Advice on where to live given our preferences HELP!
 

HI

Thanks in anticipation for any help and advice offered by you experts.

We are considering moving from the UK to Canada as one of our options.
When this happens ( subject to acceptance ) we will come over with approx £150k GBP.

The idea is that this would hopefully be sufficient to purchase a house or have a very small mortgage. We would like to move to somewhere that is close to hustle and bustle but quiet and scenic. Our potential house doesn't have to be big but it should have a good sized back garden. We will also have no problem in driving 45 minutes to work.

Can you tell me whether or not £150k is going to have an impact upon moving to Canada. So far we have looked at BC as the rockies look absolutely outstanding. We are not into material things. The house just needs to be nice with plenty of outdoor space. Personally I am not bothered if I live in a field away from everyone else!! :D

Thanks for your help.

Re: Advice on where to live given our preferences HELP!
 

There is another thread very similar to this one on the go right now - see 'choosing where to live according to the job you do'

Re: Advice on where to live given our preferences HELP!
 

Depending on the exchange rate when you move 150k should buy you a nice house in Calgary or area. The average house in Calgary is $310,000 for a 3 bed detached. You say you want to be near mountains. No matter what they say in Winnipeg, to be near the mountains it has to be Alberta or BC. BC is generally more expensive that Alberta. Alberta is debt free and no PST. Calgary is one hours drive to the mountains. Check out www.mls.ca and you will see all the houses for sale and see what you get for your money.

Re: Advice on where to live given our preferences HELP!
 

Yet, like most G8 citizens, Albertans aren't personally debt free, being above the Canadian average.

Statistics Canada reports that BC and AB both have very similar figures for net worth (assets less debts) thus all the no-PST, "Alberta Advantage" and lack of Provincial debt factors seem to be a myth in terms of making a real personal impact. All this may add to the 'feel good' factor but then living in BC has a positive impact too.

Don't misinterpret this, it isn't AB-bashing (which does seem to be a popular sport these days) just plain stats and observation from the land of the lotus eaters next door.

Rich.

Re: Advice on where to live given our preferences HELP!
 

Err...what do they say in Winnipeg then?

Re: Advice on where to live given our preferences HELP!
 

Well, the following apparently:

1. It’s like sticking your head in a flour sack to get away from a tornado.

2. There’s so much salt on the roads, you get high blood pressure just taking out the garbage.

3. Colder than a polar bear’s pyjamas on the shady side of an iceberg.

4. So cold this morning, after my dog went out for a whizz, I had to chop him off a tree trunk.

5. Brass beavers look out!

6. There’ll be rubber ice out there today.

7. Cold as a well-digger’s arse in the Yukon .

8. It’s cold out, especially if you leave it out.

9. It was so cold outside this morning, before I could take a piss, I had to chop a hole in the air.

10. It’s cold enough to freeze the balls off Golden Boy.

• Set in place in 1919, the gilt statue atop the dome of the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg is the best known provincial symbol of Manitoba . Golden Boy is a runner suggested by classical representations of Hermes or Mercury, messengers of the gods. Golden Boy carries a sheaf of grain in his left hand and a burning torch in his right, and looks northward to Manitoba ’s future.

:D

Rich
[always happy to help]

Re: Advice on where to live given our preferences HELP!
 

It's beach weather here...seriously, if CrazyDaisy's +6c for the weekend is right, I've sat on colder scottish beaches *in the middle of summer*!!!

Hellenflogsherwares seemed to be saying that Winnipeggers are telling her they're close to mountains. I can tell you lots of surprisingly good things about Winnipeg but that ain't one of 'em :D

Re: Advice on where to live given our preferences HELP!
 

Golden Boy not cupping his nethers then ? :D

Rich

Re: Advice on where to live given our preferences HELP!
 

Golden Boy is doing just fine, just like the other 650,000 Winnipeggers who somehow manage to survive the winter.

Leave us alone.

Darren

Re: Advice on where to live given our preferences HELP!
 

BC and Alberta is where loads head off to, the cities of Ontario is where the younger ones head for.

If you intend to NOT have a mortgage and can seriously live a Part/Time work lifestyle.
One should consider the Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia.
Here there is a general near collapse of the economy as Canadians head west to the "Alberta Gold Rush".
Consequently it is a BUYERS market regarding a home or business start up.
With caution - one can pick one`s way through the economic fallout here and cut out a very comfortable life style.
Out west there are the UK rarat-race pressures, that are around in the BC and AB provinces, caused by a lot of money being around there at present, driving up the costs of everything all the time (Bit like the late 70`s early 80`s in the UK).

Check out www.mls.ca for price guidance.
Caution the realty agents are slow to update the mls in winter months.
For a more instant availability guide, you will need to click from the mls onto a realty agents site, if you see any areas that you fancy.

Re: Advice on where to live given our preferences HELP!
 

Just for information purposes:
mls.ca is a free public service sponsored (paid for) by every single licensed Realtor through their Real Estate Boards. It is the boards that do the updating and you will find mls.ca to be always slightly out of date as they update the Realtor version first.

Re: Advice on where to live given our preferences HELP!
 

emmmmmmmmmmmmm - jcexit - EXIT for Exit Realty?

Re: Advice on where to live given our preferences HELP!
 

I have lived in Alberta for 27 years and in Nova Scotia for the last 2..My opinion is Alberta is where the $$$ can be made, Nova Scotia is closest to England in its old ways and looks..I made 4 times more money in Alberta but I am happier in Nova Scotia..you will find more British ancestry here therefore they like their Brits. If I was to put it in a sentence I would say Alberta is London and Nova Scotia is Quaint village anywhere UK. Either way you are making a good choice to pick Canada...We would love to have you here.


Thanks in anticipation for any help and advice offered by you experts.

We are considering moving from the UK to Canada as one of our options.
When this happens ( subject to acceptance ) we will come over with approx £150k GBP.

The idea is that this would hopefully be sufficient to purchase a house or have a very small mortgage. We would like to move to somewhere that is close to hustle and bustle but quiet and scenic. Our potential house doesn't have to be big but it should have a good sized back garden. We will also have no problem in driving 45 minutes to work.
Can you tell me whether or not £150k is going to have an impact upon moving to Canada. So far we have looked at BC as the rockies look absolutely outstanding. We are not into material things. The house just needs to be nice with plenty of outdoor space. Personally I am not bothered if I live in a field away from everyone else!! :D

Thanks for your help.[/QUOTE]

Re: Advice on where to live given our preferences HELP!
 

That's no surprise. The "Alberta Advantage" gives many people here the feeling that because the province is rich then by default they are too. Many people are well off, you should hear the talk of bonuses in and around the oil and gas companies.

But, some people seem to be the same the world over in living beyond their means. It reminds me of the nineties in the city of London, with the commensurate house price inflation etc.

As a household we have always paid off debt as quick as possible and it has paid dividends we have been debt free for a while.

We're now trying to teach saving and prudence to our kids who daily are buggin us to get their $400 prosperity cheques in cash as opposed to into their RESPs. It's a trying battle.

Re: Advice on where to live given our preferences HELP!
 

Correct! A London bus driver used to sit in with me when I was an 'L' driver. How do you place your post underneath my last post?