JGK

Moved to Montreal in 2001. I'd only been driving 5 years and the only winter in the UK that came close to my first in Canada was back in the early 80s. I got a set of winter tires for the car, and took things easy on my drives.

It's the idiots that think just because they have winter tires they can drive as normal you have to beware of. As you're moving to Alberta you'll need to watch the pickup truck drivers. With no weight on the back axle (if the truck bed is empty) they can fishtail like crazy.

lukesmith2

I don't regret doing anything but certainly, I wish I had found these things out before I moved.

We were in Ontario for about 2 years before moving to Calgary. Lived in London UK before and Birmingham, Worcester, Malvern.

Toronto was sort of like a North American London. We loved living there. However, the cost of living kept rising rising rising, and we were pushed out further and further away. We figured we would try Calgary out because BC was so expensive. The problem I found with Calgary is it's really a lifeless place. It's got no character or identity it's literally just suburbia or like living in Milton Keynes. People are very fake and like Americans so I find it hard to gel with people here. They are polite and seem very nice but never tell you the truth and will b**ch about you behind your back. Most of the friends I have are from Europe and all share this view. Now the literal only reason people live here is 1) the mountains 2) the cost of living. Neither of those things will keep you happy for a long time. The mountains are always packed at the weekends. The cost of living is not actually that much cheaper than when we used to live in Ontario. You might get paid a little more but you'll spend that extra on car insurance or utilities. I wish we had known that last part because I was offered a job in Kelowna BC which is much nicer but turned it down for Calgary. Looking back they would have been very similar in terms of cost of living when taking into account the pay.

But to be honest we are just getting our citizenship then moving on from Canada. I think Canada is really going to struggle for a long time. I don't have many friends but all are moving back to their home countries. We have eyes set on other warmer places than the UK & Canada.

Forgot to mention in Calgary it's very hard to find other opportunities for work if your any sort of specialist. So in my field of work, I am stuck with a job that won't even adjust my pay for inflation despite the fact it's in IT software and going up in every other city. I would just leave and go to another company if I was in Toronto or Vancouver. However Calgary just has such a lack of opportunities and IT pay jobs pay terrible here compared to the rest of the country.

ISD

Just curious where you might be planning on moving to eventually? Is this going to be soon, or more of a 5+ year plan?

lukesmith2

No, so we are hoping to move within the next 1 year. We are in a toss-up right now between Dubai or Singapore. Lots of my friends have moved to Dubai and love it.

dbd33

Wait, didn't you say upthread that Toronto was a place, in the way that London is a place, and that Calgary was less attractive because it's all suburb, there's no there, there. Surely there's no place with less there there than Dubai, a place void of civilization but sunny.

Singapore's alright but sanitized and regulated. I liked KL better.

Siouxie

lukesmith2

Yes but the main reason for our move is not that. It's we need a place with more opportunities and we want to be in a place that is warm. Calgary is warm for about 4 months of the year at a push. If we lived in Dubai I would just go back and forth between there and Europe during summer when the heat is insane.

dbd33

Oh yes, I can see that.