Hi
I'm due to move to BC next month and give things a try in Canada for 6-12 months
Wanted to ask if anyone has gained PR and then went on not to use it and now deeply regrets it, not sure if these people would still use the forum but thought I'd ask.

I can answer from a perspective I think would be relevant... I had a 12 month BUNAC visa but then went home after using it... I regretted that!

I notice for your tag your back in BC and have applied for PR
Compared to the UK do you find every day life better.

Everyday life? Mostly better, certainly not worse.
But in terms of stuff I can do at the weekends, events I can go to, places to explore? This place is MILES better.

I mean kilometres better!

I cant answer personally, but I do know of a family who after 5 years gained their PR and decided not to use it. It took so long to get PR that their life moved on...had another baby....moved house...got better jobs etc etc.
They landed a couple of years ago and have until September to move permanently and have decided not to bother as they are so settled now over here. The husband really regrets not giving it a go, but the OH is as happy as larry(not sure she really wanted to go in the first place!).
To me it just seems such a lot of money to waste and not use the chance you have been given, but thats just me. He reckons he has spent in the region of about £10K 'emigrating' but is still in the UK.
I guess it depends on the reasons on not moving. For some people, I think, it may have seemed like a good idea at the time and when the time came they decided it wasnt for them. For others life has changed for them and their life has taken a different turn and they cant go.
I would like to think that I'll give it more than 'giving it a go' I think if you are going to try it out I would imagine you will have to have balls of steel to ride out the difficult times and give it more than 6-12 months. By that I mean that I think you need a certain amount of tenacity and bloody mindedness to try and make it work.
It also depends on who you are taking with you. I suppose if you are single with no financial worries then go for it, you have less to lose.
I have also lost count of the amount of people that respond to our impending plans with....'oh, we wanted to move to Canada/Australia/New zealand 25 years ago but never went through with it...we really regret it and are very jealous of you. All the best of luck etc etc'

Sorry, Ive not really answered your question, but its such an interesting question that I just wanted to put in my tuppence worth.

nice post

Think more 2 years plus. My OH has been there for 7 months already working on TWP while PR application goes through and in terms of finding out abut the life and really becoming a fixture it has been no time at all. I expect to have to give it a good 2-5 years before even thinking about whether it is a permanent move.

I met people at the IELTS who had applied 2/3 times and gained PR and let it lapse. Foolish, in my opinion, but some people like the thought of it but bottle it when it actually comes to getting up and going. I can only assume that they regretted that, since they applied again.
In any case, do you have to decide now? Just go along with things if they feel right and if/when they don't, then re-examine what to do about it. Even with PR, you are not forced to stay there and you still have a UK passport. You could return any time you like.
No point in setting yourself deadlines for no reason, is there?

Some good advice helcat12
I think your spot on when you mention not setting things in stone and taking one day at a time to start with

I agree with Hellcat, def need to give it time before deciding if it is a permament move. We are nearly 6 months in and not all things have worked out yet.....financially we are not settled yet and it is our main worry. Depending on your circumstances job hunting can prove difficult.

I do know some people who applied for PR and decided not too move. They had already sold two houses and were renting.....I think they had not thought it through. They wasted a lot of money in the process.

A few years back some distant relatives of ours, with Kids, moved from the UK to Canada (Vancouver) as PR's, IT job in place, the works. Even thought they had visited for a few times on a fact finding mission the wife lost the plot after just 9 months of living there and wanted to move back. He was under too much family pressure to agree so, being the nice guy he was, he relented and they moved back to the UK just as things started to tighten up on the job front. He couldn't get his old job back in the UK and has been out of work for a long time now. They are pretty much broke and not happy. To this day he regrets not having stayed for a couple of years minimum and hung on in there. She wouldn't move back again and now their PR cannot be renewed anyway. A BIG waste.

I would add that to try a country for 6-12 months is not enough.
I'd suggest a minimum target of two years. That's generally long enough to establish yourself financially and socially and start feeling at home with your surroundings and the different culture you live in. You'll only start feeling that the area you live in is 'home' after about a year anyway. At that point try popping back to the UK on holiday for a couple of weeks and see what you think you are missing. Not a lot would be my guess. Return back 'home' to Canada for another year and then make a final decision. Nobody would be able to say you didn't give it fair go and you'll know you gave it your best shot no matter if you stay or go. Oh! and believe me, 2 years will pass quickly enough!

My son who recently turned 19 and I have been here 19 months - in Burnaby. Initially, I didn't miss much but recently I started to miss the Yorkshire dales, the daffodils etc. etc. I asked myself why was I feeling this way and I put it down to things becoming more settled and permanent and me having more time on my hands to think - and of course the recent weather didn't help. To cut a long story short - of course we all miss certain things and somehow romanticise these until reality hits home and my reality is that under the current austerity measures in the UK a lot of my colleagues have been forced to take early retirement or look for work elsewhere - this is in teaching and all education sectors have been hit hard. I feel I am in a good place I work for a school board that actually values my knowledge and respects my opinions - that aside my young one has settled exceptionally well. When he first started college he was the youngest in all his classes and he complained that everybody was much older than him and he couldn't go out to places serving alcohol etc. etc. But now he is the life and soul of the party and he has a much more active social life than I do and he is still the youngest in the group.

Do I have regrets about moving - certainly not, especially because of the positive effect it has had on my son. I am pleased that I have stuck it out and still do, just so that we have another playing field to add to our repertoire of countries lived in and we can live in.

Remember you spent the time and the money - both are valuable especially the former - time is of absolute essence in one's life - once flitted away it cannot be got back.

Ruby

I totally agree, we live in a dynamic world more dynamic and accelerating than ever, a lot of issues arise and dive in months, what about yeaaaars of waiting the visa offices to process an application.
the Canadian immigration system responded quickly to this new phenomena by pacing bill-50 and making the decision to the immigration minister, so that he can at any time set priorities and change lists ....but at the same time they did not solve the processing time issue which is directly affecting the plans of people.... people as in he Canadian government case, need to respond quickly to these dynamic changes, so i would not be surprised if some one after four years let down a PR.