Hi! My name's David, I'm 34 yrs old and live in the UK with my fiancee Linda.

We're both wanting to emigrate to Canada in search of a better life for ourselves. We have no kids [not planning any either!] and, quite honestly, are fed up with the way Britain is heading; particularly with the ever burgeoning European Union.

We both want to live in a country which, we feel, will appreciate our efforts and reward us accordingly. We do not want to sponge off the state [seen UK deteriorate rapidly as a result of other people doing that!] but want to make a valid and worthy contribution to the Canadian economy and immerse into Canadian culture as much as possible.

Well, that's the political waffle done with! Can anyone give us any pointers and tell us of any pitfalls we may need to be aware of? We're looking to settle either in Ontario/around Toronto or areas surrounding Ottawa. What areas should we avoid, and why?

ALL helpful responses welcomed, including those from indigenous Canadians AS WELL AS British ex-pats who have emigrated and wish to share their experiences.

I think that after a lot of research you will find that Canada is not too much different from the UK with its funny little laws and high taxes, however property is very cheap in comparison to the UK. From what I have read on here, jobs are pretty difficult to come by and UK qualifications are often not recognised in Canada.

Sounds like you need to take a couple of weeks vacation and just search around to see which areas you like.

In the UK though, you don't get laws set by Boroughs, that can put a kink in things that can really affect your life. On the housing issue, if the UK was building wooden houses too, the prices would be about the same.

Jobs.....at least in the UK, they bother to advertise the jobs in all the daily and local rags, even the metro for crying out loud. Oh....and there is the regulated professions, this is more of a provincial issue though.

If they could build much less expensive homes in the UK by using wood, why don't they?

There are a lot of wooden houses in the UK now and sorry to say that they don't cost any less than a traditional house. It all depends on where you live and the cost of the land in that area. Wooden houses are not really appropriate for the climate in the UK however lots of "American homes" are creeping up in Hampshire and are still commanding well over a million dollars even for a modest one.

You'd probably like Canada. Sounds like you would really make a go of it.

What's wrong with the UK being part of the European Union?It can only be a good thing in my view. Canadians really hold many of the social values that European countries do, so bare that in mind!!


Wooden houses would probably rot in the UK climate. Also the value of an actual house is minimal, it's the land that it stands on that is worth money. You could own a shack in Yorkville (Toronto) for a few million, but you could own a mansion near somewhere like Thunder Bay for a few thousand.

int

Of course Yorkville isn't that expensive, and Thunder Bay isn't that cheap, but I know what you meant.

Well maybe you haven't checked out property prices recently.

It won't last long for one, and the way the houses are built so close to each other in the UK, you will probably be able to hear all what is going on next door more clearly, no that you can' t now, depending on what kind of property you have.

Also....it's not a very European thing to do ! I can't see all the upper class, and aristocrat folks, queuing up for their wooden homes. After what happened near Stratford last month, am pretty scared myself :scared:

What are you guys talking about when you say that a wooden house would rot in the UK? What do you think houses in Vancouver or Prince Rupert are make of? Places where it rains most of the time. They are made of wood and they can last for a century or more if they are built properly. If they are built properly they won't leak, and can last indefinitely.

My guess would be the difference in construction techniques stems from variations in traditional natural resources.

The UK destroyed pretty much all of it's forests through the iron age and onwards for farming and settling and so come the city building and industrial revolutions the easy things to build out of are bricks and come the 60's good old cement (who thought that would look good in 10 years?).

However north america is an abundance of lumber and so why make expensive bricks when you can more easily create steel framed wooden houses that are great insulators and support the economy?

A lot of the older houses are brick because, I guess, they were emulating the style of the colonial folks who moved over, in the cities anyway, and anything large needs to be brick or stone anyway.

As for property prices in Yorkville, I work there and I can tell you they are ridiculous. There is a nice double faced victorian townhouse I walk past everyday. It's reasonably big for that far in the city and one day it went up for sale, maybe 6 months ago, and so I looked it up. $3.7 million dollars. and it sold within weeks. Hell the condos above our store sell for over a million bucks each. It's madness.

Drew

You think that's bad. I was reading in a Vancouver newspaper about a new highrise condo building that is selling units from $650,000 right up to $8 million - for a bloody condo!!!!!

Well, thanks for all the info about wooden houses fellas, but that still doesn't really help me at this stage as I haven't even got there!

Please see my original post - I am seeking OBJECTIVE and CONSTRUCTIVE information on where is best to work/live, not really on the materials hosues are built from. :lecture:

Sorry to be blunt Spoon but you haven't told us anything about what you are planning on working as when you get out here or what scenery you like or what weather takes your fancy! Canada is the second largest country in the world, how can we suggest areas for you to go and live in if we know nothing about your preferences?

Why don't you check out Karate Kev's thread - it may give you pointers as to where may be a good place for you to visit. Or take a couple of trips out to Canada and see it for yourself.

Thanks. My partner & I are both Civil Servants in the UK and would look to do similar work in Canada - preferably Ottawa/Ontario. The weather isn't really a consideration for us as we wouldn't move south in the UK (warmer climate) for the weather as the cost of living is much higher than in the North, though we have researched the Canadian climate and are well aware of the harsh winters in some provinces.

We are intending to visit next year and are not making ANY decisions until we have done so.

Look forward to hearing from you.