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My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

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Old Jul 21st 2011, 4:47 am
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Default Re: My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

Originally Posted by ANDREW83F
You are both saying its hard not having family there for that kind of thing, couldn't agree more. But you cope Yes? I mean there are other ways of saving money to.cover baby sitting costs at a weekend. For instance sports events in Scotland are triple the price of ice hockey games etc and I like my sport so I would save there. Money wise there is always ways to fund things but once our baby is born and our family here help us out We will realise what We would be leaving behind if We went.

Are you happy you moved? Would you ever turn back time?
I have to ask - how much does it cost to go to a sporting event in Scotland? Or how much do you think it costs to go to an NHL game here?
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Old Jul 21st 2011, 5:45 am
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Default Re: My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

Its the social aspect more than the financial, although finding someone convenient you trust is also an issue. Its hard to put a $ value on frequent family contact, but then again it depends on your relationship with you relatives, some people would be glad to be shot of theirs.

Yes we get by, most days the pros outweigh the cons, In my case thats largely due to a better job that my niche field would not have easily allowed in the UK.

To me most of what you seek could be found somewhere else in the UK without all the trauma and upheaval. And thats coming from one of the more pro canada posters on this forum...
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Old Jul 21st 2011, 8:00 am
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Default Re: My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

Originally Posted by iaink
Its the social aspect more than the financial, although finding someone convenient you trust is also an issue. Its hard to put a $ value on frequent family contact, but then again it depends on your relationship with you relatives, some people would be glad to be shot of theirs.

Yes we get by, most days the pros outweigh the cons, In my case thats largely due to a better job that my niche field would not have easily allowed in the UK.

To me most of what you seek could be found somewhere else in the UK without all the trauma and upheaval. And thats coming from one of the more pro canada posters on this forum...
Agreed. It was the better salary and job prospects that sold it for me, ('doing it for the kids' also came into it if I'm honest). Where I am now career and salary wise would have took easily another 10 years in the UK. We looked at getting out into the countryside to have a better life style for the kids, but there was no jobs in my field that paid well and house prices were prohibitive.

However, I massively underestimated how difficult life is without having family around for support, things like dropping in for a brew or going round for a curry, little things like that.

I was very strongly pro-Canada at the beginning, having been a frequent visitor since a young age. Living here for the past 15 months though, I'm starting to ask myself, was it worth it? Don't get me wrong, I intend to stay and make the best of it, as quality of life is better now than it was back in north Manchester and on the whole I'm happy, but the general unfriendliness of this City wears me down sometimes. As my wife says, at least the scum of all scum in north Manchester would hold a door open, or say cheers if you held it open for them. Little things like that, all mount up and start to grate on you.

I think I need a trip home to Manchester to get things straight and either have a "Christ, what have we done let's move back", or "Thank f**k we're going back home to Canada" moment.
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Old Jul 21st 2011, 9:02 am
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Default Re: My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

Originally Posted by iaink
Its the social aspect more than the financial, although finding someone convenient you trust is also an issue. Its hard to put a $ value on frequent family contact, but then again it depends on your relationship with you relatives, some people would be glad to be shot of theirs.

Yes we get by, most days the pros outweigh the cons, In my case thats largely due to a better job that my niche field would not have easily allowed in the UK.

To me most of what you seek could be found somewhere else in the UK without all the trauma and upheaval. And thats coming from one of the more pro canada posters on this forum...
That would be another reason for moving, my partners job is better paid in Canada and progress and opportunity would be better.

This is something we are taking into consideration, family is a massive miss.

No if we move its away from the uk, we wouldnt be escaping what we want to leave for, if we were moving from family itd be where we really want to go. Less populated cities, 4 seasons(proper winters and summers).....had about 7 sunny days this year only!, better job opportunities for my partner, better pay and more for our kids.

But we have loads of time to save money and decide whether this is right and iaink your opinions are helpful
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Old Jul 21st 2011, 9:27 am
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Default Re: My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

Agreed. It was the better salary and job prospects that sold it for me, ('doing it for the kids' also came into it if I'm honest). Where I am now career and salary wise would have took easily another 10 years in the UK. We looked at getting out into the countryside to have a better life style for the kids, but there was no jobs in my field that paid well and house prices were prohibitive.
-This is why we are considering it, better job, pay and oppurtunity for my partner and for our to be child. House prices are better in Canada where we have looked to. The market in the uk is awful.

