New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Mar 11th 2005, 7:40 pm
#76
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Re: New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Originally Posted by markedel
Re: "Who you know" certainly networking counts-but I'm not sure how many people network at undergrad (I could be wrong but North American post-secondary education tends to allow more flexibility, especially in regards to screwing up).
Even school kids are aware of the importance of networking here.
Mrs G
Mar 11th 2005, 8:02 pm
#77
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Re: New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Hello,
Have read your comments with interest. My husband three children and I moved to Burnaby B.C. in May of last year and it was the best thing we ever did. When we got here we almost immediately rented a house, bought a car etc. and got ourselves established. Our children went to school and fitted in straight away. It was a great challenge for them especially the one who will be 16 soon. His advantage was he is a good football player and was straight away put on a football programme attached to the Provincial side of things and this he enjoys every day. It is not all roses in the garden, my husband found that the way they drive here drives him to distraction especially as we had to re take out test when we arrived. Emigrating here is not for the faint hearted it is a really big decision, but once you get here, life is safer cleaner and people are so much more friendly than from where we come from in Brighton, Sussex. Every day I remind myself why we did this and every day I can see why. Hope this helps you, be strong and go for it.
Have read your comments with interest. My husband three children and I moved to Burnaby B.C. in May of last year and it was the best thing we ever did. When we got here we almost immediately rented a house, bought a car etc. and got ourselves established. Our children went to school and fitted in straight away. It was a great challenge for them especially the one who will be 16 soon. His advantage was he is a good football player and was straight away put on a football programme attached to the Provincial side of things and this he enjoys every day. It is not all roses in the garden, my husband found that the way they drive here drives him to distraction especially as we had to re take out test when we arrived. Emigrating here is not for the faint hearted it is a really big decision, but once you get here, life is safer cleaner and people are so much more friendly than from where we come from in Brighton, Sussex. Every day I remind myself why we did this and every day I can see why. Hope this helps you, be strong and go for it.
Originally Posted by snowqueen
Hi all
I'm fairly new to this site and read everything with interest. However, there seem to be a lot of you out there critical of Canada (not all it's cracked up to be?) and the GTA in particular. Seeing as we are hoping to move to the GTA (close friends in Newmarket, though I have my eye on Oakville ..) I'm beginning to worry if we're not deluded!
We are attracted to Canada for all the usual reasons - we can afford a house and lifestyle over there we could only dream of here; we love the whole outdoor life, from ski-ing to canoeing (sorry, kayaking!) and everything in between;we look forward to all the opportunities and activites our kids will have open to them; low crime/cleanliness etc etc... but is there a catch ?(apart from all those trout my husband has his eye on!) We have lived abroad before and are reconciled to the whole leaving family thing, but what else is there to worry about?!
We have been over 4-5 times, - holidays up at our friends cottage etc (we've even been in winter!) and have seen what we could hope to enjoy and like what we see! Our friends are dying for us to go over and have naturally done a great selling job, but I would really like to hear other voices (a 2nd opinion if you like) - especially if you have made the move to the GTA with kids in tow (ours are 10 and 8). After all, there is more to life than material stuff....
I'm fairly new to this site and read everything with interest. However, there seem to be a lot of you out there critical of Canada (not all it's cracked up to be?) and the GTA in particular. Seeing as we are hoping to move to the GTA (close friends in Newmarket, though I have my eye on Oakville ..) I'm beginning to worry if we're not deluded!
We are attracted to Canada for all the usual reasons - we can afford a house and lifestyle over there we could only dream of here; we love the whole outdoor life, from ski-ing to canoeing (sorry, kayaking!) and everything in between;we look forward to all the opportunities and activites our kids will have open to them; low crime/cleanliness etc etc... but is there a catch ?(apart from all those trout my husband has his eye on!) We have lived abroad before and are reconciled to the whole leaving family thing, but what else is there to worry about?!
We have been over 4-5 times, - holidays up at our friends cottage etc (we've even been in winter!) and have seen what we could hope to enjoy and like what we see! Our friends are dying for us to go over and have naturally done a great selling job, but I would really like to hear other voices (a 2nd opinion if you like) - especially if you have made the move to the GTA with kids in tow (ours are 10 and 8). After all, there is more to life than material stuff....
Mar 11th 2005, 8:09 pm
#78
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Re: New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Originally Posted by snowqueen
Where abouts in Dublin are you? We're in Monkstown, planning to head to Ontario. I would be really interested to her your different views on both countries (not that I have any doubt which has more to offer lifestyle-wise). It's good to know there's someone out there in this city who's also decided to leave. All the people I know here are Sooo settled, they would never dream of moving anywhere and privately (and not so privately!) say we're mad. It can be a bit demoralising. Do PM me and we can compare notes! What's your timescale?
SQ
SQ
I think people will always object in some way when the idea of moving abroad is mentioned, usually it's because they will miss you. It's really up to you and what you want regardless of the objections! Don't get disheartened. I'm not up to date on internet jargon, can you tell me what (PM) is? I am based in Balbriggan and we're looking at next year perhaps. My husband has to finish out his contract before we can make a move, this will give us some time to get ourselves organized!!!
Mar 11th 2005, 10:48 pm
#79
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Re: New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Originally Posted by prose
can you tell me what (PM) is?
Mar 12th 2005, 10:53 am
#80
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Re: New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Originally Posted by ksct97
personal message
Mar 12th 2005, 6:10 pm
#81
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Re: New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Originally Posted by Little Hazel
Every day I remind myself why we did this and every day I can see why. Hope this helps you, be strong and go for it.
