MOVING BACK TO DURHAM ENGLAND -PROS/CONS ?
Jun 10th 2011, 4:58 pm
#1
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MOVING BACK TO DURHAM ENGLAND -PROS/CONS ?
I moved to the Vancouver area in 2006 from Durham . My kids are 14 , 12 and 11. I,m in the early stages of thinking of moving back to the Durham area.
We still havn,t applied for Canadian citizenship yet but i plan to do so soon.
If the decision was for myself and the missus we would be ready to go back tomorrow but i have to think about the kids and their education etc. I feel the education is better and higher standard than in Canada and fees are prob less @ universities etc.
We still havn,t applied for Canadian citizenship yet but i plan to do so soon.
If the decision was for myself and the missus we would be ready to go back tomorrow but i have to think about the kids and their education etc. I feel the education is better and higher standard than in Canada and fees are prob less @ universities etc.
Last edited by ENGLANDIA; Jun 10th 2011 at 5:01 pm.
Jun 10th 2011, 5:11 pm
#2
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Re: MOVING BACK TO DURHAM ENGLAND -PROS/CONS ?
I'd suggest that this is reposted in the Moving back to the Uk forum.
You'll get more support and less hositilty..
Many on this part of the forum aren't going to want to hear what you have to say, certainly those "on the way over" for a better life for thier kids, will propably shout you down..
In the MBUK forum you'll find dialog from those already here and going back..
However thats not to ignore input from this part of the forum, but you'll need to screen those 'not yet here' but adamant they're right, those new to canada with 'the rose tinted specs' and select out those that have been over for a while and can understand your issues, but have good reason to prefer to stay here..
You'll get more support and less hositilty..
Many on this part of the forum aren't going to want to hear what you have to say, certainly those "on the way over" for a better life for thier kids, will propably shout you down..
In the MBUK forum you'll find dialog from those already here and going back..
However thats not to ignore input from this part of the forum, but you'll need to screen those 'not yet here' but adamant they're right, those new to canada with 'the rose tinted specs' and select out those that have been over for a while and can understand your issues, but have good reason to prefer to stay here..
Jun 10th 2011, 5:15 pm
#3
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Joined: Jun 2005
Location: Fredericton, New Brunswick CA
Posts: 8,309
Re: MOVING BACK TO DURHAM ENGLAND -PROS/CONS ?
I'd suggest that this is reposted in the Moving back to the Uk forum.
You'll get more support and less hositilty..
Many on this part of the forum aren't going to want to hear what you have to say, certainly those "on the way over" for a better life for thier kids, will propably shout you down..
In the MBUK forum you'll find dialog from those already here and going back..
However thats not to ignore input from this part of the forum, but you'll need to screen those 'not yet here' but adamant they're right, those new to canada with 'the rose tinted specs' and select out those that have been over for a while and can understand your issues, but have good reason to prefer to stay here..
You'll get more support and less hositilty..
Many on this part of the forum aren't going to want to hear what you have to say, certainly those "on the way over" for a better life for thier kids, will propably shout you down..
In the MBUK forum you'll find dialog from those already here and going back..
However thats not to ignore input from this part of the forum, but you'll need to screen those 'not yet here' but adamant they're right, those new to canada with 'the rose tinted specs' and select out those that have been over for a while and can understand your issues, but have good reason to prefer to stay here..
Jun 10th 2011, 5:27 pm
#4
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Re: MOVING BACK TO DURHAM ENGLAND -PROS/CONS ?
I moved to the Vancouver area in 2006 from Durham . My kids are 14 , 12 and 11. I,m in the early stages of thinking of moving back to the Durham area.
We still havn,t applied for Canadian citizenship yet but i plan to do so soon.
If the decision was for myself and the missus we would be ready to go back tomorrow but i have to think about the kids and their education etc. I feel the education is better and higher standard than in Canada and fees are prob less @ universities etc.