However, I massively underestimated how difficult life is without having family around for support, things like dropping in for a brew or going round for a curry, little things like that.
-This i can fully understand, the big negative in our Canada project and how would we cope.Its not the same but if we went we would try and set ourselves a target to be as outgoung as possible and meet friends and other families to attempt to deputise this(although it never will properly we know) But hopefully family can visit as much as poss!

I was very strongly pro-Canada at the beginning, having been a frequent visitor since a young age. Living here for the past 15 months though, I'm starting to ask myself, was it worth it? Don't get me wrong, I intend to stay and make the best of it, as quality of life is better now than it was back in north Manchester and on the whole I'm happy, but the general unfriendliness of this City wears me down sometimes. As my wife says, at least the scum of all scum in north Manchester would hold a door open, or say cheers if you held it open for them. Little things like that, all mount up and start to grate on you.
-Do you think this is because you live in a big City? maybe the whole of Canada isnt the same. from what ive heard and read Canada is a friendly place. Our preference isnt to live in one of the main cities but one of the slightly smaller ones, 100k population and less if possible.

I think I need a trip home to Manchester to get things straight and either have a "Christ, what have we done let's move back", or "Thank f**k we're going back home to Canada" moment.[/QUOTE]
-Trip back might help but this country you and make your mind up. But awful weather, shocking housing market, yob culture and worse im sure Canada is the right option for you and your family.

Last edited by ANDREW83F; Jul 21st 2011 at 9:31 am.
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Old Jul 21st 2011, 12:28 pm
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Default Re: My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

Originally Posted by ANDREW83F
-Do you think this is because you live in a big City? maybe the whole of Canada isnt the same. from what ive heard and read Canada is a friendly place. Our preference isnt to live in one of the main cities but one of the slightly smaller ones, 100k population and less if possible.


-Trip back might help but this country you and make your mind up. But awful weather, shocking housing market, yob culture and worse im sure Canada is the right option for you and your family.
Geographically, Ottawa is a huge city but population wise it isn't really. Population is ca 900,000. Problem is it's a Government town, people are continually coming and going and I find people don't have time to be friendly. Most of our friends are from other provinces, and what I find is that the people from th Maritimes and further west are very, very friendly. We were down in Prince Edward County a few weeks back and couldn't believe how friendly people were. Drivers were letting us in and saying thank you for letting them in - not had that since leaving the UK.
We'll see.
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Old Jul 22nd 2011, 1:40 am
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Default Re: My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

I keep reading about this awful weather. I dont get it, but maybe thats cos my last few years in the UK were in Norwich, which had plenty of summer and many other things going for it. Plus much as I enjoy skiing, I dont recall ever having to shovel the driveway there. Not all of the UK is like scotland, and to be fair to scotland,, my brother lives in Fife and says the weather there is not nearly so bad as stereotypes would have you believe.
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Old Jul 22nd 2011, 1:57 am
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Default Re: My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

Originally Posted by iaink
I keep reading about this awful weather. I dont get it, but maybe thats cos my last few years in the UK were in Norwich, which had plenty of summer and many other things going for it. Plus much as I enjoy skiing, I dont recall ever having to shovel the driveway there. Not all of the UK is like scotland, and to be fair to scotland,, my brother lives in Fife and says the weather there is not nearly so bad as stereotypes would have you believe.
Well you should ask ur brother about this summer, the last and the last few. Scotlands weather is shocking. We don't have two days sunshine in a row, hardly any. Our snow though has been good last two years tho, shoveling for weeks but that's no problem as I like.a winter. I am not exaggerating, ask any other Scot on Here.
But again I wouldn't move to England as I would I probably only see my family as much as I would if in Canada. But by staying in the UK I wouldn't be escaping ridiculous house prices, lower wage for my partner and from what I've read and heard from people a better lifestyle for my family.
I appreciate your honesty and its good to hear negative points, you do have plenty. Have you positive points about your Canadian experience? I just wanna cover everything over the next yr or so,plus save..... until We make any decisions.
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Old Jul 22nd 2011, 2:23 am
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Default Re: My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

I wouldnt stay here if there were not positive points. Less frenetic pace of life is one.

By niche I mean there are literally only 4 places in the world that do what I do. Obviously I have transferable skills too, but my choices in my field are limited.

