Lla

Hi all,
I'm new to this site, but just after some info and advice please!

My husband and I are both 40 and we have 2 girls, 10 months old and 3. Husband is a police sergeant, just passed inspectors exam and waiting for next stage, the boards, before hopefully he will be an inspector. I am a Director of Music at an independent private school, currently doing 2.5 days per week.

We are considering moving to Canada, however we feel that it is quite a risk as we are pretty well established in the U.K. We live in lovely countryside, and have good jobs.

However, we are considering moving as we would like the best for our children, and us, and wonder if we might be happier in Canada. So question time....

Lifestyle
Is it more outdoorsy than in U.K., i.e. More sun, light etc.
I've heard the seasons are much more apparent in the uk? Is this true. It feels like here we live in the dark, or grey, most of the time. I feel like we spend sooooo much time indoors, which is a shame. Is Canada more outdoorsy?

Jobs.
How likely would my husband and I be to find jobs in our respective fields? My husband also has a degree in engineering and I have a degree in music, plus my pgce for teaching.

Cost of living
Our houses affordable? I.e. Would we be able to afford a decent three bed in a good location on salaries for the above jobs?
Is cost of living relative to U.K.?

Education
What is the quality of education like in Canada? I feel as though I am lucky teaching at an independent school as state schools over here seem to have no money and very limited resources, plus huge class sizes. How do state schools compare over in Canada? In particular primary schools? I am aware there are French speaking parts of Canada, I love the idea of my children being exposed to this!

What I said the process for applying for visa etc.

Overall, could I have opinions please on life in Canada vs uk?

It is a really tough decision for us, but we are feeling very disillusioned with the way things are going over here, I know the grass isn't always greener, but I do think it's worth exploring.

We e never visited Canada, it have heard it's so beautiful and my husband is aware of some of his police colleagues who have moved over there.

I'm also aware that due to our age of 40 this would probably be our last chance to move, so we need to make sure we consider all options. It's a mammoth excision especially with 2 little ones to consider!

Thanks in advance for any advice/information!

Laura

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

As you say, first thing to check is visas - as you're slightly older (I don't mean that disparagingly, you're still younger than me!) you may struggle to be eligible for a visa without a job offer and sponsoring employer. Which in turn will mean you may not get much choice in where to go, so may find that it's not the lifestyle you're after. Note too that if you don't qualify for PR without a job offer, your husband wouldn't be able to work as a police officer until you do get PR, so you might need an interim plan for his employment if that is the case.

I don't think Canada gives any more opportunity to be 'outdoorsy' personally. IMO, if you're an outdoorsy family, you're outdoorsy, and the location won't make a difference. If you're not the kind of family that is out and about in the UK regardless of the weather, then moving to Canada won't change that. My family is out every weekend (in the UK) regardless of any rain, we'll happily go for a 10 mile walk or a 3 hour cycle ride (usually ending up at a pub.....ahem), even if it's chucking it down. But we're not really sitting at home kind of people, and the same would apply even in freezing temps and lots of snow in Canada.

Schools wise, it depends where you're coming to and from. You say 'limited resources' and 'huge class sizes', but that's not the case where I live. Here's a previous post from me about my daughter's secondary school in the UK - http://britishexpats.com/forum/movin.../#post12302415

Price of houses will very much depend on where you go. Somewhere like Vancouver and it'll be crazy prices, somewhere like New Brunswick and you'll be amazed at how cheap they are. Canada is too big to generalise really, do you have a location in mind? Cost of living will be about the same as in the UK though as a rough guide.

I would look at visas, and I would also plan a trip over there - no point in spending tens of thousands of pounds on a move if you don't even know if you'd like it. So a recce trip is essential IMO, maybe a holiday this year?

HTH a bit, you'll get loads of great opinions on the forum and also if you do a search you'll find loads of relevant threads too. Best of luck making a decision.

Howefamily

In my opinion I prefer the blue skies and sunshine of NS over the grey and gloom of the UK BUT it can get painfully cold.
They say there is no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing and in a way thats true but once you get lower temps than minus 16 in the windchill it gets tricky to do just about anything outside. Your face hurts, your gloves feel like they are not up to it, unless they are really thick and its cold.


