well i echo pretty much everyone else, hub and me good jobs ,live in north wales so mountains and beaches , un enviromental cars ,big house, i work 37 hr wk, lots of hols etc 2 children under 10 - why leave

hub has job out there same money as here, i will be giving mine up and staying at home which will be a huge shock for me.
plan is buy out there mortgage free buy smaller out here no mortgage so always something to fall back on.
for us its all about down size and re focus on family plus alternative opportunities for the children, we are thinking long term but if its not for us i would rather live in a smaller house with less money knowing we gave it a go rather than think what if!! bit of a gamble but felt i was too much in a comfort zone of all just easy and wanted different - hope that makes sense - mid life crisis maybe omg!!lol

hubby is adamant about leaving this country as does not feel prospects are good and why not you cant live ya life for others and only live once whats the worst that can happen?

If you have all this in the UK, dont move to Canada. If you need a change why not take all your holidays at one go and visit Canada. My reasons: 1) it is a lonely life here unless you have all the relatives that r close to you here. 2) although less expensive to live in Canada in certain respects such as housing, food, etc, the quality of almost everything by way of daily needs is better in the UK. (3) I find that Canadians lead a very sheltered, almost naive life with very little awareness of the world. This means that over time you will also whilst being in the same rat race you thought you left behind. 4) children here get almost all they need all the time. I think that parenting is harder here because its so easy to simply "give" without thinking rather than teach values which will stand them in good stead. 5) Once you sell up in the UK, you can be sure that you will in all likelyhood never be able to re-enter the house market, education level and social web if ever you decide to return because time and money have taken their toll on you and your assets. You may make more money here but you will not be able to save enough to be able to re-gain the life you now have. (Oh yes...to even contemplate 6 weeks vacation time here you have to put in at least 20 years in a company).As for it being a 'dead cert' better opportunity for the kids: it isnt. Unless you can afford private school, a cottage and a ski chalet. Let the kids finish their studies in England, focus on global European/Asian educatioanl opportunities and they can come to North America as they will be in demand, but always knowing that the UK can be returned to with affordability.

There it is...unless you are self employed,single, in excellent health and have a mind for business, dont make the move!!!!!.

The yob/ASBO culture is one of driving forces for us leaving.
We've got a nice house, I earn a decent wage, but I'm just sick of hearing about people being kicked to death/beaten to a pulp.

The yobs can do to each other what they want for all I care, but when decent folk are the innocent victims, it drives me to despair.

Plus, the opportunity to shoot off to the rockies whenever we wants is a great pull for Canada. I like proper winters- with snow etc, so Canada scores again. Some might say the novelty will wear off, but I cant see it ever coming second to pissing down rain.

This type of response really pi**es me off !!

Did you vote for change in the last election ? Have you badgered your MP about the situation ? Have you told him/her that unless they do something about it you will attempt to kick them out on their sorry a$$ come the next election.

The laws in the UK reflect the people that vote the politicians into office that enact them.

A cursory look through this thread shows that most hate the fact the "chavs" rule the country. Do something about it then ? A police friend of mine used to talk all the time about the "whingeing public" and that how they get the laws they deserve. He was sooooo right.

Don't forget that, after telling all the lies he did, the UK voted Blair and his cronies back in at the next election, vote apathy: maybe, but the public need to look to themselves as to why the UK has "gone down the toilet" and stop blaming everyone else for the fact that they have been complicit in its downward course

Rant over

erm, dont mean to get in to a row, but what i chose to do or not do is my business. we all have our reasons for wanting to leave uk/join canada. you dont have to agree with them, but no one has to justify themselves.

nicely put, and nice to see you are over your wobble, as i am going through one now, however having just looked at the local news in warrington and property in winsford, not so sure. 400k uk for anything decent is too rich for my blood.

i'm afraid i have to agree with DTLE. there is a certain amount of apathy back home coupled with over negative media reports and a youth culture that seems completely devoid of any emotion or responsibility.
the sentencing of a 16yr for manslaughter in sale, manchester, made the BBC headlines last week. it was one of the last jobs i was involved in, she punched this guy in his 40's, the consequent fall to the floor killed him. she'll be out in 2yrs. at the time she was heard to scream, "I CAN DO WHATEVER I *****ING WANT". sadly, very sadly i think this sums it up, and we are all, you and i to blame.
i have taken the easy option and escaped to look after my own as i have consigned myself never to be electable on a hang em/birch em mandate.

A lot of this kind of thing seems to be down to the wrong people breeding. Either these kind of people don't exist in Canada, or they don't multiply at such an alarming rate.

Or they just don't make the news.

Maybe so, but it's a bit of a naive view to say we should all write to our MP's and it'll be fixed in the morning. In the real world, these problems arent solveable over night- it'll take a couple of generations to fix, and I for one, wont be haning about to see what happens.

Besides, this is only one of the reasons we're looking to move.

granted, but it has to start somewhere. besides, writing to the MP's i would say is probably a waste of time. you need to regularly change your vote and the government. perhaps if we introduced a scheme where the longer you were in power, the more votes you needed to remain in power proportionally. if you really are doing such a good job more people would vote for you. seems to simplistic which probably means its doomed to failure politically.

well you do seem to have a point. i never visited many middle income families with more than 3 kids. this was the bog standard average at the lower end of the scale though, where social deprivation, lower education and crime were rife. maybe sex is the new cigarette of the working man now fags are so expensive.
so far over here my experience is pretty even. its still cold though, i'll let you know if candice, brittney and chelsea are pushing their prams around being followed by the halfwit with his shark on a lead in the summer.

In England we lived in a village, had our own business and did well financially. We moved mainly because of the petty crime we encountered on an almost daily basis. We had to lock everything to prevent things walking away, as well as mindless vandalism. We have lived in a rural location in Alberta for 10 years, still self employed, but don't encounter the same problems. Life is much easier; less bureaucracy and red tape to deal with. Brought 3 kids with us, all settled easily. We have visited England several times, which the kids enjoy, but none of them would like to live there again. I enjoy visiting but couldn't cope with the traffic, parking and general problems due to density of population now. I'm not putting down the UK, we still have lots of family there, and we now appreciate the history, culture and building we took for granted previously, but the wide open spaces suit our family better. We also feel opportunities for our kids are better here.

Violent crime won't make headlines here its just too common...