EViS

Introduction: Firstly, as with most forums of this size and popularity, what a fantastic place! The wiki is a perfect addition too . I've spent a solid week searching and reading through everything here and have firmly begun my research journey of where to begin my adult life. Please excuse the longevity of this post, although I've tried my best to design it to be skim-read as well.

EDIT: I realise that much of the following may also sound very 'dreamy'. However, I decided there is nothing to lose in writing about a 'dream life' other than a couple of minutes of my time. If it can't be interpretted by people in a respectful and mature way then so be it, if I get some good answers to my final question then I have what I came here in search for and will be very thankful to those people who give me some of their time...

About Us: I am currently studying for a Quantity Surveying degree with one year (after the current one) left. My girlfriend is studying French & Italian languages. We're both in our (very) early 20's and looking to emigrate from the UK within the next couple of years.

Over the next year or so we will be heavily looking into the options available to us and once we're happy with the research on a set destination(s), we'll look to go over to the relevant areas/cities to experience the life for ourselves.

Reasons for Leaving the UK:

1) One of the primary reasons for me is the current uncontrolable status of immigrants flooding past our borders. The UK welcomes everyone and anyone which obviously is causing problems. I carry much admiration for countries such as Canada, among others, for being selective with who they give residence to and who will bring with them the most benefit. It is these 'closed' borders that I am looking to be within if they allow me to cross and give me the life I am looking for...

2) The rainy and often miserable weather. My girlfriend has arthritis and the moist climate over here often aggravates her joints making her hurt and feel larthargic.

3) Overcrowdedness and rising prices in terms of housing as well as most other consumer goods.

4) I always hear stories about people having everything they ever dream of (mountains for skiing and riding, lakes for sailing, incredible wildlife) on their doorstep. All the UK seems to offer is crime, stress and mass-commercialisation.

What We're Looking For Abroad: (in rough order of preference)

A) Following on from my degree, I am looking to work in the construction industry (not manual labour though due to wanting a greater salary and being business orientated). Although I would be happy with many roles connected to Quantity Surveying, my ambition is to start a property construction and property/land management business. Currently, I can only speak for myself in terms of careers as my girlfriend does not yet know what career to pursue.

B) Somewhere SAFE but already well populated and established so that there is little chance of boredom and depression many 'returning to the UK' members seem to speak of.

C) Real seasons! Snow in the winter and hot sunshine in the summer is key.

D) We lead a healthy life style therefore love good food & a variety of it. Nice cheeses are a must for me anyway haha ! We also have a small dream of growing much food (mainly veg) ourselves although attending something along the lines of a famers market every now and again would suffice. Finally, we both enjoy cooking and creating everything from cakes to our everyday meals from scratch therefore being able to do this easily without being constantly faced with highly processed 'foods' is important to us. I like to feel quite sustainable which is why Canada seems to appeal so much to me.

E) We both love the outdoors and the countryside. We both love outdoor sports such as mountain biking and treking during the summer. Whilst during the winter we can currently only dream of popping over to the mountain range for a weekend of skiing/snowboarding.

F) Culture, culture, and culture! We enjoy shopping in a big city (i.e. London), eating in family owned (i.e. non-commercialised) restaurants, going to the theatre and/or watching a concert, and taking in the atmosphere of random events close to the heart of the community we are in at the time.

G) Admittedly we are both very materialistic. I my audio & video equipment (Plasma TV's, AV soundsystems, etc), and we both like to wear designer clothes. I feel that from my research so far this point may be problematic for a life in Canada. Members have commented on the Canadians having not quite wised up to getting a good consumer deal, therefore getting ripped off by everything from utility companies to day-to-day goods? Also, Canadians aren't very 'trendy' in a fashion sense? How true are these views I have come across? I am always one for getting a good bargain and always put alot of effort and research into not getting ripped of for anything...

H) In the distant future we would like a fair amount of land to live on. Well, an acre or two of land for a large family home with a large garden/land surrounding it would be ideal. Obviously due to my interest in construction, I would want to design and build my own home . Although we do not want to be bored out of our wit in the so called 'lonely' suburbs so atleast for the first couple of years (pre-family time) a nice apartment in the centre of a city is ideal. We're extremely lucky and fortunate enough to have some good financial backing for this to take place.

I) Good schools and education for our future kids. I know I know we're still young and maybe thinking too far ahead... But this is important for us to take it account. I've put it at the bottom of the list for now though...

Question:

Is Canada likely to meet our above 'wants'? If in your opinion this would be so, could you suggest an area of Canada for us to further research into? I feel that British Columbia and therefore Vancouver is out due to the wet climate. Calgary or Toronto maybe?

Although any other opinions or comments are very welcome. Even ideas regarding other countries to look at if Canada doesn't sound (in your opinion) right for us...

Elaine B.

You are kidding?
Can't wait to see the replies to this one

Naryamente

Is this David Beckham? It is isn't it! IT'S DAVID BECKHAM EVERYBODY!!

Wooooooooooooo! We love *soccer!*

blimey

I must say I thought about it (replying) and then thought better of it...