The UK need not necessarily be as limiting as you think it is, there are many nice places, not all of which need a 6 figure income. I talk to my brother frequently, the weather is not all that bad, not as nice as East Anglia though. He can be on a flight from edinburgh to the continent for not much money and be there in a couple of hours if he wants real sunshine. Try that from Canada, assuming you get more than the standard 2 weeks off to make it possible.

I have family and friends in the UK I am in frequent contact with, some in expensive places like Surrey, others in less expensive spots. None seem to be exposed to the kind of people the Daily Mail would have you think are everywhere.

Life in Canada has become progressively more expensive in the last ten or so years, to have a good life here requires a decent income now, especially if you have kids and want them to do more than hang out at home with the Wii. In some areas, like mine, its not too bad still, a few hundred bucks per activity or camp, maybe as much as $500 for something like a season of skiing. In the cities you can multiply that several times over.

To put the lack of family support thing in context, my wife and I have been out in the evening without the kids less than half a dozen times in 8 years, she is very picky who she will leave them with, especially when they were just babes/ tots. It doesnt bother us, but I can see that would put a crimp in most normal peoples plans.

Im not saying dont come to canada, I guess I am saying dont discount the UK, there are many reasonable stress free areas, its much simpler to do, no immigration paperwork and waiting, much cheaper, and 6 or 7 hours in the car with a break at the services is much easier to do than $3000 for flights for 4, plus an 8 hour flight with a 2 hr checkin , plus transport the other end when it comes to seeing family

Last edited by iaink; Jul 22nd 2011 at 2:28 am.
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Old Jul 22nd 2011, 4:18 am
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Default Re: My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

Originally Posted by ANDREW83F
had about 7 sunny days this year only!
And yet 'down South' we've only had about 7 days of proper rain since the beginning of March - my pond (which is huge) has dried up! Answer: just leave rainy Scotland for a sunnier part of the UK.
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Old Jul 22nd 2011, 9:33 am
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Default Re: My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

Originally Posted by iaink
I wouldnt stay here if there were not positive points. Less frenetic pace of life is one.

By niche I mean there are literally only 4 places in the world that do what I do. Obviously I have transferable skills too, but my choices in my field are limited.

The UK need not necessarily be as limiting as you think it is, there are many nice places, not all of which need a 6 figure income. I talk to my brother frequently, the weather is not all that bad, not as nice as East Anglia though. He can be on a flight from edinburgh to the continent for not much money and be there in a couple of hours if he wants real sunshine. Try that from Canada, assuming you get more than the standard 2 weeks off to make it possible.

I have family and friends in the UK I am in frequent contact with, some in expensive places like Surrey, others in less expensive spots. None seem to be exposed to the kind of people the Daily Mail would have you think are everywhere.

Life in Canada has become progressively more expensive in the last ten or so years, to have a good life here requires a decent income now, especially if you have kids and want them to do more than hang out at home with the Wii. In some areas, like mine, its not too bad still, a few hundred bucks per activity or camp, maybe as much as $500 for something like a season of skiing. In the cities you can multiply that several times over.

To put the lack of family support thing in context, my wife and I have been out in the evening without the kids less than half a dozen times in 8 years, she is very picky who she will leave them with, especially when they were just babes/ tots. It doesnt bother us, but I can see that would put a crimp in most normal peoples plans.

Im not saying dont come to canada, I guess I am saying dont discount the UK, there are many reasonable stress free areas, its much simpler to do, no immigration paperwork and waiting, much cheaper, and 6 or 7 hours in the car with a break at the services is much easier to do than $3000 for flights for 4, plus an 8 hour flight with a 2 hr checkin , plus transport the other end when it comes to seeing family
thanks!
less frantic, summer camps.....skiing, sounds great! everything costs, here too. I understand the uk has alot of places we could go, alot that would fill some of our needs but those places are usually v expensive to live in. British property market for first time buyers like ourselves awful. Plus the quieter life, the british mentality, yob culture will be everywhere we go......or near by. Dont get me wrong, after we finish our project and properly look over ab everything and decided against it we would make do where we are and be happy. Re locating in the uK is just not an option for us, its either here home in Scotland where we are or immigrating to another country for a different type of life and a adventure.

Free texts(ping and BBM) make contact to uk so easy. Plus Skype on laptop....free video and phone calls. Being away is much easier than it used to be, constant contact is possible.

I understand your point on the child minding/baby sitting but i suppose if socializing was a problem we would just have to learn to trust someone to do it.

