swoops

We have spent hours trawling the web sites to create an image of what Canada is like,we are amazed by the huge difference in climate from one provence to another and the landscape is so diverse.
We thought Kootenay BC looks nice ,can anyone make any other suggestions? somewhere there's plenty to do but quiet and safe for the kids.

mikejw

NOVA SCOTIA,NOVA SCOTIA,NOVA SCOTIA.

I've pm'd you swoops.
mike

willmore

Vancouver Island is a beautiful place to bring up kids. My husband and I can't think of a nicer place to bring up our 2 kids. We have the ocean, beaches, lots of parks and wilderness areas, you can surf on the west coast of the island, watch the salmon swim upstream in the fall, watch eagles nest......and too many other things to mention here. Depends whether you like to live on an island ....and spend 1 1/2 hours on a ferry to get to the mainland. There is another forum www.vancouverisland.com/forum where you will get many other opinions from people living and wanting to live on the island

There are some other folks that have already moved to the island or are thinking of doing so......so I'm sure they can give their opinion as well.

Best of luck to you wherever you decide to make your home.

DanMarsden

I don't recommend Toronto, that's for sure. I haven't been elsewhere (outside Ontario), so I can't really recommend any other location/province.. I guess it all depends on your "tastes." If you like a "crazy" city that's crowded and full of life, etc., then Toronto might be your place.. although if anyone in your family has lung/breathing problems/asthma, then I can say it's not a very wise choice..

I've heard many nice things about BC. Don't know if there is any truth to it. Maybe some of the forumers who reside there might want to say more about that.

Glaswegian

Have a search around on the forum ... there's have been a lot of threads asking the same question ... apart from Dan, everyone would probably recommend where they live.

My suggestion last time someone asked this was that we start recommending Iqaluit ... it's July average is 8C ... it might not be frozen all year ... go on, someone has got to try it.

iaink

Im not sure I can answer this type of question with a straight answer anymore, the temptation to say Iqualuit is too strong.

Really all of canada pretty much meets your requirements, and dont worry, plenty of people do fine raising kids in Toronto, I dont think it as bad as all that. I certainly have no qualms raising my kid in my rural Ontario backwater.

I would worry more about finding a place where you can get a decent paying job and affordable housing, because that is going to be more benefit to your kids in the long run.

Good Luck

Iain

swoops

If it's a mild 8c in july...December ????????????????? bet you don't find condoms on your doorstep there! cheers for the info though!

bananahammock

Hi Swoops

Like yourselves we want somewhere nice to bring up kids.
You don't mention whether you have been to BC yet, we trawled the internet, read books, watched videos etc etc for the best part of a year (we applied in July 2003) but theres nothing like seeing the place " in the flesh "
Our first choice originally was Calgary but I don't think that I could stand the weather so we are trying to decide between Van Island ~ which we visited this May or the Okanagan.
Having visited the island it was a lot different than seeing it on the internet, some parts were absolutely beautiful, others were not what we had expected.
Anyway, what i'm trying to say is visit where you want to live if you possibly can, theres nothing like seeing it with your own eyes

gooding

I agree with wilmore here. Vancouver Island! it has sea, lakes, mountains, and a climate more like UK. The kids can cycle, walk ski, sail, and run about in wide open spaces. There are provably many other places the same.


We have chosen Courtney mid island. Our kids are teenagers,but felt it had all transport options, and all the outdorr sports they could want.

You must go and look though as thinhs are not all what they seem from internet and pictures..........

swoops

hi bananahammock
We have not visited Canada at all but it seems to tick all the boxes.We have both felt so fed up with this country and what it offers our kids for their future,Canada appeals to us all and it makes great reading.We started to research Canada about 3 years ago and have felt very unsettled here since,we have not started the visa process yet but I do feel your advice of visiting there first make sense,did you visit prior to applying?

bananahammock

Hi again Swoops

We applied first and then visited although we have also been researching Canada for a couple of years.
Wierd as it sounds though, we also felt really disheartened with the UK and what it held for the kids future but now we've actually taken the bull by the horns I keep seeing all the good points about being here!! Womans perogative I suppose.

Tiaribbon

I think as time goes on you will find less good points about being in the UK. We started looking at and visited BC for the first time 3 years ago. Loved it and have been to BC many, many times and when we applied for our PR this was where we intended to live (Okanagan Valley), however last Christmas we were in Pennsylvania and we decided to pop up to Ontario just to make sure that BC was the place for us as I was starting to feel that perhaps the Okanagan was just a tiny bit goldfish bowly for us. Anyway on visiting Ontario, we just loved it! Went back in February to find a property, put an offer in on a farm and then went back in May/June for completion. We spent the whole of August there and we are sure that for us, this is the right place. We are only an hour from Toronto and 1 minute drive from our town.

We have visited Canada many times now and although I would certainly love to go back to BC for vacations, it was just not what we were looking for long-term and I was a bit anxious about the future prospect in the job market for our children.

Canada is so big and everywhere is lovely......you just have to go there and figure out the place that is the best for you and your circumstances. Best of luck.

Glaswegian

Hope you don't mind me stepping in here ... I would strongly urge you to visit Canada before deciding where you want to go.

Canada isn't Utopia - Canadian kids are faced with the same social challenges as kids are in the UK - drugs, underage drinking, etc are all issues here to.

Canada isn't the UK and attitudes, lifestyles, etc vary a lot from province to province ... try to visit a couple of provinces and try not to look at them as tourists ... unless you're heading to BC, try a visit in Jan/Feb ... see what you think of the winter and remember that it lasts longet in some provinces than others

gooding

I agree with you about it not all being rosy. We all have the feeling that the grass is always greener ............ We spoke to as many people, especially locals around where we chose to buy, researched on the net. Also by reading the on line local newspapers it can show a different light on places.

On the government websites etc, we have found crime figures for areas, read all about drug, problems, and were quite amused and enlightened about mariuanja ( can't spell sorry) fields being grown around the town. ( by his tenants in one case)

We stayed in a bed and breakfast first visit, and the owner was an immigrant from UK many years ago, he was a great help in telling us where to go and what to do.

We had gut feeling instantly about chosing BC, but just like here in the UK, have no doubt that if and when PR come through, we may probably have to move about depending on jobs etc,
But you have one life and if you don't take a gamble you will spend life saying "I wish we had done that!"
We are going for our first time in winter this December so may see it in a different light, but we want to ski, so I hope there is snow up that mountain!!!

Tiaribbon

Oh you will love BC in the winter. It is fabulous! There will be snow on the mountains and you will just love the ski-ing. That is something we don't really have in Ontario. There are a couple of tiddly runs but nothing like out in BC, however we do have Vermont not too far away so for ski-hols we may just have to go to the States, which suits me fine as I LOVE Vermont.

Have a lovely time, it's so lovely and crisp and clean out there in the winter.