I'm going to be studying to become a paramedic later this year, and when I'm done I'm looking at traveling and working a country in Europe for around 6 months to a year. Now I'm a Canadian from a small town and first thing I'm wondering is what kind of jarring culture shock should I expect? The country I think I'm most likely to go to is england because the only other language I speak is French and my French is so bad they will either laugh or slap me.
Another question is, what other countries should I consider over the UK and why? And is it expensive to live in Europe ( where ever you are or recommending ?) How popular is English? Anything I should watch out for as a new comer?
I also have some questions about London especially. First off, how cheap is it to get to the rest of Europe usually? Is it expensive to live there? And how bad are the areas I don't want to live in? And will perform a ritual to sacrifice my first born to get a modest apartment in a decent area?

I'll try and answer your Q's as a proud Midlander!

Firstly I wouldn't know what kind of culture shock you'd hope to expect as I'm not all that familiar with the differences between Canadian culture and British culture. I guess we don't put as much maple syrup on things? It also rains more than it snows.


As for some of your other questions...

I understand it's supposed to be more expensive to live in London than anywhere else in the UK, however I've also heard the jobs pay better as well. I live in Derby and I'm from Birmingham, I've only ever been to London twice, but from what I've seen prices for day to day items are generally the same. I think things lke accommodation can vary wildly depending on what area you want to live in, and that goes for pretty much any city. Couldn't tell you much more, you'd really have to do your research on where to live before you get there.

The Euro tunnel is expensive as fuck. I'd look for alternatives to that. You can get cheap as shit flights with Ryanair, I've done that a few times to get to different places around Europe. The only problem with them is that you're usually sitting in a chicken coup.

If you were looking at living somewhere other than England I guess you could look into the other countries in the British Isles, Cardiff in particular is one of my favourite cities and I have a friend who is renting there at the moment. Also Czech republic is an awesome place. Beer is cheaper than water and it's not all that expensive to live over there. Just the language barrier that'd be a problem.

In terms of how popular English is in Europe in general, among the locals of non-English speaking countries? I'd say not very popular, of the different European countries I've visited (I've been to a fair few) the most the average local will know is hello and thank you. Ofcourse if you're visiting tourist areas and hotels etc. they know a lot more English. Probably more English than the average scouser.


One last thing, avoid France. They're ignorant bastards over there.

(February 2, 2014 at 9:28 pm)Napoléon Wrote: I'll try and answer your Q's as a proud Midlander!

Firstly I wouldn't know what kind of culture shock you'd hope to expect as I'm not all that familiar with the differences between Canadian culture and British culture. I guess we don't put as much maple syrup on things? It also rains more than it snows.


As for some of your other questions...

I understand it's supposed to be more expensive to live in London than anywhere else in the UK, however I've also heard the jobs pay better as well. I live in Derby and I'm from Birmingham, I've only ever been to London twice, but from what I've seen prices for day to day items are generally the same. I think things lke accommodation can vary wildly depending on what area you want to live in, and that goes for pretty much any city. Couldn't tell you much more, you'd really have to do your research on where to live before you get there.

The Euro tunnel is expensive as fuck. I'd look for alternatives to that. You can get cheap as shit flights with Ryanair, I've done that a few times to get to different places around Europe. The only problem with them is that you're usually sitting in a chicken coup.

If you were looking at living somewhere other than England I guess you could look into the other countries in the British Isles, Cardiff in particular is one of my favourite cities and I have a friend who is renting there at the moment. Also Czech republic is an awesome place. Beer is cheaper than water and it's not all that expensive to live over there. Just the language barrier that'd be a problem.

In terms of how popular English is in Europe in general, among the locals of non-English speaking countries? I'd say not very popular, of the different European countries I've visited (I've been to a fair few) the most the average local will know is hello and thank you. Ofcourse if you're visiting tourist areas and hotels etc. they know a lot more English. Probably more English than the average scouser.


One last thing, avoid France. They're ignorant bastards over there.

Well just to get idea how much do you guys pay for a liter of gas or 4 liters of milk?

Just did a quick search for places in my area...
http://www.petrolprices.com/search.html?search=de1+1rg

You can search for post codes of anywhere and get an idea.

Fuck knows what milk is priced as in litres, we do milk in pints. You can get 4 pints for a quid. Bread is usually anywhere between 50p and £1.50 depending on how shitty you want the loaf to be.

