burks

By comparing legal migrants to illegal immigrants you are not really showing that you understand that point of view though.

Now I wouldn't say that the majority of Eastern Europeans are in the UK for the welfare state and NHS. You may think that if you've been reading The Daily Mail, or The Sun. From my experience a lot of the time Eastern European migrants are willing to do the work than many Brits would see as not good enough for them, perhaps in the same way as LMO's are used for workers from Asia here in Canada.

And who knows, the UK may not be a member of the EU for too many more years, in which case you may need a visa no matter which passport you use!

Vulcanoid

Extensive research has shown that eastern european migration to the UK is economically beneficial to both. Even the people trying to stop it (MigrationWatch) concluded it was financially beneficial (their figure was smaller, though) and were left arguing that the finances didn't counteract the other effects.

I know your signature says you're 15, but your assertions in this thread (e.g. that no european nations are arrogant, you can afford a great jetsetting lifestyle on a normal UK wage, and most eastern europeans are abusing welfare nets less generous than their own) are.... profoundly ill-informed. I'd not discourage anyone from activating citizenship they're entitled to to boost their options, but if you're serious about moving to Europe, you really might want to do some more research than you seem to have.

beckiwoo

I think there is a perception with Europe that people are jetting off for long weekends all the time to Spain, France, Italy - if only hey!

Gozit

True... I wasn't aware of that before... Its not an issue anyways as per this thread it seems like i'll have to keep renewing the Canadian passport anyways, in which case i'll use it to travel to the US, since it is a lot less restrictive.

Ah well Canada isn't quite the land of milk and honey either! It is the land of maple syrup though
I'd think for my requirements I could earn a decent UK salary (I.T systems analyst?) , probably similar to Canada, but I might live in a smaller house - which doesn't matter to me as long as there is fiber optics for internet! No crappy DSL connections for me.
Is it as expensive (or more?) than Canada? Remember all the things I would save on though, like car insurance... So it would balance out in the end i hope

Yes I think I can handle the British attitude, being exposed to it on here and all

Oh trust me, there are some arrogant european nations, but none as arrogant as "The land of the free and the home of the brave" ... Regarding the east europeans, obviously my research is based on reading the aforementioned papers ... Yeah I guess you're right I didn't/haven't research/ed much beyond Malta's economy, which I know is bad. I know the UK's is very good compared to Malta's. I guess I really don't care because I am going to leave Canada either way. Whether it's to Malta or the UK I don't know, but I will be going. If I have a slightly less salary in the UK (or Malta) or my money doesn't go as far, then so be it. I can almost guarantee i'll be happier abroad.

Well you certainly get more holidays from work in the UK than Canada... So more opportunities to travel. And even if it's expensive by British standards, it's probably cheap by mine since travel from Toronto to Florida costs $500 a person. Cripes, to visit family in Thunder Bay it cost $350! From Toronto!

But no, I wouldn't expect to "jet off" every few weekends to Malta. I think my grandmother and uncle would grow tired of me if I did that!

I would expect to be able to visit Malta a few times a year and maybe go to Canada once. (once I get my career launched and earning a decent salary of course. I don't expect to land in the UK and be able to do this instantaneously). Of course i'd have to save on things to be able to do this, example - live in a smaller house/apartment.

burks

The UK job market is extremely competitive. Maybe why there are so many Brits over here! haha. Almost half of graduates find themselves in jobs which do not require a degree.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/...stuck-jobs-ons

As for if it is cheaper. That would depend on where in the UK you would settle. Car insurance may actually be quite expensive for a new driver in the UK. There are also added expenses like Road Tax and MOT plus there is the price of petrol/diesel. Public transport isn't know for it's value in the UK either. Look a spending a couple thousand ££'s for an annual train pass to commute into London! Groceries may be a bit cheaper, as will phone contracts. Can't think of too much else that would be significantly cheaper.

Gozit

Ah yeah i'll be buying a car... So no care for public transport... I was planning on settling in Bristol or Cardiff/Swansea... Not London as it is very expensive... I remember one company mentioned on here that was generous towards new/returning drivers. The farmers union or something? ACU? Are those places cheaper or not? (Compared to the GTA.)

