British Expats - The cons of Canada??!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinurt (Post 6574350)

Well we have been here over 3 months already and although we really like the place and have made some great friends we have encountered some major issues already that it is making us question our decision about moving here.

First of all jobs - although I have a job (came on a TWP) and I love my job my husband has really struggled to find decent work. It's not like there are no jobs but it seems to be more "who you know" here rather than can u do the job. Anyway he finally got a job although it is very heavy lifting and pretty sh*t work so he is still looking out for something else :(.

Also having a major problem with finding doctors and the health care. There is a huge waiting list for doctors here and although there are walk in clinics for after hours they are unpredictable (one was shut last night at 8 and the other was full, despite there being 1 person in waiting room). We tried taking our 2 yr old to one last night as we really wanted a second opinion from a doctor and ended up going to the emergency room at the hospital, where we waited and waited and finally gave up as not one person had moved (one guy had been there 4 hrs already)!!!

So I was just wondering if these are common problems that people have encountered all across Canada or is it just here (Fredericton NB) ? :confused:

Oh no Sinurt. Don't say this. Up until now you've been so positive about your move and you and many others have been a source of optimism for my wife and I.. We are both considering Fredericton so seriously. I'm sure that your experiences are just unfortunate and don't reflect the general situation.

I do know that Canada is experiencing doctor shortages, etc, but I've also read that the awareness is there and things are in motion to improve the situation. At the end of the day long waiting times exist in the UK too although it is a post code lottery. One other thing to remember is that the UK is sliding fast economically due to mortgage issues and soaring prices of natural resources such as oil/gas. On top of this, we're a country with little natural resources and are only going to be more and more dependant on countries like Canada to supply us and at what cost as our resources dry up. The points being, a) Will our own health system have adequate funds in the future to increase numbers of doctors and reduce waiting times? b) Will the pot of doctors we do have want to jump ship leaving a shortage here and fly off to countries like Canada where the future is a lot brighter even if things aren't so hot there at the moment.

As for your husband's job....I think who you know applies to most countries and regions. It's a sad fact. I'm sure that once he gets a foot hold and proves himself, he'll be on the up. What about retraining for jobs that are perhaps more prevalent and rewarding that are in the Fredericton area?

I think youâ€™ve got to look at the overall picture and weigh up the pros and cons of your emigration. Youâ€™ll probably find that no country is perfect, but Iâ€™m sure that you cannot do much better than making a life for yourself in Canada. However, at the end of the day it is down to overall personal happiness and from what Iâ€™ve read you seem to have that. Donâ€™t let one or two things cloud your judgementâ€¦..easy for me to say I guess, but it is an unbiased statement.

Anyway, good luck and don't give in too quickly. Give it a good go before jumping out of the frying pan and back into the fire. We're really hoping you're still there by the time we make it over. :)