evets

Hi All,

Ok firstly probably not the correct forum to post to too, but could not see anything applicable and thought this forum would have enough traffic!

Thought I would pose this question to you guys, you all have been very helpful to date and some more than likely been in a similar postion themselves. My friends and family while supportive, are not in much of a position to assist as they have not been in this position so can offer limited help.

Recently had the option to relocate or take redundancy. The offer in Toronto, well Mississauga, is just under 90k.
Healthcare, pension, mobile, etc are also included.

I am trying to work out the pro's and con's of staying in Oz or relocating. I am not overhappy in my team/role of late, number of reasons and the main reason to agreeing to relocate is having a job, in my mid 40's and age discrimination is pretty tough world wide these days. Also realised my current skill set is a little specialised and may/is hampering me. Need to spend a little time upskilling. The job market here is a little hit and and more miss at the moment, with many companies offshoring. Checking out the number of positions available that I can/could apply for in Melbourne does not offer me hope. Stalking one of the local web sites, also does not give me much confidence with a number of people complaining about the job market.

I could take the option to relocate to Sydney from Melbourne, but the salaries on offer do not work out to moving to one of most expensive cities in the world. Kind of like moving from Toronto to Vancouver on a similar salary.
One of my friend's has recently done this(Melbourne to Sydney) and was shocked how much rental properties are for what you get.

From what I can gather about Toronto/GTA, the general/overall cost of living expenses are more expensive than sites like numbeo make out. Looking at products in Ikea and general electrical gear, pricing does not appear to make up the difference in salary compared for some things, odd example ie a cast iron frying pan listed in Ikea AU is listed at the same price in Ikea CA, some electrical items I have checked out, tablets, mobile phones also vary wildly in price and sometimes more expensive in Canada.
Grocery shopping seems to be hit and miss, would like to think overall cheaper in Toronto but need to investigate this further. Initial comparisons are odd as due to the larger packaging on offer in Canada. Talking to friends and colleagues from Toronto all assure me general cost of living far cheaper than Oz.
Also products made abroad seem to be priced higher even though they are made closer to Canada than Australia.
Car insurance more expensive and unsure how long it would take to come down to an acceptable level.
Taxation from chatting to colleagues is also one of there bug bears.

Taxes on housing seems to be quite excessive and varies depending on the suburb you live in. Also maintenance fees for Condos vary widly
Healthcare in Australia is rated very highly but you do need to take out private cover or are penalised by extra taxation, which is not a factor in Canada. From what I can gather healthcare in Canada is good, but is not great and can be a nightmare if you need a major issue dealt with ie time consuming to the point of death might occur before an operation.
Prescription's also seem to be a bug bear.

But the job market in Toronto does appear to be lot stronger than Melbourne, looking at the the number of postions advertised, even based on the internal roles advertised in my company.

How do you feel about retirement in Canada?

I am not trying to be negative, just trying to weigh up my options as it is a big move and would be tied to my company for around 3 - 5 years, working visa and then potential sponsored PR, unless I go the route of paying for PR myself.

Perth

Probably a better question for the Canadian forum in general mate, though there are a few Brits here who have returned from Canada and may be able to shed some light on your dilemma. Wishing you the best of luck.

Tr1boy

Have you considered moving to Sydney and then looking for a better job? Would the Sydney move tie you to the company in any way? Relocating to Canada to keep a job seems a bit extreme but everyone's situation is different.

Siouxie

+1

I would definitely suggest posting to our busy Canada forums, we've lots of helpful people there willing to offer advice.

Canada - British Expats

evets

Have considered it and no it would not tie me in with my company as would not be with them at that stage as I would have left them.

evets

Thanks and have created a new post in the Canada forum.

curleytops

Have you taken the different climate into consideration? It doesn't get any easier as you get older.

Moses2013

Well, both locations have similar amounts of sunshine and you'll have more rainy days in Melbourne, but get snow in Toronto. Heat related deaths can happen in both locations and I suppose the snow could be dangerous for walking, but then again it's good for your system if you go into a sauna and jump in the snow

wheatsheaf

I would also check out employment and labour law in Canada as compared to where you are now. Even if you are transferred over, taxes, pensions etc may not be worth it for you. It may turn out that there will be less job security in Canada comparatively. Just the fact that Australia is physically closer to Asia where all the growth is makes moving away less sensible Id say.

evets

I have considered that and agree it is one factor I think is making the decision harder.

evets

Haha true. Oddly one of my colleagues who moved from Toronto to Melbourne, said the winter here felt colder than Toronto because housing does not have any insulation or double glazing.

evets

Thanks, not checked out the employment and labour laws fully but good point. And agreed about the financial aspect as it means I am starting a 3rd pension from scratch. Also property taxes appear to be high around the GTA.

Think job security these days is a thing of the past, I am seeing a large number of posts on some local forums with people finding it difficult to secure work here. The mining boom is over now and which is also having an impact on the Australian economy.

Recently I spoke with someone who had relocated a number of years ago from Vancouver to Sydney who was in the the process of moving back to Vancouver because the cost of living in Sydney was getting higher and higher.