Vulcanoid

Car insurance in the UK is so expensive that lots of young people don't drive. For young men (up to mid 20s) bring quoted £4000 for a year (if you can find cover at all) is not uncommon.

I just looked up online, and was advertised flights Toronto to Miami return for $380 return, 3 hours each way. £200 for a 3 hour return flight sounds about right (for a budget carrier. Legacy carriers would be more). I nearly did that at Christmas actually when a new Reykjavik route launched, would have been £120 each way for 3 hours on easyjet.

I can currently afford multiple holidays a year. My salary is in the top 20% of the country. You're aiming very high, aand I'm not sure you have any idea how expensive UK housing, in particular, is. I'm not sure what you're looking for to make you happy. I hope you find it.

burks

Buying a car will then see you paying Road Tax and MOT yearly (providing the car is older than 3 years old). Not sure which companies would be best for a foreign driver new to the country as I have never needed that in the UK. But a new driver is a lot different to a returning driver. I am also not in the GTA so wouldn't be able to compare the two.

Gozit

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Gozit

Keep in mind I will be 22-23 when I move over, not 18. Therefore having 6 years of driving experience when I move over. I have to stay here in Canada (reluctantly) to do uni, then I will be heading out. Don't know if that even makes a difference lol. I can swipe the Ontario license for a GB one without taking a test right? And I already know to pass the ON test in a manual and get the letter from the MTO saying I passed the test in a manual in order to exchange to a full GB license, not an auto-only.

Vulcanoid

Swansea and Cardiff are not known for their economic vitality, and a proportion of jobs have emphasis placed on Welsh language skills, so finding good work isn't impossible, but harder. Bristol is the richest, and thus most expensive large city in the UK outside London.

To give you an idea of costs - an inner zone day bus ticket in Bristol (covers most of the urban area) is $7.40, petrol is $2.44/litre (and we're the most congested city in the UK, with an average driving speed of 12mph. You'll burn a lot of money sitting still). My flat is $1054 a month and that's far cheaper than most of my mates. When you want to go on vacation, it's a $24 bus ticket return to the airport (or a 15 mile drive down narrow country roads, and $7 a day to park longstay advance booked). Average wages are $36-44k. Council tax is $1800-6000 a year depending on house/flat cost.

Actually, adding to post now you've added some more - if you did move to Bristol, buying individual bus tickets every day would be £960 a year ($1700), season tickets probably take a fair bit off that. If you think the no-brainer is to spend vastly more on a car.... no.

I googled flights Toronto Miami and clicked on the first link. Probably a outlier. But didn't seem off the charts. I don't know much about cost of internal north american travel, but I do know European is nothing like as cheap as it was a few years ago.

British weather is profoundly miserable. Nowhere in the UK is as sunny as the gloomiest parts of Canada (we'll skip over Malta lest my skin simply leave without me). It's also very humid, and 'close' - the sheer number of Scandinavians I've known who shiver, and complain about how cold it is is stunning - because we're not geared for it in the same way other countries are. Our buildings & wardrobes are not appropriate for the temperatures we get, because we reason we don't get enough snow to make it worthwhile.

I'm a little confused where you say 'going to uni and getting a degree only to earn E25k isn't pleasing' - that's about £20k, nearly dead on the average UK graduate starting salary (bearing in mind half of graduates earn less than that, and that's of the ones who managed to get jobs).

burks

Insurance, plus petrol, tax, loan fees (no UK credit.. higher interest), MOT etc adds up to a large proportion of your income. Don't you think that if it were as easy as to cut back on a few nights out that people in the UK wouldn't have already thought of that!??

Also, you mention a couple of times about having a smaller house and smaller car. You do realise that some of the most popular cars in the UK are smaller hatchbacks (Ford Fiesta/Focus, Vauxhall Corsa, VW Golf/Polo, Peugeot 208, Fiat 500). The properties in the UK are generally smaller too in my experience (I don't know about GTA, but out here they are). So you wouldn't be making any concessions. The only reason young people may be living in larger houses is because they can't afford to move out of their parents house!

HGerchikov

But the chances are they will only care about UK driving experience, in the same way as Canadian insurers often won't credit our experience when we move here.

Gozit

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Gozit

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