But this is all a bit silly, arguing about 80 wossnames vs 100. If you really wanted to drive fast you'd move to Nevada or Montana or Utah where traffic routinely goes at 100mph.

NSpaul, it's still better than the UK! Maybe they haven't been elsewhere in the country?

I think you'll find that people only defend the GTA in comparison to the rest of Canada. I, at least, don't think very much of Toronto at all.

I'm sure that's true. There are great parts of Ontario, the North is beautiful, Bugs are a bit vicious though!

Can you post pictures on this board?

GTA is a necessary evil for some people. Certain jobs and salary ranges are only realistically possible in Canadas largest city.

Manufacturing in particular is very weak elsewhere in Canada, and the Corporate / Finance fields are largely in the GTA too.

There are pros and cons for all parts of Canada that I can think of, but on balance I still prefer it to the UK.

Perhaps but if you read all the replies to Southcote's post on Toronto (http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=464876) you sure wouldn't think so!

I think you're right - that is probably the main reason

Yes, manage attachments, browse, upload.

This is downtown Hamilton ON.

I think it's better than the UK only to the extent that houses are cheaper. If you can't afford more stuff as a consequence of moving then, no, it's not better.

Plus less overcrowding / more space between people, plus less petty crime, plus more interesting seasons, plus stuff costs less anyway in general, plus totally different political and social landscape. But apart from that....

Or is this...



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I'd have no chance of affording a home like ours in the UK.

Plus I've got all the toys I could hope for here and the acreage to use them on. Thought about moving back to the UK a couple of times for family reasons but when costed it out it just doesn't make sense. Where else could you live 15 minutes outside a major city and get a large house with 3 acres for $300k? I do miss the fish and chips though.

The manufacturing industry is going bananas over here too!

Thats manufacturing for the oil business though, not actually making stuff to sell as real goods.

The problem with Alberta and especially Edmonon is its largely a two trick economy, farming and oil. Problems with either has major repercussions. Plus its frigging fridgid in the winter. The advantage for AB was always cheaper property than the GTA, but that is less and less true in the current boom.

As you know, I don't think Brampton is less crowded than Milton Keynes and I think the lack of experience of crime is a consequence of being relatively richer than before; expat Brits just live in better places than they did at home.

I don't follow the different political and social landscape comment. Two parliamentary democracies in which the populace by and large opposes foreign wars in which the government has elected to join regardless. Two countries with strong economies in a couple of regions and nothing much happening in the rest. Two countries with socialized medicine and nominally progressive but actually regressive tax systems. Two countries with similar class structures, one based primarily around money, the other ceding some status to ancestry. Everything happens more slowly in Canada but similar things happen.

The only clear difference I see is that while the politicians in both countries are prone to finance corruption and consequent scandals British politicians also have sex and so are prone to a wider range of scandals.

They both are. My shot is of Walker's Falls.

(Thanks to that often banned poster, Mick someone, for telling me about the park).

I think that's my point. Canada offers more stuff.