(February 2, 2014 at 10:59 pm)Napoléon Wrote: Just did a quick search for places in my area...
http://www.petrolprices.com/search.html?search=de1+1rg

You can search for post codes of anywhere and get an idea.

Fuck knows what milk is priced as in litres, we do milk in pints. You can get 4 pints for a quid. Bread is usually anywhere between 50p and £1.50 depending on how shitty you want the loaf to be.

ahh, holy shit you people pay through the nose for gas. Unless I have my conversions wrong

(February 2, 2014 at 8:20 pm)Lemonvariable72 Wrote: I'm going to be studying to become a paramedic later this year, and when I'm done I'm looking at traveling and working a country in Europe for around 6 months to a year. Now I'm a Canadian from a small town and first thing I'm wondering is what kind of jarring culture shock should I expect? The country I think I'm most likely to go to is england because the only other language I speak is French and my French is so bad they will either laugh or slap me.
Another question is, what other countries should I consider over the UK and why? And is it expensive to live in Europe ( where ever you are or recommending ?) How popular is English? Anything I should watch out for as a new comer?
I also have some questions about London especially. First off, how cheap is it to get to the rest of Europe usually? Is it expensive to live there? And how bad are the areas I don't want to live in? And will perform a ritual to sacrifice my first born to get a modest apartment in a decent area?

If the experiences of a Canadian girl who used to work for me is anything to go by you'll get laid plenty. People just love that Canadian accent in blighty.

I was in a pub with her and she got zero attention until she opened her mouth when suddenly men zeroed in on her from around the bar like that scene in Jurrasic park 2 when they are in the long grass and the velocoraptors trailed them.

Nicole cote that was her name, great girl, sweet and charming.

The culture difference is not huge here, I worked with quite a few Canadians and they fitted right in.#

Hey,

Concerning Germany, I worked as an ambulance driver for the red cross (basically as an intermediate level EMT) here for my civil service. Although most people in urban areas in Germany will speak English rather well if they are below 50, it will probably be a hindrance if you want to get a job as an EMT if that was your plan. Except maybe the US army hires civilian paramedics at their bases. Gas prices are currently approx. 1,60€ per Liter, which is 8,36$ US per Gallon. The upside: everything is crammed together so closely that you won't have to drive very far anyways. If you live in a city with a decent public transport system, driving by car will not be the norm, and even if you are in a more rural area, taking the bus will be convenient and cheaper if you can get a seasonal ticket or so.

People generally like Americans a lot, and Canadians more so, so no trouble there. If you're not white, there are some areas I would avoid especially in the rural east where there has been an upsurge of neonazi activity after the fall of the wall, but you should be mostly fine.

The amount of culture shock will vary hugely depending on where in Germany you go. You will notice that everything is extremely close together, with gadzillions of tiny, but tightly confined villages just half a mile apart, and virtually no urban sprawl. Cities in Germany just end at some point, and then they're over. Unless you are in the Ruhr area, there it just goes on and on and on. In the Americas, they just seem to peter out forever.

(EditIf you grew up in Montreal you won't notice, if you're from the northwestern territories, better not be claustrophobic. Stuff in supermarkets will come in absurdly small packages.

My impression is that there is less of an discrepancy in education levels between people than in the US, so your average German supermarket cashier or burger flipper will stand out less extremely compared to your college professor when it comes to literacy etc. I don't know how that compares to Canada, I don't know canada well enough.

German suburbia can be an uptight nightmare populated by control freaks who will call the police if your lawn is the wrong length. Then again, before you move in anywhere, just check out the neighborhood and you should be able to tell.

Sweden could be a good option for you Lemon. They are very friendly towards foreigners/immigrants, and as long as you avoid Stockholm, living is quite cheap. Most of the population speak English (albeit with a horrible accent!) and Sweden is quite global, so I guess any differences in culture wouldn't be that big of a deal.

(February 3, 2014 at 1:17 am)Lemonvariable72 Wrote: ahh, holy shit you people pay through the nose for gas. Unless I have my conversions wrong

Nope, you're right, I think it's the same for most of Europe though...

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/...ealed.html

(February 3, 2014 at 9:50 am)Napoléon Wrote: Nope, you're right, I think it's the same for most of Europe though...

Yeah, over here we're up to about 1.60/liter.. '-_-