Відео

Thank you very much

Van Dusen Botanical Garden (Festival of Lights)

Happy New Year! All the best for 2025🎆

@joyful8072 it definitely didn't help that we arrived at the height of the pandemic, at least 2 years were still affected by that.

My frame of reference is mostly in and around Vancouver, that is quite different to the more Northern parts(I would still like to go experience the longest day up there). I agree that the summer camps are enriching but in the big city for many just getting by day by day with the cost of living is difficult. Many (not all) of the summer camps only start at 9 which is too late for parents in certain industries and need care from an earlier time. If you can afford it it is a great investment, but you can't invest if you do not have the funding which again is more of a expensive city problem. The school may also be free but there are costs that add up such as before and after school care for full time working parents, sport, music etc. We don't have free schooling in SA but the schools do have a big lists of sports and cultural activities that kids can take part in. The elementary schools here do not have much with regards to extracurricular activities unless you go to a private school which you have to pay for. It does look like high-school offers more to the kids but mine is still some ways from that. Long story long, like you said, it is what it is and the videos purpose isn't to hate on the summers but to inform people like myself that recently moved or are moving or considering the move to Canada (Vancouver) what to expect without sugar coating it like many expats do.

It truly is a 4 season climate. Previously I always believed South Africa's interior to have 4 proper seasons. It's not completely false, since they do have autumn/spring colour changes and crisp winter nights. However, once you have experienced proper short days and sun that shines on you but you can't feel it at all, one's perspective shifts. For myself, yes I would still make the move, as I enjoy the good of what winter has to offer and the beauty of autumn and spring changes. I am someone who will make the best of any situation I find myself in, there is always something good, a silver lining to anything if your mindset is correct. I stayed in South Africa's interior for 3 years while studying before moving back to the coast. It was never a dream of mine to live there, but I didn't regret my time there as I got to experience new things and it is similar here. If you are not willing to dress warmly and get out there, go snow shoe, ski, walk in the rain, it will be an extremely tough move, but when you are open minded to shift your boundaries, the dark months are much more tolerable.

@@TheHannes that and the lower mainland doesn’t really get that cold. The interior of BC has longer, colder winters than here. I’ve always lived in this area and can’t imagine not having 4 distinct seasons. The idea of a never ending summer with some slightly cooler temps in winter just seems odd and doesn’t really appeal to me at all.

​@kimc555 if it is all you are used to, the differences feel bigger, and we do see it as different seasons, but my framework for saying "it's cold today" has shifted drastically 😂. We get cold fronts in the winter, typically it comes up from the South (Antarctica), this is when the coastal regions get a lot of storms and rain, cooler temperatures and so on and the interior may see some snow(a dusting compared to here and mostly on the mountains). The coldest place in SA is Sutherland and it's winter temperatures can be ridiculous with -10 during the evening and temperatures of 20 during the day (during a cold front this could change to a max in the negatives).

Haha. Ek wag nog vir die rekening vir die padskade

As mens n ding doen doen dit ordentlik

Definitely will, but I don't think it would've made a big difference. I think the initial knock was to my cheekbone, followed by the helmet on the side.

That would've helped but also of this bike had a front brake which it doesn't. It is a bike a got for free and fixed. If there was a front brake, it probably would've prevented the brake from slipping out. Also, if I immediately addressed the potential problem I saw

Shaken, not stirred.😁

Thank you

Luckily, quite a gentle fall, stepping into terrain on the edge of my abilities with more capable friends, kind of slipped over the edge, went to the backseat and blocked the narrow entrance, whoops

Hi. Definitely, they can. Typically, kids go to certain grades based on their year of birth. They are so used to integrating immigrants due to the high number of immigrants in the country that it shouldn't be a problem. I know with elementary school there are kids going straight to gr2 but can't even speak English yet, but somehow it works out. Schools are free but they are quite strict that kids must go to the feeding area school. There are private schools as well, they follow a similar curriculum, but I think they offer things the government schools do not. Something that will be weird for your kid is civies everyday and also the kids may leave the school ground on breaks or if they have free periods. So it's not strange seeing high-school kids hanging out at a starbucks lunchtime

