kazclan

Hi Guys
We are sorry if this has already been asked but can not find any threads about it, so here goes -

We have our LMO and WP's/SP's, husband has tried to resign but has been offered a very good package to stay, so now we have a problem, do we stay or do we go???? we could do with some feed back from people who have already made the jump so we can get an idea of what to expect if we do go.

The question we have is anyone in BC (vancouver area) mainly
surrey/langley/chilliwack.
Have you found many differences??
Was it the right move??
If you have kids have they settled in school (ours are 14 & 9)???
Did you find the cost of living hugely different???

Any help and/or advice would be gratefully appreciated to help us settle on a decision.

Thanks
Kazclan

Danny B

I am sure you are not mad enough to base your decision on what anyone here tells you, but years ago I used to live in North Vancouver and know the areas you mention quite well.
Langley & Surrey have there fair share of problems, I would prefer Chilliwack out of the three but the commute into Vancouver (if applicable) would be a killer.

To be honest, if you live in a nice area in the UK, have a nice house, good job, kids are doing well at School and you are even 1% unsure of this move to Vancouver, I would seriously consider spending some time out there before packing up and leaving.
Not much help I know...

Butch Cassidy

Short answer.

If you need to ask this question the answer is Stay in the UK.

Scotty1972

I hear it rains a lot in vancouver will that help

rgds scotty

Surrey Expat

Sure it rains a lot but then it snows a lot in Calgary.

Glaswegian2007

I live in Calgary ... yes it does snow, we've even had it in August.

I don't like Vancouver too much ... too crowded, property prices are a bitch, commuting sucks and it rains too much.

To paraphrase what someone else posted, if you really have to ask a bunch of misinformed and misguided strangers the question, you're probably better off staying where you are.

Squeeze the current employers a bit more ... leave a few Canada brochures in the coffee room and washroom ... stick some posters up in the lunchroom ... persuade other employees (even hubby's boss if possible) that Canada is a great place to live and get some rumours circulating ... then squeeze and squeeze again.

As always ... my advice is worth less than the cost of accessing it

ann m

This thread was originally posted in April 2007 by kazclan.

They have not made another post since.

I'm guessing they stayed in the UK? (Did BE scare 'em off quick )

Glaswegian2007

Probably a smart move

didikai

[QUOTE=kazclan;4678487]Hi Guys
We are sorry if this has already been asked but can not find any threads about it, so here goes -

The question we have is anyone in BC (vancouver area) mainly
surrey/langley/chilliwack.
Have you found many differences??
Was it the right move??
If you have kids have they settled in school (ours are 14 & 9)???
Did you find the cost of living hugely different???

Any help and/or advice would be gratefully appreciated to help us settle on a decision.

My opinion:
We moved from London 19 years ago to Vancouver.
The Canadian culture is very different from English. i.e. humor
Surrey and the areas you mention are cheaper but if you work in Vancouver the drive in is a nightmare.
Surrey has a bad name, but it is Disneyland compared to any of the major British cities.
The kids mature a lot later here. Your 14 year old would be the equivilant of a 20 year old in Canada.
Can you see any future for England?
Can you see any future for your kids in England.
I've always thought of Canada as England 40 years ago.
We came for the opportunties for the kids.
For the first 15 years I never had a good word to say about Canada.
When my old dad died in 2000 I went back to U.K. to bury him.
When I returned, and this is fact, I kissed the wall in Vancouver airport.
I would suggest stay in Canada, get your citizenship. You and your kids then have a lifetime choice of residence, Canada, or Europe.
I think you and your kids will find it was the best decision you ever made.
Vancouver is a great place to start. Compared to England it is very easy here to get started in whatever field of work you want to do.
But as my kids have found, because of it's size, they are all going to have to move to a bigger city to progress.
Hope that helps

Glaswegian2007

Took me 5 years to get there ... maybe Alberta has something on BC?

Surrey Expat

Currently living in Chilliwack, have also lived nearer Vancouver as well as Calgary. Drive into Vancouver 3 times a week on business, prefer the drive to living in a big city, a lot better than the drive from Surrey (UK) into London (UK) 20 miles in 3 hours! The drive from Chilliwack to Vancouver is around 90 mins. and of course we are 90 minutes nearer to the interior of BC and a lot of recreational areas. Everywhere in Canada has something to offer and where you choose is personal preference. My kids are 9 & 16, doing well in school, schools have their problems but far less than the big city schools. We are pleased with the schools and the kids achievements.

Out of the three places you mention, Chilliwack is the only one I would move to, we love it here, great for the horses, kids and us oldies. Glad we moved here. Cost of living is marginally less than some areas, but mostly in property prices and property taxes.

We originally moved to the Lower Mainland for work and it has proved to be a good choice for us. You pretty much have to visit a place to see if it is what you are looking for. If work is a key issue then that could also be a deciding factor as it was for us.

Chilliwack to Vancouver is the most highly populated part of BC. www.chilliwack.com might give a bit of an insight.

And of course we get rain, but no snow in August. The misty clouds wafting through the mountains is quite eerie.

Paul Wildy

A lot of the people on here are so absolutely certain they hate the UK and literally can't wait to get out and, those feelings in my experience tend to serve you well during your first year in Canada during what will inevitably be a difficult and unsettled time. Moving abroad can be tough but for many the prospect of going back to the UK seemimg far far worse keeps them going. If, on the other hand, you were reasonably happy in the UK you will almost certainly go back during the first year. The minute something goes wrong you will be saying to yourselves "what did we do, everything in engalnd was going well, I had just got a promotion, kids were happy" etc.etc. And you will probably go back. And it will be a hugely expensive excercise but good life experience none the less.