neilyboy

Hi all, first post.

We were dead set on NZ and were building up to moving to Christchurch before the earthquakes. I spent a couple of months out there a few years back and looking to make the move in the next two years. Now we're quite reluctant as you're not quite sure whether the quakes are all finished, whether there might be more etc.

So the other place we were looking at is, obviously, Canada. So the question is, is anyone in a position to give us a comparison of both. My job is on the 'skills shortage list' for both countries so its more lifestyle.

Almost Canadian

What do you want from your "lifestyle"?

Dashie

We're in Canada but have seriously looked at moving to NZ. We much prefer the schooling system there, we feel it's more 'down to earth' although that's purely personal preference really. Cost of living is dependent on what you would be paid for your job in each country really. Even if it's on the skills shortage list, it doesn't mean you'll be raking it in unfortunately.

We much prefer the climate in NZ, not as keen on the extremes in Ontario as we thought we'd be, but again it depends what you want from it. We also preferred the more limited consumerism in NZ. Here there is a LOT of mass produced crap everywhere, whereas we didn't find as much of that in NZ. but again, some want that.

I guess the PPs question would help direct answers rather than the wishy washy thing I just wrote

MarylandNed

Canada is not immune to earthquakes.

Boy d

It needs to be said that there are massive regional differences in Canada and it is generally pointless to generalize. The west coast of BC is apparently a lot like NZ including also being earthquake prone.

Not sure what your point is about mass produced crap and fail to see how it impacts one's day to day life or someone's decision to move to a given place. I dont find it any different than the UK.

Major downside to NZ and OZ are how isolated they are from the rest of the world and even within their own boundaries....they both arguably have better climates on the whole.

ExKiwilass

What kind of lifestyle do you want?

Would you consider somewhere else in NZ? It's just CHCH that is having the earthquakes.

ExKiwilass

I do miss both of those aspects to NZ.

Steve_

New Zealand is a pacific island in the middle of nowhere with a population smaller than the GTA; Canada has a population of 34 million and borders a mostly English-speaking nation with a population of 310 million.

In a nutshell that was why I pretty quickly wrote off New Zealand as a place to emigrate to. Plus salaries seemed to be lower and working in IT there is a significant problem with network latency, and they aren't going to be making the speed of light faster anytime soon...

Also I seem to meet quite a lot of New Zealanders, which given the small size of the population means they must have a high rate of emigration, so there must be good reasons for that.

ExKiwilass

The reason is there is less opportunity there, it's very far away (read: boring after a while) and skilled people can earn more other places, like Aus.

sliam37

Cost of living is very high in NZ, which with low wages (not to mention long work hours and few public holidays) makes it hard to manage unless earning loads and loads. However lifestyle, especially for bringing up children is fantastic, scenery is beautiful and everything is very accessible.

But don't come to Christchurch, the quakes are not over - have had hundreds since the 5.8 and 6.0 on December 23rd, and GNS are now saying we're in for 'decades' of them. Lots of physical and psychological damage. It is not a good place to be.

How the country can afford to pay for Christchurch rebuild I don't know - Christchurch as a city is no longer insured (ie: city assets, and individuals can't even get insurance for a new car unless it's just to replace a previous policy, same with houses - have to take over previous owner's insurance, if you can), and with 11 000 homes written off, 9000 red zoners (have to leave homes and land can't be rebuilt) and 1250 buildings in cbd being demolished, thousands of kms of roads destroyed, hundreds of kms of sewage and water, I find it hard to conceive how NZ can manage to fund all this. Espeically if there's another natuaral disaster - loads of flooding and landslips over Christmas further north. Key has just got in for another 3 year term and is planning to sell off assets, so the country will be even poorer.

Since so many are leaving Chch (generally to Australia, Nelson, Tauranga and RAngiora) hosue prices in these places are going up fast.

WE did a recce to Calgary last October. It felt very busy compared to the very quiet pace of life here, but lots of opportunities for the children, and you can choose your lifestyle depending on where you live - city or smaller town. We liked the houses - the houses in nz are freezing cold, little insulation, central heating doesn't exist - our bedroom tends to hover between 6 and 13 degrees all winter, brrrr. Canadian houses are well built and lovely and warm, but cheap to heat). Many of the positives that we prefer in NZ to UK (eg: schooling, kids feeling safe and therefore having more independence) are the same in Canada. Cost of living cheaper, salaries higher, but you don't get much annual leave.

However there are no bears or coyotes in NZ which must surely be a positive!

dgagitw

That's true (there was a small one in Toronto a year back IIRC) but it's fair to say that a large chunk of it is very geologically stable:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Shield

TheThornes

Is there a particular part of Canada that appeals to you? Its a big country where climate, income and lifestyle generally can vary somewhat. We live in a town close to Calgary which suits us down to the ground but that's not to say its for everyone and our lifestyle probably varies to those that live in say a big city such as Vancouver or Toronto or even somewhere further up north.

MarylandNed

That was probably the one centered in Virginia. I felt it in Maryland but folks in our Toronto office also felt it.

http://www.getprepared.gc.ca/knw/ris/eq-eng.aspx

In Canada, the coast of British Columbia is the region most at risk from a major earthquake. Other areas prone to earthquakes are the St. Lawrence and Ottawa River valleys, as well as parts of the three northern territories. Approximately 5,000 mostly small earthquakes are recorded in Canada each year. In the past 100 years, at least nine earthquakes in or near Canada have registered a magnitude greater than 7. A few have caused extensive damage. Even a magnitude 6 earthquake could do extensive damage in a built-up area. In fact, a strong quake near one of Canada's major urban areas would likely be the most destructive natural disaster this country could experience.

Dashie

Sorry, I was talking about Ontario, wasn't trying to generalise. We get minor earthquakes here too though, been increasing over the last couple of years.

The point about mass produced crap was as a comparison to NZ, not the UK, as the original post I thought was asking about differences between NZ and Canada, not the UK, and I thought that was clear in my post? Kiwilass said the same thing

Boy d

yep i got that. My point being that mass produced crap ought not be a reason. The comparison to the UK was for the benefit of the OP