Originally Posted by mohogony (Post 7310982)

Yep - and In Canada they live constantly under -20 degress , the sun never comes out and all they do is play ice hockey on fozen lakes, Oh, and the grizzly bears and Polar bears are hiding around every corner

Give me desert over igloos.

Originally Posted by mohogony (Post 7311529)

More people die from bee and wasp stings in the UK each year then people die in OZ from snake bites every year. Only around 2 people a year die from snake bites in OZ and mostly because they picked up or tried to kill the snake,.Regarding spiders no one had died from a spider bite in OZ in 30 years.
Yes OZ has animals that can kill people but so Canada. The USA has rattle snakes, venomous spiders, mountain lions, bears and sharks that kill people all the time.

Originally Posted by FlirtyKnickers (Post 7311528)

They live in Hobart, and yes...they have spiders, the kids think it's amusing to send me pictures:sneaky:

Originally Posted by Iain Mc (Post 7311608)

Oz was never in the running for me, I like more temperate climes and the mountain scenery - New Zealand was seriously considered but accessibility (distance and cost) and a much smaller employment market were not in it's favor at the time.



'Better': undoubtedly Australia is the better choice for a lot of people; Canada is the better choice for another, different, lot of people. There are lots of factors that influence numbers headed to different countries.

In Australia's case I'd venture that those factors include a) the higher visibility of Australian culture in the UK and the representation of Australian lifestyle in the media, b) better marketing and c) the relative merits /costs of that country's emigration process compared to other destinations.

Originally Posted by dboy (Post 7311588)

True. You should n't feel the need to defend oz. Each to his own. I imagine oz is a great place to call home. My brother lived there for a year and loved it. A little too far removed from the rest of the world for me. I had an idea that i might try it some time back, but i would have been losing too much. Had i been younger and not as established I may have given it a go. Vancouver has been a great fit for me.

This thread was never intended to put down OZ but more to demonstrate that making a decision to move somewhere is more involved than how sunny a place is. But each to his own. Canada is not perfect either.

I've found as you get older being closer to the UK becomes more of an issue as your folks get older etc. I left 20 years ago and did n;t care until the last few years really. I've had so many relatives die in the last couple of years and nieces/nephews born it makes you realize what's important. Life stages play into your decision as well.

Originally Posted by dboy (Post 7311617)

I think also its a lot easier to get recognition for UK credentials. Canada is a bit backwards in that regard.

Originally Posted by Iain Mc (Post 7311608)

In Australia's case I'd venture that those factors include a) the higher visibility of Australian culture in the UK and the representation of Australian lifestyle in the media, b) better marketing and c) the relative merits /costs of that country's emigration process compared to other destinations.

Originally Posted by cdnexpat (Post 7311619)

I do have to agree though Australia is far from the Western world.

To say it's far from everything isn't true (unless you define North America/Europe as everything), there are some really cheap flights to Hawaii and Asia. But distance to UK/North America is pretty big.

Originally Posted by Kiwilass (Post 7311677)

Living here, I def. feel NZ & OZ are more isolated and there is less choice in terms of close (5 hours flight) destinations. I mean, it's around 9 hours flight to Hong Kong from melbourne. That's not a short flight. Where can you get in 5 hours? Oh...parts of Australia. Fiji, maybe. NZ. Your options are pretty limited.

Originally Posted by cdnexpat (Post 7311706)

Although that's true (distance) you also have an extra 2-4 weeks of vacation in Oz which makes up for the extra flying time.

Originally Posted by DESERTFOX (Post 7311725)

Although we never been to both countries (apart from Toronto airport;)) before and had also tried to applied to OZ beginning of last year but need to abandon as we thought it was way too far, we don't want too humid and hot that is why we choose Vancouver BC as more temperate I guess and pay in Canada is better as compared to have been offered in OZ.

Hopefully not long from now BC bound.:)

Originally Posted by dboy (Post 7311733)

I have to admit that the limited hols in Canada was a shock at first. Its taken me 10 years to get to 5 weeks. Although overtime is paid at double time and can be taken as time off in lieu of pay. Not sure about other employers though. Also i work a four day week (10 hours shifts) so if I take 4 days hols i end up with 11 days off in total. So its certainly manageable.