Decision Time:
 

Hi moving can be so confusing. Well we got PR :rofl: and are off for a recki to BC in six weeks. However part of me isn’t convinced that Vanc is the best place for my family and me.
A few background details to fill in the picture. I am 43 a secondary teacher, other half 42 and a company manager. Lad aged 14 & a little lass aged 8. We hope to move in Dec 2009, just after my son has completed his GCSE’s.

The other place we have considered has been Ontario, however my wife is very concerned about the weather (snow & cold). My concerns about BC are primarily due to the higher crime rate, expensive living/housing and if my children will need to move in order to further their education and careers.

Anyway I would love to hear from anyone who has chosen either BC or Ontario and the reasons why they made that choice. In particular from anyone who has to make a decision between these two provinces?

Re: Decision Time:
 

Depends if you want to be in a large city or not, but for me and my OH, BC's interior suited us perfectly. Low crime rate, fantastic weather, lower cost of of living/housing and a wealth of outdoor activities to participate in.

Kamloops has an excellent university (Thompson Rivers), is only a mornings drive from Vancouver (or a 50 min flight) and from what I can see (not having my own kids) is an excellent, safe environment for children to grow up in. Whether your careers are suited to the locality is another matter.

Re: Decision Time:
 

Hi hun

Cant help you with your decision but all I can say is a huge Good Luck in deciding - it was always 90% Alberta for us.

gaynor
x

Re: Decision Time:
 

Just bringing this back to the top as all advice/opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Re: Decision Time:
 

I don't think the crime rate should come into it. Crime in Canada is highly ghettoized, if you don't live in the neighbourhoods where the shootings are you're not likely to get shot.

I don't think local universities should be a factor either. You can't predict the degree your children are going to want to take so you can't predict where would be a good school to take it. In any event there's a good case that the moving away is half the education offered by the university experience.

BC and Ontario are both big, both offer urban or rural environments, are you thinking Vancouver vs. Toronto or Thunder Bay vs. Can't-Think-Of-Somewhere-Similarly-Godforesaken-In-BC?

Re: Decision Time:
 

Hi Dbd33

Thanks for your reply. I do read a lot of your posts and find them very enlightening and amusing. If I am correct you reside somewhere near Toronto. Can I ask you why you settled there in comparison to anywhere else and how do you cope with the weather?
All your comments good and bad would be appreciated.


Rich

Re: Decision Time:
 

A tangled history, simplified somewhat:

- emigrated to Canada because it was where the job was, didn't really choose the country still less the city.

- flat broke, started out in Port Credit (suburb of Toronto) in this: http://www.thewatersideinncda.com/ which, at the time was a run down building. It isn't now. Choose it because it was cheap.

- bought house in Lorne Park (leafy suburb near Port Credit), ex still lives there. Chose it because ex wanted a big house, that was near and I was too hungover to argue.

- moved downtown, Yonge/Esplanade, three years there, loved it but no grass/backyard. Chose it because it was near the pub and for the view from our, 29th floor, windows.

- moved to Beach area so as to have a lawn. Long time there, liked it but it's a bit suburban and a bit up itself.

- moved to semi-rural location (as shown on the blog). Chose it because having lost all wordly goods I needed somewhere cheap and my partner wanted room for a horse.

So, I've tried downtown, suburbs and semi-rural parts of the GTA. Weather issues vary.

Downtown - don't notice the weather. This is true even a fair way out, we have friends who live in North York who don't bother with coats on work days because it's a short walk to the subway and the subway goes under their offices.

Inner suburb - obligation to shovel sidewalk, I didn't mind it and also did the driveway for the neighbour; it does mean some work though. (Note that Lexus owners never shovel, wankers!) Streetcars don't work well in the winter; it's a lot easier to get to work by driving though you need off street parking to avoid being ploughed in. Any car will do, I used a RWD Mustang without problems. It does get cold though, I know someone who lost three fingers to frostbite after passing out in the street.

Outer suburb - more shovelling but also more kids wanting to make five bucks. Overall less work. There's no transit to speak of within the suburbs and the streets are not ploughed. Since the kids have to be driven absolutely everywhere I suggest FWD. Commuter trains (www.gotransit.com) are pretty reliable, on average expect to get stuck downtown once a year due to frozen points.

Where are now - snowblower essential. FWD essential. Fog is a big problem for driving, as much as snow.

Note that the way Canadians cope with the weather is to go to Florida or Arizona from December to May. There's a lot to be said for just moving to Florida or Arizona rather than bothering with the interim step.

Re: Decision Time:
 

You have to start somewhere. If vancouver doenst work out, you still have 9million other square kms to choose from.


