I've seen a few complaints from people complaining about the aparent negativity of some responses to general "life in Canada" questions.

I've been in Canada three years and I'm now into my fourth winter in Calgary ... as with Iaink, the rose tints have also faded from my glasses ... I've been in and out of work, and had to travel by public transport at -35C.

Brits are often seen as a "flight risk" in Canada, which is why it can be hard to get a job ... you don't get taken seriously until you've lasted a couple of winters ... I'm at the point that I look forward to winter ... it's the best season of the year in Canada.

I was "unofficially" asked in my current job if I planned to head back to the UK ... a lot of Canadians assume that you're only working here and will be heading back at some future point.

If you ask me about life in Canada, I usually focus on the Calgary weather ... it tends to be the reason why people leave town ... that includes people from other parts of Canada.

If you can survive the weather, Calgary is a fantastic place to live and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

All I'm trying to do is to save you all the relocation costs of moving somewhere warmer ... there's nothing quite like the look on someone's face when they realise how brown and bare it is here for 8 months of the year.

I've survived my winters already

I can certainly understand your last statement, as I lived in Calgary for 3 years, but I have to say, it really is a lot warmer and better climate all round in Kelowna B.C. The relocations costs are worth every penny moving here.
What are your reasons for not wanting to live in B.C.?

Chrissy

I work in IT ... I need a big city.

Houses prices in Vancouver are ludicrous and I didn't want a long commute ... Calgary had jobs and houses I could afford to buy.

Plus, I'm from Glasgow ... I have this thing about rain ... I really, really, really, really hate rain ... most Glaswegians do.

I'd like to live somewhere like Kelowna, but ...

BUT what?

Chrissie I have pm'ed you.

What does that mean?

But I can't afford to live there without a job ... I deploy systems management solutions for a living ... I need a concentration of large businesses to keep myself in work.

Jobwise, I'd be looking in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto or Ottawa ...

IT in Ottawa is mainly government, it helps a lot if you're bilingual and a citizen ... I'm neither.

I couldn't get my foot in the door to get an IT job in Toronto ... I tried for months.

My realtor's advice was that we probably couldn't afford to move to Vancouver ... looking at the house prices, I agreed. When I got laid off here, I tried looking for work in Vancouver ... there were no takers.

Edmonton is just that little bit colder than Calgary ... plus Calgary wins out because it's still an oil & gas city and apart from banking experience (which theorhetically should have got me a job in Toronto), oil & gas experience is the only other thing I've really got going for me.

PM...private message. Look up there^^^^^ under where it says "welcome chrissy"

As Iain says I have sent you a private message.

Yep...

I too have been know to be a little negative..

But I've been working here in Canada twice now and you go where the work is...

It doesn’t matter how nice somebody thinks an area is if your unemployed..

And from sitting down and comparing the cost of living my (recent UK budget spread sheet 2003 and my recent Canadian budget spreadsheets 2004)… once you’ve paid your taxes and got a Canadian salary it ain’t that cheap either… its only appears cheaper when you come over with sterling in your pocket..
However you can’t knock the sizes of the houses and if you can find work outside of the big cities the cost of living does drop..

And until you’ve done a few winters.. you really don’t know yet if you’ll stick it here

I don't agree that once you are out of the 'big cities' your standard of living goes down. All I can say is that you haven't travelled enough.
I know I keep going on about B.C. especially here in Kelowna, but the standard of living is very high here. There are a lot of wealthy people, Canadians and immigrants enjoying a good lifestyle as well as the average joe.

If the Brits money is utilized correctly when they get here then there is no problem enjoying the good lifestyle also.

COST of living, not STANDARD.

I know exactly what mike means, I live in a rural area, and am lucky that I can find a decent paying job in Belleville. Cost of living here 2 h from TO is a lot less than in the GTA, mainly because property prices are much lower. But it wouldnt be very viable without the job to pay the mortgage. Although Toronto salaries are a bit higher, I personally dont think they are high enough to compensate for the difference. But a lot of people who have worked in Toronto all there lives and paid for their house there are selling up to move out here and cash in on the bigger bang for the buck.

You mean it's the weather and not your favourite hockey team's location that chooses where you want to go ??????

I have driven from one side of Canada to the other... I've even been to NWT and Yukon... the only province and territory I have yet to visit is Newfoundland Labrador and Nunavit..

I didn’t say the standard of living drops... I said the cost of living... but I have eyes too.. and go too far out of the big cities.. and some towns are nice.. but many are on subsistence level… a lot of Canada is poor.. large parts of northern Canada rely on the taxes paid by the people in the big cites..

The Canadians I know are funny that way, quite often they support a team only because a favourite player plays for them. When the player moves on they support the new team. Then there are the Leafs fans, those eternal optimists! If it was really weather related we would all be moving to Kelowna, but unfortunately there arent that many well paying jobs there!

I guess I am where I am because thats where my job is. Fortunately its a nice place, but without the job I would be looking pretty much anywhere I could find a similar position for a livable salary. I got lucky last time I was laid off that I found something in the same area, albeit in a totaly different field.