Hi there, hubby and I have aways discussed moving abroad, we are interested in this country.
We are totally empty of knowledge eg how easy it is, and mainly whether the quality / cost of living is better than the UK.
I will shortly qualify as a social worker in England and my hubby works for the pension service.
Wondering what the social services system is like there also.

Any answers greatly appreciated - got to start somewhere!

Thanks in advance

Welcome, here is where to start....

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Category:Canada

Hello, NewlyWed Browns, and welcome to the BE forum.

G586 pointed you to the Wiki section of this website, which is a good start. Once you get there, you may be overwhelmed by the number of articles. I recommend that you start with Beginner`s Guide to Canadian Immigration.

As you soon will find out from the above mentioned article, if you want to reach Canada in a reasonable time frame, you`ll need to find a job that no Canadian resident wants. The best way to do this is to look for work in a region in which there are labour shortages and, more specifically, a region in which people in your occupation are in short supply.

To that end, you`ll be interested to know that social workers are listed amongst the Occupations under Pressure in New Brunswick, Alberta and British Columbia.

Of those provinces, New Brunswick has the lowest cost of living, owing to the fact that real estate prices in NB are lower than they are in Alberta and BC.

To find out how social work is done in at least one Canadian province, see dingbat`s post in the thread entitled Advice for UK social workers.

As I`ve never lived in the UK, I can`t answer your question about Canada`s quality of life and cost of living versus those in the UK. Most members of this forum are indeed British, as you might expect, and they`ll be able to give you a better idea.

What I`ve gathered, from my participation on this forum is that:

Things cost less in Canada, but you also earn less in Canada. Once you`re earning in Canadian dollars, the cost of living in Canada is no better than the cost of living in the UK.

Housing in Canada still is cheaper than it is in the UK. The biggest uplift for a British expat comes from bringing a wodge of equity from the UK and sinking it into a much bigger house than he or she would have been able to afford in the UK. However, if you arrive without equity, you`re in more or less the same position as Canadians who are starting from the beginning.

You have more access to the outdoors in Canada. If that means a lot to you, you can enjoy yourself.

On the other hand, Canadians put less store in hair cuts, clothes, manicures, etc. Also, there are fewer conveniences, like those tasty M&S meals that only need to be heated. These deprivations bother some British expats.

Canada doesn`t have what British people think of as history. It doesn`t have old buildings.

You can`t take children to pubs in Canada. People don`t meet at the neighbourhood pub. They entertain each other in their homes.

I don`t know your circumstances but, if you`re an average Briton, you won`t have family here if you migrate to Canada. It`s hard to tell in advance how you`ll feel about that.

Part of your research should be the occasional visit to the Moving back to the UK forum. It`s very instructive to find out people`s reasons for moving back after migrating to another country.

Hope that helps.
x

Hello and welcome to BE take a good look around, read the WIKI, listen to Judy and ask questions.

I suggest you pick a province, or better still, a city or regions where you might be headed. It is very difficult to answer your question because Canada is a truly massive country, some six times zones, I think number 2 or 3 after Russia.

I live in Quebec, just one Canadian province. Most of western europe would fit into my province.

Education and some professions fall within mostly provincial jurisdiction so how can we answer your questions?

As far as the weather goes, unless you like British weather so the west coast would be to your liking, in most other parts it can be really frigid in the winter, winters are long, there is really no spring, autumn is pleasant and summers can be stifling.

Good luck.

I came over as a young man in 1962. It is a great country.

.

Try Nova Scotia, try the North Shore, try the Community Identified route.

We have a fantastic quality of life - every corner you turn brings up a new Kodak moment. Our children, 6 and 18 now, love it too.