I have to say Im in Ontario and much as I love my small town lifestyle, Im here because thats where my job brought me, and as a much loved and missed poster used to say, "happily employed= happy immigrant, unhappily underemployed = unhappy immigrant".

We live about 25km from town, but on a school bus route. Its well ploughed, no need for a snow blower or 4x4. I shovelled about half a dozen times only each of the last couple of winters. I guess thats the upside to global warming. Ontario does not do snow like say NS or PEI does snow, and life carries on. We have heating, and warm clothing, and autostarters for the car so its warm when you get in. It doesnt feel as cold as it seems it should as the humidity is much lower than the UK and the sun shines most of the time. Really cold days, where I wish I was elsewhere are thankfully only a handfull each year, but it does cramp your style if you want to golf 12 months a year and go on bike rides. Indoor fun is better in the winter. Personally I rather like the first couple of months of winter, all glittering snowy landscapes under cool blue skies. But come March its starting to drag. Spring is short and summer hot and humid, again I like it for short spells, but A/C is gods gift to Ontario.

Weather in Vancouver is more grey and samey, far less of the season contrast that Ive come to like about Ontario. BC has the mountains though, and that is a great leasure feature. You can ski in ontario, but its not the same. I guess you could say ontatio has the lakes though, and that wonderful red orange and yellow fall (of you live far enough outside the concrete jungle to notice it). Few places in the world can be any nicer than Ontario in the fall.

Re: Decision Time:
 

From a personal perspective I can only comment on BC, Vancouver inparticular. Having lived there for a year I know how expensive it can be, but it's all relative, the UK is just as expensive in real terms. Regarding crime, I felt safer in Vancouver than I do here, say in Southampton. In the 12 months i've been back i've heard of far more stabbings and gun crime than what I ever did in Vancouver.

Re: Decision Time:
 

Don't miss him at all. New poster seems a good replacement. :D

After last weeks visit to Ottawa/Montreal/Toronto I remembered that one of the things I like about Newfoundland is that our energy costs are low in the summer 'cos it doesn't get warm enough to need AC! (Although we do occasionally need the central heating up til June)


For the OP. On face value Vancouver looks much nicer than Toronto. But I think you dig down to what suburb/town & where you need to be for best employment prospects it all may be a little less clear cut. There's a lot of Canada so lot's of choices.

Re: Decision Time:
 

[QUOTE=Notiaink...honest;4918391]


as a much loved and missed poster used to say, "happily employed= happy immigrant, unhappily underemployed = unhappy immigrant".



I think I'll get a new username so that I can quote all the sagacious bits of my own posts.

I could even send myself karma!

Notnovo

Re: Decision Time:
 

From my experience west coast weather reminds me of growing up in Lancashire with days or even weeks of grey skies and rain so expect SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).

Also some people, i.e. "Flatlanders" find the mountain environment restrictive and claustrophobic compared to the wide open spaces of the praries.

Re: Decision Time:
 

Steve sticks his hand up and says that's me, that's me.

Not sure that I would call myself a flatlander that is usually reserved for the residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.:)

However I do find driving through B.C. mildly claustrophobic, too many mountains and far too many bloody fir, pine or spruce trees at the sides of the road. ;)

I have become very used to the fact I can see the mountains 40 to 80 miles away from Calgary when I'm out and about.

Having this as the view from my "office" virtually every day for close to thirty years at work didn't hurt either. http://www.pbase.com/hangman/image/5...1/original.jpg

Cheers
Steve

Re: Decision Time:
 

Have you considered any of the Atlantic provinces? I live in Nova Scotia and think its really beautiful. Being on the coast the climate is not as extreme as Ontario and other inland areas (winters are a bit warmer, summers are a bit cooler and fall is really lovely). Having said that it is colder in the winter than Vancouver area. House prices here are fantastic - you can have a nicer house with more land for the same money versus other areas. You would have to be a real multi-millionair to have an oceanfront house in BC but in NS you can get oceanfront or lakefront for suprisingly little. People are really friendly (something "maritimers" are famous for) and there are beautiful beaches. Cape Breton is stunning. Other plus points are that the main city (Halifax) is a nice size and even if you live 20km out of the city the commute is still quite fast because there is very little traffic conjestion. I think its a great place to raise kids and just live a comfortable happy life but if you're looking for your ultimate caree move you will more likely find it in Toronto or Vancouver - wages in Nova Scotia are lower than the bigger cities.

Re: Decision Time:
 

only thing you can do is visit both provinces and decide for yourselves..simple...evrybody will give you their pros and cons for them but they are not you..and what they see as an advantage you may not and vice versa.