I'd be interested to hear a list of your pros and cons of emigrating to Canada from the UK.

My family and i are thinking of moving to BC. The outdoors lifestyle with lakes, mountains etc appeal to me personally although we'd obviously have to follow the job situation for my husband (Draughtsman/CAD Manager).

Pro:
It got us away from low quality of life and huge tax bills in the UK.

Cons:
I had to take a job at a lower level to start my career again.
You have to learn your way around the Canadian way of doing things.
You might not like Canada and you might end up back where you started with the same problems in the same place, having disrupted your life and spent a lot of money.

You can find lakes and mountains in Scotland, and its a lot less traumatic than uprooting to a whole new culture 5000miles away.

Pros

1. Less frenetic pace of life
2. Can afford a nice house / big yard on a regular salary
3. Wide open space, no crowding. Outside the really big cities anyway.
4. Cost of living is lower.
5. 4 Real Seasons, none of that different temperatures of rain crap.
6. Liberal, live and let live, laid back attitude of people.
7. Not a materialistic culture, lot of public charitable services.
8. I live in a real community, people look out for each other.
9. No crime to speak of in my rural backwater.
10. Lots of stuff for kids to do, so they dont hand around looking for trouble.
11. Strong alcohol control, see 10 above.
12. Love the lakes and wildlife.
13...could go on but you get the idea.

Cons
1. Hard to find work for most people in their chosen field at first.
2. Only 10 days holiday in most positions until 5 years served.
3. Longish work week too.
4. Far from Family and old friends.
5. No field hockey near me (I used to be quite good, and yes, boys do play)
6. Erm...help me out here!
7. Mosquitos (thanks Simon)

Iain

My list of Pros and Cons for Calgary (in no particular order) - I'll add to it if I think of anything else.

Pros
- Mountains within reach
- Houses are accessible (albeit rising; see below)
- Reasonable weather
- Cheap broadband internet access

Cons
- Big Homeless problem
- Beer is more expensive
- Car insurance is extortionate
- Media censorship
- TV is terrible
- Needles + used condoms on my doorstep
- Need a car for almost everything
- Lack of reliable public transport
- Large knife-carrying population
- Mosquitoes
- Weak dollar makes holidays expensive
- Rising house prices
- No kebabs
- Boring nightlife (unless you enjoy knife-fights)
- Expensive tourist attractions
- Annual leave is usually 10 days

My pros and cons, I live in Toronto.

Pros:

Laid Back lifestyle
Great coffee shops
Fantastic summer/fall weather
Beautiful countryside (Although the U.K is stunning in parts also)
Progessive society that can live together whatever race or creed someone may belong to
Cheap, relaible accessible public transit (A million times better than London!)
Cheaper clothes
Cheaper gas (Petrol)


Cons:
Cooooold winter ( It can be fun though with the snow, ice skating and skiing)
Digging the car out of the snow
Snow shovelling the Driveway
Lack of holiday (Usually only two weeks a year)
Tax (Seems high to me in Ontario)


I'm sure there are more. In the end it really depends what kind of lifestyle that you're seeking.

Int

Pro's

My list is BC specific......and I really tried to think of pro's....

1. Wide open spaces and beautiful scenery
2. Kids can play outside in relative safety
3. Ice Hockey
4. Reasonable access to medical services
5. Erm.....

Cons

1. Inequitable employment practices in BC/discrimination
2. Racism and the First Nations issues
3. Crap wages
4. Crap job selection/benefits
5. Rednecks/ the "been nowhere, done nothing crowd"
6. Taxes
7. Dreadful school system
8. The Liberal Government
9. Terrible grocery shops - I would kill for Asda or Tesco's.
10. It costs a fortune to travel anywhere from here.

These are specific to BC.


Pros

Amazing sceanery.
Amazing weather.
Lack of yob culture
Cheap clothes
Good choice of coffee
Friendly people
Ski resorts close by
Maternity benefits (1 year off half paid)
Loads of things for kids to do.
The greatoutdoors lifestyle.
Great fishing and golf.
Super cheap long distance


Cons


Lack of holiday (although I get 3 weeks which is better than some)
Taxes
The federal and provincal goverments
Rising cost of housing
Wages lower
Car insurance is a big ripoff, but a lot less than other provinces
Far away from family
Work hard to find (especially on the island)
Meeting english people who do nothing but moan about canada

I forgot a BIG pro....

My new Toyota Sienna....sigh...I am so in love......

Hi, I'm new here.

My husband and I have spent ages deciding whether or not to move to Vancouver, as it's the best move to make for our son, now 14 months, to have a better life.

Your posts, however, bother me. If we move, are we to expect needles condoms and knife fights?

I am prepared for the other cons that people have listed, but I was unaware of these issues being a problem.

If that's the case, then moving him away from the UK, where (at the moment) these things are not a problem for us, may not be the best idea.

Can somebody tell me whether that really is what to expect from Vancouver?

Thanks

worried

Kkat,

I was also very concerned about reading such posts about drugs etc mainly in BC. I had no idea there was such a problem.

If this really is the case i'd be very intested to know because i would then reconsider moving there!

I have a 14 year old daughter, the last place i'd want her to continue growing up is in "drug city". I also have a 9 month daughter.

Can I ask where you are on the island.

We are hoping desperatley despite all pros and cons to move over next year,
We are confident to be having a house built there at present.
But it would be nice to her from islanders we can ask questions to and maybe meet when we come.

I believe life is what you make it. I have travelled to nearly 30 countries,and cannot begin to tell you the feeling I had when arriving on Vancouver Island.

So many of the pros and cons you mentioned I could duplicate over here in the UK. The Uk is a long way from being perfect as i am sure Canada. However I have one life half of it has ben mainly based in UK. I feel the expereince of living in Canada, with some of the nicest people I have met, is well worth the gamble.
I could always come back, but I really do not think we will, as our quality of life over there is a hundred times more than it would be over here.

With air travel getting cheaper and really only a day away from most places,
I hope to "live to work", "not work to live" out the next half of my life in a different country, where I feel the general outlook on life is far better than here.
I am surrounded by people in my job, whoes only ambition is to breed!
The furthest they will travel is to the next town, and they can't wait to be made grandparents!
We will come to the Island with and open mind, willing to work and keen to meet new people. yes i am sure we will miss things, we would not be normal if we didn't, but I hope the move will give my children a better outlook on life and travel than here.

I also hope they see a lot of the world like I did before feeling that giving me grandchildren will fulfill my life further!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These problems are specific to certain areas. Not all of Canada is the same. The area I live has major problems, as do several other neighbourhoods in Calgary - but the majority are sound and family friendly.

The trouble with Calgary is that alot of bad stuff happens and is not reported on TV, therefore most people believe that these problems do not exist.

Having read some other threads I cann't help noticing it, but you all forgot this one:

Con:
- absence of a good curry.

I use Pataks Vindaloo sauce, dice some potatoes, throw in some chicken and add some finely chopped onion. Not the real thing, but it's fairly hot and tastes very nice!

Not so keen on Pataks - a lot of the varieties contain milk ingredients.
Minara's sold by Community Foods is a better milk free choice