All your points are valid and i have taken them on board, i want a list of cons for relocating in my project and that list is growing. We still currently believe a quieter life with more opportunity and adventure is a big option though.
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Old Jul 23rd 2011, 11:36 pm
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Default Re: My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

Originally Posted by iaink
Its the social aspect more than the financial, although finding someone convenient you trust is also an issue. Its hard to put a $ value on frequent family contact, but then again it depends on your relationship with you relatives, some people would be glad to be shot of theirs.

Yes we get by, most days the pros outweigh the cons, In my case thats largely due to a better job that my niche field would not have easily allowed in the UK.

To me most of what you seek could be found somewhere else in the UK without all the trauma and upheaval. And thats coming from one of the more pro canada posters on this forum...
I agree, this is exactly what my mum said to me when i told her i was seriously thinking of applying for PR soon, 'why not move somewhere in this country'?. I have very few relatives to take into consideration in this process, therefore i think i have noting to lose. For those who have large families or close families and are considering this as a con prior to applying i'd say it's not for them. It may sound harsh, but the thought of moving abroad im sure seems like a fantastic dream on the surface, but like anything, i think its wise to experience it even in the short term to really get an idea of what's involved, and having a child in tow i would imagine would complicate the situation.
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Old Jul 24th 2011, 12:49 am
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Default Re: My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

I have to agree with you on the Scottish weather, it really is a huge issue.

If you are a grass farmer, or a vampire then it's excellent, but I'm neither

When we visited Ontario a few weeks ago, we laughed at how they have weather forecasts that are actually accurate, and compared the equivelent report back home.

It's not that Glasgow has extremely bad weather, it's the fact that you just don't know what it's going to do, EVER, so you need to always prepare for rain.

You could plan a big event, like a wedding, or an outdoor gig for the middle of July, and you would be praying for months that it will stay dry. Sunny and wind-free would be a bonus

I also would agree with the statement of "may as well move to Canada over England". I wouldn't see my family any more either.
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Old Jul 24th 2011, 3:18 am
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Default Re: My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

We have just moved over from north of Edinburgh to Ontario - Burlington. Burlington is a smallish city (approx 170,000 according to the sign on the QEW (one of the big roads in)) but is part of the GTA - a conurbation of 5m I think? Maybe more - someone will correct me if I am wrong.

Don't get me wrong in what follows - I love it, we love it, do not regret for a second that we moved... but...

Weather is more settled certainly - 3 weeks in and the temperature has hardly dipped below 20 degrees day or night, and has peaked (with the humiex they talk about over here) in the low 40's. Lovely. Downside of the weather - its all starting to turn brown outside, you need the a/c on all the time, and it can be too warm to do anything ... the insects are a nightmare compared to midges on the east coast - not in numbers, but when they bite, it puts a midge well in its place! So the trade off is warmer, sunny, more predictable perhaps, but that has its downsides too ...

Food is at least double, if not three times the price of food in Scotland - our grocery bill is huge compared to what it was.

Housing - cheaper - BUT you won't see it rise astronomically as it did and may well do again in the UK. Its also way more expensive to sell ... We did really well in Scotland and the nest egg we built up through property has help finance this move ... but I don't think we will ever build that up again through property here...

Landscape - flat. Edinburgh is not known for being in the most stunning of Scots landscapes, but it certainly beats the landscape of this part of ON - the escarpment is nice, but not exactly mountainous.

Oh yeah ... and you asked about costs - no idea about electric/gas etc yet - too soon - but cable/broadband/mobiles/home phones etc ... all much more expensive on a like for like basis ...

Friends who came over at the same time seem to be finding child activities more expensive as well ...

I could afford to go and see Scotland play in the five nations, no way could I afford to go and see the Toronto baseball or hockey teams play ...

The cost of moving is high ... I reckon we will be not far of £30k when we are done ...

Do not get me wrong - we are still very much in the honeymoon period of being here and loving it - no way would we consider going back, but I really would stress that it is not utopia by any stretch of the imagination ... we both have better jobs here, which is the principle reason we moved... but as one poster said - same s@@@ different bucket ... really are pros and cons ... but at the minute, on balance, its no better (and no worse) than we were back in Scotland ... just different.

Last edited by furries; Jul 24th 2011 at 3:31 am. Reason: forgot to mention some of the OP's points!
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Old Jul 24th 2011, 4:16 am
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Default Re: My Partner and i both mid/late 20s want to move to Canada....help!

Find jobs.

No job = life will be shit. More shit in Canada than in the UK.

Good luck!
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