@@TheHannes thank you so much for your feedback I really appreciate ☺️

@@mariellemoumbenza639 no problem

Yes, once I got going with the PR application it wasn't too bad. Keep in mind it was after I have been living in Canada for a year and working fulltime. I also paid $700 for a provincial nomination application which pushed my points up high enough for the following draw of the express entry pathway. Those applying from abroad might find it quite a long process unless you have a scarce skill. We also had to redo our immigration medicals and I just made it across the line before my IELTS(English) exam results expired. I have heard about SAD and most definitely it plays a part. I would say the first year was the worst as it was compounded by other life events. The Vitamin D helps. I have found an outlet to boost my endorphins, so I do not struggle as much anymore. I have heard about those lights, but never really looked into it, perhaps it is a good idea for my wife and child that are still affected quite a bit, thank you. The long, dark, wet winter days are the worst. It's not cold enough to snow in Vancouver or even up in the mountains, to miserable to go paddling in the ocean or for a jog(now I do in the rain). Once the mountains are covered and I can go ski once or twice a week, my mind is very happy, unfortunately the snow has been hit and miss this winter. Looping back to not running in rain, being from Cape town South Africa, where winters are seen as wet and cold, I hold a different opinion now. There a old front would bring 2-3 days of rain with some clear sky inbetween followed by sunny winter days that can be in the low 20s (Celsius). So we could afford to remain housebound on those days, doing it here will mean house arrest, so you adapt. That's my long story long 😉

Thank you for sharing your story. I've heard many stories about the immigrant experience. Many more horrendous than yours. I'm glad that Canada is trying hard to update the system entirely but these things take a lot of time and energy. As you are no doubt aware, right now the issue is lack of housing and housing affordability and the immigration targets of the government seemingly adding to the problem. Hopefully it can all get sorted but the housing issues are not going to be improved in the next short while since it takes long here to build. I grew up in northern British Columbia in the very long cold winters (in those olden days). Things are not quite as bad in the north weather wise if you can deal with snow. The upside of being outside of the lower mainland is the cost of living is not quite so high and the sun shines regularly especially throughout the long winter months. There is something called Chinook which happens in the colder parts of Canada where suddenly you will get very warm, balmy temperatures and melting snow and that seems to help deal with the winter season. If you decide to stay in Canada, you might explore moving to areas of more snow during winter just for sunshine purposes. I agree that you must adapt in Vancouver if you don't want to be under house arrest, lol. I don't mind rain myself and I can handle cloudy days as long as it doesn't go on for weeks on end and the rain stops every few days. In return we get a stunning Spring. By the way, I watch a lot of YT videos about various issues and it seems to be that most of the developed nations of the world (UK, Countries in Europe, USA and Australia) are all dealing with the same issues we are dealing with here in Canada (opioid crisis, immigration backlash, cost of living, homelessness and lack of housing). I guess at the end of the day you will have a look at all of this and decide if it's worth changing countries yet again. I think most people come to Canada from SA due to our relative peace and stability rather than the best of weather. All the best!@@TheHannes

Kings International removers

I would however recommend shopping around. Keep in mind, it can take a while for your things to arrive. We sent ours in September and got it just before Christmas. We also used the last 8m2 of a shared container, meaning it shipped shortly after. If you use a shared container and it's not full, it doesn't leave until it is. This means it could sut quite a while before even being loaded on a ship. All of this should be kept in mind when deciding what is worth bringing over. Depending on where you stay, your new home may be smaller or bigger, so be sure of what you really need to bring and what you could rather replace here

@@TheHannes Ohk thanks

I've heard Aus can take a while to become a citizen. That is one thing about Canada. Once you jumped through all the initial hoops, becoming a PR or citizen doesn't take that long and if I wasn't tardy with my PR we would already have qualified for citizenship. You need to be in Canada as a PR for about 3years, time on a working permit only partially counts towards it. Also, time outside Canada does not count. The timezones can be tough, especially during the work week, when they work and you go to sleep then you work and after the workday they are asleep.

@@TheHannes I think it takes at least a couple of years here in Australia to become a citizen. As I've started looking into citizenship, I believe you have to hold permanent residency for at least a year + you can't be outside of the country for more than 12 months in the last 4 years, and no more than 90 days in the last 12 months before applying. Also, yes timezones can be tough. I find I'm most productive in the morning which is the afternoon/evening for my loved ones back home and when they're available to talk. Most times I want to be able to call my loved ones at 5/6pm but they're asleep at this time.

