dpg

One tip - if you're in tech consulting and can break into one of the big firms that cover that field (eg PWC / KPMG / etc), then the move can be made much, much easier. My wife is in civil engineering for a UK-based global brand. When we decided to move to Canada, her company provided a hotel for the 6 weeks, paid for visas/flights/lawyers (for both of us!), etc.

That said, I work in tech and still think London probably beats Canada (unless you can work remote for a US firm out here), but if you're into the outdoors and adventure (skiing, climbing, hiking, etc!) then it is no comparison.

BackpackingSwitch

Yes, I actually do work at one of the big firms for tech consulting luckily, but I don't think they pay for the move if I initiate it which makes sense. Can I ask what city you work in, and how you find the work culture compared to the UK. I know leave there is less than what you'd get here and the culture is similar to America's?

Lychee

Canada's culture is more like America's than Ireland's. Consumerist, colonial, and car-centric. And like the USA, there is no universal experience of Canada. Canada is vast and where you end up in the country heavily influences your experience of the country. There are no cheap, quick, affordable transportation options to see the rest of the country. It's extremely expensive to travel around Canada so where you move to, you better love the lifestyle and the climate and the length of its winter and the type of winter and summer it gets. Many parts of Canada don't see spring blossoms or greenery until May. In some parts of Canada, they experience hot humid tropical-like summers where air conditioning is necessary. Some parts of the country are thousands of miles away from any mountains, or are hours and hours of driving away from the closest wilderness. Again, where you live in Canada dictates the lifestyle. It's not like Europe or Ireland or the UK where you can quickly and cheaply pop over to somewhere different for a weekend. And each province of Canada essentially functions like its separate sovereign state, with its own health care system, its own taxation laws, its distinct education system, driving regulations, and so on. Ontario is governed differently than Quebec which is governed differently than Alberta, which is governed differently than British Columbia. And so on. Which province you end up in heavily influences what you pay, what you have access to, and so on. What is motivating you to move to Canada? It's not clear to me it's for the lifestyle it offers.

Pulaski

A lot of Canadians seem to "pop over" the border into the US fairly frequently.

(I have seen it estimated that 90% of Canadians live within 100miles of the US border, which given the locations of Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and even Winnipeg, that seems very likely, if not an underestimate.)

BristolUK

It reminds me of something

Lychee

True, however I should have emphasized that I meant somewhere different in culture, geography, climate, etc. In the UK, you can pop over to Spain and it does not look or feel like the UK. You pop over to Italy, etc. In Canada, you pop over to Seattle from Vancouver. You pop over to Fargo from Winnipeg. You pop over to Buffalo from Toronto. Seattle looks and feels like Vancouver. Fargo looks and feels like Winnipeg. Buffalo looks and feels like Toronto. And so on. This is like popping over to Cardiff from Dublin, or Edinburgh from York. The USA and Canada share the same climates, geographies and (for the most part) cultures in a north-south direction. It's when you go east-west that the geographies and climates and regional cultures shift, but often you have to travel thousands of miles for these changes to happen or even be noticeable. To go to somewhere completely different, for a different climate, different culture, different topography/vegetatation than what you have in your chosen Canadian home, you usually must fly for hours and hours and hours. And it won't be cheap.

If Canada was laid over Europe, Vancouver would be where London is and Toronto would be somewhere over Kazakhstan. These are the distances I'm talking about. Often much more vast than folks who have never lived outside of Ireland or the UK can fathom.

Pulaski

I understand, my post was just a cheap shot, at the way many Canadians use their proximity to the US border to their advantage, buying goods that they can't get in Canada, buying a cheaper price than in Canada, buying from stores that don't operate in Canada, and ordering things from Amazon, or other online retailers, and having their orders delivered to the huge numbers of PO Boxes and parcel-holding businesses that exist on the US side of the border.

dbd33

Last weekend I drove four hours, each way, to buy beer. "popping over" is not as convenient as the prior posts suggest.

dbd33

And yet, my daughter was a trauma nurse in Toronto. She emigrated to London with the surgeon who was working across the operating table. "Where's better to get stabbed?" "If you're going to be run over by a lorry, where should you do it?" are common dinner table questions. They suggest that it just depends who's on shift when you're injured, if you can get stabbed in Toronto on a Tuesday, that could be your best move.

