gary123

Hi

I have been reading the posts, and some are so negative i surprized by this. I like most of the people who read this site are planning/trying to move to canada,and all i can say is "bring it on!" i have a good job here , yeah my wife has a good job, and a nice house etc...........however it is not about me and my wife, it's about the children, it's about how this country(uk) has gone down the toilet, and it about having the guts to go forward and try to make a better life for us all.
I'll flip bugers, i clean the streets, i pick up dog shit if i have to but i will not be negative before i even get there. i do not see Canada throught rose tinted glasses, you only get out of life what you put inand i am going to put 110% in to Canada.

Gary

Voyager970

Here Here , well said matey, glad you are up for the whole process

Eddie

Bob

disillusionment happens though where ever you move...and it's always easier to have the rose tinted greener grass, but until your in a new country with no friends or family to hang out with, even the little things can quickly start to grate...

We're not all dispirited, but we're out where ever and experience things, so saying what the draw backs can be...move over, have a new start and enjoy it all, but don'tbe naive about things and then you can prepare for them.

Glaswegian

Most people who post negative stories do it with the intention of helping you be better prepared for your move. They do not (in most cases) do it with the intention of putting you off.

Lets face it - we could tell you anything right now and nothing would put you off moving! You have made up your mind already.

Please try to take the facts given and consider how you would deal with the same issues. Its been said before that its very easy to sit in the UK and criticise someone else's move to Canada. Its also very easy to say you will cope with a minimum wage job but until you have tried it in Canada with no family and no old friends around you then you dont really know how you will cope. Try imagining having nobody in the UK you know well enough to talk to about things in your life and you will start to see how easy it is for a new immigrant to feel so cut off. Sometimes the forum is used to vent frustrations!

Try to have an open mind and accept that many people come to this forum seeking help. They cannot get the help they need if they dont post their negative stories. Others come with the intention of gathering opinions and information - many want to hear about the hardships too.

Mrs G

Cayuga_Griff

Bang on man. I think you hit the nail right on the head. Canda rocks, and its definately worth all the effort. I'm a Canadian (well, dual nationality, Canadin and British Citizen) who's been living in the UK since I was 8 and have been dying to move back since the day I got here. Now I'm about to graduate from Uni at the age of 23 I can. Bring it on! I have missed Canada with all my heart, moving back is just the start!!

Glaswegian

Bulldog spirit is all very well and good, but after four years in Canada, I've got to admit that I probably wouldn't want to live here if the only option I had was flipping burgers or cleaning up dogshit.

In Alberta, the welfare state is negligible ... it's not the UK ... if you're poor here, you are seriously ****ing poor.

Healthcare has to be paid for - Medicare isn't "free" in the same way the NHS is - there's no universal healthcare. There's no such thing as an NHS dentist here ... you pay for that too ... same with opticians. Higher education isn't free - if you don't invest for your kids' futures, you'll saddle them with debt

If you're unfortunate enough to end up in one of the poorer parts of Calgary, you'll see all the same issues you see in a council estate - teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, discarded needles, prostitution and don't doubt for a minute that your kids won't be able to buy any drug of their choice in the local playground.

If you're really unlucky, you can get to join the working poor - people so poor that they have to live in homeless shelters and rely on food banks to eat - entire families in Calgary live this way.

Look around any Canadian city and you'll see exactly the same urban decay that you see in the UK - if anything, I'd rather be poor in the UK than in Canada, at least I wouldn't have to rely on charity handouts in the UK.

Nobody plans to have a rough time when they come here - some people do, some people don't - what you can't do it criticise someone else's experience until you've tried it for yourself.

heycronie

Have you visited EVERY Canadian city my friend? Probably not as some cities have more problems then others. Ive been to Uk my friend and WOW what can I say, you'd rather be poor in UK then here? You need help.

Glaswegian

I've been poor in both places ... I'd choose the Uk any time.

So ... have you been to every Canadian city?? I've only been to three larger ones

Glaswegian

Where are you anyway?

Bob

well fare is much better in the UK, you have the NHS to take care of all your medical needs, and also you'd have friends and family for support...it's something to fall back on...so don't burn all your bridges on the move over would be simple but important advice.

Glaswegian

Ever had to accept help from a food bank??

Glaswegian

Take my word for it ... nobody wants to be unemployed and out of cash in Canada ... it isn't a lot of fun and there isn't always a lot you can do about it until you're established.

If you're ever at the point where all you have left is enough cash to buy an air ticket back to friends & family in the UK, I'd buy the air ticket, you can always come back for a second try ... I wouldn't want to rely on the Albertan welfare system ... before anyone asks, we've been at the stage of visiting the travel agents to check on flights.

Bob

aye, ain't much fun here in the states either.

heycronie

Well, all im saying is its not much better then anywhere else so suck it up. You seem to think that U.K is a saint to poor people. Sorry it isnt. Its probably worse.

Glaswegian

WHERE ARE YOU?