GunnersCandy

Hi

We are thinking of moving to either Canada or Australia and would like to know the pros and cons for both. So I am after some help with Canada.

I have a sister in Perth Australia and my husband has family in Windsor, Ontario. I have been told that Windsor would not appeal to me but I don't know where else to start looking?

My husband is an Electrician and I am a Part Qualified Accountant, we have a 2 year old daughter and are in our late 20's. We currently live on the border of North Wales/England so in that respect have the best of both worlds as on one side we have all the open countryside and on the other we have access to large towns/cities with plenty to do.

I would like to live in an area that has a nice community feel within about 10km of a town that has a population of around 135,000 with plenty to do i.e cinema, shopping, restaurant. My main aim is to give my family a better quality of life. And a safer environment.

Any information much appreciated.

iaink

Lucky for you there is a wiki article that covers Australia vs Canada...as well as all kinds of other useful things...

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Canada_versus_Australia

Alan2005

So you're still around then? I was beginning to think you'd eloped to Vegas with butch

iaink

I've been trapped in my basement and only just escaped. Did my eloping to Vegas a few years ago now (with the now MrsK .)

Alan2005

Ah yes - I remember you posted a pic. Still I shouldn't cause the thread drift from such an important topic as the one posted by the OP

HUFC1908

We've been having the same dilemma, and have finally decided to move to Canada.

We just feel Canada suits us better than Australia will. We enjoy seasons, we like the US (which is accessible from Canada) and feel the opportunities will be more readily available.

We also think Canada is a place to bring up our family. Having taught Canadian and American schoolkids and aspects of the North American education system I feel the North American education system is much better than what we have in the UK. Kids are much more driven and have a much better work ethic than kids in the UK.

Dorothy

I'm a Canadian in Australia. Funny enough, I'm from southern Ontario (not Windsor, but my grandma was from Windsor England) and moved to Perth Australia.

No, I don't think you would enjoy Windsor Ontario. It's a very industrial city just across the river from Detroit, another industrial city. If you are looking for southwestern Ontario you may like London or Kitchener better. Towns of 135000 or so are not going to have the amenities you're looking for unless they are close to larger centres, though.

Take a read of the wiki article and then take a read of the relevant immigration sites to see whether you qualify for a visa to either.

Oink

Yeah, to hell with data, just go on feelings.

GunnersCandy

Thanks for your info. Do you enjoy living in Perth? Perth did appeal to me more but I now have doubts from reading different threads about the "good schools" shortage and that many people say its boring!!! I live in Wales so I am used to not having a great deal around (unlike London etc). What area do you live in? or recommend?

Thanks Very Much
Colette

iaink

The data says that the Canadian system works better than the UK one, which works better than the US one....


Surely in any decision about Canada vs Australia, climate has to be a major factor? Its not like the two are similar in any way as far as I can tell.

Two things would have put me off (most of) Australia... Its too hot for me, and the constant sporting clashes between Aus and GB/ England mean that there is a lot more ribbing (and perhaps tension?) between australians and brits than there is between Canadians and Brits.

dboy

I used to work with three aussies one time. It always put me off the place based on my experiences in working with them. I know you can't base an entire nation on 3, bit the perception has always stuck with me.

el_richo

Funnily enough i have the exact thoughts as you dboy since working with many of them. Plus i don't like big scary snakes, spiders, sharks, and crocs

ShawnMcCrea

Head to Aussie, im from Toronto and lived in this area all of my life. I have also done a fair bit of travelling and that includes Australia.

Absolutely love Australia, again i honestly think you will completely have to judge for yourself and whats important to you. The major selling points for me in Australia are the warmth all year round where you dont have to put snow tires on your car every winter. Not being land locked and having access to the ocean at most cities. Beautiful beaches and the opportunity to do a ton of diving and snorkelling. For me I love the sunshine as well, kind of suffer from the darker days in winter.

Again totally based on what i would want out of my life and value, just didnt want you to count on either

Good luck either way the cookie crumbles haha

rae

we considered this, not as seriously as the move to canada, but looked at it nonetheless, mainly due to friends in perth, who love it by the way still after 3 1/2yrs.

Anyway, our reasons not to go if this is any use at all were:-

too hot for too long, could not be bothered with the constant sunscreen.
not fussed about the beach.
can't swim in the sea due to fear of sharks, jellyfish and the like.
would not go into the outback due to fear of snakes, spiders, crocs.
don't like the idea of poisonous bitey things around/in/under the house.
too far away from the UK for visits or to go elsewhere in the world.
did not find the cost of living any better than the UK.

Now you could argue lots the other way for canada, for instance too cold instead of too hot, this is when personal preference will kick in. all the best.

sparkling_gal

Hi - We have been deciding between Australia and Canada for the last two years and we'll most likely go to Canada. Australia seems like a beautiful place but the isolation from the rest of the world was our biggest concern.

We love to travel but Australia is a long way from places we want to visit in Canada, USA and Europe. Also, flights back from the UK would be expensive and we figured that for four of us, it would only really be affordable every 3 years. I don't know if you've priced flights but it seems more expensive to book return flights from Australia to other parts of the world.

Another factor we considered was the weather. Initially we thought it would be great to have warm weather year round. But a trip to Europe in August made us realise that we really like the cold sometimes too and the changing seasons.

That said, your circumstances may be different and lots of people emigrate to Australia and love it.

If you have your heart set on making a great life in another part of the world, I don't think you could go wrong in any developed country.