Have you considered a return to the UK?

Yep ... nobody wants to to go back, not even my youngest kid who was only three when we left, so it would be a very bad move indeed.

I used to work as an IT contractor ... rates are now barely 50% of what they were when I was in business and most of the jobs are on London ... ignoring the fact none of us harbor fond memories of the place, going back would be financial suicide.

Nah ... going back to the UK would invite failure .... failure is not an option.

London sucks. I should know. I have the misfortune to live here.

Still, should all be a fading memory in a couple of months time...

Thanks for the info on asthma Dan ... quit smoking and stop being such a dumbass ... it's not just that you'll live longer, smokers die in really nasty ways.

The air is normally clean and clear in Calgary ... right now we're having a crappy chinook that's dragged on for too long ... my youngest kid has gone back to the same recurrent respiratory infection he used to get in the UK.

When I lived in the UK I always thought that anybody who lived in or near London had to be nuts ... I haven't changed my mind ... I'm just beginning to wonder if that's still how I feel about Toronto or Vancouver ... at least there seems to be a lot of jobs there.

Surprisingly enough, my question didn't get answered ... Willmore hasn't been around, so I guess I have to say "BC is paradise" to myself ... for Iaink's benefit I'll point out that not everybody in Toronto lives in the GTA ... for anybody from the Atlantic provinces, yes the scenery is lovely, but I don't want to move anywhere with even less work for IT people and no, I don't want to retrain to be a vending machine mechanic, plumber or truck driver - they're all worthy jobs, just not my cup of tea.

The best advice is always ... do your research ... go visit ... make up your mind for yourself ... it's time for me to take it.

I've had my tantrum and now I'm going back into sleep mode

ah but living here you get used to it, I get that feeling of dread every morning as I approach it!! I lose my will to live somewhere near Alexandra Palace

This is my final 2 cents on this, since what the hell do I know!

But taking it logically, it seems to me that the problem you face is symptomatic of the IT industry as a whole. There is no land of milk and honey for IT guys any more. So, rather than relocation, what about retooling. It needn't necessarily be a complete career 180. But what about say, moving from IT technical side to IT sales. Or jumping in on one of the new hot technologies -- perhaps get Linux certified or something (I have no idea whether this is a new hot technology or not, but IBM keeps pumping out commercials for it). I get the sense that you are frustrated because you're banging your head against this IT same-old-same-old brick wall and it isn't budging.

Failing that I have no further helpful counsel -- I don't think upping sticks to a new province will solve the problem by itself.

Within 1 hour you have access to 150 million people from London. It may not be your paradise but financial stability together with potential customers..? Seems to attract a lot of business and a viable alternative to Toronto. You could choose BC when your kids get older and less finacial strain. Had you thought about expanding outside of just IT. Add marketing and web support plus networking, even hosting... It could be a route to working for yourself again. 75% of immigrants do! Just a thought which I am sure you have already covered.

CalgaryAMC may be right Glas, but I don't think there are many hot new products in IT at the moment. What about a complete career change ? I'm thinking I might have to do it as/when I get to Canada. I have been considering applying for a job with Canadian Pacific, as I have a friend who became a conductor, and enjoys his work. That said I don't know what the salary is like, so this may be a not so good choice.

Retooling isn't working ... I've been continuously retraining for two years now ... the guys I work with seem to have an equal mix of fear and loathing for me ... I hammer out certifications like nobody's business ... all I've done is raised the bar in the office ... every time I mention taking a crack at Linux certification, our Linux specialist pales.

IT imploded up its own sphincter ... the Y2K and dot-com mis-selling didn't help ... it's almost 2005 and many businesses are just getting around to recovering from both ... there's still work out there, but the days of the IT cowboy with one skill and a single certification are long gone.

Sales is probably the best way for me to go ... I'm currently trying to move away from being a systems engineer to being a sales engineer ... the main problem is lack of opportunity.

Periodically I sit down in moments of dispair and wonder what the hell I'm doing in Calgary ... most of my UK experience was with BIG companies ... there isn't anything close to that size here ... even the biggest Canadian oil & gas companies are small in comparison with modest UK businesses.

Whine ****ing whine ... I'm fed up hearing myself nowadays ... I'm not the same person that left the UK and I'm not sure that it's an improvement!!

You may want to consider BC - very long growing season, so lots of green. Vancouver's economy is on the upswing.

I've tried to get to BC before and got blocked by the "local applicants" hurdle ... it's certainly something for new immigrants to bear in mind ... you might not have the option of moving around once you're here.

I've already changed my agents on Workopolis & Monster ... I'm searching for jobs in BC & Ontario already.

Right now I'm not sure I can take another Calgary winter ... the thought of spring being another five or six months away on my mind!!!

There are plenty of hot new products, I can't believe the strength of the stuff that's out there right now.

The real issue is that businesses won't stump up the bucks ... back when I was a contractor in the UK, I could count on a good year's worth of consultancy from a decent sized roll out. In Calgary it's "get them started and do some knowledge transfer" - it's really hard to squeeze out any profit in that sort of market. I don't know if its an oil & gas thing, but I've had about enough of it.

I'm getting there ... maybe a vending machine mechanic?

I need to do something different ..... it's down to a new place to live or a new job.

Look, if long brown/grey winters are getting you down, Ontario is only slightly better. Central Alberta is green from about late May to mid October. Southern Ontario is green from May 1 to Oct 30 (more or less). Vancouver Island and the Vancouver area would be green over a much longer period than both - March until end of Nov. perhaps? Wilmore would know more.

How did you cope with Edmonton winters?

Let me guess ... you took a Mexican vacation around Jan/Feb??

I'd be interested to hear what you consider hot new products?

I'd have said web-services, but they died a quiet death since we tried them 2 years ago.
Only thing now is I guess would be Aspect programming, which I'm inclined to avoid as it's a nightmare for maintenance...which is what I seem to spend all my time doing these days.

As for the vending machine repairman, all I can say is...."We know a song about that don't we Johnny?"