Re: can you help?
 

Thanks folks.I agree it's very important to know the reality of things and I want to know everything good and bad. Thanks all of you for taking the time to reply. :)

Re: can you help?
 

I'm aware that Canada comes over as a great outdoors playground...and it is

But the reality is that if you’re not prepared to travel for it in the UK
Then given the distance you have to travel in Canada in most provinces (exclude parts of BC and the Yukon) it’s just as likely you won’t travel for it here either…

Ands shame on you…. Birmingham…
You have the Peak district on your doorstep.. if you can’t bother to get up there now, why would you travel twice as far to get out to the ‘equally nice’ places in Canada..

Re: can you help?
 

I do travel here. We frequently go out in the Worcestershire countryside and down to the Cotswolds as we live on the South side of Brum. It's ok to do this on a Sunday afternoon as they are relatively close. If we were to go to the peak district the time spent in traffic would not make it worth while. Everyone here is in agreement that the traffic is getting worse. There are so many people on the road now that bank holiday traffiic is unbearable. The roads cannot take the sheer volume of traffic. Two years ago we went to France and drove down to Dover on a bank holiday weekend. To get from London to Dover took us 8 hours. YES 8 HOURS to drive approx 50 miles. Do not adjust your screens. :scared: The dual carriageway was at a standstill and people were out of their cars. Unfortunately this is not an unusual event.

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Alberta is big and empty ... we only have three million people who mainly live in three major cities ... the province is approximately 1.7 times the size of the UK.

The roads are also big an empty ... Red Deer is 90 mins to 2 hours fram Calgary, Edmonton is 3 to 4 hours away ... Vancouver and Regina are the next nearest major cities ... they're somewhere in the region of half a days drive away (I mean 12 hours minimum).

There isn't very much north of Edmonton ... if you head south you get to Montana ... again there isn't a major city for something like half a day or a day.

The rockies are about an hour away, but can be brutally cold for a lot of the year ... I've been in Kanaskis when it's been summer in Calgary, but the depths of winter in the mountains ... I like to fish, but the fishing lakes don't thaw until the start of June. I also know people who like skiing and have been marooned on the highway in 4WDs by sudden dumps of snow.

I remember commuting from Leicester to MK ... some days I left home at 7am and had only got 10 or 20 miles by 11am before I just gave up and came home. The roads here are a huge improvement, but the distances are also greater.

Personally, I'm still happy with my choice ... there's no way I could ever go back to the UK :D

Funnily enough, I don't miss the UK, so much as I miss trips to France ... it was SO close ... I'd like to see Quebec, but it's so far, far away.

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[QUOTE

Excuse me, but why won't you let your kids play in the rain? - kids don't melt you realize.

We live in Victoria, BC and we get more rain in the fall and winter then any other time of the year. My kids are out every day doing some sort of activity.....either at the beach, exploring a park or whatever with their playmates. All you need is to outfit the kids with good gortex, rubber boots and make sure they're nice and warm. During the rainy season - is a great time to explore at the beach in the park or whatever. We live a very out-doorsy lifestyle whether rain or not.

Rain has never stopped us from being outdoors.....my kids would go absolutely crazy having to stay indoors because of the rain. All kids need to vent their excess energy in some way and it's a heck of alot easier on parents if it's outdoors.

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I'm not being funny, but what are the temperatures like when it rains ... there is nothing worse than a cold rainy day in the UK ... it chills you to the bone and sucks the life out of you!

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[QUOTE=willmore][QUOTE

Excuse me, but why won't you let your kids play in the rain? - kids don't melt you realize.

Where did I say I won't let my kids play out in the rain? The fact is they don't want to play out in cold,wet drizzle. As Glaswegian says - it sucks the life out of you. We are all happy to go out when it's cold and dry as we just wrap up.

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[QUOTE
You indicated in your first message....."I feel the amount of rain prevents us from having a more outdoorsy lifestyle". Well, what makes you think it's going to be any different in Canada.

I spent a number of years growing up in Winnipeg. Even at -35c we were skating on our outdoor skating rink, going sleding or whatever. My brother, sister and I walked 1 1/2 miles to school 5 days a week, come rain, snow or whatever.

In Victoria if we waited for the nice weather we would never get outdoors. As biologists my husband/I spend a great deal of time outdoors and as a consequence so do our kids 2/4. We make sure that they are nice and warm and to date there have been no complaints. Even at 7c, cloudy, cold and rainy as it is today - the dampness gets right into my bones. The trick is to layer your clothing, and have good gortex clothing.

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The one thing I would advise is get out there on fact finding trips I know it costs but it will save you money and hart ache in the end.
My wife got a job offer in NZ and we were so close to just going, but we went on a fact finding trip thank god we did NZ was not for us the same again with Canada we have been to Toronto and Ottawa and now Calgary.
Best thing we ever did we now know Calgary is for us.

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[QUOTE=willmore][QUOTE
You indicated in your first message....."I feel the amount of rain prevents us from having a more outdoorsy lifestyle". Well, what makes you think it's going to be any different in Canada.

I spent a number of years growing up in Winnipeg. Even at -35c we were skating on our outdoor skating rink, going sleding or whatever. My brother, sister and I walked 1 1/2 miles to school 5 days a week, come rain, snow or whatever.

In Victoria if we waited for the nice weather we would never get outdoors. As biologists my husband/I spend a great deal of time outdoors and as a consequence so do our kids 2/4. We make sure that they are nice and warm and to date there have been no complaints. Even at 7c, cloudy, cold and rainy as it is today - the dampness gets right into my bones. The trick is to layer your clothing, and have good gortex clothing.[/QU

Yes I think you are right about the clothing and of course we probably should make more of an effort however I feel we make more of an effort than the average British person. I find it a bit odd that you have replied in the way that you have . I am looking for advice on moving to Canada and I feel you have misinterpreted one part of my post, jumped to conclusions and used it as a platform to criticise. I just don't get it.

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That's why I can't live in BC ... my joints can even ache in Calgary where it's dust dry most of the time ... it doesn't take a lot of humidity to do it.

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[/QUOTE]

I apologize if I sounded that way.....it wasn't meant that way at all. I guess being an outdoors type of person....it hard for me to understand why everyone doesn't want to be outdoors no matter what the weather. It's certainly each to their own....and as my kids get older....I can only hope that they will still be as enthusiastic about the outdoors as they are now.

Sorry if I offended you (stolen from IainK).....it wasn't meant to critcize at all....really just meant as a suggestion. :D

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What's Calgary like during the summer? Do you prefer Calgary's weather to British weather?

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[ [/QUOTE]

I apologize if I came across that way...it was not intended at all. I was just trying to be helpful with some suggestions - but after reading my message again....realized it really was confrontational.......I love the outdoors and think that everyone should as well.

So....sorry if I offended (stolen from IainK).....it really wasn't my intention.

The suggestion from Hawkeye was an excellent one.

Best wishes on whever you decide to live. :D

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You keep mentioning the rain in B.C. But honestly that is on the Vancouver side. Check the weather forecasts for the rest of B.C. like Kelowna for instance and you will see that it is minimal. With regard to the house prices, I think you better change your realtor, because you can certainly get a cheaper house here than in most of Calgary, I know, I used to live there, plus my daughter is still there so am totally up to date with the house prices.
If you want to check out the job situation log onto www.jobskelowna.com/employers.htm The jobs are there if you look for them and it's getting better and better. Have you seen the latest advertising campaign for B.C.? It's the best place on earth to live and the best place in Canada to find a job.

Chrissy