Firstly thanks for all your helpful replies to my previous post.
I now feel that we have a slightly clearer picture of why we would like to emigrate and some of the diffulties involved. I have been readiing the return to uk forum to attempt to get an overall balance view and I have found it depressing reading so I now have more questions, so please bear with me
1. What percentage of people, approx, make a go of things and are happy with their new llife.
2. Does the fear of "am I doing the right thing" settle.
3. Is the education system difficult for children to settle into.
4.Can anyone suggest a ball park figure for the overall cost of relocating.
5. Should we take a chance or die wishing we had!!!!!!!
Thank you in anticipation.

just do it!!!

life is to short and all that

settling in successfully is entirely in your own hands


folk winge about not settling but it begs the question what steps have they taken ?? and perhaps they are just not cut out for a new land

it takes effort a huge effort and doing stuff that might take you out of your comfort zone and dragging yourself out when you would rather roast your toes by the woodburner but you have to do it

we came to have a nice lazy time until pr sorted but have found ourselves busy busy 7 days a week working harder then ever before with voluntray work etc etc

but if we didnt chose this path we would no way have settled and integrated and carved a really rewarding new life

yes i was scared on arrival thats normal but that lasted all of 48 hours

re cost of relocation think of a number err on the side of caution then triple it and you will be about right!!!

1. Not seen any hard and fast figures, but 10% returnees is a figure bandied about

2. Yes, if you settle. It does take a couple of years though in most cases I think.

3. No, its not, although the older the kids the more ties there will be to the UK

4. No, everyone is different, some come with nothing, others bring all sorts of crap. Best bet is to search old posts. Im thinking id you are moving a family, furnature, bringing a container load, then £10k wont be far from the mark, but that does not include the usual canadian real estate closing fees, car downpayments etc etc.

5. You know, asking us for validation is probably not a good idea. You are all grown up now and need to make this decision for yourself. However, there is a school of thought that says that people reach the end of there lives regretting what they didn't do, not what they did. That has to be tempered though with looking at this decision very objectively and dispensing with any rose tinted glasses you might have.

If you have it in your mind to do it then you should or you will die thinking "what if"

If it does not work out whats the worst that can happen, you go back to wherever with your heads held high and say to all those who said "told you so" that at least you had a go and tried.

It is has hard to settle as you make it!!

This is my 2nd go at Canada and i would not change the struggles we are going through to get PR as it only makes you stronger in the long run.

If you can take the pressure of going through the immigration system and come out the other side then the rest will be relatively easy if you want it enough!

If you come here then most of all give it time. It is a different country with different cultures which you have to adapt to. You will have some difficult times but then you would in England and always remember why it is you wanted to come here in the 1st place.

Thanks for your replirs so far. The 10% returnees has put my mind at rest, the return to uk forum made me think it was nearer 50%.
We're a fairly easy going family who just enjoy a simple lifestyle and Canada sounds like it could suit us. Another question about the climate, I know the winters are cold but is there much rain - winter or summer. The weather is so grey here that the seasons feel ill defined.
Last question (for now) I am training as a counsellor at the moment, I have 1 year left to go. Does anyone know what the job prospects in this area might be.
Thanks again.

Canada is nearly 10 million square kilometers in area. If you want sensible weather advice, you will have to be a bit specific. Parts of Canada are defined as desert, others are rainforest...go figure.


You have to remember the nature of this forum is that most of the happy immigrants have better things to do than to waste time here, but misery loves company (and to warn the innocent!)

I am thinking of weather in Ontario or Alberta in particular.
As to the second part of your post I have no idea what you mean.
Oh sorry I get you now , the returnees. Sorry.

The second part of the post was regarding the feeling you had from the forum that 50% return... It's been my observation over the years that a lot of the posters who appear here with tails of woe and warning to pass on about the emigration experience eventually end up returning "home" and posting in the RTUK forum, but that many of those seeking advice on coming here, and the immigration process eventually post that they have landed and the first few weeks have gone OK, and then are never heard from again.

Regarding Rain, both Alberta and Ontario generally dont have that much rain, the winters are generally clear blue skies with occasional stormy dumps of snow, its not like a grey overcast UK winter at all. Both experience thunderstorms in the sumer months. Albertas can be far more extreme, but Ontarios are more frequent.

In the winter Alberta is colder, but has Chinook winds that warm things up a lot every few weeks to temper that...personally I consider that cruel and unusual teasing of better weather to come that never quite makes it. Ontario doesnt have that, but the compensation is that winter is a month (or more) shorter and not as extremely cold.

If you want hard numbers google "environment canada" or the weather network for the official stats for rainfall, overcast days etc. Rain / overcast days are a coastal phenomenon mostly.

no idea, but having looked at the returning to the UK forum I get the impression that some people like to moan a lot
I found it did, but I still have the odd "why did I do this" wobble from time to time.
my children haven't had any problems

I get the impression that it is different for everyone - it will depend on the size of your family, where you are flying, whether you are taking all your worldly possessions with you or just a few bits etc etc etc.
Go for it! I know that we realised that we would be forever thinking "what if" if we hadnt done it.

Can't help with your job prospects question.

And Iaink answered the weather one pretty well too. I am in Alberta, and the summers are hot, the winters are cold but the chinooks warm things up (and melt the snow so that it then refreezes as sheets of ice). It isn't too bad though - I like the fact that it is a very dry cold here. Much better than it being damp and miserable.