rp2856

Hello everyone. My husband and I would love to move to Canada with our two small children, 3&1. It seems a bit of a pipe dream at the moment though. Can I ask, how easy did people find the move? We are looking for a bit of a change, but worried we may be going through a 'grass is always greener' phase. My question is, is there any real difference in the quality of life between the UK and Canada? Particularly when it comes to education, family activities etc. And can a family of four survive on one income? My husband is a software test engineer so I'm hoping there'll be plenty of opportunities in that sector. If anyone can suggest the best places to live for raising a family as well, that would be great. Many thanks in advance.

dbd33

I work with Software Test Engineers. Their partners all work. I'm not saying it's impossible to live on one income but it's not usual.

caretaker

Welcome to the forum.

scilly

Asking for advice on the best place to live in Canada is a little bit like asking for advice on the best place to live in Europe!!

Canada is a vast place with every kind of climate and living conditions, desert to high mountains, frigid winters to very wet ones, big cities to very small villages, etc etc

Have you ever visited Canada? People who have not tend to get a shock when they move here to live.

We came here over 50 years ago, having only been to Expo 67 in Montreal for 3 days the previous year. But .......... OH got a job, we'd only been married a year, had no children, and were looking for fun and excitement. We came to BC for 2 years ......... discovered that we had found "our place", and stayed. Not everyone does that.

caretaker

All together now; Ca-Na-Da (1 little 2 little 3 Canadians) We are freeee! I shook Trudeau's hand. When he looked down and saw the protest sign in my other hand, he scowled and yanked his hand away.

scilly

I didn't hear that song back then, but I've sure heard it lots since!!

christmasoompa

I think it depends on where you're coming from and going to. If you have a comfortable life in a nice village and would be moving to somewhere expensive like Toronto or Vancouver then personally no, I don't think Canada offers anything over the UK particularly. But if you currently live in a flat on an estate in Moss Side and are going to NS, then I'm sure it would be much better. So I think it depends hugely on your circumstances and where you're going to/from. For us personally, Canada wasn't for us and we prefer the UK for our children, but different strokes for different folks.

According to the NOC date, the average salary for a software test engineer is $43ph, so assuming a 40 hour week that would be nearly $90,000. I would have said that's enough to sustain a family of 4 in Canada, but not comfortably (i.e. not much left over for luxuries or savings). But again it will hugely depend on where you're going to.

As said above, far too vague a question for a country as big as Canada! Do you at least have a province in mind? And I agree with Scilly, you definitely need to visit, no point in spending £25-30k on moving your family over there before you've done that and are sure it's the country for you.

And you've not mentioned visas, hopefully you've looked in to those but if not I'd do that first. No point in researching and planning a visit if you don't qualify for a visa anyway, so I'd do that as the first step.

Good luck.