Finding out, your advice.
Oct 27th 2013 | 3:01 am
#16
limey party pooper
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 10,000
Re: Finding out, your advice.
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living...&city2=Bedford
Bread for $1.38 and cheese $14 a kilo?
Oct 27th 2013 | 3:02 am
#17
Realist
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 24,667
From: UK
Re: Finding out, your advice.
Numbeo is nonsense in places
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living...&city2=Bedford
Bread for $1.38 and cheese $14 a kilo?
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living...&city2=Bedford
Bread for $1.38 and cheese $14 a kilo?
Oct 27th 2013 | 3:35 am
#22
Finding my Canadian Feet
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 249
From: Kanata, Ottawa, ON
Re: Finding out, your advice.
For what it's worth, OP ... me and my family are moving to Canada for our kids. Yes, I'm a naturalised cdn but hubbie is born/bred Brit ... what the other's are saying is true - you need to have done loads of research, gone for visits to places that interest you, go out with a solid plan, and a solid amount of savings (min £15K (!) to feel set up and be relatively safe for a couple of months). The transition can be hard - but when you go out with hope and b/c you can't see your kids or yourselves having a "good life" here then that's no small thing. It'll keep you going when it might get rough - and also give you focus on the things that are important to you.
No, it can't be the only reason, but its a really good one to have - and one that countless families over countless generations have used to emigrate somewhere in the world.
For me, the trick (and important bit) is to not idealize, but be really practical and pragmatic about it. What don't you like about here / could you get it in a different part of UK ... and if the answer is no then yes, go somewhere else. At the very worst it'll be an expensive "adventure" and you can always come back to the UK. Nothing needs to be forever. But you do need to give yourself at least 5 years somewhere to be really sure. (It took me nigh on 2 years when I came to the Uk - at 30yrs old - to feel like I had established some sort of life (work, friends, hobbies, etc) and there were times during that that I wondered what the hell I had done and why I was here, but slowly it all came together and I've loved it - but now that I'm married and have kids it's time to go back as I don't want to raise them here).
I'm ever the pragmatic optimist and would always say to someone - go for it - with your head firmly on your shoulders
Good luck!
No, it can't be the only reason, but its a really good one to have - and one that countless families over countless generations have used to emigrate somewhere in the world.
For me, the trick (and important bit) is to not idealize, but be really practical and pragmatic about it. What don't you like about here / could you get it in a different part of UK ... and if the answer is no then yes, go somewhere else. At the very worst it'll be an expensive "adventure" and you can always come back to the UK. Nothing needs to be forever. But you do need to give yourself at least 5 years somewhere to be really sure. (It took me nigh on 2 years when I came to the Uk - at 30yrs old - to feel like I had established some sort of life (work, friends, hobbies, etc) and there were times during that that I wondered what the hell I had done and why I was here, but slowly it all came together and I've loved it - but now that I'm married and have kids it's time to go back as I don't want to raise them here).
I'm ever the pragmatic optimist and would always say to someone - go for it - with your head firmly on your shoulders
Good luck!
Oct 27th 2013 | 4:05 am
#24
limey party pooper
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 10,000
Re: Finding out, your advice.
For what it's worth, OP ... me and my family are moving to Canada for our kids. Yes, I'm a naturalised cdn but hubbie is born/bred Brit ... what the other's are saying is true - you need to have done loads of research, gone for visits to places that interest you, go out with a solid plan, and a solid amount of savings (min £15K (!) to feel set up and be relatively safe for a couple of months). The transition can be hard - but when you go out with hope and b/c you can't see your kids or yourselves having a "good life" here then that's no small thing. It'll keep you going when it might get rough - and also give you focus on the things that are important to you.
No, it can't be the only reason, but its a really good one to have - and one that countless families over countless generations have used to emigrate somewhere in the world.
For me, the trick (and important bit) is to not idealize, but be really practical and pragmatic about it. What don't you like about here / could you get it in a different part of UK ... and if the answer is no then yes, go somewhere else. At the very worst it'll be an expensive "adventure" and you can always come back to the UK. Nothing needs to be forever. But you do need to give yourself at least 5 years somewhere to be really sure. (It took me nigh on 2 years when I came to the Uk - at 30yrs old - to feel like I had established some sort of life (work, friends, hobbies, etc) and there were times during that that I wondered what the hell I had done and why I was here, but slowly it all came together and I've loved it - but now that I'm married and have kids it's time to go back as I don't want to raise them here).
I'm ever the pragmatic optimist and would always say to someone - go for it - with your head firmly on your shoulders
Good luck!
No, it can't be the only reason, but its a really good one to have - and one that countless families over countless generations have used to emigrate somewhere in the world.
For me, the trick (and important bit) is to not idealize, but be really practical and pragmatic about it. What don't you like about here / could you get it in a different part of UK ... and if the answer is no then yes, go somewhere else. At the very worst it'll be an expensive "adventure" and you can always come back to the UK. Nothing needs to be forever. But you do need to give yourself at least 5 years somewhere to be really sure. (It took me nigh on 2 years when I came to the Uk - at 30yrs old - to feel like I had established some sort of life (work, friends, hobbies, etc) and there were times during that that I wondered what the hell I had done and why I was here, but slowly it all came together and I've loved it - but now that I'm married and have kids it's time to go back as I don't want to raise them here).
I'm ever the pragmatic optimist and would always say to someone - go for it - with your head firmly on your shoulders
Good luck!
I am curious though about what you don't want for your kids in thr UK? I get that sense from your post, and also have seen a few expats, mostlt Scots, back in England say that they don't want to bring their kids up there. Is it to be near family. To give them a childhood that is familiar to you or are there aspects of British life that you don't want for them?