We still havn,t applied for Canadian citizenship yet but i plan to do so soon.
If the decision was for myself and the missus we would be ready to go back tomorrow but i have to think about the kids and their education etc. I feel the education is better and higher standard than in Canada and fees are prob less @ universities etc.
Jun 10th 2011, 5:33 pm
#5
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Joined: Sep 2008
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Re: MOVING BACK TO DURHAM ENGLAND -PROS/CONS ?
Durham are leading the County Championship at the moment if that helps make your decision. They look a strong side.
Jun 10th 2011, 5:35 pm
#6
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Re: MOVING BACK TO DURHAM ENGLAND -PROS/CONS ?
No one had better shout anyone down
I figure if you post here and in MBTUK you will get both pros and cons. Thats why I left it here in the first place. BOth forums can be pretty blinkered if you ask me (as a mod in both of them...)
Where do the kids want to live? If its canada then a canadian degree will open more doors for them. Fees are going to apply wherever nowadays, but if you dont have three years (?) back in the UK before they hit Uni then overseas fees ($$$$) will apply I think. As for high school education standards I dont think there is much to choose. Canadians are perhaps a little more rounded when they leave. If literacy and numeracy studies are to be taken at face values Canada shades it, but both places are not exactly 3rd world in any case.
Ultimately it comes down to what you need to find to be happy. Mountains and Oceans are great, but if you miss close family then theres really only one solution to that problem.
I figure if you post here and in MBTUK you will get both pros and cons. Thats why I left it here in the first place. BOth forums can be pretty blinkered if you ask me (as a mod in both of them...)
Where do the kids want to live? If its canada then a canadian degree will open more doors for them. Fees are going to apply wherever nowadays, but if you dont have three years (?) back in the UK before they hit Uni then overseas fees ($$$$) will apply I think. As for high school education standards I dont think there is much to choose. Canadians are perhaps a little more rounded when they leave. If literacy and numeracy studies are to be taken at face values Canada shades it, but both places are not exactly 3rd world in any case.
Ultimately it comes down to what you need to find to be happy. Mountains and Oceans are great, but if you miss close family then theres really only one solution to that problem.
Last edited by iaink; Jun 10th 2011 at 5:42 pm.
Jun 10th 2011, 6:08 pm
#7
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Re: MOVING BACK TO DURHAM ENGLAND -PROS/CONS ?
No one had better shout anyone down
I figure if you post here and in MBTUK you will get both pros and cons. Thats why I left it here in the first place. BOth forums can be pretty blinkered if you ask me (as a mod in both of them...)
Where do the kids want to live? If its canada then a canadian degree will open more doors for them. Fees are going to apply wherever nowadays, but if you dont have three years (?) back in the UK before they hit Uni then overseas fees ($$$$) will apply I think. As for high school education standards I dont think there is much to choose. Canadians are perhaps a little more rounded when they leave. If literacy and numeracy studies are to be taken at face values Canada shades it, but both places are not exactly 3rd world in any case.
Ultimately it comes down to what you need to find to be happy. Mountains and Oceans are great, but if you miss close family then theres really only one solution to that problem.
I figure if you post here and in MBTUK you will get both pros and cons. Thats why I left it here in the first place. BOth forums can be pretty blinkered if you ask me (as a mod in both of them...)
Where do the kids want to live? If its canada then a canadian degree will open more doors for them. Fees are going to apply wherever nowadays, but if you dont have three years (?) back in the UK before they hit Uni then overseas fees ($$$$) will apply I think. As for high school education standards I dont think there is much to choose. Canadians are perhaps a little more rounded when they leave. If literacy and numeracy studies are to be taken at face values Canada shades it, but both places are not exactly 3rd world in any case.
Ultimately it comes down to what you need to find to be happy. Mountains and Oceans are great, but if you miss close family then theres really only one solution to that problem.
Football is another pull as my eldest daughter and son are really into it and we are all huge Liverpool fans .
