[b4rkie]

Hi All.

Male 36, married with 3 young kids - I am very lucky. Currently living in the Hampshire area in England.

I feel guilty already for the negativity in this intro but it just gets worse and worse over here - rising crime, taxes etc I could go on. Once again I find myself scanning expat sites trying to find a Eutopia for my family.

We've discussed moving from the UK before and dismissed it, but I will be totaly honest and say that I fear for my family. I dont want to move from relations and friends but I am very concerned about rising crime, overcrowding and a total breakdown of law,order and social worth.

I would be very interested to hear from anyone who felt the same way about the UK before they moved to Canada (or are in the process of doing so). Was there anything that finally made you "crack"?

I cant believe that anywhere on the Earth is perfect, but I know that by emigrating I can make things a little safer and have a better quality of life.
Im fairly confident that, if necessary, I can secure a job in the same company in Canada - which makes things even more tempting!!!!

Thanks,

Tony

[Paul Wildy]

Originally Posted by b4rkie Hi All. Male 36, married with 3 young kids - I am very lucky. Currently living in the Hampshire area in England. I feel guilty already for the negativity in this intro but it just gets worse and worse over here - rising crime, taxes etc I could go on. Once again I find myself scanning expat sites trying to find a Eutopia for my family. We've discussed moving from the UK before and dismissed it, but I will be totaly honest and say that I fear for my family. I dont want to move from relations and friends but I am very concerned about rising crime, overcrowding and a total breakdown of law,order and social worth. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who felt the same way about the UK before they moved to Canada (or are in the process of doing so). Was there anything that finally made you "crack"? I cant believe that anywhere on the Earth is perfect, but I know that by emigrating I can make things a little safer and have a better quality of life. Im fairly confident that, if necessary, I can secure a job in the same company in Canada - which makes things even more tempting!!!! Thanks, Tony

I would amagine most of the people on here would have felt the same way about the UK as you. As for myself, it wasn't a specific thing that made me crack but just a gradual realisation that the UK was really quite a shit place to live in many respects. Just because you happened to be born in the UK why does that mean you have to spend your whole life living there? If there are other countries that provide a nicer environment and more opportunity then why not move to one? It seems like a no-brainer to me.

I don't know if there is a Utopia but I love living in Canada and there are plenty of people on her who would concur.

For me, the #1 priority is my own immediate family (my wife and kids) and while other relatives (parents etc) might not have wanted us to move we decided that we were going to live our lives for ourselves and our kids and not for them.

[Paul Wildy]

...or, to put it another way, if you lived in a house that was deteriorating rapidly (the neighbours were awful, it was too small and crowded, the systems were failing) then you wouldn't have an issue with moving to a better house in a nicer street? To me moving countries is much the same thing. Your extended family might not want you to move further away from them but that's just hard luck - first priority should be to the needs of your own family

[ESSEX HAMMER]

Originally Posted by b4rkie Hi All. Male 36, married with 3 young kids - I am very lucky. Currently living in the Hampshire area in England. I feel guilty already for the negativity in this intro but it just gets worse and worse over here - rising crime, taxes etc I could go on. Once again I find myself scanning expat sites trying to find a Eutopia for my family. We've discussed moving from the UK before and dismissed it, but I will be totaly honest and say that I fear for my family. I dont want to move from relations and friends but I am very concerned about rising crime, overcrowding and a total breakdown of law,order and social worth. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who felt the same way about the UK before they moved to Canada (or are in the process of doing so). Was there anything that finally made you "crack"? I cant believe that anywhere on the Earth is perfect, but I know that by emigrating I can make things a little safer and have a better quality of life. Im fairly confident that, if necessary, I can secure a job in the same company in Canada - which makes things even more tempting!!!! Thanks, Tony

Hi b4rkie

Similiar position with 2 young kids.

In the end you have to do what is best for your family and not worry about
Grandparent etc.

I have only just applied and already know it is the right move for us.

Look forward to catching up soon.

[b4rkie]

thanks guys.

