Liana

No, Asda is quite upper class compared to its Canadian stores which are more like cheap charity shops. And at least a charity shop is giving its money to a worthy cause (presumably). Work clothes are reasonable prices in Asda, including suits, and the products don't hang around for months to the end of the season sale, at least there is a regular 6 week change.

Atlantic Xpat

Couldn't agree more. Almost at the end of my UK tour (Derbyshire at present) and I've been amazed at the relative cheapness of beer, wine and even most food and some clothes. Really amazed. But not as much as by the pint of gravity dispensed ale I had last night. Sublime!

Must go and load up on some more decent bacon

AX

Judy in Calgary

I've given a lot of thought to your questions over the last day. Actually I don't get the sense that you've really asked any questions. Oh you've used a couple of question marks all right. But using question marks doesn't necessarily mean you've asked questions. Maybe it's presumptuous of me to read too much into your post, but I get the impression that you've already made up your mind, and you're just looking for reinforcement.

Given what you want at this point in your life and given that you're young, I think it would be a good idea for you to come to Calgary. I believe it will give you what you want. When I was at your stage of life, Calgary gave me what I wanted.

When you're at your age, you look at a place and ask, "Is this where I want to live?" When you're at my age, you look at a place and ask, "Is this where I want to die?"

Not that I want to die, mind you. But, in my mid fifties, I'm growing increasingly aware of my mortality, and I know I'm going to die. If I'm lucky and turn out to be like several people I know, I may still have thirty or so years left in me. Still, death could come at any time. Also, while I fortunately enjoy good health at the moment, I'm at that stage when people become more vulnerable to infirmities of various kinds.

A community that is a good place in which to live may or may not be a good place in which to be frail. For someone who is as ambitious and hard working as you sound, an "up and coming" city is attractive. Speaking for myself, I'm looking for a place that's kinder and gentler than Calgary.

But I do see that kinder, gentler place still being in Canada.

angelic_fruitcake

Fair enough, that's a pretty good answer to me.

Yes, we are at different stages of life, and I am looking to live somewhere with some energy and vibrancy as well as being close to the Rockies. I guess that's why we thought of Calgary.

I was looking for reinforcement, yes, but I'm also genuinely interested in the reasons for Canada's popularity, as against Australia for example. I've never been to Oz but my brother moved there last year - it held an appeal for him that *I* couldn't see (perhaps it's fear of ginormous spiders) but Canada was different - I do feel that there seems to be more emphasis on communities on the outskirts of the big cities...obviously living in the middle of Calgary would be difficult to put down permanent roots. I've been looking at some of the NW communities and they seem ideal - proper 'community' but with access to the big city AND the scenery.

That's obvioulsy the ideal - whether that comes to pass is yet to be seen!

dbd33

Yes, we've trudged great chunks of the Bruce Trail. Nonetheless, foot and bridle paths are the norm here, they're not in Ontario.

deenailz

i agree with you hun we thought about oz as my brother has always wanted to live there, and we could get over quicker than to canada, but it just doesnt appeal to me , dont kow why but i reckon its something to do with the creatures :scared: i am convinced i would go to the loo and get bit on the ass by a black widow or something i have someaustralian mates that say it would nver happen but i aint too sure , so i will stick to canada which i know has creature but i can cope with them

dbd33

Still haven't seen any concrete examples of the country going to the dogs or standards having dropped, though we're told constantly of it. The worst example of falling standards so far is that the Chapter House at Worcester Cathedral is now used for storing furniture rather than whatever it used to be for.

There's a lot of weed about, kids skateboarding stoned, groups huddling outside restaurants during dinner, about the same as in Toronto. What there doesn't seem to be is any foreigners; there are a few black people but they speak English and, dammit, seem to have been born here. This is a massive contrast with Toronto where I routinely go through the day without meeting an English speaker other than immediate colleagues (I took a picture to the bagel lady to explain "sail boat"). What else is missing is beggars, I don't think I've seen a beggar, nevermind being rudely accosted as is usual in Toronto.

