Originally Posted by Novocastrian

This thread has been oscillating in and out of serious, trivial and absurd.

Price of cheese? Trivial. "Fairness" to Brit migrants. Absurd.

Ability to live a life free from class prejudice, where you can find opportunity to behave as a civilised person without threat to life and limb? Where quality of life is of your own making? Where dbd33 makes it? Serious.

But seriously, Canada is one of a diminishing number of countries where people can live they're lives as they wish (and can achieve). We all can recognize those countries where that is impossible... Iraq, Palestine, as of recently, despite 15 years of progress, Lebanon. North Korea, Sudan, name any country in Africa (where my wife was born), Afghanistan, Chechnya, obviously I could go on. (For some time).

The queston you must ask yourselves, is whether you can live in the UK the way you want to live.

If you can, stay put. If not, this (Canada) is one rather good possiblility.

But there will be adjustments to be made. Maybe even sacrifices.

Masseltoff.

Originally Posted by dbd33

You mock people's concern over the price of cheese but think, think for a moment, there are countries where people dream of good cheese. Americans at the St Lawrence Market, to their knees, they fall. If we have nothing else Torontonians are blessed with cheese.

Originally Posted by dbd33

But then you've no reason to emigrate. It seems to me that moving from the UK can get one an improvement in material standard of living in exchange for a loss of cultural and geographic advantages and it can get one a one time boost in social status. It makes sense to move if housing is cheaper where you're going or if you're from the wrong side of the tracks. It doesn't make sense to emigrate (to Canada) if you're materially satisfied with your lot in the UK and not constrained by class barriers or other constraints that don't apply here. I can see that it might make sense to emigrate to somewhere culturally different from the UK for the experience even if it meant a lower standard of living but Canada, no, the difference is just arguing over football vs arguing over ice hockey. Canada's got to offer more consumer durables.

Originally Posted by dbd33

I don't know about BC but Toronto is absurdly misogynistic. Women in business but out of earshot are all either "cutie pies" or "douche bags", I'm undecided which is worse. I'm sick of hearing that paying my children's university tuition is a waste because they're girls. The fifties feel of the country is nice when one thinks of children playing out in the street but less so when one thinks of their mothers chained to the stove.

Originally Posted by Craftybanshee

I was making a joke dbd33! Try lightening up once in a while. Sometimes I think you have a sense of humour, then it disappears again :confused:

Originally Posted by g_is_for_canada

Having been in BC coming up for a year, I have to say that one thing I was not prepared for is the cost of living. There are lots of posts on this forum saying that salaries are lower here, and cost of living is much lower, so your standard of living is overall better. This is certainly not my experience.

General overheads are very costly, and I fail to see how some people manage to make ends meet on the salaries quoted on this site. Don't be under any illusion that you can survive on half the salary you'd get in Britain, for example. Not in BC - it's not going to happen. The reality is that most jobs pay far lower than Britain, many at approximately half the rate.

The reason I mention this is that I was at a function recently, and speaking to a Brit who'd just arrived. He was going through the usual tired old banter about how wonderful it is here, and how everthing was so much cheaper than 'the UK', and of course so much better. This is not the case.

This does seem to be what people expect and having just arrived, they see the most obvious savings (e.g. petrol). But when you've been to the dentist a couple of times, and some utility bills start hitting the doormat, it does make me wonder how the hell Canadians afford to live here, let alone people who've emigrated from Britain.

What concerns me is that there's very few posts raising this issue. Probably because by the time people realise this, they're working their nuts off so damned hard to pay the bills, they don't have time to discuss on here. Many people regard this forum as fairly objective and I'd like to warn anyone who thinks this, to more thoroughly investigate the cost of living, and avert your ears to sweeping generalisations about how it's so much cheaper.

Moving half way across the world, to find that you cannot afford to stay, could set you back years, financially, and even make moving back to Britain an expense you cannot endure.

Originally Posted by matty266

I think people have to look where they came from and where they are now for example living in london is compaarible to living in Edmonton, i think you all get the idea

Originally Posted by dbd33

Unless that's sarcasm, I'm baffled. In what way is Edmonton comparable to London?

Originally Posted by Butch Cassidy

Well they have two things (at least) in common. Hotels and trees (not necessarily of the same standard I admit)

Originally Posted by Hangman

They're both capitals???

Originally Posted by Calgal

Steve your Avatar wears me out just looking at it! I preferred the Polar Bear - much more "me" :D ;)

Originally Posted by Bleech

Yep gotta agree with what you're saying.
Normal grocery shopping is on a par with UK prices even after converting it to pounds. Petrol is cheap when compared to pounds, but pricey if you earn $s.
Your daily expenses are generally about the same, but cars are dirt cheap and houses are much better value for money.
Not sure about your "tired old banter" quote though, makes you sound a bit misserable ;) Everything is better here. :D But I'm lucky in that I still earn pounds, so everything's good value for me.

Originally Posted by Padre

Sounds like you may be able to advise me. I too, when I land in a couple of months, be earning a salary paid in sterling. How do you make it, would I be better paying my taxes in Canada, I would like to eventually benefit from a Canadian state pension and therefore must make my contributions.
Cheers

Originally Posted by hudd

I assume you will be working for a UK company?

I would set an account in Sterling and other in C$ dollars such as a bank like HSBC. Internet banking would allow you to transfer funding between accounts.

You may find that even if you pay UK taxes, the Canadain govt may want their share. i.e differences between UK and Canadian taxes. I had a friend who worked in the US but house was in Ottawa and wanted taxes on income earnt in the US.


Also if you work in Canada for I think 168 days you fall under Canadian tax system.

Would not your company take out dedections for you for taxes, pension etc.