Hello all,

I'm a mixed race gent (british white and british black), my girlfriend is white and my young 18month old is somehow spanish looking.

We'll planning to come to the great CA october this year or beginning of next and we plan to live in calgary or airdrie area depending on what job i go for.

So the question is a simple one about how many narrow minded people live in canada as myself and my partner want our daughter to have a pleasant up bringing (whole purpose of escaping the mega tax island).

As a young family we visited/stayed in okotoks last october for 2 weeks, this being my other halfs first visit to CA. I myself visited 3 years previous on a western road trip (vancouver to moosejaw) for 3 weeks. On both trips i didn't get any trouble apart from a couple of strange looks in the countryside yet thats to be expected.

Any response is helpful yet if you are one of those narrowminded people please keep it civil.

Thank you all for your time,
Greg.

I am sure you will be fine, particularly if you don't worry about race.

Big cities..no one will pay any attention.

Small town back woods (backwards?) areas there may be some ignorant hicks, but I suppose thats not really a suprise. They will be in the minority anyway, Canadians tend to judge you on your personality.

Im not sure if you are looking at canada to escape racism (is the UK that bad?) or to escape tax (Canada has tax too, at a similar level to the UK)

Our experience of being a mixed race couple in the Metro Vancouver area is that no one gives a toss about your colour, or lack of it.

As you say, rural Canada can be very conservative. I can't speak for Calgary but I am sure others will soon.

Dunno about racism - but you won't be escaping tax any time soon if you come here.

Agreed, i wudnt worry about the race issue too much......

you'l be paying alot of tax though......You'l be escaping one tax island and coming straight over to another....

MR79

But the OP is off to Calgary - no PST, flat rate provincial income tax, no MSP and so on. Can't escape the feds however.

thank you all for your prompt replies,

we have looked at tax issues yet in our situation we won't be taxed nearly as much as in england. Other things (such as food,cars, gas,...etc) are cheaper than in england. There just seems to be more value for money regarding housing in canada than in england .......by a long shot.

Racism in england isn't bad and everyone lives in harmony with each other (where we live that is).

Schooling in canada looks alot better than england too. we are not just looking to leave england to escape tax.... we just want a better life for us and especially for our children.

The replies are generally the replies i thought i would recieve, yet if anyone from the calgary/airdrie area could reply it would be very helpful indeed
thank you all.

I live in Calgary. I was a higher rate taxpayer in England and I don't notice that there is a massive tax saving from being here.

I don't believe that food is any cheaper in Calgary than it was in the UK, although eating out in Calgary is better value. I don't believe cars are particularly cheap, particularly second hand ones and I don't believe the cost of living is any better either side of the Atlantic. If you are coming from the UK with a huge wad of cash after selling a house, houses may seem cheaper in Calgary but a family home is likely to cost you $400,000 plus, which isn't cheap. I accept that the houses are generally bigger here.

I think you will find mixed reviews on whether the schools are better in Calgary, the general consensus is that the children enjoy school here.

What I am saying is that if you think Calgary is utopia, I suspect you are in for a rude awakening. You will find hiring and firing very different to what you are used to and you may have to take a large step backwards before you go forwards again. Don't underestimate how much this will affect you.

Other than that, we love it here, but utopia it isn't.

I think you need to look closer and more criticaly at your costs, many things look cheaper from the UK but arent really.

Take cars.....Insurance will kill you, $2-3000 a year for newcomers is not uncommon. Oil changes every 5000km add up even if cheaper to do, overall wear and tare from the climate adds up, sales tax on used vehicles makes a difference.

Gas...yes its cheaper, but you need twice as much of it. Canada is v e r y s p r e a d o u t, and my 1.8l honda is about as small and efficient as cars get here! A 1.8 is considered a gas miser. 5+l engines rule the truck market. My boss is thrilled to be getting 14l/100km from his new daily driver (Thats 20MPG in old money)

Houses, maybe cheaper to buy, but you are looking at 1-2% of the value a year in property tax, plus more maintainence...how often do you need to replace a roof in the UK, here you are lucky to get 20 years out of one, and that could easily be 10k to replace depending on size. Heating bills are more. Electricity is more. I could go on...Insurance again Bigger houses mean more to heat, more to clean, more grass to cut at the weekend once its not burried under snow...

Food isnt cheaper. Eating out is cheaper, groceries are not, you gain on some things, but lose on others.

Ive seen no evidence either that schooling is significantly better here, it depends what you are looking for. Canada is more focused I think on rounded human beings and less on academic excellence. Parents here seem less fixated on league tables and the like though. By and large Canada does well in international literacy / numeracy comparisons, but the UK is not that bad either, for those whos parents stay actively engaged in their kids education.

And these remarks are from someone that LIKES canada and chooses to raise kids here Its no so great though that I would uproot family to come here without serious consideration of what you leave behind in the way of family support and contact, established careers, etc etc etc, and thats before things like dealing with a 5 month winter come into play. This climate is not for everyone, thats for sure.

Hello Greg

I live in Cochrane, just outside Calgary. Although I am white and the majority of other people around here are also white, I have never noticed or heard of any race issues or problems. I think most people around here are pretty open minded and are really not bothered about race.

I agree with what some people have said in that there may be a few narrow minded or ignorant people out in the sticks but can't see you'd face any real issues in Calgary or Airdre given that they are both cities.

I wish you well.

Can't help you on the race issue, but to echo other posters.....

Food, Cars (particularly used cars), drink & some clothes seem to be as expensive in Canada as in UK.

Be prepared for murderously high car insurance. $3k a year for a newly landed immigrant is not unusual.

Taxes will hurt whereever you live in the world.

Assuming you bring some equity over, the bigger house thing is a probably the number one upside to a Brit moving to Canada. Owning a house you couldn't dream of owning in UK is not unusual. Heating and maintaining your mega pile on the other hand........

Perfect post.

We are in Calgary as well.

Like others, I can't help on the race issue (although I do have several non-white friends and they have never mentioned any problems to me).

In general, I think the cost of living is much the same as in the UK - some things are more expensive, others cheaper so it all balances out in the end.

Schools - I actually think the ones that my kids go to are pretty good, esp when compared to their previous one in the UK - they seem to be better funded or at least have far better facilities. I know my kids love their schools and are doing well so I am happy.

And the only issue I have with tax is having to do the tax-return which is a PITA

Tax returns are one of the very best things about Canada.