Settling in the Durham/Chester Le St area won,t be a problem as all my friends/family are there and i know the North East really well .
Education for my kids is the big ???????
Jun 10th 2011, 7:26 pm
#8
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Re: MOVING BACK TO DURHAM ENGLAND -PROS/CONS ?
The education issue for the UK (for me) would stem on getting the kids into a "decent" school. I know nothing about Durham - but if your area is like many across the country, there seems to be the good school and the I-don't want-to-send-my-kid-to-that-school school in every town.
We've thought about it - I have a 13 year old and an 11 year old. The 11 year old would be going into UK Year 7. That is the year they enter high school and the year that seems to be vastly over-subscribed at the better schools. We'd likely have little choice about where she could go.
See if you can get your 12 and 14 year olds into a "good" school, then piggy-back the 11-year old in as the sibling.
Other than that, wherever you are happiest, your kids will settle. Your 14-year old is likely pretty attached to her mates now, so I reckon that would be your hardest one to convince? The 14-year old is also at a difficult(ish) age to move - if you are not heading back in this next academic year, then he/she may have little choice in the options they can take when 15/16 for GCSE's - as this year is the year he/she would need to decide.
If you are going to go, I'd go sooner, rather than later, or resign yourself to staying here another 7 years (at least, to get your now 11-year old out the other side of High School).
The university fees bit for the UK that others have mentioned is also important - you must show you have been resident in the UK for the preceding three years to pay home fees.
From my limited experience, I think if your kids are "academic" they would do well in either country - if they have the aptitude, then A levels or Canadian Grade 12 will set them up OK for Uni in either country. And if they are not at all academic (but you suggest university education is around the corner) - then I really don't know.
I've already told my two that I love 'em to bits, but wherever I go, they have to follow
Good luck!
We've thought about it - I have a 13 year old and an 11 year old. The 11 year old would be going into UK Year 7. That is the year they enter high school and the year that seems to be vastly over-subscribed at the better schools. We'd likely have little choice about where she could go.
See if you can get your 12 and 14 year olds into a "good" school, then piggy-back the 11-year old in as the sibling.
Other than that, wherever you are happiest, your kids will settle. Your 14-year old is likely pretty attached to her mates now, so I reckon that would be your hardest one to convince? The 14-year old is also at a difficult(ish) age to move - if you are not heading back in this next academic year, then he/she may have little choice in the options they can take when 15/16 for GCSE's - as this year is the year he/she would need to decide.
If you are going to go, I'd go sooner, rather than later, or resign yourself to staying here another 7 years (at least, to get your now 11-year old out the other side of High School).
The university fees bit for the UK that others have mentioned is also important - you must show you have been resident in the UK for the preceding three years to pay home fees.
From my limited experience, I think if your kids are "academic" they would do well in either country - if they have the aptitude, then A levels or Canadian Grade 12 will set them up OK for Uni in either country. And if they are not at all academic (but you suggest university education is around the corner) - then I really don't know.
I've already told my two that I love 'em to bits, but wherever I go, they have to follow
Good luck!
Jun 10th 2011, 7:48 pm
#9
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Joined: Apr 2007
Location: TORONTO- yay!!!
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Re: MOVING BACK TO DURHAM ENGLAND -PROS/CONS ?
You mentioned that " you are just about to apply for citizenship". Are you aware that it is currently taking about 18 months to process? We applied in sep/Oct last year and are still waiitng for our test.
This may have an impact on your anticipated timeline
This may have an impact on your anticipated timeline
Jun 10th 2011, 7:51 pm
#10
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Re: MOVING BACK TO DURHAM ENGLAND -PROS/CONS ?
The education issue for the UK (for me) would stem on getting the kids into a "decent" school. I know nothing about Durham - but if your area is like many across the country, there seems to be the good school and the I-don't want-to-send-my-kid-to-that-school school in every town.
