Originally Posted by Dave+Jules

I am assuming that Mandymoochops was talking about your ego when she said you have a huge one

Originally Posted by R I C H

That's between Moo and me - a gentleman never tells

Originally Posted by Tangram

The man oozes class.

Originally Posted by Tangram

The man oozes class.

Originally Posted by scirish

Rich, you <snip>, I am not asking someone else to determine mine and my childrens future, simply well informed people their opinion.

We are hoping to rent a reasonable sized family home, though again this is dictated by rent over there, hence opinions needed i.e. calgary is/is not over priced.

I don't see see how our ethnicity comes into it at all???

I think peoples opinions on school systems etc are a lot more important than our shopping habits - trust me paris hilton i ain't. So take the weight of your shoulders I am looking constructive advice nothing more!

to the person who said people come here to vent phew! you were right!
thanks all who took the time to reply,
scirish

Originally Posted by Spoons1961

We chose a place called the Sunshine Coast in BC. Frankly we could'nt afford Vancouver itself. Initially, we wanted a climate without the extremes, so West Coast, BC. Our decision was based on what we could afford, the local community, schools for our kids, Access to a big City. Weather. Finding Work. I'd put finding work and affordability at the top of my list. Being broke is no fun.

Originally Posted by triumphguy

Calgary is a great place for kids.

I have three - all in what would be primary school in England. They all love their teachers and have good friends among their classmates.

My daughter goes to an all girls school that focuses on science and math(s). It costs us nothing extra.

In summer we use the community lake a lot - almost every day, for swimming, kayaking, fishing and bbqs. In winter we use it's hill for tobogganing, and the lake and arena for skating.

40 minutes from our house is a beautiful area (bordering on Kakanaskis and then Banff) with great camping.

I ride my motorbike a lot and there's lots of great on and off road trips for me.

Our neighbours are friendly. The city is clean, and there's a huge park slicing through Calgary.

We have season passes at the zoo and Heritage Park, and take the kids to the Glenbow Art gallery too.

There's a couple of World Heritage sites a couple of hours drive away - Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump, and Drumheller.

There's skiing fairly close by - Canada Olympic Park, and Wintergreen in Bragg Creek. There's world class skiing 2 hours away door to door.

However the world class museums and art galleries of London are not here. Neither is St. Martin in the Fields or other cultural centres. The local Symphony Orchestra is fine though, and Calgary hosts 4 major operas a year. There's also the Banff Fine Arts Centre.

However I lived in London for four years, and though I went to many plays, shows, movies and galleries never once felt at home there.

There's no huge football scene and no-none will know who the heck Jonathon Ross is, but you know - we survive!

There's pubs which flood with Brits on big game days and you can get Brit TV over the internet.

To get on here, chill, loosen a few buttons, lose the socks with sandals look, and be prepared to be taken at face value.

No-one will care about your accent, or what car you drive.

Some people find Canadians unsophisticated and naive. Not true. There's many well educated, broad minded, well travelled Canucks: but they might be wearing a plaid shirt when you meet them.

You'll find kids activities highly organized and diverse.

We survive the winters and enjoy what summer we can.

Canadians make a big deal of days like Thanksgiving and Halloween. You don't have to. Find some Brits and celebrate bonfire night instead if you want.

Finally the world's a beautiful and enormous place - bigger than the UK and Canada combined! So while you are over there experience as much as you can with the kids, and when you are here get stuck in!

Enjoy the adventure.

Originally Posted by dboy

My friend just bought a place in half moon bay and has a place for his boat. I was surprised how cheap the property was there ( in comparison to Vancouver).

How do you find it living there?

Originally Posted by scirish

Hi, just joined the boards today was looking at the calgary post, all seems very negative! surely its not all that bad? from what had heard it was a beautiful scenic city and not as expensive as vancover.
Anway you lot are the experts so advise pls! what canadian city would you reccommend would be best to raise a family - we have four kids and are thinking of moving from Ireland, so obviously schools, recreational facilites etc. would all feature heavily, any advice greatly appreciated!

Originally Posted by Spoons1961

We chose a place called the Sunshine Coast in BC. Frankly we could'nt afford Vancouver itself. Initially, we wanted a climate without the extremes, so West Coast, BC. Our decision was based on what we could afford, the local community, schools for our kids, Access to a big City. Weather. Finding Work. I'd put finding work and affordability at the top of my list. Being broke is no fun.

Originally Posted by R I C H

How can someone else really determine what's best for your family?

Too many unknown factors.....weather likes/dislikes, job prospects, what type of recreation you like, cost of living, equity you have, ethnicity, shopping habits etc etc etc.