Originally Posted by brizzle

I would question that. A lot of it is down to people's perceptions. Is there less anti-social behaviour in Canada - probably. Is Canada's murder rate higher than the UK - Yes. No doubt there are scary crime-ridden areas in the UK, particularly in the major cities, but get outside of those then the picture improves considerably. Here there are less 'ghetto' areas, but crime seems to be more 'evenly spread'. For the record, we have been broken into twice in Vancouver.

Originally Posted by James Martindale

It's a fair point.

I am making the big move to Canada on Friday.

Whilst I do not think there were many benefits a couple of years ago of moving apart from more property for your buck- I do now think that Canada (Toronto) where I am moving has a stronger job market than London.

Also the recession in the UK, still going has been deep and brutal. Whilst we may get minimal growth in the next couple of years unemployment is expected to continue rising.

I have been alarmed at the decline in UK exchange rate but with interest rates in the UK to remain excetionally low for upto the next 5 years it is all the more reason to move and earn in dollars.

The UK has been through a golden growth phase (fuelled by debt) in the last 15 years which I think in material wealth has meant we have closed the gap, overtaken many economies. But I think the next 15 years will see the UK regress in the world.

Canada in my opinion will outperform the UK and you may find the gap of life quality seen in the 50's and 60's re-appears.

Originally Posted by el_richo

I would personally struggle to live in BC without having the ability to drive.

Originally Posted by jandro

I live here without a car and it's manageable but I rent cars when I need to. It's great not having to pay car insurance here.

Originally Posted by ork

Vancouver Good:

I guess that the main things would be its proximity to skiing/hiking/biking/sailing etc. types of activities (if you can afford to do them). Also, it is rare to have snow/temps significantly below freezing in the metro Vancouver area over the winter. The coast is quite pretty and there are islands to explore. I've not been to the states yet but Seattle is within striking distance.

Vancouver Neutral:

It is 4500 miles and a 9-10 hour, fairly expensive flight from the UK if you/your girlfriend need to pop home for a visit. Plus it is 8 hours behind GMT if there are things that you need to sort out by phone. Might not sound like a lot but it is interesting when you are expecting a call back from Inland Revenue or you need to catch someone before their office closes. You just need to be aware. Until you disengage a little from your UK friends, you can expect to find yourself spending a lot of your mornings keeping up with them because they are at home, relaxing after a full day's work. Even though they can see daytime behind your head? They don't realise that it's your morning and you need to get up and out to do things!

Depending on what you enjoy doing - every other business property is pretty much a restaurant, a nails bar, hairdressers or coffee shop. I have to admit that I still tend to shop for clothes in the UK still as I've not found any shops here that have things that I like, at prices I feel are value for money. Perhaps I just haven't adapted to West Coast fashion yet.

Also, if you like bread, pork, beef, broccoli and carrots, you can pretty much shop all year around in Safeway. Otherwise, you need to learn where to go to find what you need. While it is a bit inconvenient not to be able to get all of your groceries in one place and I miss Sainsburys, Tesco and the occasional treat visit to Waitrose, it can be fun to explore alternative places to find what you need.

Vancouver Not-so-Good:

Weather can be very wet, rainy, grey, gloomy and depressing between Autumn and Spring (Vancouver Annual Average Rainfall = 43"; London = 26" - or something like that. Basically, Vancouver is even wetter than Glasgow.).

I stay out of the known dodgy areas but the Vancouver area does have an apparent problem with drugs and homelessness. Personally, other than the odd person dragging themselves across the road in front of my car while high on drugs, I have not seen much evidence of drugs (although it is reported on a lot in the papers - users and gang turf war violence). However, the homeless are very visible, pretty much everywhere you go.

I find it quiet here. It can get very lonely. At least where I live. I am only about 20 mins drive from downtown but the suburb is sort of stockbroker belt - faceless suburbs quiet. Maybe 2 -5 cars come down our road a day? It kills me. Just roads stuffed with faceless houses that have manicured lawns/gardens. I get the occasional glimpse of peoples' cars vanishing into their garages. We occasionally go out to dinner but I have not been to a real bar or a club, in the way that I used to go out to one in London, since I arrived in October 08. I am sure that there must be places to go but...?

Originally Posted by jandro

The gap in standard of living that existed in the 50s and 60s between the two countries will never return. The UK economy would have to sink a lot further. It's true Canada probably hasn't been hit as hard by the recession and the CDN$ has strengthened a lot against the UK£. This has a lot to do with strong global demand for Canadian natural resources. That's cusioned the effects of the recession here.

Originally Posted by mercury28

I think that each place has it's positives and negatives.

For us we are struggling in the UK, my husband can't get work here. The bills are crazy, the rent and council tax is crazy. Petrol is expensive in the UK. But the food is good as is car insurance. I could go on and on.

The reason we have decided to immigrate to Canada is because we will have a better standard of life. My husband job in Canada is so much better paid than anything he could have in the UK. The environment in BC is amazing, whereas in the UK we are so over populated!

We went out to Vancouver last January for 3 months, job hunting etc and it was such a good experience. We felt so safe in Vancouver, you can instantly see it's not over populated like the UK. The petrol compared to the UK was a good price. And the standard of living so much better.

We didn't feel the food was more expensive, we just found we couldn't find certain things we could get in the UK.

Anyway for us, it is Canada all the way!!

Originally Posted by jan the piglet

money isn't everything think very carefully before splitting family generations, it's been heartbreaking for us. we're so homesick and returning in July after 5 years here

Originally Posted by jandro

The gap in standard of living that existed in the 50s and 60s between the two countries will never return. The UK economy would have to sink a lot further. It's true Canada probably hasn't been hit as hard by the recession and the CDN$ has strengthened a lot against the UK£. This has a lot to do with strong global demand for Canadian natural resources. That's cusioned the effects of the recession here.

Originally Posted by mercury28

...we have nothing to lose if we give Canada ago.

Originally Posted by el_richo

Apart from more money

Good luck with everything

Originally Posted by James Martindale

Your point is good.

I was not around in the 50's or 60's to see the gap so I will not comment further on that.

I do think that over the next 5 to 10 years the Canadian Economy is better placed to outperform the UK creating a gap.

In all honesty if the exchange rate stays at it's current level then there is already a huge gap in purchasing power although as mentioned on previous posts I think the pound will recover.

If you look at a town like Guelph and compare it with Farnham where I am at the moment. Two towns that are commutable distances to major cities and both regarded to have good standards of living. On a $80k salary you would be able to afford a home 2 or 3 times the size of that in Farnham. I think for alot of familes with 2 or 3 children that would give them a much nicer standard of living. I also think on my research that the salaries in the two areas are fairly similar.

I can understand why lots of people return to the UK. We all do different jobs, we all have different relationships with family and freinds and we all have different circumstances.

It is important that people share their bad experiences to warn those heading out. But to completely muddy Canada isn't fair as everybody's experience will be their own as is everybody's mindset. I still think it is better for people to make the move but as always research where you are going and what your work sitation will be because that will always effect your livelihood.

Originally Posted by mercury28

We have no other family, just me my husband and our 2 children. It's a very easy decision for us. I agree money isn't everything, but it helps make life a little easier. We are always struggling here in the UK, so we have nothing to lose if we give Canada ago.

Originally Posted by James Martindale

If you look at a town like Guelph and compare it with Farnham where I am at the moment. Two towns that are commutable distances to major cities