We are planning to move to Toronto, but have been to Vancouver in the past and oved it. Are now starting to wonder if maybe it's an option after all. Saw some nice houses in Burnaby - how far is it to commute from the city/ where is it exactly and what's it like as an area.
Any other suggestions of places to dream about??
Mar 12th 2005, 6:20 pm
#82
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Re: New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Originally Posted by snowqueen
We are planning to move to Toronto, but have been to Vancouver in the past and oved it. Are now starting to wonder if maybe it's an option after all.
Mrs G
Mar 12th 2005, 6:32 pm
#83
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Re: New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Originally Posted by Glaswegian
Not much snow out that way.
Mrs G
Mrs G
But I do like the sea ....
Mar 12th 2005, 7:03 pm
#84
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Re: New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Originally Posted by snowqueen
Hmmm - there's the catch! That and the extra distance from home....
From Montreal : 6 hours 35 minutes
From Toronto : 7 hours 15 minutes
From Calgary : 8 hours 55 minutes
From Vancouver : 9 hours 35 minutes
Although Vancouver is 2 hours 20 minutes further from Heathrow than Toronto is, I would not consider that extra flying time, on its own, to be a reason for choosing Toronto over Vancouver.
I'm not trying to knock Toronto. It may be the best destination for your family for all kinds of reasons. I'm just pointing out that, because flights from Western Canada to the UK go over the North Pole (or relatively close to it), they are not as long as a glance at a map initially may suggest.
Mar 12th 2005, 7:14 pm
#85
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Re: New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Originally Posted by Judy in Calgary
I don't know which city in the UK represents home for you. You'll have the biggest selection of flights from Canada if you are willing to fly to London, but there also are flights to Manchester and Glasgow. Since I don't know which UK airport is of most interest to you, I'll assume Heathrow for the purposes of this exercise. A quick Internet search reveals the lengths of non-stop flights from some Canadian cities to Heathrow:
From Montreal : 6 hours 35 minutes
From Toronto : 7 hours 15 minutes
From Calgary : 8 hours 55 minutes
From Vancouver : 9 hours 35 minutes
Although Vancouver is 2 hours 20 minutes further from Heathrow than Toronto is, I would not consider that extra flying time, on its own, to be a reason for choosing Toronto over Vancouver.
I'm not trying to knock Toronto. It may be the best destination for your family for all kinds of reasons. I'm just pointing out that, because flights from Western Canada to the UK go over the North Pole (or relatively close to it), they are not as long as a glance at a map initially may suggest.
From Montreal : 6 hours 35 minutes
From Toronto : 7 hours 15 minutes
From Calgary : 8 hours 55 minutes
From Vancouver : 9 hours 35 minutes
Although Vancouver is 2 hours 20 minutes further from Heathrow than Toronto is, I would not consider that extra flying time, on its own, to be a reason for choosing Toronto over Vancouver.
I'm not trying to knock Toronto. It may be the best destination for your family for all kinds of reasons. I'm just pointing out that, because flights from Western Canada to the UK go over the North Pole (or relatively close to it), they are not as long as a glance at a map initially may suggest.
But the flights from the West are insanely expensive - try flying home with a family from Vancouver at peak times......cheapest flight prices for my lot to LHR in July - just over $5,000.
Mar 13th 2005, 12:42 pm
#86
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Re: New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Originally Posted by Judy in Calgary
From Vancouver : 9 hours 35 minutes
Although Vancouver is 2 hours 20 minutes further from Heathrow than Toronto is, I would not consider that extra flying time, on its own, to be a reason for choosing Toronto over Vancouver.
.
Although Vancouver is 2 hours 20 minutes further from Heathrow than Toronto is, I would not consider that extra flying time, on its own, to be a reason for choosing Toronto over Vancouver.
.
Judy
Thanks for putting me in the picture regarding that. I knew that Van. wasn't like double the flying time or anything, but perhaps its more the mental idea of being physically further (for my folks, not me!) and the time difference. Presumably it's quite a bit more expensive too to fly to Vancover?
Mar 13th 2005, 12:43 pm
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Re: New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Originally Posted by dingbat
But the flights from the West are insanely expensive - try flying home with a family from Vancouver at peak times......cheapest flight prices for my lot to LHR in July - just over $5,000.
SQ
Mar 13th 2005, 2:56 pm
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Re: New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Originally Posted by dingbat
But the flights from the West are insanely expensive - try flying home with a family from Vancouver at peak times......cheapest flight prices for my lot to LHR in July - just over $5,000.
Also ... you guys over there drive on the wrong side of the road ....
Mar 13th 2005, 3:03 pm
#89
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Re: New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Originally Posted by Judy in Calgary
I don't know which city in the UK represents home for you. You'll have the biggest selection of flights from Canada if you are willing to fly to London, but there also are flights to Manchester and Glasgow.
Jeremy
Mar 13th 2005, 3:21 pm
#90
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Re: New life in Canada - tell me I'm not deluded
Originally Posted by JAJ
From a regional UK centre it may be easier/cheaper to fly direct to somewhere like Amsterdam or Frankfurt and fly to Canada from there, as opposed to flying out of Heathrow.
Having said that, the airport staff in Amsterdam were incredibly helpful ... we almost missed out connecting flight so they drove us through the airport on one of the little electric buggies ... the kids thought it was great.
