JaseAndHeth

Would you suggest (and if so, how strongly?) that we try and purchase an "investment property" in the UK to keep a foothold on the property ladder over here? I'm not sure that this will be possible owing to the relatively small amount of money we will have available to take anyway PLUS the high price of houses here! I guess it depends on how likely you are to return to the UK? And arguably it is never a bad thing to have assets - wherever they are!

Just a thought...

louise033

We moved to Calgary 2 years ago and live well on very little money, we don't have a mortgage or car payment though! We just adjusted our lifestyle and don't eat out much but camp & ski all we want - also storage in houses here is huge so we shop at superstore & buy in bulk which works out much cheaper. You can live reasonably cheaply here if you shop around and drop the UK materialistic values.

hudd

I have a few friends who keep property in the UK who moved both to Canada and US. They were pretty happy as after 3-6 years living outside the UK they could afford to return. I have a friend that every time he changed his job he has kept his houses. He now owns 8 apartments, 2 houses in the city and a house in the country. He told me at one time he had 480k in mortgages, but thats all paid off now.
I knew someone who kept his house in the UK and still had it after 20 years in Canada. It would allow him and his wife to moved back to the UK when they retired.
I would keep some investment property in the UK if you can affords it. My wife & I had said the next house we buy we will keep it even if we moved to a different area, as we need to get smart with property investments.
Both in the Uk and Canada we sold and bought 4 houses in 8 years and its always be the wrong time in the market where we been living.

We moved to Calgary in 1997, by 1999 oil prices had dropped to $11 barrel. We found its was an easy way to loss $50K on real estate assets in a very short time(6 months). We sold a large 4 bed Victorian house in 1997 for £78k and for 5 years we owned it the value of the house rose each year by a few percent. I think current value is about £280k.
We did not think about house prices rocketing in the UK until we thought about returning. We put of returning for a few years as our house value in Canada remained static and those in the UK kept rising. Then our parents offered to help us get back on the UK property market(at 39 years old). So we returned to the UK in August 2005.

We saw going overseas as a good opportunity to see a different way of life and part of developing our careers. We alway thought about returning to the UK for our sons University education, but decided to return when they started secondary school.

In hindsight we should have kept our UK house but you do not have a crystal ball to predict your future. We had enough savings/investments to move to Canada with, but it helped us in covering the moving jobs/buying new houses/ moving across Canada and supplementing my income for a few years.

If you could keep a home in the UK even a flat if your can afford one.

Regards
hudd

JaseAndHeth

Thanks for the advice. Heth and I have certainly been considering this as an option - but the only way we can pay for it is with a mortgage. It will lessen the funds available for Canada and make it all the more important that I still earn some money in the UK - even if it is just enough to cover the mortgage (obviously we will try to rent it out!!).

Do you regret the move to Canada? We (at this stage) have no plans to return to the UK - but never say never - right?

louise033

We sold up in England and have never looked back, we don't even want to go back for a visit! I think its easier to make things work in Canada when you put your all into it.

hudd

No we do not regret moving too Canada.

Its like my aunt said to me "its something you have to do to see if it’s right for you".
If we stayed in the UK we would not have the opportunity to see and experience a different cultures and away of life. On the job site I think I gained a lot of professional experience and skills. My sons have lived in Alberta, Ontario, Suffolk, Kent and now Oxfordshire which not many kids had that sort of experience.
Last week I was in Kent for my brother wedding and saw a taxi driver who I remembered from my Uni days. I thought he must have had a pretty boring life, same job in a small town for years. So I definitely thought I been lucky to live in so many different places.

We have friends in Canada now and so we can take a few weeks off and visit them (that’s the difference living in Canada, you only get 10-15 days holiday a year compared to 5 weeks+ in the UK).
My wife and I have been talking about buying some land in Ontario as an investment, so our time there was not that bad.
The only real regret we have is not seeing our family for years, as both my mother and mother in law died while we lived in Canada.
Moving too Canada helped us realise what was important to us and that’s why we returned.
Its a good life experience immigrating: It can be fun, exciting, adventurous, costly, frustrating, upsetting, depressing and whatever you wish to make of it. Everyone has different experiences immigrating so you will find it hard to not get a unbiased view. Some hate what lot the ended up with other think they moved to to Utopia. Really we did not find it not much different from the UK, some things about Canada we liked alot other things frustrated us.

hudd

Souvenir

At least you can say you've tried it, whatever the result was.

