Migrating to Canada or Australia - which is better
 

Apologies for the long post, but put as much detail as I can in - thanks for anyone who helps me out on this

I'm looking to emigrate to Australia or Canada, and would like some advice on which would be better for me and which has better standard of living for my line of work.

I'm a 29 year old Java programmer - with 5 years experience, two and a half of those in banking IT (where I'm working now).

Want to live in a country where I can actually afford to buy a house - and not a shoebox that is 50+ years old and in need of repair.

I'd say my main aims in emigrating are to move somewhere where I can get a large modern house for an affordable price (200 square meters or bigger).

I'm also attracted to the seeminginlgy better working environments - I've heard working hours are less and there is less pressure in general in both Aus and Canada.

Crime, living costs, police inefficency and British youth are also a major downer.

Basically I'm looking for a better quality of life than I can get in England. Cost of living wise and assuming local salaries how does England compare with Australia - ie how much money will I have left at the end of the day, and how do things like cost of living stakcc up coompared to England when assuming local wages and taxes.

Any ideas on the salaries for a good java programmer, and where are the IT jobs located (banking and non banking?)

Which parts are better for IT. Ideally I'd like somewhere that doesnt get too cold in Winter - and I understand Vancouver is the only big city in Canada that fits the bill.
How is vancouver, and how does it weigh up for employment opportunities and property prices?

I'm currently earning 50,000 pounds basic salary with a few perks, and saved 100,000 to buy a house (sadly it wont get me anywhere in England).

Is tax similar with England or less for my kind of salary, and how about healthcare and education costs (havent goot kids yet, but want them to go to University).

Any help appreciated, looking for detail and standard of living between England and Canada, and if possible Aus and Canada to help me make the decision of where to go.

Many thanks

Re: Migrating to Canada or Australia - which is better
 

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I have no idea about most of your questions, but this Wiki article may be of some use.............http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Canada_versus_Australia

The Wiki (on blue bar at top of page) has loads of info in about some of the questions you've asked such as healthcare and taxes, so that would be a good starting point for you.

You've said you're only interested in Vancouver, so I'd recommend you look at www.mls.ca to get an idea of property prices. Vancouver is very expensive for real estate (most expensive in Canada, so you could consider another province if you want cheaper?), but also a lovely city. Cost of living in Canada is generally said to be the same as in the UK (some things cheaper, some more expensive but usually just about evens out), but if you do a search of the forums you'll find lots of threads that will tell you about the cost of living (many of which are where people have posted exactly what they're paying, so you'll get a good idea). Petty crime is less than the UK, but the murder rate per capita is higher - a Google search will bring up stats for you.

As to your quality of life, only you can say whether or not it will be better there. I wouldn't count on having any more money if you move to Vancouver, but you'll probably have a bigger house for the same money, be able to go skiing every weekend in the winter and sailing in the summer, etc. It all depends on what's important to you I guess, and only you can make that decision.

Of course, another thing to consider is whether or not you'd be eligible for a visa in the first place - have a read of this for more info............http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Quick_...an_Immigration

Hope that helps a little bit, a read of the Wiki and a search of the forums should help a bit more.

Good luck. :)

Re: Migrating to Canada or Australia - which is better
 

Hi Auron,

Well, firstly I must say congratulations on saving 100 grand!!! that is quite remarkable in this day and age. With todays exchange rate you could outrightly buy yourself a house in some parts of Canada and never have to worry about a mortgage for the rest of your life.
If you have a look on Wiki - on the blue bar at the top of the page there is a section somewhere on there about Canada versus Australia - it gives you pros and cons on both the countries.
There is 'the list' - a list of 38 occupations that Canada is meant to be in need of and there is an 0213 Computer and informations systems manager noc code. You would have to have a good look at this list to determine if your job were on there.
Maybe you could entertain the idea of going out there (Canada or Australia) on a work permit and see if you like the Country. I know that once you are out in Canada on a work permit a lot of people apply for their permanent residency and seem to get it quicker than applying through London for it.
The Wiki info is good on Canada - there is lots and lots of stuff on there about emigrating, work permits, study permits, permanent residence, Canadian life etc and also there should be the same for Australia aswell.

I think you have to remember that things like violence, crime, drugs, police innuficiency etc will always happen - no matter what country in the world you go to live in, however I personally feel that Canada and Australia have a lot more to offer than England.
Living costs - sort of swings and roundabouts I guess. Some things are cheaper in Canada, some are cheaper in England. A lot of people in Canada on expats are always saying how dearer car insurance is out there. You can put a search in on the Canada forum to see the cost of living.

Vancouver is very expensive - On the net it says the average house price there is $519,000. So in that sense you would be in the same situation as England for affording a house.

You can find out the job prospects for your job on the CIC website for each province - maybe that would be a good indicator for seeing what area was in need of your job and then weighing up the cost of housing etc.

50 grand is a great salary and don't know if you would get that in Canada. I have read on here a lot of people saying they earn a lot less in Canada than they did in the UK but they prefer the standard of living in Cananda - money isn't everything.

Best of luck

Re: Migrating to Canada or Australia - which is better
 

50,000 quid - saved 100,000 - forget Vancouver, you are probably better off there. Quality of life is a whole other thing - better here, probably.