Liverpool has never been mentioned because no one goes to Liverpool. Probably a good place to get stabbed or catch the clap though, lots of professional experience available.

BristolUK

And then there's having your liver signed. Or should that be singed.

Tumbling_Dice

An excellent post.

Former Lancastrian

What is that old saying the grass is not always greener on the other side or my go to opinions are like ****holes everybody has one

Should you move or not? Some will say Yes some will say No and others will take no position. The choice will be yours and I certainly would not base it on peoples thoughts and experiences off an Internet forum although we do have some very knowledgeable and helpful posters on this site say compared to a Reddit type forum.

I made the move 36 years ago but that was based on marrying a Canadian and having visited several times. Do I regret the move No even though I gave up a decent job in them days as a Copper. Now that retirement is looming has the thought of going back to the UK entered my head well yes it has and I made my 1st visit back in 35 years last year. Was I somewhat shocked at the changes well yes and not all changes were positive but Canada has also changed since I got here and again not all positive.

Unless you have a shed load of money then getting on the property ladder in the sought out cities of Toronto & Vancouver is beyond most. There again I have looked at houses in my home town in Lancashire and thought WTF they want 200 grand plus UK pounds for a terraced house built over 100 years ago. No such thing as Ryanair, Easy jet or others over here. Everybody moans about cell phone rates/internet TV costs and a host of other things. Spend a winter in Saskatchewan, Alberta or Manitoba and tell me how warm it was? There again persistent rain in the North West of England can also be challenging.

Opinions may vary but a lot of wannabe lets move to Canada types do not really consider how much they will miss close family members or leaving parents behind.

Both countries have plusses and minuses and if young enough with sought after skills then go for it but again is the grass any greener?

Jingsamichty

Wow, that must have been an interesting trip... how did it go and what did you think?

BristolUK

My 20 years are up in September. I see pictures of changes in Bristol and try to follow routes I knew well on google streetview and much of it is unrecognisable.
I reckon if I was dumped somewhere there I'd be just as lost as if I was in a maze.
And that's without things like how to get a bus and pay the fare

Former Lancastrian

I enjoyed the trip for most parts however I was with my mother and we took my dad's ashes back. I ordered a rental vehicle and requested an automatic and initially ended up with a standard. OK not driven here for 35 yrs and back in a standard what could possibly go wrong actually nothing did apart from one near miss on a b road trying to get out of Hebden Bridge. I did eventually get an automatic so driving became a bit easier.

The good: Seeing home after being away for so long and forgetting how narrow the roads are to drive on. Visiting a proper chippy. Seeing actual landscape i.e rolling hills and twisty roads rather than the flat straight roads of the Prairies. Having breakfast in England and then stopping for lunch in Scotland. I guess seeing relatives after so long but wouldn't have recognized them passing them in the street. I am sure there were other things I have forgotten.

The Bad: March is not a time to visit the North West of England as we had rain for 25 of the 28 days back. Driving on the Motorway when raining cats and dogs. Prices of houses. The amount of litter on some streets and the amount of boarded up buildings left for years. Hearing a Scouse accent again not actually meeting anyone I knew i.e people I went to school with etc but there again my fault as I never kept in touch with others including relatives.

Overall it was worth it. To go back to live well probably not unless I won the lottery. To visit absolutely but go back next time with someone of a similar age and not feeling somewhat restricted doing stuff as my mum was 84. Obviously traffic can be a nightmare but if in no rush then a lot easier to deal with. Who knows what the future will bring and I deal with both countries positives and negatives.