As a wise man (Oscar Wilde?) once approximately said: "you should try everything once; except sodomy and golf".

Heland

Well written Hudd.

As a child my parents emigrated to USA when I was 9 and came back when I was 15.

I am now 34 and wanting to emigrate to Vanc. with my husband and two children so you can imagine the reservations I have.

Having said that looking back as a child I would not change anything, my parents gave me a wonderful experience in life and it has made me what I am & I feel like that I have experienced so many things and so many memories. The downside is I was not particularly close to my grandparents as did not have much contact with them, I am not sure where my roots are, I have no knowledge of english history whatsoever but I can say I my life has never been boring & I feel like I have missed out on nothing. I want to be able to give my children that same spirit though still have pangs of guilt as to whether they can cope with it. Life is so short I know if I don't do this I will look back and wish that I had tried.

On the downside my brother has never really forgiven my parents for coming back to the UK and has been a loner really ever since and now has very little to do with us.

Everybody is different I am learning that there is no wrong or right way to go about this process but this forum is a lifesaver.

& can you believe that my parents are not happy about me emigrating!!

H

Investor

How old was your brother when you came back Heland?

I know of a family who returned from Canada when their son was 14 years, he is now about 40 but has suffered with depression ever since he came back.

Souvenir

Timmy's withdrawal?

Heland

Funny you should say that he was 13. I still think 15 was an awkward age to come back at but I fought back whereas my brother went the other way and as you mention my brother suffers with depression etc. also.

hudd

I actually brought some Timbits for my boys recently from one of the motorway service stations. I think it was on the M4.

hudd

I am now 34 and wanting to emigrate to Vanc. with my husband and two children so you can imagine the reservations I have.
H[/QUOTE]

Moving to Canada and back again did no harm to our sons. They are articulate, confident and well adjusted boys(11 & 13). I hope the experience they have will make them more enlightened adults when they grow up. I will encourage them to experience different parts of the world and understand different culture etc.

& can you believe that my parents are not happy about me emigrating!!


H[/QUOTE]

Yes I can believe your parents are not happy, as my mother would not see us off at the airport when we flew to Calgary. My wife's parents were very supportive to us.

My mum & dad were going to move to Kenya to run a hotel when they were about 30. I was 11 years old at the time and so excited to move to where there were all types of animals. My mum changed her mind at the last minute as she said she did not want to leave my grandparents on their own. Then they were only in their mid 50's then.

You have to do what you think right for your family.

JaseAndHeth

Thanks for the reply. It was very reassuring. We both live our lives with a "no regrets" attitude. It's definately what you make it - whether you live here or in Canada. I personally find that I cope better with big changes. I hate nothing more than that "stagnant" feeling you get when not much happens in a year. I realise we've opted for one hell of a change but that's half the fun! I don't think we'll ever settle in the traditional sense.

I would definately hate to be the taxi driver - we have friends who are in a similar boat - they are happy with their lot in life, and good luck to them. Not for me.

It's so reassuring to hear people honestly say "some things about Canada we liked alot other things frustrated us" - that's exactly how I expect it to feel. Too often I've read posts that absolutely slate either the UK or Canada which feels grossly unfair. Obviously I appreciate it is tainted with their experience and I genuinely feel sorry for those for whom it was not the right move, but I am looking forward to the challenge of leaving the UK life behind for a bit, and starting a fresh somewhere new!

The holiday situation is a little scarey for us, but I am sure we'll manage. As I said in another post - we will make strong efforts to ensure that our family and friends get the opportunity to visit and stay with us - even if it does mean paying for air fares etc.

We don't have children yet, though I suspect it will be on the cards at some point... I appreciate what has been said about settling them for their education and giving them some understanding and feeling for their roots. It will be important that they visit and experience the UK so that they can make their own decisions. I do, however, feel that both Canada and the UK are good places to raise children - giving them the opportunities and experiences they need while young.

Thanks for your post - it really does help!