no I do not actually

You have my sympathy, Buddy! For the house in U.K. that is.
Housing market in U.K. is just not what it used to be!

Sympathy, why?

We sold at, or close to, the top of the UK market (June 2004). We had owned the house since 1996, its value increasing by 175% in those years.

[QUOTE=GezzaWhilst at the same time English in many schools out there could be taught by foreign nationals who spoke English as second language.[/QUOTE]

Or even Canadian-born nationals. My stepson gets mightily peed off with some of his "English" teachers, most of whom have never left Quebec. I think sometimes it takes a lot of effort on his part to not start loudly criticising the teachers for their lousy spoken English. His, though he is Quebecois, is really very, very good and that fact has nothing to do with the education system.

Houses in the UK have to be a good investment cos the country is simply running out of land


http://www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/lan...reas/index.htm

that makes no sense at all???.......it's all a matter of supply and demand and right now there is a huge supply and not that much demand......the reason there is not much demand is that prices went through the roof sparking everyone and his brother to be a real estate investor and renting out their properties......it's those buyers and first time buyers that have dried up thus leaving a void in the market.......it's not easy renting a 2 up 2 down for 1500 quid a month.....when prices went past what people could rent them for then it just shut the whole thing down.......there are more factors than just land and the lack of it.......developers have been buying large detached houses and putting 8-10 flats on them which in essence is actually making 8-10 new plots of land......if I were you I would think about it a bit more

Have to disagree with this one big time. In fact there is a huge amount of land available. Although it appears that 60 million people are an awful lot in a small country but if you fly over the UK and look out the window you will realise that most is green and undeveloped. Builders own large quantities, I know cause I have seen the inner workings...but they release as much as they need to in order to build houses people will buy for top dollar. If they need to build more smaller types they concentrate on cheaper larger plots they own and build crappy little 2 bedders. Its all about screwing the punter.

Now...as we have had a plentiful supply of borrowed money, not earnt money coming into the lower sections of society these pretenders to be middle class (public workers who have multiplied like flies) and affluent have taken out large mortgages as the sun was ever shining out of New Labours backside. As the cash flow from borrowing slows (shortly you will see the EU tell off Brown for borrowing too much money against a supposed growth in the GDP which is fast drying up) you will see more and more people struggle to pay bills and more will fall foul on their mortgages. A regular part of our lives is seeing Repossession orders coming through. Used to be a rare event for a few years gone. Now every week several appear.

The land issue could be easily resolved but trying to get private land owners with huge estates to let go of land acquired during the hay days of the empire or trying to get private builders to see sense is like hitting your head against a brick wall.

The UK Government likes the masses living on top of one another in squallid conditions as it makes it easier to collect the rubbish they produce for one, and easier to see what we are up to for a second. The UK has more surveillance cameras per head of population than any other FREE country.

And what is an investment? Is it something you wish to leave as a legacy? Is it something you wish to sell later to have a better retirement? Property from an individuals perspective who has less worth overall than a couple of £million will always be a risk of a downturn in the property market irrespective of which country you are in. If you look at property as a developer that is another matter. The UK is a good investment especially if you get in and get out on top which many have done as prices are always fuelled by the wannabbees who spend more than they have. On average over 80% of income is spent before it reaches the pay packet in the UK. I doubt its much different in any country. But as far as normall growth is concerned its been much better in North America/Canada over the last 2 years than it has in the UK or Europe. I am sure it will swing back again in a few years time but for some it will be to late.

FWIW

Current National Debts.

Canada has come down to 50% of GDP

UK has gone up to 43% of GDP in 4 years from 38%

But guess whats driving GDP.... in the UK its borrowing. In Canada its productivity and cash surplus.

Keynes method in the UK is to borrow as much as is needed to spark the economy. I wonder what others think of this methodology?

My wife and I have been here since January. We have a 20 yr old house on 15 acres of forest, one acre lawned. We live 20k from a town with 2,000. 80k from a city of 50,000.
We have learnt, that one has to plan, as there is no popping down the road for one item, unless you are rich (re. gas prices).
We do`nt have kids, our neighbours in their 30`s have 3. Aged 8,10 and 13.
They spend $50 a week on gas towards the kids evening school linked activities and socials, swimming and clubs etc.
In June the Mosquitos arrive, there are accepted remedies, but none are 100%. Some other flys nip, but the Mossies are consistently a pain.

continued-------------

In July to present it gets very humid, so to prevent dampness in the bedding etc., one invests in a de-humidifier, a small free standing unit the size of a fridge, plug it in and watch the electric meter spin!!!

