{"id":128399,"date":"2017-04-19T05:19:07","date_gmt":"2017-04-19T03:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudavymkrokem.cz\/moving-to-canada-experience\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T12:07:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T11:07:32","slug":"moving-to-canada-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudavymkrokem.cz\/en\/moving-to-canada-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Why We Moved to Canada and Why We Came Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

After our article What We Didn’t Tell You About Working in Canada: The Dark Side of Pretty Facebook Pictures<\/a>, many of you wrote to us asking why we were there, why we didn’t just go home. And why we kept coming back. Our experience of moving to Canada is a story worth telling \u2014 so this one’s specially for you, Worm from Twitter \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Why We Left<\/b><\/p>\n

I don’t know where to start \u2014 with Canada or with ourselves. With what makes us happy here, or what made us unhappy in Europe. I wrote that article because a lot of people thought we were here on holiday, and we weren’t.<\/p>\n

\"A
A beautiful wall in Canada and our new project, Puffinos sunglasses \ud83d\ude00<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our life back in Prague was much easier. Both Luk\u00e1\u0161 and I mostly worked from the comfort of our flat, and if I didn’t have the blood of a nerd running through my veins, I wouldn’t even have had to get up for school. But the thing is, we don’t enjoy parties, we don’t enjoy going to pubs, and we don’t feel the need to socialise. Occasionally we’d do it out of obligation, but it’s time to admit that we belong to those odd people who are perfectly happy with a book, the news, or planning a business project. Our life in Prague had become too comfortable \u2014 we felt like we weren’t learning anything new, couldn’t really do anything properly, and everything had become mundane. Time flew by so fast that I couldn’t understand how winter had turned into summer. And what on earth had I been doing all that time? We weren’t moving forward, and plans kept dissolving into nothing more than plans.<\/p>\n

I’d love to write that this was the reason we left. It would sound good. But I only realised all of this in hindsight. The real reason was that something snapped in my head. I’d been talking about Canada ever since I first visited. I never meant it seriously, even though I said it with a straight face \u2014 I’m far too scared for that sort of thing. But then I just did it. One evening I said I was going to Canada, filled out the application, and suddenly it was happening. I remember shouting it to Luk\u00e1\u0161 from the other room, and he just muttered wearily: “Well, I suppose I have to go too then.”<\/p>\n

But why Canada specifically? Why a place where one season exists for nine months of the year? Winter.<\/p>\n

Winter<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Who are you, person in the mirror!” I said to myself when I first admitted that the winter here wasn’t a minus but a plus. I’d never experienced a more beautiful winter. Sure, it got down to -29\u00b0C, but mostly it was around -10 or -15, and if you layer up properly, nothing gets through. The winter here is what they call dry cold. It doesn’t penetrate through layers. At these temperatures back in London, I’d have been dying. Here, when the sun was shining, I’d bravely venture onto the balcony wrapped in a blanket and read. Most importantly, there’s the chinook (it’s like a warm gift from the weather gods) \u2014 when it rolls in during winter, it can hit +15\u00b0C. And then the next day it might be -20 again.<\/p>\n

Spring is rubbish though. I keep waiting for green trees. Today, April 18th, I found a few green leaves. Maybe it’s coming. Or maybe it’ll snow again. Who knows.<\/p>\n

\"Calgary<\/a>
Calgary may be cold, but it gets more sunshine than London. It’s actually the sunniest city in Canada \ud83d\ude42 In winter it looks like a fairytale<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Canadians Are the Friendliest People in the Western Hemisphere<\/b><\/p>\n

You’d think they’re on something. Canadians. They’re always smiling, always polite. You’re on a bus and they start chatting to you as if they’ve known you for years. And the worst part is that it feels completely normal. You step off the plane and it’s as though someone’s injected a smile into every corner of your face and glued it there, even when it’s -29 outside.<\/p>\n

They always offer to help. When we first flew into Calgary, we’d booked an Airbnb<\/a> with Robert. He offered to pick us up from the airport.<\/p>\n

“It’s only 20 minutes. I’ll come get you.” He smiled, and at his place he told us we could eat, drink, and use whatever we wanted. We’d never experienced anything like it anywhere else.<\/p>\n

Their hospitality is legendary. Although people in Calgary aren’t quite like those on Newfoundland, where they’d invite you right into their home and host you for days, your jaw still drops \u2014 and it doesn’t find its way back until you start becoming exactly the same. More in our article >>“And sometimes it drives me crazy how nice they are! What’s wrong with you, people!”<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Luk\u00e1\u0161<\/a>
Luk\u00e1\u0161 in a blurry photo with Michelle. Our first and possibly last time going to a pub. \ud83d\ude00<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Mountains<\/b><\/p>\n

If you’d like to read about my (well, our \u2014 I think Luk\u00e1\u0161 fell even harder for them) obsession with mountains, complete with pictures, dive right in >>>The Mountains That Made Me Ditch My Heels<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Magical<\/a>
Canadian winter is absolutely enchanting \ud83d\ude42 I can’t believe I was so afraid of it<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Snowy<\/a><\/p>\n

