Londonuck

Ok so that ruined my worse in the 80's comment.

happyhammers

Good old Leyton, I knew you wouldn't let me down.

Years ago those guns would of been bought by the hard core criminals, now its the young drug dealing gangs.
A well to do family lets say living in Chelsea, probably wont experience that part of London, but for the likes of the people on the other side of the tracks will.
I lived in Leyton with one of my mates in my bachelor years before I met the wife, and I don't think its changed.
For me, I wouldn't and don't live in London anymore.

jack bauer

Hello..I read your comments and my mouth literally fell open. I too am in a similar boat (coming up to 5 years) and I miss London so bad it hurts!
For me (just my opinion so no nasty comments please) Toronto is incredibly boring! It makes you realize how wonderful London truly is! I go back twice a year but I am moving back for good within the next few months or so and I can not wait!
I hope that you make the right decision for you and your family

All the best
jb

Lychee

I wrote in another post that British expats have a bad habit of comparing everything to the UK, and eventually become miserable for doing so. I like Toronto for what it is, but it has never crossed my mind to compare it to London, and expect Toronto to be an equivalent to anything, other than what it is. Toronto and London are both different cities with different histories, different demographics, different societies, different values, politics, etc. etc. blah blah blah. Can we not appreciate Toronto in its own context? In the context of Canada, in a North American realm? Toronto only became the corporate, cultural centre of Canada in the past few decades, after Montreal lost it during the Quiet Revolution of the 60s. London has existed as the hub of not just the UK cultural and corporate scene, but of an entire empire for... how many centuries? It's chalk and cheese! I know Torontonians are sensitive and desire that their city be admired globally in the same fashion as London, Paris, New York, but let's face it, they're two different places. Must we always compare?

phr1

The fact that Toronto and London are two different cities go without saying.
This discussion is not about comparing urban data such as demographics, size, politics and blah blah blah ....it is rather asking questions about the quality of life, opportunities, experiences and exposure offered by living in either of these cities.

And why should'nt we compare?

As expats, we wanted to try something different, to leave the UK for a better life. (Of course some may have other reasons why they have immigrated).
So by a ‘better life’ standards it is legitimate to ask the question - Toronto vs London, and it’s also legitimate to have people different opinions.

Somewhere up this thread I wrote:

“This is just one of the things we were hearing about a lot before coming here. Education, health system and Opportunities.”

It is interesting to see what other people have experienced making the same choice of trying new life in Toronto.
It’s about one’s personal experience of the city and the dilemma where they want to spend the rest of their life and have a better future.

The confusion is because a lot of people DO recognise good things about Toronto, including myself. If it was a total dump I don’t think we were all be reading this thread now.
We should compare and share for the sake of other expats-to-be, reading this from their London home begging for a change and fantasising about Toronto…(careful what you wish for over there..)

Siouxie

Personally, I think the people who come to Canada (or elsewhere) because they genuinely love it and want to live there stand a better chance of settling than people who come because it offers something 'better' (in their minds) than that which they are leaving behind.

burks

I'd be interested to know how many people have moved to Toronto/Vancouver or wherever they ended up in Canada in search of a better life without spending a significant amount of time there first (more than a 2 week holiday!).

MarylandNed

You've pretty much summed up how I feel. When you move somewhere different, isn't it, by definition, actually supposed to be different from where you moved from?

MarylandNed

My wife and I did - 3 times. We moved to Toronto after only a stopover of a few hours while waiting for a bus to Montreal. We spent 7 very happy years in Toronto. We moved to Vancouver after never having been there but only lasted a few months. After a brief return to the UK (2 years), we moved to Maryland even though we'd never set foot in the place. We've been here 16 years now. Having said all that, we'd previously traveled around large parts of the US & Canada so had a good feel for life in North America in general.

rivingtonpike

We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to spend 3 months on Vancouver Island living as "normally" as possible while our PR application was in progress. We home schooled the kids, they had skating and swimming lessons etc etc. We then returned to the UK for almost a year to tie things up, pack up, sell up.....
When we moved here permanently, we've ended up living about 40 minutes from where we stayed for our experiment.

I think the term "better life" is so subjective. It is also very difficult for me to compare when I can only live one option at a time. All I can say with confidence is that I wouldn't want to move back to London and what I left behind.

MarylandNed

You know what? I don't think it really matters. In global terms, the quality of life in Canada is about as close to the UK as you can get - especially in terms of education, healthcare and opportunities. So I doubt that anyone's personal experiences in these areas really helps anyone else all that much. You really have to find out for yourself how it will work out for you personally.

burks

That must have been some stopover!!

dbd33

We moved without having a clue where Toronto was or what it looked like. We expected French to be widely spoken. But that's what happens when you start thinking about emigrating, see an advert, apply, and arrive a month later.

phr1

I had never been to Canada before I first arrived 5+ years ago when we decided to try and live here.
I had an impression of it being quite european with a french touch. I was excited about the possibilities and discovering a new place. my husband spent a year in Toronto, many years back before uni. He had a fair idea about the place and good old memories and was courius to try and live here for a while.

Former Lancastrian

So imagine a family born in Canada living in the Rosedale or The Bridle Path area of Toronto. For whatever reasons they are skimming over the jobs available in the UK on a website and come across a job in their field. They are looking over several job offers in the following areas of the UK
Toxteth, Brixton, Moss Side, Bradford, Glasgow, West Belfast and Middlesborough

Ya think when they arrive in one of those areas its not going to be compared as somewhat of a disappointment

Lets get away from the culture, history and architecture aspect of London.
What has London got that Toronto doesn't have or vice versa what does TO have that London doesn't?
Its a no win argument.