The snow is a known quantity, so you buy your clothes here, UK clothin` is useless. Just allow 10 minutes to get ready every time you go out in it, if the sun shines, still allow for the wind, at 3-4pm each day, the temp will drop -10 to -20c in an hour!!!!

We`ve been here 9 months, for us there is only one negative, the MOSSIES!!

The people are more British then the British, White ("second nation!") Canadians are more loyal to the Royals than the Brits.

Check out www.mls.ca for housing research.
Here in Canada outside the cities, it is very much a BUYERS market. You will get a varied number of styles and condition to make a choice from. Here young couples buy a small place and build on as they have kids. Then when the kids have gone, they want to downsize sometimes.
Looking for and buying is far more pleasant an experience then in the UK.
Caution - Out here anyone can be a "house Inspector" (surveyor).
Where as Realty Agents have some of the lawyers duties, so they are qualified by law, so are far of a benefit then UK agents.

It's the same here.

The City of Calgary keeps 30 years worth of building land in reserve and releases what suits it to home builders.

Plots are getting smaller and smaller as a result of the city's attempts to reduce its environmental footprint.

So ... the logic fractures here ... the houses being built today are theorhetically on land secured by the city in the 1970's, but the lots are way smaller than those that houses were built on in the 1980's.

Sorry ... that does not compute captain.

You could be really cynical and note the growth of communities within "commuting distance" (it's Alberta, there are no guarantees on this one, unless global warming takes hold - but hang on, that's a whole different conspiracy theory).

Dormitory communities who hand out bigger lots of land are getting really popular around Calgary - they also don't have a requirement to include social housing (ie.condo's) and are very popular with both older & younger execs who can afford the price tag.

If I was cynical, I would wonder who in the city owns the land that the new communities are being built on and exactly who in the city is moving there. Give it 10 or 20 years and those communities will be part of Calgary, with way bigger plots and and no social housing anywhere nearby.

But hey ... I'm a redneck and suggestions of conspiracy are way beyond me ... dang, corruption and conspiracy just don't exist in western Canada, they're an eastern thing.

That's why I think Winnipeg's mayor wanting to build condos on the car park next to the zoo in Assinboine Park is a great idea ... now that's nice real estate.

I'm a Canadain born, just returned to Nova Scotia, and I have to write my Canadain nursing exams, even though I've been nursing in the UK for 5 years. It's not to 'fleece immigrants', it's to make sure that anyone doing any job here is up to the correct standards. while I'm waiting, I have to work in a call centre - it sucks big time, but things will get better.
would you trust your child's future with someone who might (or might not) have foreign exams, or has been proven to be what they say they are in the local system?

Are you suggesting that UK nursing training is not up to "Canadian standards"?


You wouldn't have to re-do your nursing exams in Australia, if you were UK trained, for example.



Jeremy

This one keeps coming up on these forums. The Canadian Nursing council is quite within their rights to set certain standards. To make someone re-certify in Canada does not reflect on the training of the country of origin, it just verifies that the individual who calls themselves a nurse is actually up to the standards required to practice in Canada. My wife had to re-qualify as an RPN, a couple of weeks revision on the appropriate text books and learning new drug names was all that was needed. This applies to many trades. Canada has the right to set certain requirements on it's professional people - you know this before you come here. If Australia has different requirements then that is their prerogative.

About foreign exams and my future (never mind my children's).At the beginning of December 2004 I went to Heynes Mall/Maple Ridge/Vancouver to a Chinese Dentistry to have my teeth checked out. Alas the job of cleaning my teeth fell on a lady who confessed to me she had done her exams in Africa. She went to town with this job like no one else had before her. It wasn't till mid January that I slowly started to be able to eat properly. My gums had been so "harrowed" back 'n forth I couldn't eat anything sweet through Christmas & New Year. :scared: