When considering moving to another continent, never mind a new country its always best to look at all sides of the argument.

Obviously I have my own reasons why I think I would like to immigrate to another country, and in doing my research I have also taken time to read some of the posts from those returning to the UK after years away. Within those posts, I see a lot of justifiable negativity, about why its better to come back to the UK. These people have not found the life they were looking for, for one reason or another, and decided the best thing to do is to come back. Thats fine, different strokes for different folks. Everyone is entitled to lead their life how they see fit, and I certainly am not critical of anybody who changes their mind.

However, I would like you guys to share some of your positive experiences with me, from those who have just recently moved and discovered they love even more than they thought they would to those that have been there for years and wouldn't even dream of coming back.

Thanks

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It just occurred to me from reading your post, that everybody seems to know what they 'don't' want, and are therefore sure that they 'haven't' found it! I wonder if some people chase an elusive happiness all their life, without ever realising that they may have already stumbled over it?

positive experiences, you say?

ok...beautiful dazzingly bright sunshine, even with 3ft of snow on the ground.
clean streets (in my neighbourhood anyway!)
no hassle from anybody
direct action from police if required; no pussy-footing around like the uk
no chavs or hoodies looking at you threateningly
hardly anybody using bad language as is de-rigeur in the uk now
beautifully hot weather in the summer
a feeling of being free..not being cooped up
relatively can-do attitude with most things

there u are!
im one of those you say who've been there, and come back!
why? thats a long story....but you just stick to the positive vibes above and youll be fine!

Positives from someone that has been and come back has even more value for me. Thanks Julius.

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We've had a very positive experience so far. What has been most telling is that everyone who has visited (my mum is with us this week) has said that our quality of life has greatly improved. Mind you, we came from a low base in London ... That's not to say that life is near perfect, but we're all a lot happier.

Just some brief positives on a general level: cleanliness, friendliness, more predictable seasonal weather, public schooling better at junior level (in my view), wide open spaces.

As a been said before on here, it all depends on what you did in the UK, were you lived and what you do now in Canada.

No one on this forum or indeed, Canada can replicate the OP's circumstances exactly.

If you come from badger heights mansion, and a well paid job in the UK and end up in Makeedeez and a community housing apartment, in Canada you aint going to be overjoyed about it. Same as if you came from the center of London, and end up in the center of nowhere, you will most likely miss the company of humans, and eventually come on here saying how lonely you are and Canada is crap.

You must choose where you live in Canada with caution, do not just move for the sake of moving, (or even the children) think about why you want to live in Canada and not run away from stupid small things like hoodies on peoples jacket's, FFS, i'm 47 and i wear a hoodie, but im not likely to rob you am i.

For us we moved because i got offered a job with better pay and the chance that i could go home after work rather than spend my life in hotels around the UK. Is life better? YES, all turned out good for us.

We chose a busy area with lots to do, close to an international airport so nipping back to UK or flying to the Caribbean is no issue, and a short drive to the US border. We now own a detached house and i get paid lots of $$ for doing the job i love, who wouldn't be happy.

Would i leave a job and come over with no work, or home and try to find work doing any thing. NO. The uncertainty is not for us.

Remember, asking if every one else in Canada is happy, will not necessarily make you happy & visa versa.

At no point would I ever make that assumption. I simply sought balance. A healthy dose of positive experiences to weigh against the negative experiences I had already read about.

For me a move to Canada is about wide open spaces, more wild life, less pollution, a bigger house (because the UK has the one of the smallest square footages per home in the civilized world.), better pay for a job where I deserve to be better paid, and a couple of other things that escape me at present.

Right now Im doing a degree in Mechatronic and Robotic engineering. Jobs in that sector in Leeds right now are currently paying around £25k - £35k per year. Thats a joke to me. Unless you live in the south of england, where the price of living is higher anyway, the wages of engineers over here in the UK is laughable. I havent lost the will to live, but I have lost the will to live in this country, and for me immigrating to somewhere that I feel can offer my family and me more is the way forward.