ESSEX HAMMER - A West Ham fan perhaps??? Me too!!!

You are both right of course. I read today about some young guy who got killed confronting "yobs" after they threw rubbish in his car window!!
It's the yob culture and lack of respect that makes me worry. I work damn hard and I bring my kids up as best as I can (well, me and the missus!). I feel sometimes like all Im doing is raising the victims of tomorrow.

I always said to my missus that it would take just ONE crime incident against me or my family and we would move away. Now, as the days go on I find myself almost wanting an "close run in" so that Ill have an excuse to move everyone..... that's no way to live, is it?

I work for a large multinational company - Im gonna contact HR and see what options about getting a new job in Canada.

Cheers,

Tone.

[ESSEX HAMMER]

Originally Posted by b4rkie thanks guys. ESSEX HAMMER - A West Ham fan perhaps??? Me too!!! You are both right of course. I read today about some young guy who got killed confronting "yobs" after they threw rubbish in his car window!! It's the yob culture and lack of respect that makes me worry. I work damn hard and I bring my kids up as best as I can (well, me and the missus!). I feel sometimes like all Im doing is raising the victims of tomorrow. I always said to my missus that it would take just ONE crime incident against me or my family and we would move away. Now, as the days go on I find myself almost wanting an "close run in" so that Ill have an excuse to move everyone..... that's no way to live, is it? I work for a large multinational company - Im gonna contact HR and see what options about getting a new job in Canada. Cheers, Tone.

Mate

Why wait for something like that to happen, take the bull by the horns and
start the ball rolling.

Yes i am a Hammers fan, and a happy one considering Spurs got beaten again last night.

[b4rkie]

So, EH, have you ever been to Canada?
What made you choose it over, say, Oz?

[Paul Wildy]

Originally Posted by b4rkie So, EH, have you ever been to Canada? What made you choose it over, say, Oz?

Hope you don't mind me butting in here - as I was born in Oz and we could have gone there without even having to go through the immigration process.

Australia is a beautiful country (really, it is beautiful) but its nice to have seasons. The snow is great, especially for kids. In Canada you get all the fun winter activities but you still get all the BBQ days and watersports in the summer too. Plus you can phone friends and reletives in the UK without it always being the middle of the night where you live or where they live. If you really need to visit them or have people visit you its only a few hours flight instead of a 24 hour epic (wouldnt want to to that with young kids).

People in both countries are really friendly but the Canadians are just really civil, polite and nice. Plus there is some benefit of having the economy of the US right next door (although there's some debate about that at the moment)

[Paul Wildy]

Originally Posted by b4rkie I read today about some young guy who got killed confronting "yobs" after they threw rubbish in his car window!! It's the yob culture and lack of respect that makes me worry. I work damn hard and I bring my kids up as best as I can (well, me and the missus!). I feel sometimes like all Im doing is raising the victims of tomorrow.

actually I thought this was an even better example of why to move http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6948366.stm - a gand of kids (quite young too) spat at and ultimately killed a dad who was just playing cricket with his kid at the local park! I hate to be one of those people that keeps harking on about "what is the world coming to" but seriously, what is the world coming to? Man, if there is anyone else left in Britain who actually wants to stay then they need their heads checking!

[b4rkie]

Thanks mate! Yeah, saw that.

Ive been checking the internal sites at work for opportunities this afternoon.
Ill be contacting HR tomorrow.

It's odd but this has cheered me up! Thanks!

How many times had you visited Canada before becoming hooked?
Do you know of anyone who made the jump without actually going there beforehand??

[Paul Wildy]

Originally Posted by b4rkie Thanks mate! Yeah, saw that. Ive been checking the internal sites at work for opportunities this afternoon. Ill be contacting HR tomorrow. It's odd but this has cheered me up! Thanks! How many times had you visited Canada before becoming hooked? Do you know of anyone who made the jump without actually going there beforehand??

Sometimes I think just the prospect of a new start (light at the end of the tunnel as they say) is enough to make you feel better about things. At least you know you're not alone.

