dbd33

[QUOTE=Largo;11349097] I remember him and I too hope no misfortune has befallen him.

JonboyE

Well, there is a rich cultural heritage that pervades every corner of Canada. It is not ours so we discount it or ignore it. Or, in the case of our (British) forefathers, try and wipe it out completely. Its not that different to Aus I imagine.

Many people who post here seem to define culture as Norman castles and medieval churches. There aren't many of these.

BristolUK

But did you shell out that £25k first? I might be wrong but I thought you arrived with nothing.

Not that everyone has to shell out a chunk of money of course. Some even appear to have been given their relocation costs!

Almost Canadian

I did a recce trip prior to relocating but I don't believe we spent anything like that amount of money on the recce trip and the move combined!

AlliF

I get where you are coming from totally - we came across from Melbourne, without ever having visited Canada.
We did have the benefit of the OH's company forking out the relocation costs but that is on the understanding that we had to repay those costs if we decided to go before 3 years (on a sliding scale).
I did like some aspects of Australia, we stayed there 7 years, and we all became citizens when my daughter was born there but we also felt there might be more out there - and if you have the opportunity to try and find it why not do so.
My only words of advice are to discuss what plan B is if you decide you don't like it when you get here (and how long before you can decide that) maybe even more importantly what do you do if one of you likes it and the other doesn't.
As long as you don't burn all your bridges and get yourself in a position you just can't get out of then I don't think you are crazy at all

dbd33

If we'd had £25k we certainly wouldn't have felt obliged to move to bumble****, nowhere! We arrived with £2,000 in credit card debt, the clothes in which we stood, a pair of skis, and a cue. Eventually two suitcases of clothes caught up with us. Effectively, we had nothing but I did have a job. Fourteen weeks later I had a pregnant wife and no job, having just been fired for "parking on the grass". Had we had any money at all we would have gone home one day after arriving and, if not then, one day after being fired.

Here I am, years later, still no pot to piss in but, to be fair, a fortune earned and spent.

away too long

My parents did it 34 years ago, with me and my brother (aged 10 and 6 at the time). Our neighbours had been on holiday to Ontario and came back with photos, showed my parents, they liked the look of it, my Dad got a job and then we moved. It was the first time any of us had been out of England.

Jo&Alex

We came 14 years ago without ever having been in Canada before. Granted, it was just the two of us, freshly married and free. We got rid of everything that we couldn't fit into two suitcases and got on a train to Gatwick.

We came to Grad School (similar to your approach)- one of us managed to get a scholarship for a Masters at a Canadian University and we lived on that for the next two years. We figured that even if it didn't work out, we would still have a degree from a good Uni.

It has been a long road, but we are now a family of four Canadian citizens and loving it. That letter offering me a position for my Masters is safely guarded in our treasure chest - for the kids to keep.

JamesM

Yes and No.

Visiting is fine and advisable but not easy from Australia.

Visiting will never actually give you a real flavour of what it is like to live here. It is most likely a gamble anyway.

Howefamily

Agreed. We came out for a two week visit and all we really got from it was what it looked like (lots of trees, lakes and ocean was the most clear memory), what people seemed to be like (friendly), what the coffee was like (Tims) and that it was really hot in June (nice surprise)
We also looked around a few houses.

We got no more from that really about what its like to live here.

If you are coming from Oz, have that attitude and an open mind you may well be ok.... nothing is irreversible anyway, except death of course so good luck!

Lychee

Ontario's not on the east coast, it's geographically Central Canada, in the Eastern Time Zone, mind you, but nowhere near the ocean. Halifax or St. John's would put you on the east coast, if the ocean's what you're looking for. To put it into perspective, Boston's about a 9 hour hour drive away from Toronto. Halifax would be closer to 17 hours away from Toronto. Ontario has a lot of lakes of course, so it doesn't feel landlocked.

One discussion that came up in another thread recently was how you shouldn't let proximity to the UK be a major factor in where you move to in Canada. Factors such as climate (ie: how many months of subzero temperatures you'll realistically experience, the month when you start to see greenery on the trees for the first time since September... February or May... or June?), geography (mountains, ocean, prairie - how many hours or days you'll have to drive to see mountains, ocean, or prairies, or a change in geography), growing season (gardening from May-September, or year round?), humidity (or lack thereof), local urban culture (liberal? conservative? old fashioned?), public transportation options, walkability, population density, etc. will play a larger role on your life day to day.

Flights from Calgary and Vancouver to the UK, for example, only add two more hours than a flight from Toronto, as they fly over the Arctic. From what I understand, flights from the east coast communities aren't as frequent because there's less demand, and therefore flights can be more expensive, or require you to fly west first before heading east over the Atlantic.

Not to put a damper on your spirit, because I think you've got the right attitude, but these are factors that, based on observations here, many expats don't even consider, but are factors that are crucial to setting expectations and whether you'll settle in Canada. Canada and Australia are two countries that are very much alike, if you think about it. They both have vast barren landscapes with extreme climates, with a natural resource industry at the core of its vast hinterland (and all the unsophisticated culture , to British Expats eyes, that come with), and small pockets of urban populations tenuously connected, separated geographically at a continental scale.

Siouxie

Great post - one of the best I have seen about how to 'choose' an area - and one that I think all potential emigrants should read and consider.

Well done.

Lychee

Thanks Siouxie!

Rosie Lee

Of course, it's better to visit first, but I don't think it necessarily follows through that just because you visit it's going to be perfect. Life is a lottery, even when you think you've got it all sussed out, things happen that you can't predict. It's more about your attitude, if your not to tied to any one place. Canada is as good as anywhere else, people are very friendly here. Give it a go!

JamesM

A good read but it neglects the most important aspect.

Can you find a job that pays enough to cover your lifestyle?

Unless you are being bought over by your employer with a certain salary or you have tonnes of cash in the bank your quality of life is indeterminable with out knowing how much you can make with your skills.

Urban Culture, Public Transport and Geography are no good if you don't have the money to enjoy them. Unfortunately for most people you need to be here permanently to find those out and it is unlikely a two week vacation will help.