its all about location location location, but having never even been to canada - we have settled on BC (probably) how do we pick where in BC to go for? we are not partuicularly keen on living in a central city so would be looking for a burb but dont know how to choose an area to start looking in. anyone got any hints? have ahad a look at the wiki but if you dont know where to start then a list of place names is a bit pointless dh si going off on a recce but i need to know where to send him...

Find job. Move near it.

stick pin in map! sounds flippant but we just went for it

huge luck

Hiya,
We are having a similar dilema! I agree with the whole, find a job and move to it but its not that simple when u have to arrange reccies etc.
We haven't moved yet or even decided on a province for definate but i am researching the hell out of the different areas. We have been using Google Maps alot to figure out the size of the different areas and the distance from the main cities etc. We were looking for somewhere that was a good size but that wasn't too far away from other big cities etc. Eventually we came down to 3 choices in BC: Kamloops and New Westminster and Burnaby. All of these places have their own websites too.
We also went onto Facebook and looked at the pages and groups set up in favor of the different places. I have posted a couple of questions on walls and had some really good feedback...
Not sure if this helps you guys or not but Google maps helped us. Also go onto a website called www.emigrate2.co.uk, we registered and they are sending me regular emails and you can register for a Location guide that has details on all provinces and areas....
Hope this helps a bit!!!
Good Luck

thanks guys, we are looking around vancouver but we really dont want towny, we want near town as dh is a crane driver so will have to go all over anyway.

I live in Vancouver (been here 16 years) and can answer questions in that regard. As already noted, work is goning to be a huge factor. Construction jobs are way down at the moment, due to the economy. Still a lot of cranes about though.

Housing is very expensive in Vancouver - probably as high as anywhere in the uk (other than central london) and may be a factor in your decision. Although rent is reasonable when compared to the cost of real estate - i compared vancouver to city centre manchester and found not much difference. In Vancouver though you don't have to be pay council tax (property tax) if you rent and most bills other than phone/cable are included in the rent, so overall a little more affordable.

Anyway feel free to ask me any questions.

Well you haven't a huge choice as its a huge city crammed into a delta surrounded by mountains, so its really city, city or er city

Fly out there and see places for yourself. Simples. Otherwise, i still don't understand how people can actually believe a country is right for them without ever setting foot in the place.

Yes and no, we'd been to Canada before, Eastern and Atlantic, but moved to Calgary for work sight unseen.

Well i guess what i mean is to visit the country first before making any decisions.

Yes but I would also suggest visiting the places you intend to live too, we just ended up coming sight unseen as I got a job offer and we figured that we'd make the move to Canada and see how things went.

I used to think that...........however, my friend without warning just sold up, up sticks and flew off to New Zealand with family in tow I speak with him almost daily and he loves it (been there 3 years now) he vows the only time he will return to uk will only be when he has too. (he is a brickie and found work very easily)

True true, it happens often. I also have friends who moved to Napier in New Zealand last year from Yorkshire and they're moving back this summer (British Summer) as they're not enjoying it at all. They also moved "sight unseen".

Moving countries and upping sticks is a HUGE move and due diligence should always take place before committing, in my opinion. You don't generally buy a new car without taking it for a test drive, or committing to buying a house without a survey, etc etc.

Just my opinion really. Good luck with your decisions OP.

Exactly, saying that, from what my friend tells me there is no way I could live there....no free skype, can't download anything without having to pay for it...only two mobile phone providers etc etc.......but, each their own eh?

I personally would advise, travel, you instinctively know where you want to settle usually within an hour or so of being there, then you need to do the legwork to see what suits your needs. (oh, and for me...the Okanagan wins everytime ) We did seriously fancy Kamloops (without seeing it), but when we did our reccie and stayed with friends it was definately NOT for us. Good luck.

I LOVE the Okanagan

Free wine and goats cheese