Likes & Dislikes please.....
 

Hi everyone,

My Husband and I are trying to decide at the moment between Oz and Canada - i am having a pull towards Oz and the OH is being pulled towards Canada!
We have a 3 year old little boy too so any info people can offer on schooling etc in Oz would be great.
I have done loads of research on both places but think it is better to get peoples views on their own experiences etc.
Please can you let me know what your likes and dislikes and if you could do it again - would you do anything differently??
My Husband is a Plumber - what are the job prospects like there? I know that nowhere is good at the moment but we are not going to moving for a couple more years yet.
We are looking at WA so any info on Weather, Cost of living etc would be great!!!

Many thanks :D

Re: Likes & Dislikes please.....
 

Why not book a reccie to both places. Asking on here will be opinions only and surely you can't base a decision on that!

I was told Perth was everything i could wish for, but for me it wasn't, or my kids. From what i have heard about Canada i would stay put;) but that's all hearsay.

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We chose Melbourne - I don't think I'd survive the extreme cold for 6 (or more) months of the year (Mel is cold, but not that cold)! At least there's no snow to shovel every morning:)

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Funnily enough, I too am having a pull . . .

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Outside bush weed! K eep ya in perspective!!

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What makes you think it's extremely cold for 6 months or more of the year in Canada? Winter where I'm from was from mid December to mid March and very very rarely it was extremely cold. As a matter of fact, as I've said dozens of times, I've never been so cold as living in Australia.

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I think you should check both places out as they are so very different. We went to Vancouver a couple of years ago and I hated it couldn't wait to get out of there. Mark has always loved Canada so he was happy. Australia we came over on holiday to check it out can't say I love the place but I don't hate it either. We are happy here in Sydney at the moment but its not where I see myself staying long term. Please do your homework as moving here is very hard and if it is wrong for one of you it will be very difficult to settle. Looking back now on the life we had in England would I move here knowing what I do now, simple answer no but everyone is different it may be the best thing you do. Good luck with where ever you decide to move.

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I've never been to Canada but, Hmmmmm - Australia. It's great. Plus Canadians are weird.

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The weather and the beaches are alot nicer in WA then Canada. l guess asking OZ vs Canada in he OZ forum people will be biased in favour of OZ. Whys your husband in favour of Canada? has he been there before?

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This is a very broad piece of advice but it is one that can affect a persons experience of living overseas.
Are you a summer or a winter person? A lot of people veer towards one or the other.
A lot of expats that I have met in Australia like it a lot because of the warm climate- they like sun, the heat and the beach/barbecue culture which in many parts of Australia is a big part of life.

If like me, you are more of a winter person, who prefers to be cold rather than too hot and is not particularly seduced by the beach and prefers the countryside and more of a variety in climate and seasons then Canada may suit you better.:)

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My perception based on what my family living Toronto tell me....and this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/c...ml?tt=TT000900

Average min temps for 6 months of the year is sub zero:ohmy:

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Migration in both countries is a money making machine. Australia requires to be a licensed plumber and check how to get this license holding non - australian qualifications first.

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We did the same. Canada or Australia. Australia = hot, Canada = cold, problem solved.

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I have just moved to Oz from NZ and I love it.

The weather is warmer, there is always soemthng to do and in all honesty its pretty similar to being home in NZ except Sydney has got our whole countries population in the one city. Great!

I have never been anywhere else, but canada would be one f my dream places to visit, all that snow and wilderness and wildlife - fantasic!

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Isn't there a four year wait for a visa to canada, there was when we were considering it a few years back. Depending on life plans, that could have a fairly big impact on the decision.

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:lol:

I was talking to my boss yesterday and he was saying that due to his age (over 45) he might look at New Zealand. I then told him that Canada is also an option, to which he replied that Canada is a cross between the USA and France.

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God, that could be horrendous because of (many of) the people or fantastic for scenery and food (ignoring general US food of course).

I could never live in Canada. I don't do cold or snow and whilst I bow to Dorothy's expertise, if the UK is too cold for me then Canada is too. :D

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I'd love to visit Canada partly because I suspect that it's not the way that most people imagine it to be. I understand it's very beautiful there. To go and live in Canada? It seems like a fairly good bet particularly for future generations if you believe in global warming. But lately we hear more about the possibilty of global cooling. :scaredhair:

...For now at least, I think I'll stick with Australia :thumbup:

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have been looking at canada myself and currently its taking 6-12months, average of 9. You have to renew your visa after 5 years and providing you are there 2 out of the 5 years its not a problem. Alot of people tend to "land" supply an address of friend/relative to receive their card and come back to tie up loose ends. If not its takes 4-6 weeks to get your card.

Therefore i beleive it will be alot quicker to get into canada.

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One advantage to canada might be being able to fly to the US for holidays in the same way you fly to europe from england?, I would be interested to know if thats what people do

Having moved to perth myself I do miss being more connected to the rest of the world.
As for likes and dislikes, well, there have been a million posts before on the same thing. They tend to become very heated debates. For me I would say I like that australia is a very beautiful place, but dislike that it seems about 15 years of of date when compared to the UK in so many different ways

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australia is hot? so why in Sydney now my thermometer displays 10 Centigrades? and will be displaying till December?

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Cause it's broken?

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You're trying to tell everyone that even during the day from now until December your thermometer will not get above 10 degrees? Where do you live? Underground? :blink: Granted when the sun goes down, the temps plummet, but during the day in winter, all around Aus, the weather is generally brilliant and well over 16 degrees.

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I'm looking at Canada, as soon as I've saved up 4k (a requirement) I'm applying for a working holiday visa. I know a few people that moved to Canada on a working holiday visa and #$%%$## loved it!!! They even renewed their visa so they could be there for the Vancouver winter Olympics. My Dad moved to Australia from New Zealand and my mum moved here from the UK both love it here but want to retire back to their home country in the future lol (we'll see how that pans out, eep).

I don't know where I will eventually end up, whether it be Canada, Australia, the UK or somewhere else in the EU (I'm an EU citizen) but living in another country is one of my biggest goals in life....People have suggested taking a reccie trip to both which is a very good idea!

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What an immature comment.

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The oz vs canada thing has been to death on here. Which is best? How long is a piece of string. Plus and minus points either way. Isolation of oz may be a problem for some. Cold in Canada a problem for others - having said that the climate in BC is pretty good other than wet winters in vancouver.

As noted, permits and work opportunities have to be serious considerations when looking at either place. Also recognition of qualifications, which tends to be easier in OZ.