People are asking me if I’m excited to be moving home? or sad to leave Scotland? Yes. In both cases, the answer is Yes.
But more to the point: what am I looking forward to in Canada? And what will I miss about Scotland? So I thought I would capture the things I can’t wait to get back to, or happy to see the last of. These are not about missing my cousins and my Scottish friends, or looking forward to my sisters, their families, and my Canadian friends. Those are all complete ‘givens’. These are quirks of the UK, or perks of Canada. (*They’re also not a kick at Scotland either; I know Canada is awash in faults & flaws.)
Things I will miss about Scotland: the countryside; Scotch pies (any meat pie in fact); the variety of boutique gins; the speed at which the kettle boils; free mueums & galleries; the greater bird-lover culture; being able to take my dog pretty much anywhere; pub culture & atmosphere; the variety of potato crisps; all the places to walk and hike all across the country; the history absolutely everwhere. Oh, and a good cup of tea, no matter where you go.
I will not miss: narrow country roads at night; front & back doors where you need a key to get out of your own house; the amount of plastic they use in the produce section; cars that park up on the sidewalk (pavement); odd, high-maintenance clothes dryers; not being able to dry my hair in the bathroom;
Things I am not looking forward to in Canada: extreme weather (I would be happy if temperatures stayed above -15° in the winter, and below 25° in the summer); the quantity and sheer volume of American news we live with; being so far away from Europe; the price of internet /mobile service/ broadband.
Things I look forward to in Canada: greater tolerance of ethnicity; the range of produce choices; the greater diversity of population; more salad dressing choices; Mexican food; buying local wine; window screens; snow; decent-sized refrigerators; my top-load washer & my dryer (where I control times, cycles, etc); going to the movies; the medical / dental world (I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with the whole UK NHS system, but here I feel I know how to navigate things better). Oh, and hot water in my taps.