How People in Calgary Helped Us<\/b><\/p>\n

We worked with Michelle at a hotel reception. She was a true Canadian \u2014 forty-five years old, she’d started feeling burned out at her marketing firm, so she went off to spend a few months with yogis where she wasn’t allowed to speak, and then after a year of travelling decided she’d work in Banff. Every day she commuted from Calgary to Banff and back \u2014 nearly two hours each way.<\/p>\n

In her free moments, she loved reading us news about what was happening in the Rockies \u2014 which fish was sick, where wolves had been shot, or what the weather would be like. Her favourite story was about an old lady who lived on cruise ships because owning a house cost more money.<\/p>\n

“Oh boy.” That always rings in my head when Luk\u00e1\u0161 says “Michelle,” because that was her quintessentially Canadian response to everything. Michelle could befriend any guest within five minutes, and they’d bring her pizza from town. We sometimes cooked for Michelle too \u2014 Czech pancakes or homemade gnocchi.<\/p>\n

“If you ever want to live in Calgary, just let us know \u2014 my partner and I have several flats there that we rent out.” That’s how she said goodbye when we moved to Lake Louise for a better job.
\nSo we got in touch in January, telling her we were flying in February and wanted to stay in Calgary. Michelle wrote back straight away saying she had several options for us. We chose a small suite in Bridgeland, because that was the location we’d been dreaming of \u2014 it felt like a gift from above.<\/p>\n

We were worried about the price though. Rooms normally went for around 900 CAD (about \u20ac600) for two \u2014 how much could a small flat cost?<\/p>\n

“I need to check with my partner, but I think it’ll be around 700 CAD (roughly \u20ac470). Will you need furnishings?” They bought us everything. And when I say everything, I mean absolutely everything. When we moved in, they were still bringing us a table from IKEA and two kitchen chairs. We ended up with a beautiful flat in an old Italian-style house, ten minutes’ walk from the centre. And as a bonus, Michelle lives right on the ground floor.<\/p>\n

Racism in Canada Is Taboo<\/b><\/p>\n

They’re not racist. Racism is taboo. Inequality is taboo. There are of course certain things that could be discussed, but if we’re comparing with Europe, take it as truth.<\/p>\n

\"Multicultural<\/a>
Here, everyone is multicultural. Most people have already understood that the distinction isn’t Muslim vs. Christian, or black vs. white, but simply good person vs. bad person. And those exist everywhere.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even on Minimum Wage, You Can Live Relatively Well<\/b><\/p>\n

No matter how bad the job is, if you have a full-time position, you’ll be able to afford much more than back in Europe \u2014 even with Canadian prices. A car, a flat, a gym membership, and a holiday once a year. Especially here in Alberta, where the minimum wage keeps going up every six months.<\/p>\n

I Learned More in This One Year Than in Five Back Home<\/b><\/p>\n

I’m not talking about English. That’s a bonus. I’m talking about all those tough experiences that forced us to go beyond our comfort zone. And that feeling when you accomplish something you’d never have thought yourself capable of \u2014 that’s worth far more than sitting at home and spending every free minute shopping online.<\/p>\n

It helped me sort out so many things. It helped me recalibrate my approach to life and work. It taught me to breathe, to live, to appreciate every moment. To understand people who live outside my usual bubble. It gave me the courage to speak for myself.<\/p>\n

\"Working<\/a>
I’m currently working in a caf\u00e9 and helping them with marketing. But you can read about everything we’ve been through in our previous articles \ud83d\ude42<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We Discovered Something Greater Than People<\/b><\/p>\n

The power of nature. Mighty mountains and glaciers. A storm rolling in from the ocean. Sometimes we felt like nothing, but we never let that drag us down for long. I feel free here. Having just one suitcase and knowing we can go wherever we want.<\/p>\n

\"Stunning<\/a><\/p>\n

There’s so much more, friends. Follow our Facebook and maybe you’ll understand \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After our article about the dark side of working in Canada, many of you asked why we were there and why we kept coming back. So here’s our honest story about moving to Canada \u2014 and everything we learned along the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","rank_math_title":"Why We Moved to Canada \u2013 Our Honest Experience","rank_math_description":"Discover our honest experience of moving to Canada \u2014 from Calgary winters to Canadian friendliness. Read why we left Europe and what we learned. Read more!","rank_math_focus_keyword":"moving to Canada","rank_math_seo_score":""},"categories":[391,679],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-128399","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"category-our-travel-opinions"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/loudavymkrokem.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/17458402_1265983986850988_3520033735924023144_n.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Lucie Kone\u010dn\u00e1","author_link":"https:\/\/loudavymkrokem.cz\/en\/author\/lucie-konecna\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudavymkrokem.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudavymkrokem.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudavymkrokem.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudavymkrokem.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudavymkrokem.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128399"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/loudavymkrokem.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130797,"href":"https:\/\/loudavymkrokem.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128399\/revisions\/130797"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudavymkrokem.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudavymkrokem.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudavymkrokem.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudavymkrokem.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}