Spring in NS is terrible compared to the UK. No daffodils and bluebells in March and April, just snow finally disappearing to a brown aftermath until summer and its still chilly compared to England.
Summer is amazing, its hot, its humid, its reliable for at least two months. Its also home to mosquitos and for a period of time, blackfly.
Fall is like a British summer time with exceptionally good weather.


If you have excellent jobs in the UK and a good standard of living, please know that you will almost have to start again here, unless you are lucky.
We knew all this and its been almost 7 years. We are now established and settled and have a great life but the first two years were tough work wise, especially for my husband who was a police officer in the UK. I had to take a massive pay drop in my career, as an accountant. It didnt take long but those first two years were hard.
Personally I prefer the children here but I am comparing them to the SE of England. I have come to realise that England is small but its still very different in different places.
I would be cautious if I were you. Make a pros and cons list, for you, and be realistic. If you really want to come, find out which part of Canada may be for you and visit this year.
Good luck in your decision.

Moses2013

At your age, why give up a great life and jobs in the UK? Of course we all have different reasons for moving but sometimes we should accept what we have and it sounds to me that you have a great life. Like anywhere every area is different and will offer another person more than others. Although I live in Ireland now, I would say that the UK is probably the most outdoorsy place and again it's down to the individual. Look at the Premier League and you have no winter break like other leagues. Because of climate in most parts, you can play football outside all year round. You mention the French language. You basically have France on your doorstep and no problem to go there with kids.

HGerchikov

Hi

Most of your questions are not that easy to answer as Canada is huge and the way of life and cost of living is very different in the different areas. So, I will tell you our story and hopefully you can draw parallels to yourself and pull out some answers.

We moved to the Toronto area (worked downtown, lived in Oakville) in 2004 when our boys were 9 and 5 (incidentally I was 40 at the time too). We also had a comfortable life in the UK, good jobs, nice house in a nice town in Cheshire and were not looking to move. We got offered the opportunity to come here, all expenses paid, including home and car rental for the first 6 months and with higher paid jobs for both of us. We came because we could and I have loved it right from day one. But remember our move was completely stress free (at least from a financial perspective) I am not sure I would have loved it so much if it had taken all my savings and we had no jobs.

Is it more outdoorsy? In the summer I would say probably yes for most people, a lot of homes in the area we lived had pools and it was common to meet up after work for a beer or two and a splash in the neighbours pool. In the winter, in the Toronto area I would say that most people hunkered down and didn't go out unless they had to - like most Brits. However, because we were making a new life we did get out there, buying cross country skis and heading to the Provincial parks on the weekend. The Toronto area has shorter summer days and longer winter ones than the UK, and definitely more sunshine than Cheshire.

Last winter we moved up to a much more isolated part of Ontario for a few months and the people there were very into the outdoors, ice fishing, hunting, snow mobiles, but then there was nothing else to do as there were no shopping malls, cinemas or theatres.

As Christmasoompa said, there is plenty of opportunity for outdoor activities in the UK, its just we get in a rut and don't do them.

Education: I don't think there is a huge difference academically in the end product from either system. There is a lot less emphasis on academic achievement here in the early years, in fact they appear to do nothing at all until they hit High Schools at age 13, which did worry us a lot at the time. However, both of our boys are now finished High School and I can say that we are very happy with the level of education they finally achieved and the work ethic that they both have now. Obviously I have no way of knowing how they would have turned out had we stayed in the UK, I can say that the system here definitely suited one of our boys a lot more than the UK one did, so, for him, the Canadian system is better, for another child it could be worse.

Cost of living and house prices - totally dependent on where you settle. $1mi doesn't get you much in Toronto or Vancouver, however the house we lived in last winter was a nice three bedroom, 2 bath bungalow with a kitchen to die for, plus 240 foot of beach front on a lake and it would probably sell for $220k.

As far as jobs in your field goes, I can't help you,

First you need to look into visas and then visit - parts of Canada are spectacularly beautiful and other parts are most definitely not. Ideally a job first would be good and then you would know whether the area you will be living in offers you the lifestyle you want. Its a huge upheaval and sounds like you have a great life now, so think hard. If you still want to give it a try, then go for it. People say that its not the things you do that you regret, but the things you don't do.

