dbd33

No doubt but that's all about money, changes in the value of homes and in the exchange rate mean that to get the same result today someone would have to move to South Africa, not to Canada.

or4ngecrush

Yeah completely true I never had the money or the chance to do all the outdoorsy stuff I get to do now, so your completely right. I think it's a "how long is a piece of string question" it depends on lots of factors.

or4ngecrush

Yeah I agree but I never felt I got the opportunity where I was before and I was in a major rut emotionally and financially.

Littletashy

We seem to spend less time with our children, but thats more to do with their social lives. In the uk we spent all weekend together, now all they seem to do is have partys or sleepovers. 9 months in and i'm beginning to think its not 'the novelty' of them being English anymore The kids enjoy school alot more here and are offered many more trips out alongside it, So far this school year my eldest has been on 5 school trips and is going Skiing in March! Opposed to 3 school trips in a year back in the UK. On top of this if they don't get homework tickets the children are treated to an end of month party (every month) which is usually a dvd and sometimes pizza. I think that they have a massivly improved quality of life here, having a park on every corner helps too!
Happy kids = Less Stressy me and I feel it is easier to Let the little things go and so i'm not the fish wife I once was. My OH and me have NOT had one single argument since we got here, That has to say something

Sleeping_Beauty45

You have just described my eutopia thank you! The kids have very busy social lives here in fairness they are at that age but that is what we want for them, particularly the eldest who is fast approaching her teens.

Littletashy

From the kids point of view they probably are in their Utopia, dont be fooled by it all though, my OH is going through some crappy work stress and is loosing his hair because of it (Its immigration related so not his actual Job which was and will be great once its all sorted) and I am hating living in the south of Calgary without even a shop I can walk too! (Rectifiable by moving as soon as our rental term is up) Then it may be Utopia, The kids definitly got the better end of everything so far, but we will rectify that in time

Sleeping_Beauty45

That is a good attitude. I'm sure that it will all come right in the end, and half the battle is having settled kids I think.

JonboyE

This is the biggee question really. If emigrating is to be more than just an adventure it has to lead to a better quality of life. To measure that you have to define what quality of life means.

For me it is not about the money and toys (although I realise that without sufficient money quality of life declines very quickly). In the UK we were comfortable financially. We lived in a comfortable middle class town in the Chilterns, I was the boss of a small company so made a comfortable living, we had nice cars, mortgage under control, a pension plan, a couple of holidays on the continent each year (though more Eurocamp than the Ritz). If the move up from a small semi-detached to a 4 bed detached was beyond our reach without a few very good years at work, we were the archetypal comfortable family.

It wasn’t enough, otherwise we wouldn’t be here.

Comparing to now we live in a comfortable middle class city by the sea, I mix self-employment with some paid work but I think the spending power of my earnings is roughly on a par with what I would have had if I had stayed in the UK. We certainly drive cheaper cars, but I think losing the desire to try and impress people with the car you drive is a part of growing up. No one in Canada gives a damn anyway. No one is contributing to my pension plan but we were fortunate to arrive in BC when we did so we rode the boom for all it was worth and that put us in a happy place for retirement savings. The mortgage is under control at current interest rates.

The point of all this waffle? I don’t think my quality of life has changed much from a money point of view.

This next bit is going to be difficult to explain so I’ll have to ask you to bear with me for a while. I find a great deal of correlation between my spiritual state of health and my surroundings. 20 minutes walking my dog along the beach, looking out over the San Juan and Gulf Islands can cure any ill the world throws at me.

This place is stunningly beautiful. Really stunning. Every day I get a buzz from it, some days many times. Even after 10 years I find myself stopping, looking around, and thinking, “Wow, do I really live here”? If life can grind me down, the sea and the mountains will get me back up again.

Yes, there are places in the UK that have a similar effect, the west coast of the Highlands in particular, but I couldn’t go there every day on the way back from work.

I have made some very good friends, simply because I have had the opportunity to meet people who I would not otherwise have come into contact with. In general, people are more polite, friendlier, easier to get along with, and more laid back than their UK equivalents. This also has a significant impact on my quality of life.

Mrs JonboyE can go about her life without the (occasional) overt racism and (insidious) casual racism that is part and parcel of life in the UK. Here she is not an alien, just herself. She has more friends, gets involved in more activities and has a much more positive sense of self-worth than ever before. She is happy, and a happy Mrs JonboyE increases my quality of life by the boatload.

For me, it’s not about material things. Quality of life means being content with your lot, and feeling at home. Wherever that might be.

Diggler

So, better then?

burton bunch

We definitely have a better quality of life and work/life balance in Canada - but I am not stupid enough to say that it is totally the move. Our problem in the UK was that both me and the OH were both workaholics so we were also like two sets of one parent families if that makes sense.

Moving to Canada has made me re-evaluate my life and future and therefore I have decided that it isnt everything to have a high flying job anymore and as my kids are teens then I think they need me more now than they have in their lives so far.

Our commutes have been cut down to practically none existant compared to the UK - I was a NVQ assessor so spent every day on the road and my hubby had a 3 hour round trip to work on a good day - now we both travel about 10 minutes each to work.

General day to day family life can still be same Sh2t different country - but I dont care anymore as I live in the most picturesque place I have ever lived.

Gaynor

riddle89

YES YES YES

lot less stressed, life is so easy here compared with in the UK.

More time with kids, more time outdoors - love the winter!!!!

Riddle89

thesidds

CONGRATULATIONS TRACIE
How exciting, your very own little Canadian!!!!!

Sleeping_Beauty45

Thank you so very much everyone for your replies, it has made for very interesting reading, I appreciate you taking the time to share.

I find myself nodding to so many of the posts!

Congratulations Tracie, how exciting.

chumley

life is not measured by the number of breaths we take

but by the moments that take our breath away


every single day I have these moments

this never happend to me in the uk


the best things in life are not things

I am one of the most risk taking on BE

ie just came with bags and dogs and decided to stay, this to most would creat stress in the extreme

well yes it has been stressful but I am coping with it purely because of the wonderful place I now live and the sights and sounds I wake up to each day

plus the most important thing of all money/possseions really are no longer important to me

I do not regret second of our giant leap to canada

good luck all

dbd33

Hardly so. I myself have had unprotected sex with umpteen people. Other posters have moved to frightening parts of the world, regularly driven drunk, consumed street drugs, fought in wars. Moving from one developed economy to another is a financial risk but not a life threatening risk.