Originally Posted by J0n35y

I don't really understand what you are trying to say

Originally Posted by Jingsamichty

I do think you'd need to prepare yourself for working longer regular hours than you're hoping for. I think a 35 hour week is only for those pretend workers in the public sector... .

Originally Posted by dbd33

In a nutshell that it's unprofessional to take the position that " I will always put my family and spending time with my year old boy first". Employers cannot prevent you from having children but conveying the idea that your first loyalty is not to the firm is very much a career limiting move. If you want to see the child awake on weekday evenings then you should think in terms of taking work home so as to be able to combine working and viewing.

Originally Posted by R I C H

8-4, 5 weeks holiday and a 20 minute commute. Life's not so bad here.

Originally Posted by J0n35y

Hi all

Apologies if I seem a little lazy with not trying to wade through the threads here (or the net for that matter) but Im hoping someone could give me a little help and advice.

My partner and I really fancy a move to Canada and after visiting the Expo in Glasgow and doing a little research myself quite like the look of Ontario, particularly somewhere like Guelph or Burlington. We plan to narrow some potential places down to a handful and visit later in the year as theres only so much you can get from the web. Is there anywhere else we should consider? Is there anywhere suitable for a young family of 3 (and hopefully soon to be 4!) in the Greater Toronto Area that is pleasant, affordable and family friendly or should we stick to a smaller town/city?

I'm fairly clued up on the Visa time frame and costs but Im wondering about my employment chances. Firstly I am a CA (ICAS qualified) with nearly 3 years post qualified experience in practice. How easy is it to become Canadian qualified and how would one go about it? Also, is there plenty accounting/audit based work outside of the GTA (ie. in the places we plan to live)? Im a little concerned that Id have to seek work in Toronto's centre and commute as I do just now but to be honest its part of the reason I want to escape! As much as I love big cities to relax and explore (NY is a hoot) Id rather not work in the middle of them.

I have about a million questions but Im rambling and I'll probably be lucky to get a response at this rate! Id greatly appreciate to hear any views and opinions and look forward to hearing from at least some of you!

Thanks in advance

Originally Posted by J0n35y

Are you for real?! Sorry if I feel you are on a bit of a wind up here.

I suppose you can argue that it is unprofessional but I really hope that your particular outlook on life isn't one shared by Canadians in general as in my opinion this sort of attitude is inconsiderate, almost incredulous, and not to mention being poor parenting (in my opinion of course).

Originally Posted by J0n35y

Thank God! I thought Canada was turning into a military zone for a minute there...

Originally Posted by J0n35y

I'll need to do a lengthy visit some time soon to see whats suitable myself

Originally Posted by dbd33

I am for real and would point out that the opinions of "Canadians in general" are, by and large, irrelevant. In the workplace your competitors are going to be other immigrants so it's the degree of commitment offered by recent arrivals from poverty stricken countries that should be your benchmark. You need to seem more driven than they are.

The quality of your "parenting" is not, of course, a matter of interest to your prospective employers. It should not become necessary for your employer or co-workers to know of the existence of the child.

Originally Posted by Oink

You seem to have a decent job and you live in Scotland. Why would you want to go through all the hassle and expense of moving to somewhere without the security of a decent job, take the wee man out of Scotland's very good schools, have to eventually stump up tuition money for higher ed., live in an urban sprawl of sub-divisions, box stores and strip malls, suffer brutal winters and hot, humid and mosquito infested summers, live next to people who will barely talk to you just because you fancy it? On the other hand it could be the move of your life, the making of you and a real chance to give your family, especially the wee man, a decent quality of life. And they don't really have proper pubs in Scotland anyway so you won't miss that.

Originally Posted by J0n35y

I just value family life more than I do any job. I hope I dont come across too poorly with that attitude.

Originally Posted by R I C H

I think dbd's offering you a reality check - the corporate world here is just as competitive and cut-throat as anywhere else, but without some of the security that European employment legislation provides employees.

Holiday allowances are often less than you'd be accustomed to, and hiring/firing is a fact of life. His heads-up is realistic in terms of the work environment that you're possibly going to be exposed to in the GTA.

It's different in a smaller city where competition is less intense, and it's also quite different as Jingsamichty mentioned in the public sector, where work practices are heavily influenced by unions.

Originally Posted by dbd33

It doesn't seem a poor attitude to me but I'm not kidding in suggesting that the GTA is full of people who have just arrived from places of dire poverty (>50% foreign born population in Toronto remember) who will do anything to get ahead. There are hordes of people living in shitty little boxes in places like Brampton, Mississauga and Milton who endure 3 or 4 hours of commuting per day and who are highly motivated to, at least, make a lot of money out of it.

Guelph, otoh, is a pastoral paradise. It's nice but not obviously worth crossing an ocean to see.

Originally Posted by J0n35y

I would hate living/working in London (which is the closest I could compare to in UK) and dont doubt at all that the types of attitudes dbd hints at would be everywhere there.