So bring on the positives people.......


p.s. Ajax looks nice.
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Yeh i get ya, was just pointing out the obvious really, maybe you is looking at the wrong threads, try the Canniversary bit of the forum, here are some i noted.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=712805

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=714219

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=715000

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=713526

well, re salary expectations--£25k is the norm for the engineering sector in the uk these days.
i managed to eke that out to £28k a short while after we came back from canada and i landed a job here, but that was about the limit--aint no way i was going to get any more than that! if you reckon you can get £35k after qualifying, then you'll be onto a cracking number, i'd say, but it doesnt sound likely!
i dont know much about mechatronics or robotics, having graduated in electronics and then doing the 1st year of of an msc in VLSI (chip design), but with around 15 yrs experience in the sector, i can hazard a guess that what they'll be looking for in canada from you is experience (i found my degrees meant very little over there...).
so i would hunt around to gather at least some experience, even if only 6mths, before you try job hunting over there.
i was lucky--i landed a job within 8 weeks of getting there, and in the same field i was working in at the time (military/commercial avionics).
as to the poster here living in ajax saying that we "shouldnt be worried about small stupid things like hoodies..." well, to him i would say this, and before this turns into a slagging match that i'd rather not get involved with, thank you very much, it may be ok for you to say that, but if you'd been accosted by some of the illiterate so-called hoodies, spat upon by them, and all for no good reason, then you'd sing another tune, my friend, i can tell you that!
thats no small stupid thing in my mind!
anyway, getting back to the point in question--yes, on the whole, my our feelings were slightly negative then, but after having been back here, and having flown over again several times for holidays, we can safely say our attitude changed dramatically.

hope that helps anyone else on here who is tryinig to make that terribly huge decision to move!

Point taken , im not one for slagging matches either, and maybe with your point i can see this could be a bigger problem in certain areas than others, for some but not all.

Again it is all down to your own personal circumstances, as i said, no one is the same, here (on this forum) or in Canada.

Would i move back to the UK, well......NO.

I liked some of your previous posts Julius, so much that I looked you're other threads and checked out those too, and a lot of what you said strikes a chord with me, so I hope you understand that I have a certain amount of respect for you. however if you cant find an engineering job over £30k you're looking in the wrong places my friend.

Powertrain Engineer £40k - £45k
Mechanical Design Engineer circa £50k
Mechanical Design Engineer £30k - £40k + Benefits
Control Systems Engineer £30k - £40k
Mechatronics Engineer £27k - £39k

Obviously salaries vary depending on experience, but these few highlight my particular issue, and that is that unless I want to move 150 miles south, I can expect to be payed significantly less in the yorkshire region than further south in the country, and if Im going to move I might as well move somewhere I actually want to go.

As far as experience goes, I already have around 6 years experience from my time in the Army and other jobs, but these days it seems everyone wants a degree hence my return to full time education, then after that I'll be looking to work for around 2 years before I even start the emigration process.

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If you want to live in Canada it'd be better to do your degree at a Canadian University.

I think it's sensible of you to review the moving back forum in addition to the 'pleased to be here' side. I liken the experience to buying a car. Go into the car showroom wanting to be convinced that buying the car you dream of is right for you, hoping for impartiality, is going to be futile.

Even gaining a more balanced opinion as you're doing, you're unlikely to hear something that is going to stop you coming out. Moving out is a massive risk and so my advice would be to just do it, but don't burn your bridges. Few people can afford to emigrate twice.

I won't bore you with my own experiences, but I think moving out single vs. moving out with spouse and kids is a completely different story, and a major factor in settling. There is certainly a lack of many of the things we hate in Britain, in Canada. Like hoodies, and young teens congregating in public spaces wielding bottles of hard alcohol. Crime that people just shrug off as 'a sign of the times'. But Canada earns a reputation I don't think is 100% justified. There's few things more frustrating than finding this kind of thing out. In most cases it's really no better than Britain and in a few areas a good deal worse. Again, I'll avert discussing detail here, but check my previous posts for examples.

Canada has its own problems. Things that most from UK would rarely bear witness too, like poverty. Certainly the pace of life in the west of Canada is distinctly more relaxed. This sounds great at first and certainly makes life a little easier, until you find yourself out of work, and looking for a job and cannot get anybody to make a decision or even let you know if you've been rejected. That really sucks.

Your experience here is likely to be the only tell-tale indicator of whether you'll survive here or not, not opinions from this forum. I burned my bridges to move out here and when I really needed to move back I could not. I would urge against doing that if at all possible.

Except that I have a wife and 4 kids, and here I can get financial help to pay for it until Im qualified, whereas in Canada I would have to pay the full fees applicable to a foreign student. Aside from that, UK Masters degrees are fully recognized in Canada and require only a small of paperwork to convert to Canadian equivalents before gaining Canadian P.Eng certification. At least thats what it says here.

Funny