorry but you live in one of the rudest/laziest/stubborn areas so it all makes sense now. I live in the Chicagoland, and the merge lanes are LONGER than merge lanes by us in Canada. The first time I drove with my husband I was asking him HOW DO PEOPLE MERGE THIS FAST?! Also, I'm sure it's the same rule by you, but they just don't care: letting cars merge is the law. So at least if anyone ever hits you, it will be their fault

[Krikit 1,163]

You know.... now that I think about it.... I do recall instances where my lane has just ended.... with no signs or warnings whatsoever. That was pretty exciting.

[KTandTommy 30]

Florida is an exception, though, because they're on an entirely different planet there.

Bahaha, OMG it's true. The difference between Floridian drivers and Torontonian drivers is INSANE. My fiance HATES driving up here because he says we're the worst drivers in the entire world. And they also hate when Canadians come down there - they have nicknames for us! LOL.

[Krikit 1,163]

You know one thing which drives me NUTS??? No consistency with regard to on and off ramps!!!! I like to be prepared when I am making a turn because I value my life. I hate having to toss a coin every time I want to get on a highway.... especially in high traffic areas. Is the ramp to my right.... or is to my left? If you're going to put it on the left then... for the love of God.... at least put up a sign far enough back to give me a fighting chance to get over!

[moemac59 192]

Our Wegmans carries a large array of Canadian cheese, as well as european. I find the Collier cheese from Wales has the best bite and flavour, and is less expensive than the Canadian cheese.

The medical attention I have received in the US has been excellent. The health insurance boggles my mind and has me totally confused. This co-pay thing is mind-boggling.

CBC radio.... is on Sirius/XM so I sometimes listen to that.

I am very happy to now be living in an area where there are miles of walking trails. Where we lived in FL I could only walk the neighbourhood or get in the car and drive somewhere to walk.

I am so sorry, Canadiandggal.

I know exactly that feeling. And so does my husband because he says Canada has a different (better) feel to it as well.

No, PC began in its own right, quite separate and apart from Walmart. The concept began as a way to brand items which were higher quality than the no name generic brands.

Krikit, what Wegmens location do you shop at? The Wegmen's that I have been to in Buffalo and Rochester don't have the best selection of cheese so I would like to know which Wegmen's does...don't mind driving even if it is 2 hours away just to get my cheese fix

Bahaha, OMG it's true. The difference between Floridian drivers and Torontonian drivers is INSANE. My fiance HATES driving up here because he says we're the worst drivers in the entire world. And they also hate when Canadians come down there - they have nicknames for us! LOL.

HAHHAHA KT I agree with you about Canadian drivers, they are the worst especially in Ontario on the 401...hello the left hand lane is for passing only!

[Krikit 1,163]

Bahaha, OMG it's true. The difference between Floridian drivers and Torontonian drivers is INSANE. My fiance HATES driving up here because he says we're the worst drivers in the entire world. And they also hate when Canadians come down there - they have nicknames for us! LOL.

What the hell? He has nothing to talk about! Old people in Florida take the blue ribbon in crazy! I have been hit as a pedestrian no less than 3 times by old people in Florida. In a PARKING lot, no less! I have watched them drive over curbs turning the corner; cut off pedestrians; stop at red lights, then continue through without waiting for the green; and even drive 50 in the passing lane of a 75 mph highway! I was almost killed by one old guy near where I lived. Six lane road; three on one side, three on the other.... with a grassy meridian in between. I'm in the left lane because I'm about to turn left. He comes over from the far right lane and cuts me off. He then proceeds to turn left INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!!!! I followed him down (on the right side), honking my horn trying to get him to turn off. He was completely oblivious. Until the speeding cars coming around the bends started screeching to a halt. I was convinced I was going to witness a horrible accident.

Yeah. You just wait.