Re: A bit of advice about moving to Toronto
 

Isn't that where the job offer is though. Where is more exciting than Toronto - and in Canada?

Re: A bit of advice about moving to Toronto
 

You have a point. :(

Re: A bit of advice about moving to Toronto
 

What this post needs in El Dulci - he'd know the answer!

Re: A bit of advice about moving to Toronto
 

Thanks everyone for taking the time out to reply. I must admit it is the excitement of living in another country that is the biggest lure which probably isn't a reason to move. We holiday in the states every year as we have family there and love it and we found Toronto very similar. Plus Canada has so much to offer as a country. We really are at a loss what to do but of course it's a decision only we can take.
And the 3 was meant to be a pound sign hahaha!

Re: A bit of advice about moving to Toronto
 

Hubby has a theory that the only reason that the crime rate is lower here is because so much less actually gets reported. Our personal experience is that we have experienced double the crime against us here than we did in the UK. When our car was broken into last summer, we called the police and they didn't want anything to do with it.

As far as coming here? If you fancy an adventure, and to try something different, then why not? I'd caution against putting Canada on any kind of pedastal though, it's not warranted at all. It's different, not necessarily better, which is completely subjective and likely to be different for everyone. To some people it's better, to others worse, to others simply different.

With regards to your cars, finances etc. this move will cost you thousands, possibly tens of thousands. You will probably have to just swallow a lot of that, and hope that any relocation money from your wife's company can lessen the blow a bit.

Re: A bit of advice about moving to Toronto
 

Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to move to another place. No one can know beforehand how they will adapt to that move. Anyone telling you it's a good idea or a bad idea is simply voicing their own perspective, with no way of knowing how you will adapt.

If someone moved from London to Edinburgh, no doubt it could be as easy or as difficult a move as moving to Canada. They are in fact culturally different and that is where, how any individual will adapt becomes unknowable.

Some people adapt easily to change and others not at all. Some people miss 'home' after being away on vacation for 5 days (I've personally heard people expressing that). There is only one way to know how you will react and that is by doing it. There is no way to know beforehand.

There is no good and bad or right and wrong in how you react, what is, is. I happen to be someone for whom the saying, 'home is where I hang my hat' is pretty much the way it is. In the last 25 years I have lived in 4 countries and in several different parts of some of those 4. A total of 7 'moves' of from 1 year to 7 years in each. I felt at home every time after an initial period of adjustment.

On the other hand, I have watched many people make a move and after 1 or 2 years, pack up and go 'home'. It just wasn't their cup of tea. They tried it, they didn't like it. It had NOTHING to do with where they moved to (unless it was some war torn country or something). It had everything to do with their individual ability to adapt and accept what is different.

So my advice is do what you want to do. Stories about this is better or that is worse are meaningless. Here is a personal observation re crime for example. On a visit to the UK, my brother was walking down a street right next to St. Andrews University in Scotland. He remarked to me that every car parked along the street had a locking bar on the steering wheel. He grew up and lived in Toronto and was amazed to see that. He had never seen anything like that in Toronto. His conclusion, 'there must be a lot of car thefts here'. The total opposite of what Dashie might say based on having had a car broken into in Canada. You cannot take one incident and draw a conclusion based on that alone.

There are countless numbers of people who would love to have the opportunity to do it and especially under the circumstances you describe re a willing employer etc.

Re: A bit of advice about moving to Toronto
 

I see your location is Manchester. My husband and I moved to Toronto from M'cr nearly four years ago. Like you we had two good jobs, two cats and we had no mortgage. Now we have two good jobs, no cats and a mortgage! We fancied a change! We like living here, it's not that's it better or the UK is crap it's just different. Don't look back and regret your decision life's too short!

Re: A bit of advice about moving to Toronto
 

I think one get's more in size in Toronto than London and overall the price is lower, if one moves a bit to the suburbs. However, when buying, consider the "property tax", it comes anally and is tied to the value, and can actually easier go up than the "council tax" in the UK.

Commuter traffic can be a bit of a nightmare in Toronto.

Re: A bit of advice about moving to Toronto
 

Is that a spelling error or did you really mean it's a pain in the a**e ? Just wondering. :)

Re: A bit of advice about moving to Toronto
 

Just beat me to it. ;) But what is a bigger pain in the a**e is people bitching about paying for the services they receive through their taxes.

Re: A bit of advice about moving to Toronto
 

it's a typo. sorry, every year, annually I meant

Re: A bit of advice about moving to Toronto
 

The other option brightened up my Sunday morning reading considerably though :rofl:

Re: A bit of advice about moving to Toronto
 

It's a good point to bring up property tax. It can indeed vary a great deal and without providing any signifigant difference in the services you get for your money.

Property tax is assessed based on your home value and the number of people and businesses who are paying in to the 'pot' of money that buys you the services you want. ie. garbage pickup, snow removal, street lighting, etc. etc. The more there are paying in, the lower the cost per $100k of property you own. Pretty simple really.

It's not about complaining about paying, it's about being able to get the same for less cost elsewhere. The cost is justifiable but that doesn't make it less of a cost.

Buy in one area and your property tax might be $3k per year while in another area it is $6k per year for the same services. Unlike your house cost which is an investment (reasonable to expect that the value will increase over the long term), property taxes are purely a cost. That money is gone.

So it is always wise to look at what the property taxes are when comparing two otherwise comparable houses in different areas.

Re: A bit of advice about moving to Toronto
 

Redharry, how old are you and your wife? If you are a bit bored with life and really want a complete Change, do it. If you can't afford to loose the comfortable life that you have built...or will deeply regret it, don't. If you can chalk it up to a big adventure and determine that you can enjoy it, but start again if it doesn't work out then you might have fun. Chances like this don't come along frequently...maybe it's might be a good time to assess your lives and decide what you both want.

Had your wife not received the job offer, would you have been contemplating a big move of any sort, or would you have been happy with life as is?

Re: A bit of advice about moving to Toronto
 

Hi millie,
We are both 34 with no kids. We have always talked about moving abroad, in particular the States, but the opportunity has never risen before. Chances like this don't come around too often and we are worried we will regret it if we don't take it, but as I said, our life in the UK is good so the risk is huge.

Such a difficult decision and I admire all of you for taking the plunge. Many thanks again for taking the time out to reply to me.