We've thought about it - I have a 13 year old and an 11 year old. The 11 year old would be going into UK Year 7. That is the year they enter high school and the year that seems to be vastly over-subscribed at the better schools. We'd likely have little choice about where she could go.
See if you can get your 12 and 14 year olds into a "good" school, then piggy-back the 11-year old in as the sibling.
Other than that, wherever you are happiest, your kids will settle. Your 14-year old is likely pretty attached to her mates now, so I reckon that would be your hardest one to convince? The 14-year old is also at a difficult(ish) age to move - if you are not heading back in this next academic year, then he/she may have little choice in the options they can take when 15/16 for GCSE's - as this year is the year he/she would need to decide.
If you are going to go, I'd go sooner, rather than later, or resign yourself to staying here another 7 years (at least, to get your now 11-year old out the other side of High School).
The university fees bit for the UK that others have mentioned is also important - you must show you have been resident in the UK for the preceding three years to pay home fees.
From my limited experience, I think if your kids are "academic" they would do well in either country - if they have the aptitude, then A levels or Canadian Grade 12 will set them up OK for Uni in either country. And if they are not at all academic (but you suggest university education is around the corner) - then I really don't know.
I've already told my two that I love 'em to bits, but wherever I go, they have to follow
Good luck!
We've thought about it - I have a 13 year old and an 11 year old. The 11 year old would be going into UK Year 7. That is the year they enter high school and the year that seems to be vastly over-subscribed at the better schools. We'd likely have little choice about where she could go.
See if you can get your 12 and 14 year olds into a "good" school, then piggy-back the 11-year old in as the sibling.
Other than that, wherever you are happiest, your kids will settle. Your 14-year old is likely pretty attached to her mates now, so I reckon that would be your hardest one to convince? The 14-year old is also at a difficult(ish) age to move - if you are not heading back in this next academic year, then he/she may have little choice in the options they can take when 15/16 for GCSE's - as this year is the year he/she would need to decide.
If you are going to go, I'd go sooner, rather than later, or resign yourself to staying here another 7 years (at least, to get your now 11-year old out the other side of High School).
The university fees bit for the UK that others have mentioned is also important - you must show you have been resident in the UK for the preceding three years to pay home fees.
From my limited experience, I think if your kids are "academic" they would do well in either country - if they have the aptitude, then A levels or Canadian Grade 12 will set them up OK for Uni in either country. And if they are not at all academic (but you suggest university education is around the corner) - then I really don't know.
I've already told my two that I love 'em to bits, but wherever I go, they have to follow
Good luck!
Theres some good places to live all around Durham within 15 mins drive and some good schools and there,s a good college in Durham as well as Durham University.
I do really want to get Canadian citizenship for all of us just to have the option for the kids in the future.
Jun 10th 2011, 8:29 pm
#11
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Re: MOVING BACK TO DURHAM ENGLAND -PROS/CONS ?
my personal opinion is even if the education system is better in the UK....for them to make a decent life for themselves in the future they are going to need a really well paid job to even get on the housing ladder let alone the cost of living.....British Gas has just announced an increase of almost 20% on their rates...and the rest of the utility's are said to be following suit!!!
Jun 10th 2011, 8:45 pm
#12
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Re: MOVING BACK TO DURHAM ENGLAND -PROS/CONS ?
my personal opinion is even if the education system is better in the UK....for them to make a decent life for themselves in the future they are going to need a really well paid job to even get on the housing ladder let alone the cost of living.....British Gas has just announced an increase of almost 20% on their rates...and the rest of the utility's are said to be following suit!!!
Jun 10th 2011, 8:52 pm
#13
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Jun 10th 2011, 9:07 pm
#14
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Re: MOVING BACK TO DURHAM ENGLAND -PROS/CONS ?
Jun 10th 2011, 9:28 pm
#15
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Re: MOVING BACK TO DURHAM ENGLAND -PROS/CONS ?
Yeah , we would probably need to return for the test as like u say it takes about 18 mths for the citizenship process .