Tangram

Cons: Winter, frozen driveways and snow clearance

Getting to the point after 10 years of the novelty severely wearing off to the point of moving elsewhere in the world

Atlantic Xpat

Too much generalisation to make responses useful. Canada is a massive place & to compare meaningful you need to drill down to "life in this province/area/city/town" vs. where you live in the UK.

You should, however research the difficulties inherent in being able to work as a teacher in Canada and, more pertinently obtaining a full-time job as a teacher. There is a wiki article on teaching in Canada which is a few years old but largely still valid: Teaching in Canada : British Expat Wiki . Teaching is a fine example of how many things in Canada are provincially and union regulated i.e. the process of obtaining teaching certification and a job in Ontario is going to be different to BC etc.

Can't help on the policeman thing. With young kids though I would also consider the level of family and friends support you have where you are if applicable. Moving to Canada and not having that level of support can be challenging.

AX

Engineer_abroad

You will also want to consider the Canadian policing system. Only the major cities have municipal police forces most other cities and towns contract the RCMP to provide the policing. This means that RCMP officers can and are often reassigned to different areas/locations/even provinces every 3 to 5 years, which can be a strain on families ( I was a Pads brat).

'Be prepared to serve anywhere in Canada. Consideration will be given to posting preferences; however, postings depend on the Force's needs. With hundreds of detachments across the country, police officers have the chance to experience life in many parts of Canada and work at different levels of policing – municipal, provincial and federal. The usual duration of a posting is from three to five years'

Police officer careers | Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Moses2013

And location might mean chasing real criminals or searching for the best coffee and doughnut deals.

rawsalad

If I was in your shoes I would stay. Sounds like you have good income and a decent lifestyle. Maybe checkout other parts of the UK.

Do you have any friends or family in Canada? It makes a move soo much simpler.

For me there was an easy choice as my parents live in Canada and are getting on. So have taken the risk to move and be with them.

dbd33

I have just been outdoors in Canada. I moved my car a couple of blocks as part of the parking ballet. When I came back a colleague, a Russian, asked "how was the driving?" as a serious question.

Already, given that it's -10 and snowing and it's been winter since November, I was wondering how best to move on from here. The idea that driving a couple of blocks was a matter for concerned interest reinforced the idea that this is not a place to live unless you are housebound for some reason and it doesn't matter that it makes no sense to go out.

Moses2013

Makes the UK the ideal place for many pensioners. In most parts less risk you'll slip and break your back and also less heat related deaths in summer.

suzeandmatt

Unfortunately I don’t think anyone could really answer this question in much detail without giving sweeping and probably fairly inaccurate generalisations. Canada is too huge and too different from place to place, but many could also argue the Uk is quite different from one place to the next as well.
I can only compare the North East of England (particularly Newcastle & the Coast), and the Isle of Mull on the west coast of Scotland to Calgary, Alberta. (The only 2 places I’ve lived in the Uk and the only place I’ve lived in Canada)
And I can only compare them from the point of view of two married 30 year olds without kids.- so probably a different view again.

It sounds like you have a pretty good life where you are already - maybe just start by taking some holidays to various parts of Canada and just seeing it for yourself? But then maybe do the same in different parts of the UK.

Good luck with your decision- it’s definitely a biggie.

Will_PA

I've only been here for 4 months (Toronto - coming from London), but I really like winter. When it's not crazy cold there's free ice skating everywhere. There's some (limited) local skiing. I play tennis (indoors) 2-3 times a week. I run outside (5-10k) if it's not icy. It's a dry cold here. Back in London for Christmas I felt surprisingly cold, think it's because the air is so much damper.

My wife is Canadian so knew what was coming. We bought a (new, reliable) car immediately. Our condo has basement (heated) parking. The gym is expensive but totally worth it, so you can swim / run / play tennis irrespective of the weather.

I'm still in honeymoon mode no doubt.

Former Lancastrian

Depending on how many years service with plod and now being qualified to wear a white shirt with pips on the shoulder and the pension waiting for him on retirement and how many years to retirement he might to want really really seriously consider quitting unless he is totally pissed off with his job. If OK with his job then perhaps another move to a different force within the UK.

He would find it very very tough these days to be accepted as a copper unless with PR status and even that is no guarantee though his experience would be an asset.

Im not going to say don't but some serious serious research needs to be done as to if it would be a wise move.

As for the rest you need to narrow down a place(s) you are considering as Canada varies dramatically.