great46

My dream is to live in a friendly neighbourhood in a nice big house, with a nice big car, to be able to afford to go out at weekends, for the children to have lots to do, clubs, sport etc. for them to be happy at school, to be able to afford a dog and be able to take it for a walk without having to pass teenagers spitting and swearing, my 8 year old gets very afraid when he sees a group of yobs even if my husband is with him at the local park...and for the local paper not to be full of stories of people being mugged and held up at knife point.
I know nowhere is perfect and having a job is crucial no matter where you live, but my husband and I are so fed up with where we live we want to find somewhere better, there must be somewhere better. We have about £200,000. My husband is a qualified, hardworking skilled (and very clever) tradesman.
B]COULD MY DREAM COME TRUE IN CANADA????[/B]

ClosedAccount-xyz

all dreams can come true(eventually) if you want them to...
we are in the same boat, husband has good tradesmans job, but we dont have enough points to apply for immigration so all we can do is hope that he will eventually get a job offer, then our dream will come true
best of luck to you both , may all your dreams come true!
Jeanette

KHutchison

Yes, your dream could come true in Canada. My wife is sponsoring me into Canada and I can't wait, both to leave the UK and all the crap you mentioned behind me and to go to somewhere with 4 seasons, friendly people and a low crime rate. I can't speak for the whole of Canada of course, but the areas of Ontario I've been to made feel "at home".
Kev.

dbd33

If you would settle for "quite a big house by UK standards", all of that is true of this block. The people from the neighbourhood in the pub are, a cook, a roofer, the singer for a local blues band, a life insurance salesman, an accountant, two carpenters, a retired cop now working for a paralegal firm, basically skilled tradespeople. Most have children and there are endless clubs and activities locally for them. The one thing you may not expect is that these people are from everywhere but here. On the street we have, Americans, British, Jamaicans, Indians, Chinese, Greeks, Koreans, Asians (country unknown), Australians, Iraqis, lrish and Newfires. There are several gay couples and many of the other families are somehow blended. This is not a good block for people who care how other people live. It is, however, a great block when the World Cup is on.

Patsy

just out of curiosity (spelt wrong i think) where in Uk do u live..or whereabouts?

great46

We live near Lakside Shopping Centre in Thurrock, Essex. it's about twenty miles outside of London. We have considered moving elsewhere in England but we feel that no matter where you go here you are never too far away from the yob culture that I don't want to my children to be a part of.

aahtuk

I honestly think it could. I live 80km outside of Toronto and also have been to the USA and experienced a culture there. Generally, crime in the USA and Canada is very very very low by my standards. I am never afraid of doing anything at anytime. It is sooo different from Europe. Governments here, I truly believe, are one of the best in the world to guarantee people's safety. Well, that also has something to do with the fact that European society is much different from the North American one (USA and Canada, again). People here CARE - unlike in Europe. This helps the cops fight crime tremendously, and there is not much crime to begin with anyway. I hardly see cops in my little town and yet it's safe! It's as if the town would do allright without police being present here at all! Can you imagine that?

aahtuk

Plus, with such amount of cash, you will easily afford a very very very nice house and will only have to make enough money to pay the bills and eat. And that's doable! You will not have to pay mortage or rent so your income doesn't have to be very large to maintain a high standard of living.

great46

Thanks all!

Thats very encouraging, but now where do we begin? we have spent the last couple of years looking at going to New Zealand and visited there for a month, we do not feel it is the answer for us, so far away.
Our eldest son is now 11 and we really want to sort our lives out soon for his sake, does it really take up to three years and would we be totally mad to apply without visiting first?
We have no one in Canada to help us, we had my brother in law in New Zealand which really helped he could have got my husband work easily and I feel with Canada I really don't now where to begin?
I am so envious of people who have jobs to go to that would just be my ultimate dream come true.

PS. Anyone need a very good Kitchen and Bathroom fitter? (previously a Fitter Turner by trade) or an IKEA Kitchen planner (that's me)

Bozlyone

We have been here for 12 months now, and I must say that St Albert, just outside Edmonton in Alberta seems to fit your "Dream" nicely. We did have the advantage of having a job to come over to but if you want it so bad you will find a way:

Crime is very low, it makes me smile seeing the local paper reporting youths throwing eggs or stealing bikes from open garages !!! even these don't happen often

Houses are large and very cheap compared to UK - We got our 4 bed, full basement 2300 sq ft house for just over 100k GBP.

The community here is great and they accept you with open arms. A welcome person comes round with names of similar families and coupons for local stores - known as the "Welcome Wagon"

Schools are excellent

Facilities for the children are amazing, within a 10 mile radius you have 4 excellent swimming facilities, ice hockey rinks, indoor soccer, too many outdoor soccer and parks to mention, a rugby ground, soccer club, gymnastics martial arts etc etc, there is always plenty to do here.

If we had to write a list of what we wanted in an area it would be very similar to yours and being honest I don't think we could have found a nicer place.

There is also an Ikea in Edmonton !!!

Let me know if you want any more information on the area as I feel so proud of the community that we have been welcomed in to.

Alberta_Rose

If you don't think you would get enough points for a skilled worker application it seems to me that you would have a good chance with a provincial nominee programme. Skilled trades-people are very much in demand from what I have heard, and the PNP is a relatively quick way of getting in!

It might be an idea for you to attend one of the emigration shows, where you could meet up with people who could help you.

As you yourself already work for IKEA, it may give you the opening to apply for one of their stores in Canada???

I would strongly suggest that you get yourselves out for a looksee tho! Look up Canadian Affair, or Zoom online for cheap flights. These chartered flights are hundreds of pounds cheaper than Air canada or BA, you can fly out to the East coast very cheaply, though the west side adds a bit more.

Good Luck!!!

Patsy

oooh a kitchen planner, i'll bear that in mind..i said to my husband last night as i walked 1/2 a mile down the room to get to the fridge... "who on earth designed the layout of this stupid kitchen?" He said "you!"

great46

It sounds GREAT!

How did you manage to get a job first?
Having a family it would be very hard to give up a good job here with no job to go to.

How have you found the winter my husband thinks I wont be able to cope with the cold.

I have looked at internal job vacancies in Canada but they want help with transferring you there.

I am sure your Ikea is much better than the one they opened in Edmonton UK. It had to be closed shortly after opening due to people getting stamped on, it was a disgrace.

great46

Thanks!

We should have enough points as a skilled worker, it's the two to three years wait that's the problem.

My husband agrees we should go for a look, but it so vast I don't know where to start with a travel plan. I think we would have to pick an area with a slightly milder climate and obviously somewhere with good employment opportunities.

I am reading lots of post on here to try and learn as much as I can.

Patsy

Also IGLU offer really cheap flights to canada. Personally i hadnt heard of them until today. Maybe someone can inform me about them.....dont scare me tho!!