khuppe

Haven't been on here for a long time so sorry if I ramble on with this post! Well we moved to Canada back in 2008 (Im Irish my other half is canadian). Settled in Calgary with our 2 kids who were only 2 and 7 at the time, arrived in July to amazing weather and well if you have ever seen a Northern Ireland summer you appreciate any bit of sunshine you get.

Anyway to cut a long story short the company my husband worked for went bust 5 months after I arrived in Calgary with the kids, we had to then move to our in laws in winnipeg and stayed there until returning to the U.K in August 2009.... I had such a bad taste in my mouth just because it didn't work out how we had expected and at that point I never wanted to see Canada again.

Fast Forward now to 2012 and feeling very much disillusioned with living back in the U.K and are discussing the possibility of returning to Canada to live at some point next summer our children are now 6 and 11 so maybe it might be easier the fact they are both at school and a bit older.Anyway I guess Im just putting the feelers out to try and determine where is a good area for us to bring up our kids, would anyone say Winnipeg is a better choice than Calgary? And what area of Calgary or Winnipeg.. Also I am a Professional Make-up artist, Spray tan and Gel Polish technician does anyone know how my qualifications would carry over to Canada in order to gain insurance or how that works? And do you think that would be a profitable business for me out there? Im really confused as my husband is really keen to move back and I am not opposed to it but just want to make sure its the best thing for us all as I could not do any more trans-atlantic moves back and forth.

Any viewpoints gratefully welcomed :-)

Former Lancastrian

What does your OH do? As for your occupation there are dozens of spray tan places and nail type salons in both cities.
Calgary has higher house prices but no Provincial sales tax.
As your in laws live in Winnipeg then you know what that city is like.
Depending on the type of work your OH does may determine what city you end up in regarding availability of jobs in his field.
Who is the biggest earner job wise as that also may become a factor.
Check the MLS sites and search both cities for houses in your budget.
If renting check out sites like kijiji and craigslist.
Do your research on both cities is my best advice.

khuppe

Thank you, at the moment he plays hockey but he is getting to the age where he needs to think about the future... we tried to do that before in 2008 but it didn't work out as we hoped :-(

Ive worked in banking etc before but retrained after the kids were born in order to be able to work around the children.

cheeky_monkey

Surely having lived in both cities yourself you can answer your own questions better than the vast majority on here

MillieF

I am just moving to Canada with an 11 year old...my husband wants to go home, and I have played it by my rules so far so or seems fair. My OH's family are in Calgary, but I don't like it overly, so we are moving back by stages! It is all much more difficult than I thought 17 years ago when we met...then it was just the difference between tomatoes and TomAtoes! Even being married to a Canadian it's been a bloody more difficult than I had envisioned. My energy is flagging a bit, but I really think we are moving in the right direction for the whole family. Best of luck.

nativenewyorker

Not helpful to your query, but can I ask if your hubby is Curtis, ex Belfast and Coventry player? Forgive me being nosey but we were Panthers fans and saw Curtis play many times.

khuppe

That was almost 4 years ago... and I wasn't there for very long to form an opinion as like I said it left a bad taste in my mouth because the company my OH went to work for went bust...

Not exactly confusing when your just looking peoples opinions that may have been there for quite a number of years....

Forgive me but Im pretty sure this is a forum about Canada that you can speak to people about?

khuppe

lol yes thats right small world!! "were panthers fans" not anymore then? lol

khuppe

Yes I completely understand what you mean, I just want to make sure the next time if we move its a one off move and we are done as I couldn't go through the stress of moving and starting over again... its definitely a bit more complex when 2 people are from 2 completely different countries especially when it comes down to things like this. When you say your moving in stages what do you mean? I have been looking at where is the best place for my kids to grow up and a big part of me thinks Canada.. its just where in Canada is best for us to be and for work.

cheeky_monkey

yes but not many will have lived in both Calgary and Winnipeg to give an opinion trying to compare the two cities as options to live in.

nativenewyorker

Haha, always Panthers fans but now living in Canada so have had to swap Panthers for the Canucks and Giants. Can hardly tell the difference lol

Oink

Why not try coastal BC. Its not quite as awful as the rest of the country. Have you seen The Real Housewives of Vancouver? It might give you some insight into living here. They use a lot of the services you offer.

khuppe

Ha ha ..... I'm sure there's no difference at all! I think you've got the better end of the swap... Elite league or nhl?! Hmmm

I'm more of an epl girl myself nowadays lol

scotcal00

Well from me Mrs come back to Calgary ,they are building a hospital just beside us here and it is meant to have one of the biggest shopping malls in Calgary when its finished so im sure there would be plenty of work for u ,and as for Curtis he could apply to wear Ewan u only start off casual but end up full time and they are building loads more houses here .We also have two schools in our community .Strange i aint been on this in ages and the first name i find when i go on is yours lol

KAT16

Well pooh the Panthers Sheffield Steelers is where its at

We moved to Calgary 4yrs ago and love it. I visited Winnipeg earlier this year and gotta say I found it pretty miserable. That's only on a visit couldn't say what its like to live there. My close friends are from Winnipeg and even they say life is much better here.

We live North of Calgary in Airdrie with a 16yr old (12yrs when we moved), and have found both cities have everything we want. Schools, in our opinion, are better here. Supermarket food, prob not as much choice but we don't eat that much different to how we used. Housing is a bit more expensive but then you get more for your money here. We've made lots of good friends too.

The only thing we really miss is English friends and family, but we speak to them every week if you think when they visit they are here for 2weeks plus so spend more time with them in total.

Good luck with whatever you decide.