EViS

Why is that Elaine? Am I sounding too 'dreamy' of wanting a 'perfect life'? Apologies if that is so, I'm simply trying to get my personality across in order to get a better idea of whether Canada is the right option for me/us...

EDIT: I have a feeling this was a complete waste of time if all I am going to get back is sarcastic remarks. Apologies, maybe this forum isn't quite as 'helpful' as I first imagined...

Atlantic Xpat

Essex or possibly Malaga is the place for you my friend. Enjoy.

Sharing your personality with us is where it all went wrong...................

R I C H

Give up the dream - you're screwed - Canada's a land of immigrants, with 900,000 waiting to be processed. You'll not like it here

Naryamente

Sorry mate, no harm meant. It's just that the anti-immigration thing is such a hard pill to swallow when this is land of immigrants; and you'd be one too, so starting off like that is not exactly a healthy approach to coming somewhere new.

Canada is vast and so are the personalities. It's backward - but anywhere you just land is backward, so there's no telling what you're going to find. And trust me, the urban centers aren't exactly safe. Toronto has gang problems, for one. There's a crazy person, walking along, shouting at their chips at every corner.

The shopping's good if you're into it, but sooner or later you realise that it's all a bunch of high-street crap, just like the U.K.

Best o' luck and all that.

EViS

Right, well I see your point there. I've slightly changed that paragraph as it most probably is being interpreted the wrong way as a consequence of me expressing my views in an incorrect manner.

Having just re-read over my post, I realise it may sound like a 'David Beckham' lifestyle and therefore every (well most) man and their dogs dream. However, again it's probably my poor style of writing and getting my elongated points across so I am once again sorry about that.

Even so, the least people could do is reply with a comment of them not understanding what precisely I am looking for as I may be sounding too broad... Afterall, this is my first post here and it is a broad (opinionated) question. I will most definitely have much more specific questions to follow. No harm in trying to get a broad discussion about my 'dream' going though...

blimey

You may want to check out a recent thread about safety in toronto, where many if not all said they leave their doors unlocked at times and feel perfectly safe at night. All big cities have gangs - comes with the territory - but there's nothing particularly striking about them in Toronto when compared to the UK, I don't find.

I must say, you have an interesting view of the city - what with the "crazy people shouting at their chips at every corner" stuff - where do you live? You really can't be scared of people with mental illness, can you - they're mainly just sad and can't help that they're sick (unless you're talking about people who are high - in which case they really don't want much to do with you unless you can buy or sell!!)

I've found toronto to be friendly and safe given it's size. But immigrants are the norm more than the exception - but I like that (good sushi).

R I C H

Some (slightly) more constructive comments for you.

fester

If you're coming over on a trip visit the Shuswap, it might be what your looking for. We love it.

EViS

In all fairness I have not begun researching this side of matters yet. I'm concentrating on determining upon a place first. Depending upon how my career begins, it may very well be the case of me speaking to my employer whether they can assist in moving me to their office in Canada. Again, this is only an option at the moment and of course the area I may decide upon moving to may not have any UK companies there...

Am I completely wrong in assuming this? It is ONLY based on what I have researched and has been said by members of these very own forums.

Again, research from these forums, is it wrong?

Fair enough. It is an assumption I made in thinking that the entire left side of the Rocky's is wet...

R I C H

To address your points, and this is only based on my experience:

You can buy pretty much anything here that you can in Europe. You won't want for 'stuff'

Fashion is in the eye of the beholder. Living in a small BC city, my sense is that fashion is far less important here than a large UK city. On my frequent trips to Vancouver, there appears to be a different priority and 'fashion sense' is more apparent.

The land/build prices are absolutely correct - based on my own house build they're at the low end. Where you live, how you integrate, what fun you have is a personal thing - only you can make it work. FWIW, my neighbourhood is one of the friendliest, safest and most fun places I've lived in (that counts 8 different countries)

In Kamloops, we've had nothing more than a short passing rain shower since October '07. I don't expect rainfall of any quantity until June (our wettest month). Early April I'll be turning on my irrigation 24x7 until the end of September.

rsacharuk

Okay, you have a lot of boxes to check regarding finding the right place to move to within Canada!
I moved to Canada 18 months ago as my husband is Canadian and we have since been searching for the right place for us to settle. You may have to consider that no place will be absolutely perfect. No where ever is.
However Canada has many great places to live depending on the lifestyle you want to live whether it be mountain, City, remote, suburbia etc.
As mentioned in other posts, Canada is made of immigrants, this actually can be a good thing as the bigger cities are multicultural with a wide range of restaurants, shows, and events. Cost of living seems to be more expensive over west than East. (We lived in Banff and now Vancouver). Would like Montreal but neither of us speak decent enough French Merde!...Your GF?
It's a BIG place, so have an idea of how you actually want to spend your time so you can figure out where is best for you and your GF.
Also, you really do need some experience and a sought after trade to be granted a visa. Canadian immigration are strict (and the London office is slloooooowwwwwww!)