Originally Posted by astera

I used to live in Washington State and personally I find Vancouver very, very boring. It's good for walking though, and isn't overcrowded at all which is surprising considering the number of high-rise apartment buildings. The shopping scene is a tragedy though, and even all the big Vancouver malls are really bad and would make any Sydney Westfield mall look like paradise. Having Whistler nearby might be a plus, but you really need to go to Vancouver before you make the move. I knew I wouldn't last more than a few months there before I'd want to catapult myself out of there.

Not sure about crime, but a decent amount of beggars downtown harassing people in stores after dark, and if you venture into the historic area called Gastown then take the wrong corner and you end up in 'zombie town', where hundreds of doped-up zombies literally roam the area, making you feel like you're on the film set of the "Walking Dead."

I wouldn't look at the outer suburbs either as we'd have to redefine the word 'boredom' all over again.

Sorry that I cannot compare directly to Perth as I only know Vancouver. Now I haven't been in Toronto but it's meant to be a much more thriving and exciting city, so you might want to look beyond BC.

Originally Posted by Oink

If you've got anything about you, you'd stay in the UK. Both are parochial and dull places. It's really only people who can't make it in the UK and think a geographical fix to their personal inadequacies want to move. You know "its an adventure" right?

Originally Posted by spouse of scouse

Originally Posted by Oink
Personally don't think that's much of a selling point. But these people who move to out to OZ must have much stronger intestinal fortitude than me. The environment is one thing, but life's got to be too short to have to listen to that awful Australian twang for more than a minute

We yams what we yams. And we don't mind listening to an Aussie accent at all. What nationality are you, Oink?

Originally Posted by Airborne_Dan

Well I can always have a look at these places while I sort those personal inadequacies of mine out

Originally Posted by Shard

That's far more civilised. Good on ya (or whatever the Aussies say).

Originally Posted by commonwealth

nah the Aussies still whinge. they say not enough holidays.

Originally Posted by Oink

I'm just saying by and large, successful people rarely emigrate.

Originally Posted by Oink

I'm just saying by and large, successful people rarely emigrate.

Originally Posted by Zen10

Hence all the visas for people with extraordinary talents and the constant stream of US academics applying for jobs at our local university.

Originally Posted by Amazulu

But what if someone is not 'successful'?
Are you 'successful'?

Originally Posted by Pollyana

And define "successful"- means a million different things to different people!

Originally Posted by Pollyana

And many of them have this odd habit of taking sick leave when they are perfectly healthy, cos they feel they don't have enough holidays

Originally Posted by Amazulu

But what if someone is not 'successful'?
Are you 'successful'?

Originally Posted by Oink

I'm just saying by and large, successful people rarely emigrate.

Originally Posted by BadgeIsBack

I get so much sick leave I have trouble using it up! And I've never managed to take all my vacation leave in any job, in any country!

I agree with the 'sense of adventure' criticism hiding underlying reasons. We seem to see people wanting to migrate citing a sense of adventure which they have never had and never will. I think the real issue actually is innate boredom in their lives...in the past, many migrants have businesses and their own homes...and an estalished family and have done well. But often we read about people wanting a change and a sense of 'if we don't now, we never will'. There are other private reasons to be sure, like not getting on with family or in-laws.

For me, there was so much change and travel in my life that when I decided to settle down it seemed bizarre to do it in my home town which I hardly was in - having spent yet another year away from it.

Originally Posted by Oink

I'm just saying by and large, successful people rarely emigrate.