'I'm the first one in the family to kind of make this decision': The Brits who dreamed of Canada and finally took the leap

For years, Canada was something just beyond the Atlantic horizon for 31-year-old George Armstrong.

He could picture it. He could imagine what life here might look like. But actually calling it home felt like a different thing altogether.

Growing up in London, England, Armstrong said he was surrounded by reminders of North America. His grandfather loved old westerns and had a longstanding fascination with Canada and the United States, and Armstrong picked up that interest when he was young.

As he got older, the internet made it easier to explore the places he had once known mostly through television and stories.

He travelled across the U.S. when he was younger and felt very comfortable there. It wasn't until his first trip to Canada, however, that Armstrong said something lit up inside of him.

"As soon as I went to Canada, I was like, oh my God, this is like 10 times what I could imagine," Armstrong told Yahoo News Canada in a phone interview from his new home in Barrie, Ont.

It only took a few days for another thought to settle in.

"I kind of knew that this would be the place that I want to live."

At 31, he has finally made that dream a reality.

Armstrong, along with his girlfriend arrived in Canada on Sunday, leaving behind London, a business he is still involved with, much of his family and a family tradition stretching back five generations.

Breaking a five-generation family tradition

Armstrong shared he is the first person in his immediate family to move away from the London community where generations of his family had lived.

He, his father, grandfather and great-grandfather all attended the same elementary school. His family had remained within the same postal code for five generations.

I'm the first one in the family to kind of make this decision and this plunge forward.

Leaving meant breaking a tradition that had lasted far longer than his own lifetime.

His family's initial response was a mix of shock and disbelief. They knew how difficult a decision like this would have been for him in the past.

Eventually, that gave way to acceptance as they saw how much the move meant to him and how much support he had from Alysha.

George also felt the decision made practical sense.

The part of London where he lived had undergone significant gentrification, he said, and he increasingly felt priced out of the place where his family had spent generations.

For him, Ontario offered an opportunity he did not feel he could find as easily back home.

"As much as people talk about taxes, yadda yadda, for me, from where I came from, I still have a huge amount more opportunity here than I would do in the UK," he said.

One Ontario highway and a deep breath

Armstrong had only been in Canada for a few days when he was driving to a Wimpy's diner while running errands.

There was nothing dramatic about that stretch of road. He was on a straight highway with trees stretching out on either side, something that would probably be unremarkable to many people who grew up in Ontario.

For George, it was the moment the move finally began to sink in.

A professional drone perspective of a major multi-lane highway cutting through the iconic dark-soil farmlands of Holland Marsh near Barrie, Ontario. The image shows light traffic moving along the asphalt road, flanked by perfectly gridded vegetable fields and irrigation canals. This shot captures the intersection of modern transportation infrastructure and large-scale commercial farming under a bright, overcast sky.

"It was the first time I was able to just take a deep breath in and out," he said. "I think that was the moment I was like, 'wow, this is it.'"

He admits the full reality of the move hadn't arrived yet because everything was still so new.

Much of his first few days have been spent dealing with the needs of starting a new life, including trips to ServiceOntario and figuring out how everyday things work in his new home.

That included some surprisingly large culture shocks.

Armstrong quickly discovered that some Canadian experiences are easier to embrace than others.

Gas, he said, feels dramatically cheaper compared with the U.K., where prices are significantly higher. Groceries are a whole other story.

After a recent Costco trip, he was surprised by the price of produce and said he plans to explore more farmers markets and support local producers.

The sheer size of Canadian grocery shopping was an even bigger surprise.

Although Costco exists in the U.K., Armstrong said most people do not have regular memberships because the stores are primarily associated with wholesale and business shopping.

His first Canadian Costco experience left him staring at the sheer quantity of food available.

"I was astounded by the sheer volume of singular products," he said, recalling seeing 10 pounds of ground beef packaged together.

The snack aisle has been easier to embrace.

Armstrong said he was hesitant to try a Canadian staple, the Coffee Crisp, but that prediction lasted about as long as it took him to try one.

"I thought I would not like a Coffee Crisp," he said laughing. "Turns out I love Coffee Crisps."

His first Tim Hortons visit was another success.

He ordered a Canadian must-have — the Double Double — and discovered that the Honey Cruller had become an immediate favourite.

"They're so soft and they're just so easy to eat," he said. "I could eat four of them, so I need to be disciplined in that."

'You guys are genuinely the friendliest people on earth'

If George had any doubts about Canada's reputation for friendliness, they disappeared almost immediately.

The morning after he arrived, he went to ServiceOntario to get his Social Insurance Number. During the short walk from his car to the building, he found himself speaking with four different strangers.

For someone who had spent most of his life in London, where he said he had barely spoken to strangers throughout the year, the experience was remarkable.

"I've never spoken to so many people in one day," he said.

Those small interactions mattered, he said, because moving to another country can feel isolating even when you have people around you.

"As much as I am here with a support network, it can still feel quite daunting," Armstrong said. "So having people come up to you and talk to you, it makes you feel comfortable really, really quickly."

His delivered a resounding verdict of the Canadian stereotype on friendliness.

"You guys are genuinely the friendliest people on earth."

The bucket list is already growing

Looking forward to his new life in Canada, Armstrong said he wants to spend more time outdoors, particularly on Canada's lakes, and hopes to go fishing and explore the agricultural communities that were less accessible to him in London.

He also wants to visit farmers markets, experience more of Canadian life and start understanding the country's sports culture.

At the top of his Canadian bucket list? A ball game, he said with a chuckle.

"A Blue Jays game is firmly on my list," said Armstrong.

Growing up in the U.K., George said, "we pretty much just have soccer," so he knows he has some homework to do.

George Armstrong is pictured with his girlfriend, Alysha, at London Heathrow Airport before the couple made the move from the U.K. to Canada. (Photo supplied)

Living away from Britain has also given him a new appreciation for the place he left.

He does not see the move as an indictment of London or his hometown. Experiencing Canada has instead made him recognize the things about Britain that he once took for granted, particularly its history and the remarkable concentration of historic places within a relatively small area.

He has already had Canadians tell him that watching his videos has made them fall in love with their own hometowns again.

For anyone following his story and wondering whether they could make a similarly dramatic change, Armstrong has a message.

He knows what it feels like to believe that a different life belongs to someone else.

"Two years ago, if you said that I would be doing this, I would 100% tell you I am not that guy," he said. "I am the last guy on the list who could do that."

That is precisely why he wants other people to challenge the limits they have placed on themselves.

"If you also think you're not that guy, I was not that guy either," he said.