hydrographer2004

This is great to hear and music to my ears! We are moving to Calgary this weekend! We can't wait to get stuck in with the outdoor lifestyle. Our first baby in due in March (Yes we are crazy!) and we are looking forward to all the opportunities Canada has to offer!

Howefamily

It really is each to their own though.
I have nothing against the UK except that I know that if someone suggested that I move to the M4 corridor over moving to Canada I would have felt instantly low. The M4 corridor for me is miserable.. I used to work at a company there and the everyday traffic was awful.


We are in NS, so no incredible skiing here, but there is skiing to be had.
In our time since we moved here we have been well off financially and not so much. We have still enjoyed it. You can skate at the Oval here for free in the winter, they even provide the skates and helmets. Other skating can be found for a small fee ($5 for a family skate).And like others have already pointed out you can buy lift passes in June for a substantial discount.


I was outdoorsy in the UK ( I DO miss bluebell woods, and footpaths and stile and cornish pasties....) and I am here too. I LOATHED the rain and the low cloudbase. I love the snow and the blue skies. I do find anything colder than minus 16 hard for me but thats when I stay in and enjoy indoor activities more. And now I love the sound of the rain, but only here, as its not so common. Its become something I like. I love my home here, love the fact my neighbours cant hear my every word in my back garden.




What I am trying to say is that I am way happier here than I was in England and although there are things I miss, on the whole I could never live there again. This was my dream and its been an adventure (the good and the bad) If this is your dream do what you can to follow it. Nothing, except death is irreversible.

christmasoompa

I didn't suggest he lived close to the M4, but within commuting distance of the M4 corridor tech firms, of which there are a huge number between Swindon and the Thames Valley. You can live very rurally and still be within easy reach of them, without ever actually going on the M4! Somewhere like Gloucestershire or Wiltshire would be lovely.

I'm personally much happier here (rural Berkshire, so could work in the tech firms near here if that was my industry, loads of countryside and little traffic) than I would be in Canada by a mile, different strokes for different folks and all that.

It was just a suggestion as he said there weren't any tech firms in the Lake District, but there are lots in other areas of the UK, so working in IT doesn't have to mean living in a city. If Canada is the dream and the OP has a genuine love for it then that's great, but I was just responding to his comments about moving for a more outdoorsy lifestyle, which can easily be done in the UK and would save tens of thousands of pounds. Depends on his ultimate reasons I guess.

dbd33

A concern for the OP might be that Calgary is not Canada's M4 corridor. It's not a complete backwater for IT but it is a boom and bust economy with limited IT jobs.

christmasoompa

Oh, that's not good. You're an IT bod right? Where would you suggest his best chance of finding a half decent paying job is?

Howefamily

Oh I know you were and I know its sensible and responsible but emotionally I would sob if I had to make that choice.
Despite loving the winding lanes of village life England (and I do, I spent many years riding my horse around such spots) I couldnt choose it over this life now.

Photoplex

Plenty of IT work here in Calgary, with a higher average IT salary than anywhere else in Canada... This recession in Alberta has severely dented that, as dead beat rightly points out - it is a boom bust economy here.

dbd33

The best market is southern Ontario.

christmasoompa

Totally get that, you've got a life you love and there's a lot to be said for that. I'm the same, but my sobbing would be if I had to go West over the Atlantic now!

If the OP doesn't have a life they love, then they should absolutely strive to change it. The question is, is moving to Canada (a place he's never even visited) at vast cost worth the upheaval, or would a move within the UK be better. Only he will know the reasons behind the move, but more family time and more outdoors activities aren't reasons to move to Canada IMO, as they can easily be achieved closed to home without spending so much and taking his kids away from the 3 F's (family/friends/familiarity).

Just thinking out loud really, and JMO, but to move a whole family you've got to be pretty sure and have a solid reason or two, hopefully the OP will visit himself at some point and then the reasons will become clearer.

Howefamily

as nuts as this sounds our reason was based on me always wanting to go. I only ever visited once... dragged my husband and kids there.

Flossie and Jim

Come and visit in Jan, Feb, Nov or Dec - flights are on the cheaper end and you'll get a more realistic picture of what its like for several months of the year.

You mentioned you have a young family - just wondering how old your kids are as that could have a big effect on your disposable income.

For example if they need full time daycare thats somewhere between $800-$1,500 a month per child. On the other hand if your wife is going to be at home with the children for the first little while then she will need a car. We tried to be a one car family and when I was on mat leave soon discovered that trying to get around the city with a couple of kids and a stroller on a bus on snowy sidewalks is nigh on impossible, so unless your wife wants to stay in all day then factor in that cost.

Plenty for kids to do at evenings and weekends here - the sky is the limit as long as you can pay. Google city of calgary recreation, vivo, westside rec, for some idea of costs and range of stuff available.

Calgary itself isn't that picturesque although its surroundings can be. I like to think of it as a convenient, functional, practical kind of city and a good base to be in. It is very homogenous and cookie cutter so you won't find much beautiful architecture or character, but you can travel elsewhere to get that.

I'm another one that agrees that either two or 1.5 salaries would be better over here if you can do that, if only to enable you that extra spending money to enjoy those activities in the mountains, although we used to go skiing once every one or two years living in the UK but haven't been since we moved to Calgary almost ten years ago!

Good luck with your research!

dbd33

To the UK, for example.

MillieF

What a really nice post, and what a very interesting thread!

I love that on here we do get such a diverse set of views that are all based on our experiences...which are all so very different.

I'm not keen on Calgary, mainly because my dreadful in-laws lived there and our visits were always fractious. I didn't like the winters either, so ended up moving East...where the winters are frequently far worse!

Very best of luck in coming to the best decision that fits your family

aja424

Must admit, this thread is giving me food for thought in regard to finances.
Currently I work as a nurse full time and my wife works in retail part time. Combined earnings are £30000

Earnings in Canada will be around $90000 Canadian for the same job roles and hours. We have a 8&3 year olds.
Would you say we would be ok financially compared with the U.K?
Currently paying £700 monthly mortgage. Looking at property in the $350000 range around the Calgary area, around 30 minutes or so commute.

Photoplex

How much downpayment? Have you looked at a mortgage calculator from one of the banks here? Here's one from Scotia.

As for salary, you can definitely get by on that, but as already mentioned - the kicker is going to be childcare.