Re: Migrating to Canada or Australia - which is better
 

hy there

You seem to have enough money to visit both countries before taking a decision

good luck

Re: Migrating to Canada or Australia - which is better
 

Hello Auron,

Haven't been to Vancouver, but hope this helps anyway! If anyone wants to correct some things please go ahead!!

As far as jobs go, generaly speaking there is a shortage of IT specialists in Canada (nothing new here). Even with the so called "recession", which didn't hit us as hard as our neighbours (although southern Ontario seem to struggle), there are a ton of jobs available in all kinds of positions. I work for a big insurance company in Quebec City (with offices everywhere including Vancouver) and the only department where they did not freeze hiring is the IT department.

IT jobs in banks and insurance companies (can't comment for Aus.) are usualy very secure jobs with very good conditions (ie: 35h/week, work less during summer, 1 friday off every 2 weeks, etc.) in case that's any different from the UK. As far as salary goes, pretty sure a Java programmer with 5 years + exp will get a very decent salary, defenetly above average, thinking minimum 40k+ (Quebec salaries are usualy lower), defenetly more in Vancouver.

As far as housing go, you'd get about 180k for that 100k GBP, which depending on where you choose to live could easily mean from 1/5 to even the full house value! :eek: Pretty awesome!! In quebec a 300k house is luxurious, while Vancouver is currently out of price, Olympics in 2010 aren't helping at all, the market has gone crazy from what i heard.

IDK about UK crime but here it's pretty low-average. Cost of living is defenetly lower than both UK and Australia.

I guess if the most important thing for you is weather, then consider Australia! (very biased opinion lol)

Few links to canadian job websites:
http://monster.ca/
http://www.workopolis.com

Hope that helps you and good luck!!

Re: Migrating to Canada or Australia - which is better
 

Its a choice very much driven by your individual needs, I also looked at Australia but was put off Australia by a few things, basically its always bloody hot, about 25 deg C in winter and unbearable at times in the summer.
That was the main thing plus found out there is a huge percentage of the world's most poisonous and lethal animals/insects that reside there also and in my line of work I would expect to see a few of them so its a big NO for me, plus alot of my freinds are either in Australia or have been living there and they all hate it, they say it is boring.
Canada IMO has friendlier people, some familiar things like Walmart (ASDA basically), you get proper seasons, yeah its cold in Winter but really hot in the summer, there are extremes to these depending on where in Canada.
There's always the USA just over the border which offer's several major cities for holidays and Mexico for that matter.
At the end of the day you need to visit both and see what you think :thumbup:

Re: Migrating to Canada or Australia - which is better
 

As a Java man, you'll likely disagree, but it all boils down to the quality of the PG Tips, don't you know?

Re: Migrating to Canada or Australia - which is better
 

or the amount of fannings, or is it if the leaves are a sky blue shade of pink?
I got confused after Tetley started brewing beers

Re: Migrating to Canada or Australia - which is better
 

£100k - holy moly :eek: In Windsor you could nearly buy a decent sized house with pool for that - CASH! This house we're renting is worth $230k, large-ish detached 3 bed with pool...

Winter is mild here compared to the rest of Canada (Vancouver and some of the rest of BC excluded)... Not much in the way of IT, even though I am in IT, I work remotely.... You could conceivably do freelance/contract work remotely...

Re: Migrating to Canada or Australia - which is better
 

If OZ was unbareably hot and crawling with lethal animals/insects everywhere why do 1.3 million British citizens live there, would'nt they go back to the Uk , your friends might hate OZ but 1.3 million brits must like it if they choose to live there. Most people who say OZ is boring made the mistake of immigrating to Perth which is a boring isolated city, when they should have moved to the eastern side of OZ where most of the population lives.. The state of Victoria where l live in OZ it can get bleow zero in winter and it snows and theres only a few days in summers where it gets really hot . l have lived there 30 years and never been bitten or attacked by any dangerous creature even though l go swimming at the beach and camping in the outdoors all the time. Don't you have grizzly and polar bears in Canada that kill people , l only come across koala bears when l'm in the outdoors in OZ,

Re: Migrating to Canada or Australia - which is better
 

You've just been VERY lucky then havent you ;)

Re: Migrating to Canada or Australia - which is better
 

l meant l have'nt been attacked by any native OZ animals, l've been bitten by bees and wasps, attacked by dogs and a wild horse but all those animals were introduced to OZ. If you look at the statistics your more likely to be killed by a falling tree in OZ then by any all these deadly creatures people carry on about.

Re: Migrating to Canada or Australia - which is better
 

LOL,

I wasnt arguing with you, I lived in WA 1979-1984 and regularly show redback spiders and tiger snakes (not to mention lizards of various types and jellyfish galore) I was never bitten or stung by anything bigger than a sand fly.
I honestly dont see why people coming to North America comment on the reptiles, insects and arachnids in OZ. In southern Alberta we have Rattle snakes, there are poisonous spiders in other parts of NA and as far as I am concerned the Mozzie problem here is far worse than anything I experienced whilst in OZ.

Re: Migrating to Canada or Australia - which is better
 

Yes l don't see why anyone would see the wildlife in OZ or Canada as a reason not to immigrate there , it only kills a handful of people per year compared to one or two thousand killed in road accidents every year. l guess its one of those irrational fears people have like the fear of flying.