Canada - Would It Suit Us?
Mar 25th 2008, 7:23 pm
#61
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Location: Suffolk, England..
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Re: Canada - Would It Suit Us?
Interesting, I'm guessing that the rain (as opposed to snow) helps 
. I'm not looking to harvest mass amounts of crops, just some bits and pieces which would give me enough pleasure knowing that the produce was created with my bare hands. Alot of satisfaction in that! Sounds like I shouldn't have a problem with this point then, thank you Yoong.
. I'm not looking to harvest mass amounts of crops, just some bits and pieces which would give me enough pleasure knowing that the produce was created with my bare hands. Alot of satisfaction in that! Sounds like I shouldn't have a problem with this point then, thank you Yoong.Elvis..
Got fed up after reading the first page of replies.....
Worst case scenario is it will be no different to England, only you'll have a bigger house and cheaper coffee!!.
I've been researching this move for four years, have visited four time and have family (brother) who moved out there over four years ago.
If i've got it wrong we will just move back.
For what it's worth I am married and have two boys at school. I have been a police officer for over ten years. Moving to Newmarket, north of Toronto. Hoping this will give a good mix of City and countryside on the doorstep whilst still giving us a good area to live and bring up our kids..
ATB
Pete
PS.I read the Daily Mail !! amongst others. I also read our daily crime reports and believe me things are certainly not getting better here.
Mar 25th 2008, 7:35 pm
#62
Sawdust making harpy
Joined: Sep 2007
Location: Alberta
Posts: 11,291
Re: Canada - Would It Suit Us?
think you will find that if you do want that change of lifestyle that things that were important in the material sense over there cease to become so over here.
Don't get me wrong men will still have their toys ie big TV's and nail guns, but the emphasis will be about how you live your life and not the possessions to prove you have one.
I can't stress that enough, and if you get over here in time you will look back at your old self and think "god was that me
"
Canadians are lovely to you whether you drive a 1972 Cherokee or a 2008 Rousche Mustang, whereas in the UK people would think you were a council estate reject if you had a mark 3 escort
Don't get me wrong men will still have their toys ie big TV's and nail guns, but the emphasis will be about how you live your life and not the possessions to prove you have one.
I can't stress that enough, and if you get over here in time you will look back at your old self and think "god was that me
" Canadians are lovely to you whether you drive a 1972 Cherokee or a 2008 Rousche Mustang, whereas in the UK people would think you were a council estate reject if you had a mark 3 escort
Mar 25th 2008, 7:45 pm
#63
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Mar 25th 2008, 7:57 pm
#64
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Re: Canada - Would It Suit Us?
) and saying that although I realise I shouldn't be doing it, I do have tendencies to look down upon what you've referred to as 'council estate rejects'. I guess this is mainly because most do not have any culture in them and have a hatred for the middle-class in the same manner that they are looked down upon...So Canada has none of the above scenarios? Or do class clashes still exist but are very constrained and barely noticeable?
EDIT: No doubt I'll get another load of abuse for my above outlook again! As long as the question gets answered, I'll live with it
.
Mar 25th 2008, 8:05 pm
#65
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Location: White Rock BC
Posts: 11,682
Re: Canada - Would It Suit Us?
My turn?
The answers to many of your questions are in the wiki. I suspect that is part of the reason you have so many negative responses.
To be honest, if I were in your situation I would forget the research for the moment and concentrate on getting a very good degree. In 10 years, when you have lots of experience, it will not matter. But a good performance now will open many doors for you and give you the opportunities to make what you want of your life.
Everyone has reasons for leaving the UK. The most successful migrants are the ones who move to somewhere they want to live, not away from somewhere they don't.
I know plenty of immigrants in the UK who feel anything but welcome. Leaving aside your emotive language you really need to think seriously about your feelings here. The vast majority of people you will meet in Canada will be immigrants. What is your fear? What is it about people of a different background that is driving you from the UK? Your inability to cope is not going to change just because you move countries.
Best to give coastal BC a miss then.
Kind of rules out Vancouver/Victoria/Calgary/Edmonton and Toronto.
Sure, it is all there if you want to find it.
But so is this.
This is all quite possible, but you need some work experience first.
This is trickier. More people = more crime. This is the same the world over. Generally, feeling safe is about your perception of crime. I live just outside Vancouver which has one of the higher property crime rates in Canada. It is also in the middle of a turf war amongst gangsters and bodies of people "known to the police" are turning up at an alarming rate. Yet, I have never felt anything other than perfectly safe walking the streets of Vancouver at any time of day or night. This is not something I could say of parts of South London when I lived there 26-27 years ago.
For sure, there are smaller communities in Canada where you won't need to lock your door.
There is plenty of this about.
If I have understood this correctly, you want to start in a city apartment, then move out to a small town, but one that is still within reach of a city for entertainment and work, and within reach of the mountains for leisure. It sounds like Cochrane, AB or possibly the Okanagan Valley in BC might fit. The rest of Canada is too far away for me to know.
The public school system in Canada is quite uniform in standard and is all that most children need.
Do you have any idea how big British Columbia is? Vancouver may be out, but 5 hours drive to the east is Canada's only all singing, all dancing, genuine desert. (This is in the wiki.) I have made a couple of suggestions above.
There, I think I was quite well behaved on the whole.
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.
. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
For sure, there are smaller communities in Canada where you won't need to lock your door.
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.
! 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?
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?
There, I think I was quite well behaved on the whole.
Last edited by JonboyE; Mar 25th 2008 at 8:17 pm.
Mar 25th 2008, 8:31 pm
#66
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Mar 25th 2008, 8:32 pm
#67
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Re: Canada - Would It Suit Us?
Light the blue touch paper and ...... retire.
Mar 25th 2008, 8:38 pm
#68
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Mar 25th 2008, 9:02 pm
#69
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Mar 25th 2008, 9:09 pm
#70
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Re: Canada - Would It Suit Us?
it may suprise you that someone such as myself exists in canada, with all my hatred and a lack of a degree, quite amazing really, but then i do not put people into nice little boxes as you appear to, depending on where they have come from or the label on their clothes. we'll set you up with a visit to a reservation as soon as you land, you can have fun looking down your nose there.
Mar 25th 2008, 9:20 pm
#71
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Re: Canada - Would It Suit Us?
some of the replies i felt have been harsh, some just a piss take, either way i had some sympathy for you, then i read this.
it may suprise you that someone such as myself exists in canada, with all my hatred and a lack of a degree, quite amazing really, but then i do not put people into nice little boxes as you appear to, depending on where they have come from or the label on their clothes. we'll set you up with a visit to a reservation as soon as you land, you can have fun looking down your nose there.
it may suprise you that someone such as myself exists in canada, with all my hatred and a lack of a degree, quite amazing really, but then i do not put people into nice little boxes as you appear to, depending on where they have come from or the label on their clothes. we'll set you up with a visit to a reservation as soon as you land, you can have fun looking down your nose there.
I believe that there is nothing wrong in me saying the above as I have also stated that I know this is a character flaw in me and has arisen from the society that we call the UK... It is of course something I would like to move away from...
But go ahead, those of you that need to, carry on with your banishment upon me, be as childish as you feel I am... Alternatively if you have nothing constructive to say, why not keep it to yourself.
Mar 25th 2008, 9:27 pm
#72
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Joined: Sep 2003
Location: Upstate South Carolina
Posts: 30,768
Re: Canada - Would It Suit Us?
Sounds a lot like trolling to me.....
Something tells me you can pretty much give up hope of getting a lot more help from the good folks here...its hard to get anyones attention when you are on the ignore list.
Bye.
Last edited by iaink; Mar 25th 2008 at 9:29 pm.
Mar 25th 2008, 9:28 pm
#73
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Posts: 4,234
Re: Canada - Would It Suit Us?
Hah! That's precisely the reaction I was expecting to get from a number of you. At the end of the day at least people like me can be honest about some of their views and downfalls... There is no doubt that many other people around here have similar opinions and similar flaws in their character but are too worried of stating them and being honest in fear of starting a 'flame war' on an internet forum (as I seem to have begun, but at the same time benefited from).
I believe that there is nothing wrong in me saying the above as I have also stated that I know this is a character flaw in me and has arisen from the society that we call the UK... It is of course something I would like to move away from...
But go ahead, those of you that need to, carry on with your banishment upon me, be as childish as you feel I am... Alternatively if you have nothing constructive to say, why not keep it to yourself.
I believe that there is nothing wrong in me saying the above as I have also stated that I know this is a character flaw in me and has arisen from the society that we call the UK... It is of course something I would like to move away from...
But go ahead, those of you that need to, carry on with your banishment upon me, be as childish as you feel I am... Alternatively if you have nothing constructive to say, why not keep it to yourself.
People are daft/kind enough to take you at face value. I don't.
Mar 25th 2008, 9:35 pm
#74
Settled.
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Location: St. Albert. AB.
Posts: 3,286
Re: Canada - Would It Suit Us?
Hah! That's precisely the reaction I was expecting to get from a number of you. At the end of the day at least people like me can be honest about some of their views and downfalls... There is no doubt that many other people around here have similar opinions and similar flaws in their character but are too worried of stating them and being honest in fear of starting a 'flame war' on an internet forum (as I seem to have begun, but at the same time benefited from).
I believe that there is nothing wrong in me saying the above as I have also stated that I know this is a character flaw in me and has arisen from the society that we call the UK... It is of course something I would like to move away from...
But go ahead, those of you that need to, carry on with your banishment upon me, be as childish as you feel I am... Alternatively if you have nothing constructive to say, why not keep it to yourself.
I believe that there is nothing wrong in me saying the above as I have also stated that I know this is a character flaw in me and has arisen from the society that we call the UK... It is of course something I would like to move away from...
But go ahead, those of you that need to, carry on with your banishment upon me, be as childish as you feel I am... Alternatively if you have nothing constructive to say, why not keep it to yourself.
Mar 25th 2008, 9:38 pm
#75
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Re: Canada - Would It Suit Us?
"So Canada has none of the above scenarios? Or do class clashes still exist but are very constrained and barely noticeable?"
And as opposed to answering the question (as that is all I was looking for), board members immediately begin to troll themselves (eg. I'll get the popcorn out). This obviously makes me sound like a troll as well! This unfortunately IS what I was expecting, although hopping wouldn't happen.
It's clear there is going to be more whinning here than answers and civilised discussion. Probably a good time for a moderator to lock this thread then. Either way, I will move on from this thread.