We visited Toronto once - stayed with friends - liked aspects of canadian lifestyle and the people but didn't really like Toronto. We weren't really thinking seriously about moving at that stage though. 2 years later we visited Nova Scotia and loved it straight away - we had decided to move there before our flight even touched back down in UK. We made a couple of further visits before we actually moved to find a job and have immigration interviews but our minds were already made up after the first visit to NS.

I bet there are lots of people on here that moved without visiting Canada first but I wouldn't recommend it. Doing a recce visit is a small investment to make sure you're not doing something really stupid - what if you got here and your OH hated it for instance? Also, kids would probably want to know where they were moving to and a visit gives everyone the chance to start getting excited and arrive feeling positive instead of scared ****less of the unknown.

[JHJarvie]

Originally Posted by b4rkie Hi All. Male 36, married with 3 young kids - I am very lucky. Currently living in the Hampshire area in England. I feel guilty already for the negativity in this intro but it just gets worse and worse over here - rising crime, taxes etc I could go on. Once again I find myself scanning expat sites trying to find a Eutopia for my family. We've discussed moving from the UK before and dismissed it, but I will be totaly honest and say that I fear for my family. I dont want to move from relations and friends but I am very concerned about rising crime, overcrowding and a total breakdown of law,order and social worth. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who felt the same way about the UK before they moved to Canada (or are in the process of doing so). Was there anything that finally made you "crack"? I cant believe that anywhere on the Earth is perfect, but I know that by emigrating I can make things a little safer and have a better quality of life. Im fairly confident that, if necessary, I can secure a job in the same company in Canada - which makes things even more tempting!!!! Thanks, Tony

Go for it Tony, we have 3 kids a great house and well paid jobs in UK but all the negative factors you mention are making us move, after 5 years of carefull thought its now the best option for my family, its a shame but the UK is going down the tubes.

[Lorna_D]

hello to all the relatively new poster on here. Good luck to you all in your move to Canada wherever you choose to go. We've just booked our flights Mal goes to Saskatoon on 1st Sept and I fly on 8th Sept. We can't wait.

We have 2 chlidren 29 and 24, 2 grandchildren 6 and 10 and I have a 79 year old mother. We are 51 and 50 and we can't get away quick enough. It's only a few hours flight as NSPaul has written so it won't take too long if you need to get back for any reason. And if you don't like if after a few years put the pin in the Atlas and find somewhere new. Life is not a dress rehearsal.

[Judeandandy]

Hi there
We got married in April and are hoping to move to Canada as soon as my husband's LMO and work permit come through (it's taking a while!) We are fed up of England too; we went to Canada a couple of years ago on holiday and couldn't believe how great it was... apart from anything else, we loved the fact that Canadians are really proud of their country. I think that, for various reasons, people in the UK have lost that sense of pride. And we want to enjoy the outdoor lifestyle, hiking and skiing... not to mention being able to plan bbqs in the summer without stressing about the weather!
My parents' best friends moved to Canada 30 years ago. When my mum and dad visited them last year, their kids said the best thing their parents did for them was moving to Canada.
I know that nowhere will be perfect but I am counting the days until we can go to Canada.

Hope it works out for you and your family!

[ladymoose]

Originally Posted by b4rkie Do you know of anyone who made the jump without actually going there beforehand??

Yep - us - me, hubby and young son. Talked to a family who were just about to move, went to an emigration fair and 3 months later we were on the plane!

It was a risk, I admit, but 3 years later and just a couple of wobbles, we know we're here to stay and have never regretted it. We took the view that cos Canada was such a big place, we'd go where the work was initially then look around and change town, province etc if we decided this particular place wasn't for us. That way, takes the pressure off that this big decision is the be all and end all - more of an adventure!

Incidentally, young son (now 8) couldn't have cared less where we were going when we got on that plane cos he was with mum and dad who he trusted to do right by him - also he got a gameboy out of it so he was happy.