yeah i chose Windsor as my preferred destination and spent 2 weeks there on a recce back in 2007..i really liked the place and the surrounding areas..unfortunately the job market was dire..so for that reason i was out!

Hello Ally,

Sorry things aren't working out. I was born in Ottawa and have lived here all my life... I have struggled to find work here despite changing careers. Ottawa tends to be a bit of a two-pony town. Now this is a bit of a generalization, if you work in healthcare, for example, you may find work. The two big industries are high tech (UK spouse works in this) and government. Ottawa is a BILINGUAL city, so for a lot of us natives, getting a foot into the lucrative government sector is impossible unless you are fluent in French (or preferrably) FRENCH with some broken English.

The job market in Ottawa for those reasons is a bit tight. I think mechanical engineering is a v. good qualification, would recommend more southern Ontario (Kingston through Toronto and the 'horseshoe')

Best wishes. I do find, however, that jobs in Canada are much tougher to find than in the UK generally -- we are planning a trial in England because of low employment here. :-(

Thanks for the interesting replies .....

I have wondered about the Ottawa job market - A friend of ours living there has changed careers at least 3 times and is now trying out being a Realtor having done the exams. She was trying to start up a beauty salon but that fell by the wayside, and before that she was into project planning. She had tried to get Security cleared but I don't think she has heard anything.

What I have gleaned from people's replies on the job front is that Vancouver is hit and miss, and so is Ottawa. Calgary and Toronto are healthy. Quebec's not in the picture.

If hubby and I can earn good salaries (O&G equivalent) in Toronto, then we may just find a balance on the lifestyle we would like to lead.

Hey AllyS,

Thanks for posting your reply about your friend in Ottawa. As I mentioned, I am a native Ottawan and have struggled with low employment and underemployment my whole life. Health care is a good bet, high tech and being fluent in French will help in this town, otherwise it's not a great town.

A lot of people move to Ottawa b/c they are bilingual (fr & eng) but it doesn't tend to be a town people 'pick' from afar based on great jobs or affordability of housing. The weather here SUCKS -- there is no other description for the winter -- if people tell you Ottawa in winter is nice, run away from them.

In all honesty, I would recommend Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton as break-in cities. There are a good cluster of towns and cities in southern Ontario which offer employment to unilingual Anglos (Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Toronto, etc.)-- Ottawa also tends to be a bit isolated. Next town over is Montreal (2 hours) then Kingston (2 – 3 hours) away.

I am trying to get away from Ottawa and, as a Canadian, have my eyes on the following cities:

Victoria, BC
Vancouver, BC
Kitchener-Waterloo, ON
Kingston, ON

ummm....

HA! Those are probably the only places I would consider!! Short list, eh?

Oh -- and towns that I love in the UK (based on many trips, but naiveté as a tourist)

Cambridge
Oxford
BATH !!!!
Thirsk, Skipton or Helmsley, Yorkshire
Windsor
Guilford
Falmouth

okay. getting depressed now! still have snow on the garden here.