Has anyone moved from NZ to Canada and if yes, are you happy with your move, disappointed, what are the main differences etc. Thanks.

There is a member called Poppy2 thats doing it but I dont think she's here yet so that probably doesnt help much. She might know others though...

yep we have done it a couple of times,the countries are completely different,very few similarities....

Louise33 is in NZ on a 6mth stay at the moment I think too. PM her if she doesn't see this.

Where were you howardk?

We might be going over to NZ for a one year secondment through work, but all very tenative at the moment.

I am buying Mr L2S a Lonely Plant for NZ for Christmas

What have you found to be the main differences? We live in NZ (are both originally from Germany). I also have Australian citizenship.... I have lived temporarily in Canada (as a student) and LOVED it and wanted to stay forever but couldn't get a work permit at that time. I am still thinking about Canada (maybe the reason why I had trouble settling in OZ and now NZ). I had a real coming home feeling in Canada back then and never experienced that in Oz or NZ. While I loved both countries for a holiday I had trouble settling. On the other hand: I have moved that many times and now with small children I am getting so tired of it. I am not really happy in NZ and can't even say why, because so many people tell me: now you have got what you wanted and live in a country that is exactly like Canada... but apart from the beautiful scenery there is nothing makes me want to stay.... also have this overwhelming feeling of loneliness, because it is so far away from Europe (I have small children now so cannot afford flights very often...). We are not in a hurry, but are trying to make a decision about whether we should go back to Oz (Germany is out of the question as partner says no.... although I would prefer that over OZ at this point), or going to Canada (which we both feel positive about). Can't really afford many recce trips from here and would love to know if Canada has changed much, what differences can I expect from NZ etc.

I've never been to NZ, so cannot compare NZ and Canada. I have lived in Oz, though.

What was it that you loved about Canada that you did not find in Oz or NZ?

Okay, Canada is closer to Germany than Oz or NZ. Also, Canada's seasons are in synch with Germany's seasons, whereas the southern hemisphere's seasons are not.

But what else does Canada have to recommend it over NZ or Oz?

I'm not asking to be confrontational. I'm asking because the answers to those questions might help you and us to understand what you don't like about NZ and Oz.

But let me warn you that living in a country as a student and living there as an adult with children can be two different experiences. That happened to me. I grew up in Swaziland, Africa, and had a very happy experience as an exchange student in Cincinnati at the age of 17 - 18. That, as well as subsequent vacations in the USA, led me to believe that I knew the States. But our expat assignment in Houston, with a couple of teenagers in tow, was a completely different (and far less enjoyable) experience.

You didn't say when and where you'd studied in Canada. I arrived in Calgary in 1977, and have been here for all but four years since then. I would say that Calgary has improved in some respects and also has deteriorated in some respects since then.

When we first arrived here, Calgary was much more of a "cow town." Local cuisine featured mainly burgers and steaks, and ethnic restaurants were confined mostly to Italian and Chinese ones. Since then, there has been a large influx of people from all over the world, and Calgary has become much more mutli-cultural than it was. I like that.

When we arrived, there was an energy boom taking place. Jobs were plentiful, there was construction going on all over the place, and service was poor. There was a high turnover rate in the service industries, as the energy industry paid more and kept on siphoning workers from the service industries.

In the mid 1980s Calgary experienced an economic downturn. Many people lost their jobs and their houses. That was a difficult period in many ways, but there were two positive outcomes. Calgary started diversifying into other industries, and the quality of service improved immensely.

Now we're back into another energy boom. We've experienced the full effects of it over the last three years or so. People once again are streaming into the city. Building is going on everywhere, but infrastructure is straining to keep up with the influx of people. Jobs once again are plentiful, but the quality of service is disappointing.

I interpreted the earlier energy boom more positively than I'm interpreting this one. At that point I was young, Calgary seemed to me to be a "happening" place, and it struck me as being full of opportunity.

This time around, I'm in a more established situation. I don't need the opportunities that economic booms provide as much as I needed them back then. So this time around the ubiquitous construction, the packed C-Trains and the bumper-to-bumper traffic (well at least packed and bumper-to-bumper by Calgary's former standards), and the poor service turn me off.

But Alberta is a unique case. During the time that Alberta has been going through what I've just described, other parts of Canada have existed in their own parallel universes.

My boss in Canadian, married to a Brit. They have both lived and worked in NZ, and are looking to return there in the future. I shall have a more detailed chat with her !!!

Hi Judy,

you are so right, that living somewhere as a student is so different to living somewhere with kids!!! That is my biggest fear that - because my circumstances were SO different back then - I would maybe not like living in Canada as much anymore.

If I had to say what I liked about it it would certainly be the outdoors (but I was very fortunate, as I lived and worked in the Rockies as a student (Jasper). I liked the mentality (mostly...). To me Canadians seem more genuine than Australians (this is probably only my perception...), on the other hand Aussies seem more positive and happy.... I should probably not compare at all. I liked the fact that Canada is closer to Europe and I also liked the seasons. But what it mostly was: I felt at home in Canada pretty much from the start, while I never felt that in Australia in 6 years. I can't explain why. It almost seemed like Canada was a good match for me and Australia wasn't. Although I have to say I did like the sun in Australia, my sister lives there which makes a difference, I now have friends there etc. I don't have any of that in Canada and would once again start again from scratch and I am starting to find that exhausting. I lived in Darwin and Adelaide. Adelaide was more my thing although the tropical living in Darwin had nice sides to it.

I think I have to go to Canada again (recce trip) just to get a feeling for the place again and do a bit more research. Can't seem to make a decision this way. We would go to Calgary, because my husband's company (he works in Oil and Gas) is there. The last time I was in Calgary was 10 years ago and to me it seemed like you said (cowboy town). NIce to hear that it is becoming more multicultural etc. I can understand how the traffic turns you off. I found that bad enough in Adelaide (coming from Darwin) although Adelaide is really a bit of a sleepy town...Has Calgary become as bad as Vancouver because Vancouver was too big and busy for me.

After saying all that: I spent a year in Dubai with children in between all this and I really loved it. Never thought I would as it really is the complete opposite to Canada.... but it was so international, beautiful people, close to Europe, bilingual kindergartens and so on and so on.... so maybe I have really now that I have children totally different priorities.... ah, this is hard...

If what you liked the last time around was Jasper, and if you would be moving to Calgary the next time around, I would say the idea of doing a recce trip before deciding is a very sound one indeed.

No, Calgary's traffic is not yet as bad as Vancouver's. Still, for a city of its size (just over one million people), I think Calgary has bad rush hour traffic.

hi,we were in christchurch both times..

hi,things are slightly different for us....we have no job to guide us and just go where we feel we should....having said that NZ feels like home,we lived in small communities by the sea...kids sailed,swam,played rugby....great stuff for them...we came back to canada ( at present wondering why the hell we did it ) in theory to be closer to the uk so that we could travel over a couple of times a year and family & friends could do the same...also parents now getting on ...but we feel NZ is where our heart is despite the many issue's it has..my son ( aged 8 ) describes NZ as being full of old things and CANADA is full of big new things...i guess we prefer the old things,slightly third world.....we are english but like yourselves would prefer not to go back to our homeland....cheers.

Thing is, howardk, I really question whether Canada's relative proximity to the UK really translates into anything real. I mean, when you are actually sitting at your breakfast table in Cochrane AB the UK is still way too far away to "nip over to" as some have implied. You're still talking 2 hours in a departure lounge, 10 hours on a plane, and thousands of dollars.

In my view, anything over a five hour flight is the same: horrible and to be avoided as much as possible.

In terms of money I tend to agree, families cannot go easily go home from Canada, New Zealand or wherever because it costs too much.

However, I've worked in London and Amsterdam many times while living in Canada, I catch the latest flight, sleep a bit on the plane, go to the hotel, shower, go to work. Leave mid-afternoon, sleep, and the next day is a normal work day, back in sync. The small time difference involved in working in California is more disruptive.

I've also worked in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia from here (trips comparable to NZ/LHR). Flying Toronto-West Coast-somewhere Asian-Sydney-Destination is knackering, coming back is worse, a half day presentation wipes out two work weeks.

I think the difference is significant even if money is not considered.

While I wouldn't agree with your half-day-destroys-two-weeks argument, I can accept that for people with frequent business interests in Europe, moving to Australia is not a smart thing to do. However, most people will travel back to the UK at most once per year, whether they live in Hobart, Nanaimo or Memphis, and then it will be for at least a week or 10 days, etc., so the jet-lag concern becomes redundant.

The enormous concern on this forum with access to the UK is strange, because even those living in France are there for a new life, and you have to allow your mind to move to your new country at the same time and to the same extent as your body does. Constantly thinking about the old country is not a good thing to do.