I don't have kids but i've met a few.
Oct 27th 2013 | 4:59 am
#25
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 12,830
Re: Finding out, your advice.
Prices based on the foreign exchange are useless for someone living or moving to a new country. Since we moved here the prices in the UK (in CAD) have dropped 30% to us, but they have not dropped at all.
The only comparison one should make when comparing cost of living is how much you have left over from pay - expenses in each country. The difference is the indicator, if you earn £4000 a month in the UK and pay out £3000 to live, nett is £1000 or $1680CAD. Come to Canada and earn $6700 a month and pay out $5000 to live, difference is $1700, you're $20 a month better off, the price of cheese, wine or oxo has nothing to do with it.
The only comparison one should make when comparing cost of living is how much you have left over from pay - expenses in each country. The difference is the indicator, if you earn £4000 a month in the UK and pay out £3000 to live, nett is £1000 or $1680CAD. Come to Canada and earn $6700 a month and pay out $5000 to live, difference is $1700, you're $20 a month better off, the price of cheese, wine or oxo has nothing to do with it.
Oct 27th 2013 | 5:05 am
#26
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 361
From: St Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia
Oct 27th 2013 | 5:25 am
#27
.
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 20,188
Re: Finding out, your advice.
For what it's worth, OP ... me and my family are moving to Canada for our kids. Yes, I'm a naturalised cdn but hubbie is born/bred Brit ... what the other's are saying is true - you need to have done loads of research, gone for visits to places that interest you, go out with a solid plan, and a solid amount of savings (min £15K (!) to feel set up and be relatively safe for a couple of months). The transition can be hard - but when you go out with hope and b/c you can't see your kids or yourselves having a "good life" here then that's no small thing. It'll keep you going when it might get rough - and also give you focus on the things that are important to you.
No, it can't be the only reason, but its a really good one to have - and one that countless families over countless generations have used to emigrate somewhere in the world.
For me, the trick (and important bit) is to not idealize, but be really practical and pragmatic about it. What don't you like about here / could you get it in a different part of UK ... and if the answer is no then yes, go somewhere else. At the very worst it'll be an expensive "adventure" and you can always come back to the UK. Nothing needs to be forever. But you do need to give yourself at least 5 years somewhere to be really sure. (It took me nigh on 2 years when I came to the Uk - at 30yrs old - to feel like I had established some sort of life (work, friends, hobbies, etc) and there were times during that that I wondered what the hell I had done and why I was here, but slowly it all came together and I've loved it - but now that I'm married and have kids it's time to go back as I don't want to raise them here).
I'm ever the pragmatic optimist and would always say to someone - go for it - with your head firmly on your shoulders
Good luck!
No, it can't be the only reason, but its a really good one to have - and one that countless families over countless generations have used to emigrate somewhere in the world.
For me, the trick (and important bit) is to not idealize, but be really practical and pragmatic about it. What don't you like about here / could you get it in a different part of UK ... and if the answer is no then yes, go somewhere else. At the very worst it'll be an expensive "adventure" and you can always come back to the UK. Nothing needs to be forever. But you do need to give yourself at least 5 years somewhere to be really sure. (It took me nigh on 2 years when I came to the Uk - at 30yrs old - to feel like I had established some sort of life (work, friends, hobbies, etc) and there were times during that that I wondered what the hell I had done and why I was here, but slowly it all came together and I've loved it - but now that I'm married and have kids it's time to go back as I don't want to raise them here).
I'm ever the pragmatic optimist and would always say to someone - go for it - with your head firmly on your shoulders
Good luck!
Oct 27th 2013 | 5:34 am
#28
Finding my Canadian Feet
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 249
From: Kanata, Ottawa, ON
Re: Finding out, your advice.
I think that's good advice.
I am curious though about what you don't want for your kids in thr UK? I get that sense from your post, and also have seen a few expats, mostlt Scots, back in England say that they don't want to bring their kids up there. Is it to be near family. To give them a childhood that is familiar to you or are there aspects of British life that you don't want for them?
I don't have kids but i've met a few.
I am curious though about what you don't want for your kids in thr UK? I get that sense from your post, and also have seen a few expats, mostlt Scots, back in England say that they don't want to bring their kids up there. Is it to be near family. To give them a childhood that is familiar to you or are there aspects of British life that you don't want for them?
I don't have kids but i've met a few.
My childhood was spent around the world so that's not really it either - hubby's was spent in outskirts of Manc and then Herts so pretty "normal".
The thing I've found about the UK is that its harsh. It's crowded, people are generally miserable or disillusioned, weather is pants, school is very high pressure and imo demands too much too soon, and then too much pressure to "specialize" for GSCE's and A's. I much prefer the general school system where you can really have a broad scope of subjects and have the time to discover what you like with time.
I'm not idealizing Canada as obv there are unhappy people, the winters can be harsh and the summers oppressive, and school is hard for some no matter the curriculum - but I moved there when I was 15 (nb: never move a teenager across the world during puberty lol my poor parents!) - and overall I MUCH preferred the lifestyle. More opportunities. More space. More air to breathe.
My husband has been back with me a few times and he's gagging to leave the UK - he can't put his finger on it but feels its the "right" place to be. Though he's terrified of suburbia having been a Londoner the past 20 yrs lol.
I don't know, it's hard to define succinctly the differences. I'm always of the thinking that if something doesn't feel right then go, find where it does and you have a better chance of success.
Oct 27th 2013 | 5:34 am
#29
Finding my Canadian Feet
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 249
From: Kanata, Ottawa, ON
