Hi - new to this site so "Hello" to everyone. My family and I emigrated to Australia this year. The wife wanted to try Oz and I wanted to go to Canada having worked in Toronto but as usual the wife won. Now we are here she is not settling but we have said we will give it 2 years to make a final decision. Has anyone else tried Oz first and then moved on to Canada and if so how have things gone? Any comments or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

You could try asking the same question over in the 'moving back to the UK forum' as there are a few people who have lived in both countries.

Cheers - will do - still trying to find my way round this site!!

I have lived in both Australia and Canada. I've written several posts about it in the past. Then, after having done that one time too many (for me), I bit the bullet and wrote a Wiki article called Canada versus Australia. After I'd written it, other people made what I thought were good contributions as well. Hope that helps.

Here are some previous threads in which I shared my thoughts about the Australia versus Canada issue. I provide links for extra reading, although I believe salient points have been captured in the Wiki article that I mentioned in my previous post.

• Dilemma Alberta vs Adelaide
  
  
• Melbourne, Australia vs Vancouver, Canada
  
  
• Moving from Sydney to Toronto
  
  
• Canada v Australia

Just had a quick look through and that seems great. Will wait until both kids have gone to bed and will read it in more depth but thank you very much. Life is full of challenges and emigrating is just one! Thanks again and all the best for a "white Christmas".

Just got your other Thread so will take a look at those later. Much appreciated - thanks.

Dont give it two years..if you are unhappy, move on.

One quick question from a newbie, still wet behind the ears, in Canada who's never been to Oz.

Why isn't she settling? If you get to the bottom of that, you might avoi a lot of upheaval....some problems you'll take with you wherever you go.

Good luck.

I reckon, having moved around quite a bit that it does take a couple of years to settle.

However, if you have a lurk round the Oz & MBUK boards then you'll find it fairly common for people to settle in the beginning. This may be due to "trailing spouse" syndrome where one partner is stuck at home and the other happily working or people just missing family and friends and feeling the distance....

I would find out the "real" issues because if you up and move to Canada, which can take time, then realise it is because your wife just wants to be back in the UK, then that will cause resentment.

Aren't Australians terribly vulgar?

There are some members of BE's Canada forum who could give them a run for their money.

Missed the word "not" out there! So not settle....

Thanks for all your replies. The main reasons why I (wife) am not settling is not because of family back in UK - I have been independent since the age of 16. How Oz was portrayed to me is not how it is. It may be an outdoor lifestyle but for the majority of the time it is either too warm or throwing it down. I was told you didn't see any spiders or snakes - I have seen plenty and we are in a built up area near the coast. It is basically an existence of bbq's and boozing which to a lot of people that is heaven but not us. If you don't drink you are an outcast as there must be something wrong with you. The main skills required in Oz seem to be for builders or any form of manual work whereas OH is management and out here it is who you know and not what you know so he is struggling getting job he is capable of doing. Education not all it is cracked up to be either. So I am not settling (I'm not unhappy though) and I know OH would prefer to be in Canada. It is strange not having the four Seasons that we have been used to for so long and also not having light evenings. We will however give it the 2 years as he has been able to get on a University Course to do a Masters in Business and thereafter we will look at our options and see where we will go from there. Not everyone settles but this can be for varying reasons but at least we have given it a try even if we do return to the UK!! Many thanks for all your comments and advice.

And if you do go back to the UK just treat it like you had a very long holiday..Life is an adventure..Good Luck..

There are lots more places in Australia than where you are. We moved originally to Adelaide, which I loved, but my husband couldn't find work there so we moved to Perth. Both lovely cities with their own personalities.

Once you've been here a while you get the feel for the different seasons. Coming from Canada I thought I would miss the seasons, but after 18 months here I have got used to not wearing mittens and down filled parkas to put the bins out.

Certainly send your application to Canada, but before you make up your minds about not settling and hating where you are take a bit of time to explore other regions of Australia. Melbourne has distinct seasons and many fewer creepies than Qld (I'm guessing you're in Queensland) and is a beautiful city. Tasmania has distinct seasons and a very laid back way of life. Western Australia is huge and runs the gamut from desert to tropics to cooler southern areas.

As for the drinking culture, I think you'll find that's just the group you are associating with. Neither my husband nor I drink much and we've found a great group of friends who also don't sit around every weekend boozing and bar-b-q ing. We've also got to know our neighbours quite well, so we spend a lot of time socialising close to home.

Both places have their pluses and minuses and no matter where you go your wife will still not be close enough to her family to drop around for a coffee. Good luck with your decision and if you're in the Perth area look us up.