Jules Europe

Reason for the question is that I find it hard to believe that you would feel uncomfortable outside of Brighton, especially in a place like London which is extremely cosmopolitan and diverse. Therefore being British yourself this is something that you must be very aware of Admittedly I can`t comment on your office environment but the train does surprise me.

seanyg

I don't think it's so much a question of 'is the UK good or bad?' but more 'can you afford to live in the nice areas?'.

There are many lovely, quintessentially English villages with low crime, no yobs / chavs, a great sense of community and friendly neighbours; however, we personall could never in a million years afford to live in such a place. The nice parts of the UK are inaccessible to many (perhaps even most) working class folk, and even if you can afford to live in a lovely village, how long will it be until they build an eco-town on your doorstep (as in my parents' case) or all the fields and surrounding countryside are covered with new housing developments to make room for the ever-increasing population?

This country is bursting at the seams and a lot of the lovely villages will eventually become towns, and the infrastructure necessary to support such developments will be a blight on the landscape and destroy the dreamof many - that of living in the country and having quiet, safe streets and a community where you know everyone and can go to the local shop and they know your name, or go to the local pub and they know your drink...

This is just our English dream, of course it may not be everyone's. Unfortunately it's a dream we can't achieve in this country, so off to Canada we go (hopefully!)

Anita

Jules Europe

I am sure the Canadian bashers will do all they can, to convince you that this dream is not possible in Canada either

dbd33

It may be possible on an average wage in Winnipeg but, at the edge of the GTA, you do need a lot of money to be able to avoid being paved over. We're suffering creeping urbanization and we're 75 miles out.

Jules Europe

But there is still a lot of vacant land north of you though!!! And your not likely to fall into the north sea either

dbd33

Not commutable land there isn't. In the UK the new concrete is mainly focussed on London. In the same way, the new housing projects in Ontario are geared to working in Toronto. "Villages" within fifty miles of the city are expensive.

R I C H

It's the same the world over, though, isn't it?

If you want accessibility, the urban conveniences, job opportunities etc then you need to be within a commutable distance from town. This makes those areas desirable and expensive. You can't escape those basic economics.

Jules Europe

Well thats something for potential immigrants to decide, as it what type of working/living situation they want as well. If they can`t find suitable areas within commutable distance to Toronto then they have got the choice of many other parts of Canada as well. The postee I think is going to Winnipeg. Personally I think the GTA area is actually quite cheap property wise given that you are living near a major metropolis. I am referring though to suburbs and places like the Whitby/Oshawa area here (GTA? but I imagine within commuting distance of Toronto) and further afield places that I particuarly like such as the Niagara region etc which I think are great places to live. The friends that I have there also work there as well so no commuting to Toronto.

Jules Europe

In general it certainly is the same the world over..... But as just posted above I feel that Toronto (property wise is not overly expensive) Especially if you are arriving from Europe after having sold your house, probably a very different scenario for the average Canadian though. Also as south western Ontario is well developed so the possibilities of working outside of the centre of Toronto are a possibility thus a lower cost of living. This argument though, I would not hold for anyone going to say Vancouver and GVA etc which has very high property prices like many major European cities.

gotoronto

It's an interesting view - and one we held before we left the UK... .

Once we came back to the UK, we realised what a good place it is. Sure, it has it's problems, but so does everywhere. There are a lot less civilised nations out there - and we certainly would not say that the UK is less civilised than Canada. In fact, we very much felt that we had returned to civilisation when we came back. But perhaps it depends on what someone defines as being "civilised".

I think it's always dangerous to make such extreme statements like "I will never set foot in the UK again." Maybe it will hold true for you - but it certainly does not for everyone.

DaveLovesDee

The cost of travelling the 50 miles is much cheaper here in Canada though.

raine66

if you are satisifed with your lot in that beautiful clean, low crime, fair, Uk society of giving rather than taking, where you can walk the streets in safety where being PC does not get in the way of living, where the state does not dictate your every move blah blah blah then why oh why are you leaving??

Fancy a walk down Jane & Finch tonight, let's see how safe you feel then?

If you come to canada then your heart and sole should be canadian should it not?
Why?

Kittykerr

I live in Calgary and as a young woman, I dont feel safe walking through the city on my own during the day!!!!
The amount of homeless and drug users on he streets during the daytime is scary! I drive EVERYWHERE because im scared to walk to the local shop!!
Its not all great here!!!
Granted I wouldnt feel v. safe walking through some parts of London my my own either, but as for the city centre of London, I have walked by myself many times and not felt so intimidated as I do here!!

I cant wait to move out to the suburbs!!!!! (Thats something I thought I would never say!!!)

chumley

whats jane and finch never heard of it?

why not? why would anyone want to immigrate to a country they dont adore madness I say

but once again I repeat once again this is my view

have noticed bits of my post have been quoted a few times throughout this most interesting thread

and I stand by everything

for those that have asked I have lived all over the Uk including Alnwick which is supposedly the best place in england to live and in hampshire and wilshire plus wales

and I dont consider myself a low life skanky

privatly educated decades as a civil servant ,lawyers wife then army wife owned own resturant business in rural cumbria
I have lived in some of the so called nicest areas of the UK and I have never been touched by crinme either

so whoever suggested that my experience of the uk was in some slum and with no cash hasnt quite got it right

its just the way |I am
I have a genuine deep passion for canada and I am saddened when I hear of folk wanting to come here who do not share that passion each to their own but I wonder what their motivation must be?

the Uk is full of folk complaining about immigrants who do not love the UK and who do not adapt and adopt local ways and many of the same folk winge about canada?? or gain a precious visa then give up and go back to whence they came???

as for things being the same in canada re going to work stresses etc welll for us that doesnt exist we dont work ,our unearned income easily meets a very comfortable lifestlye here.

If and when we get PR and we are able to establish a small business here our additional income will be a bonus

yes we are very fortunate and in the minority and yes I agree if folk are expecting the streets to be paved with gold they could well fail

horses for courses and all that

it would be impossible for us to match our new lifestlye in the UK and I mean anyhwere in the UK

to sum it all up we do not even own a key to our canadian home let alone lock the door .... need I say more

dbd33

Jane and Finch is an intersection in Toronto. The surrounding area is renowned for shootings.

People move countries for all manner of reasons, for example, MEPs go to work in Belgium, do you think they, or anyone, loves Belgium? How about the hotel workers in Dubai, do they adore the UAE? Oil workers in Nigeria? Miners in Fort McMoney? Prostitutes in London? How about people who develop relationships with foreigners and move to be with them? What of remittance men, packed off to the colonies? Brides of arranged marriages to foreigners? Refugees seeking a home in any safe country? People who just want to see "abroad"?

Emigrating for adoration is a rare thing and it's harsh to ridicule the reasons of those who do not have the option to move to the middle of nowhere and live on a private income.