SAW 04

The average family income for HRM is around the $60k. Most seem to do quite well on this.

Leg

Im assuming thats with a mortgage, car payments etc too. It does match what Ive found on the net.

Cheers.

getoutofbritainquick

That depends on what side of the dam you stand!

I noticed a lot of dams in BC are getting earthquake proof if there is such a thing!

I took some photos of the monstrous Fossil fuel power stations we have in the UK and you can imagine the reaction! :scared:

Pretty Flowers

After 18 months here, I figure that costs all in all, are pretty similar to the Uk. So I still have less buying power than I did in the UK... (Employer related winge)

As for Canucks being bland, I can't agree with that amongst my social circle. But then my friends pretty much aren't married, don't have kids and like beer and other things to entertain themselves. I've attended 2 music festivals over the summer that would never in a million years have been allowed to go ahead in the UK and last Friday I played a street game in the financial district that I could never in my wildest dreams imagine having taken place in the City of London, which would probably have been shut down by the Met Police before you could utter the words cor blimey...

People are people *shrug* I guess it depends on who you hang out with. But then if colour is the chav down three pints in the twenty minutes before closing time, then no, you're not going to find that in Canada. All of my friends bar one drink responsibily, and its pretty unusual for me to find one who's roaring drunk at the end of the evening.

I wouldn't say Canada is a bed of roses. I recently met someone who is a diagnosed psychopath - and 6th generation Canadian. But, when I think of moving back to the UK it just makes me shudder. I can't think of anything worse...

getoutofbritainquick

It depends what you mean by cost effective. Hydro are having trouble with recruitment of skilled people - the jobs are there for everyone if you are prepared to put the effort in. There were 3 people at the interview all in senior positions, the HR Manager was Irish, one of the area managers was South African and the other Canadian. Thats what I call multi-cultural!

Managers positions are not unionised and contrary to popular belief the unions in the privatised power industry in the UK are far stronger than Canada (to my surprise).

iaink

Some will, some wont. Some of the people I work with have all sorts of toys, and not much income. They inherited property mostly at some stage, and share resources with family here.

getoutofbritainquick

One of the questions I was asked at a recent interview was why Canada, my reply was Canadians are proud of their country something that seems to be lost in the UK nowadays.

One of the things that strikes me about North America and Canada is the huge differences between the have's and have not's. The government related jobs are far better paid in Canada than the private sector - a bit like the UK.
There are jobs there and if you have the skills and experience then go for them. If there was a suitable Canadian to fit the job I am sure they would have been given preference?

andrewrob

...or out in BC how we can forget about the 'fast ferries' fiasco under the old NDP gov. swanky new ferries were ordered and were budgeted 'down to the last piece of toilet paper' at $200 mil. of course they ended costing around $500 mil. they then went into service and it was found that the wash from the ferries caused major damage to the shoreline on the routes they were on....they ran about three times and ended up being sold to some company in the states for about $20 mil.

Souvenir

Oh, I see.

My bean counter hasn't raised that one. Perhaps because there is no "corporate me".

dbd33

Maybe, I don't pretend to understand it all. So long as total tax remains <20% of income I'm grudgingly satisfied with the man's work.

Souvenir

If mine could get it below 30%, I'd be happy. Then again, he only charges $70 to do it.

dbd33

Get a mistress. If she has no income you can use her allowances and that'll bring you below 30%. There are some difficulties with this approach, such as cost and risk to life and limb, but it does help with the taxes.

tonywood

We have now been in Canada some 19 months now and currently reside in Ontario. Our experience is more positive and negative.

Generally we find that overall the cost of living is similar to the UK. Gas may be cheaper, but you need to travel more, food is more expensive and we find the range is limited.

I find the utilities bills slightly cheaper than we paid in the Uk, but car insurance is 5 times more.

I am having a hard time finding suitable employment although my wife found a job straight away.

Both my children 21, 14 wouldn't go back they have a more relaxed lifestyle and there is less concern for crime. My neighbours have been wonderful and really helped us settle.

I think every person has their own views and own experiences when they emigrate, and this is something you would need to experience yourself to see if it is for you.

Would we go through it again?, yes, but I would have researched job opportunities in more depth before selecting the area to live.

Tony

Souvenir

Christiane would kill me.

Are you actually doing that? I thought your OH was here informally and thus technically without SIN. How can someone that doesn't "exist" have tax allowances?

I'm glad the subject of tax came up, though. It reminded me to stuff the receipt for my OH's Lasik into my deductibles file.

dbd33

I was thinking of the Newfie (and the one before that). For about fifteen years I used the allowances of the, still, wife and whoever I lived with. Things are more difficult now.