Gym wasn't really a subject in school, rather 60min of exercise and only up to grade 7. I agree, the less athletically inclined were often humiliated, especially if you had a bad PT teacher. We had PT once a week alternating between gym and pool in the summer. The sport and cultural activities in SA schools aren't compulsory. It happens after school and matches on weekends at times. The coaching for your typical sports, Rugby, football, cricket, netball, field hockey and swimming are usually free besides the gear. There will also be things like choir, band, music, debating, chess and ballroom dancing(extra fee). Your bigger schools may offer things such as golf, squash and rifle shooting at an additional cost. All of these happen after the normal school times and are optional and a great opportunity to test various activities to see what your child enjoys. I am dreading when my daughter becomes a teenager and the fashion culture hits. As it is she can be fussy when she feels her winter clothes doesn't look cool. The closest the girls got to this was trying to see how close to the code limit they could push their skirt lengths. Hair colouring isn't allowed and girls hair that is long should be in a pony tail and shoulder length should have an Alice band. The boys can't have hair over the collar of their blazers or hanging over their ears or eyebrows. It also helps identify what school a kid is in when they are up to no good in uniform. Detention was called public service in my school and you had to help clean desks etc, my kid's primary school has no form of consequence after school. Anyhow, new times, new things, thanks for the input

😊 thank you

I agree. Technology of today and "affordable " air travel has definitely made it easier being far away, being able to see and speak to people and follow their lives online but their's simply no replacement for the in person experience.

My mother came to Canada in 1929 and there were no phones in the German village. It was all done by mail. No planes either. You took the boat.

Thanks Gert. Anything is possible, the opportunities are there

It probably emotionally/psychologically works best for those who struggle a bit academically, I'm not sure if it really helps them academically, but it feels like there is no incentive to work hard at school. I remember feeling down if I didn't reach certain academic achievements, but I would say it motivated me to achieve it the next year. That said, all humans think and do things differently, and the challenge is probably finding a system that work for all

Fashionably late

Contact them on ig

We spent our aummer holidays as kids there skiing and paddling. 7km one way you get to the river mouth, 7km up river you get to Cape nature's hut. You can arrange to stay there and use there canoes. No power, just solar and gas I believe. Along the way there are many picnic beaches. From the hut the river gets very shallow. There were floods in the early 2000s that caused sandbanks on the skiing part of the river, which has made it a lot more difficult to ski in busy conditions on the low tide. Interestingly there is a cliff opposite the camp side and the water is 40m deep below it. My dad was a police reservest and they used to practice search and recovery in that hole from time to time. I still love the place

Hi Thabiso. I don't really know that area of the job market well, but here is a link that may be useful. www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketreport/summary-occupation/17815/ca There is definitely a bit of a recession in the works, but some jobs are still in high demand while others are being let go in droves. For work permits, companies have to do an LMIA(Labour market impact assessment). It is basically to show that no interest was shown from within Canada before looking abroad. The quickest way over is getting a job and then the permit. The long route is via Permanent residency l, coming over and then getting a job. This requires more capital to support yourself. See if it is for you even if to gain more experience for a couple of years and then decide for the long term. The colder towns and provinces are usually more desperate for foreigners to staff the workforce. Goodluck

Please your response to my question

Yes, you can BUT, and it is a big but, the insurance will be more than your car installments. They will also look at a big down payment unless someone is willing to co-sign with a good credit record. That is what we did with family here.

Daily grind there. Me and my mini shovel. To be fair, this was after the small dump. The previous dump was more than a foot of powder, a big deal for Van and someone that was born and lived in SA for 34years

It is stressful. Free and equal healthcare for all, but it comes at a cost. Love it or hate it there is something to say for private medical

@@TheHannes Yea thats true. Everything you spoke about regarding private medical care in SA helped to get appointments super fast, but I guess every country has its problems. Dankie vir die upload! Ek hoop jou kind is nou beter. Ons was almal siek vir so 5-6weke nou onlanks, baie weird!

@@cheynelothering7461 Ek was self lekker siek. Sy het teruggebons ja. Terselfde tyd by die hospitaal wat ek werk was n kind van dieselfde ouderdom met dieselfde siekte nie so gelukkig nie en het die ouers n hartseer Kerstyd

@@TheHannes Eks bly om te hoor dat jou dogter beter is! Dis baie hartseer oor die ander kind :(

Janee dit is n pyn en ook deels ons skuld. Ons het nooit besef hoe moeilik dit is om n huisdokter te kry anders sou ons dit gedoen het met ons aankoms 2 jaar terug. Die behandeling ens is tops en by ons kinder hospitaal vra hul nie vra oor geld wanneer hul n kind behandel. Ons sou talle kere in SA nie verdere behandeling na n pasiënt gooi nie, want die koste kan 10 ander help vir n 50/50 kans vir 1.

Thank you for the kind words. I would really like to push a video out every 2 weeks but then life happens. Would still like to make a summer video, which is a bit late but still

@@TheHannes Always great to see a new vid glad ur doin well.

Thank you very much

Thank you. Not bad, had a bad cold following this trip(no voice for 2 weeks) and I've been very busy with the day job. Hoping to put out videos more frequently

Only visited the US, living in Canada still. It has some vast untouched Wilderness, but getting to the sites are tricky with such a massive country