Hi Morwenna!!

It's been a while since we talked in one guise or another!

Got to agree that my boys love the place too, but as a workaday slob, it isn't a great improvement ... maybe I should take up hockey or lacrosse??

Been here a year next week & still can't answer this one still sat on the fence scratching my head .
I think speaking for myself (& possibly hubby).......probably not, for the kids........definately yes
Swings & roundabouts I suppose.

The only downside of sitting on the fence is it hurts yer bum ..

Personally, I don't think there's a straight answer to the question ... it all depends where you're coming from and where you're going to.

In the UK we had to draw $10K from our property to pay the tax bill when Blair hit us with IR35 in a single year ... then again, we blew the best part of $150K in our first year in Canada ... choose which foot to shoot yourself in!

Now Canadian citizenship is on the horizon and life seems less painfull.

If I knew then what I know now ... well, hindsight is a wonderful thing ... it shows the decisions you got "wrong" but doesn't really tell you what the full results of the other options were.

Overall, I'd choose to live somewhere really close to a good trout or walleye lake ... after that, everything else falls in line.

Experience is something you get just AFTER you need it!!

That's pretty much life in a nutshell, hindsight has 20/20 vision.
As for myself, I would have looked at options other than Canada as well, now that I know how hellish the Immigration Industry really is. For those who have already successfully made the jump and are wondering if the grass is actually greener back over here then I have this message DON'T COME BACK THE UK IS SINKING FAST
For those of us about to make the jump to Canada, life is for living, mistakes are there to be made, you only get one life so live it, regrets are for the old, and not forgetting many a mickle macks a muckle
Oh and if you find that lake let me know as that is the utopia for which I search.
Stuarty

It's unlikely that I would do it again because the circumstances that brought me here were a one-off. I was kidnapped by a returning Canadian. She could just as easily have been Australian, German, Italian......

That being said, I'd stay here even if we separated. I'd probably move to a different part of the country but I'd stay here.

Would I do it again? Without a blink of an eye. This move has turned out to be better than we could of ever imagined. But... if I had a 4 or 5 year wait then to be honnest I think we'd be looking at alternatives. When we were quoted 24 months we were gobsmaked and discussed different options even then!

Bit confused as to whether I fit in the 'please answer the question' category or not as in reality the only reason I am here is 'cos Mrs AX is Canadian and she persuaded me to move to the tropical island paradise of Newfoundland.
Was it a good move? Yes in balance so far although it has been incredibly stressful at times. But when your partner is a Canadian then as a couple you have a choice, one of you has to live in the other's country or both of you have to live somewhere neutral!

From a career perspective the first year was good with an effective promotion from what I was doing in the UK. The second year after being made redundant (which had nothing to do with being an immigrant) has resulted in a step back. But it's interesting enough and pays enough to keep body and soul together. Mrs AX's career is taking off in a bigger way than in the UK and she sure as hell is paid a lot better than there. (She's a teacher).

Would I move here as a skilled worker? Emphatically NO not with the wait times at present. But then I was happy enough in the UK. Would we go back? Dunno but I wouldn't rule it out. Who know's what the future brings!

Your position doesn't sound all that different to mine. If we won the lottery tomorrow, Madame Souv would ship us down to the south of Spain in an instant.

Ah yes, we dream of being the people one reads about in glossy magazines, or successful authors etc.....'AX has houses in Canada, UK and Mustique!'
Incidentally, I told Mrs AX the story behind your username, she was most amused and has taken to describing me in a similar vein. Apols for breach of copyright.....

No probs about nicking my nickname, although it's probably best if I don't tell you some of the other things she calls me.

I am an author, as it happens.

Hi back at ya!

You asked the question, then you said it's probably unanswerable!

I didn't select yes or no yet, but I think my answer might be "no" starting from where we are now, and YES based on how we were then! OMG I think I'm joining the ranks of the terminally confused too! :scared:

Under the curcumstances I came here, Young, Single, Job Offer in hand on a work permit I would come again in the blink of an eye, even though I didnt have any major beef with the UK (except I couldnt afford anything!).

Under current curcumstances, reasonable established life, wife, 2 young kids, would I risk all for a leap into the unknown. Not a chance, especialy with a 4 or 5 year wait now for skilled worker. I know now that happyness is who you are with, not where you are with them.

Those who come to this site often know how much I like Canada, but for me it would be way too much uncertainly to risk turning a faimily on its head for. The UK just isnt that bad. But then I never had a problem with living in the UK. Until I had the chance to try living here relatively risk free I had not ever thought of leaving.

Me, and i will be again.

Would i do it if i had my time again? Yes.

Would i do it now, returning to the UK and then deciding to join the back of the 51-month line? Not a chance.