The chavery of old has gone respectable; when I was young (and as it happened did look a lot like Jesus) there was this band of skinhead yobs what hung around Camden drinking too much, getting into fights and minor crimes. They were denounced in the popular press but it's alright now; today the Mail on Sunday is giving away a Madness CD!

Of course, I'm only reporting the good contrasts but we hear lots the other way on this board. Off to drive across the country. Driving here is ecstasy after Ontario, England has hills and bends, if it has speed limits no one pays attention and, due to the lack of multiculturalism, one only has to fear drivers in hats.

Novocastrian

Hi dbd, enjoy the drive! But keep an eye out for photo speed traps, they are everywhere in Newcastle and I doubt that's unique. So true about drivers in hats though. BTW I could check but is the Dec 2nd meetup still on?

angelic_fruitcake

There's a lot of weed about, kids skateboarding stoned, groups huddling outside restaurants during dinner, about the same as in Toronto. What there doesn't seem to be is any foreigners; there are a few black people but they speak English and, dammit, seem to have been born here. This is a massive contrast with Toronto where I routinely go through the day without meeting an English speaker other than immediate colleagues (I took a picture to the bagel lady to explain "sail boat"). What else is missing is beggars, I don't think I've seen a beggar, nevermind being rudely accosted as is usual in Toronto.

I'd beg to differ (excuse the pun) I work in Cambridge and get sick to death with people asking me for money, spare change, chaity collections and Big Issue wherever I walk.

There are p1$$ heads all over the place, and if you're not tripping over one of them you're trying to escape tourists, and people on bikes who think they own the place. If you want to smell weed, Cambridge is a good place to come along to.

Maybe it depends where you live?

Liana

That seems to be the major problem posted by people here- where they live in the UK compared to Canada.
I agree with dbd and as a regular visitor to the UK can only relate the negative aspects of the UK to certain areas.
Canada has great majestic areas geographically and affordable rural housing with travel supported by cheap gas for those who would not be able to live that lifestyle in the UK. But other than that, working hard elsewhere makes it affordable to travel here to see the wonderful areas as a tourist.
Judy in Calgary's post is also very relevant as most of the people here seem to be young- we can live anywhere at that age but as we get older the 6 months of bitterly cold weather and the huge expense at having to get away from it makes lives very restricted.
Canada is certainly not popular any more with Brits- only 5000 migrated here in 2005. There were hundreds of thousands of Brits that chose to live or migrate elsewhere and even a greater amount that chose to move to the UK.

angelic_fruitcake

I did travel round as a tourist and that's when I fell in love with Canada. But I *do* have an urge to escape the UK.

From my situation, which isn't the same as everyones...

We bought a house in the only area we could afford that was commutable distance to Cambridge, in 1999. We have a small-ish mortgage. Since then, the value of our house HAS increased, but our circumstances have changed in that I can't get into Cambridge as easily and working is a struggle, geographically.

Last year, we decided to move to the nearest town with a rail station to make travelling easier. We had already fallen in love with Canada but dismissed moving as a distant dream. We put our house up for sale in April. It's till on the market in November. Two offers have come to nothing.

The houses in the town where we initially wanted to move are being snapped up within days and are far more expensive than ours. Our budget is about £180,000, maybe £190,000 tops, based on our salaries (mine is OK, H's is good) and an anticipated deposit of around £40K. We recently reduced our asking price to £132,000.

Putting down this much deposit would still mean we'd at least double our mortgage. Mortgage rates are going UP. House prices are going UP. Council taxes are going UP. We both owe money on credit cards and loans, I owe a significant amount. We can't afford to pay this off when we buy a new house so I'll be stuck with it for a good 8 years or so. If it's not worse by then.

My office is reorganising and my job will be gone as of March. I can be *found* work within the organisation but their target is to reduce the head count so it isn't in their interest to keep me happy in my work. I could theoretically apply for a voluntary redundancy next year which would net me £10K approximately...but it would leave me in a tricky situation financially if I couldn't get a job quickly, and it's not enough to pay off everything I owe, either. H can't afford to keep us both on one salary, especially if we both have debts and are trying to move to a bigger house, and any house we get would involve BOTH our salaries.

That's the reality of the situation we're in. Crap. We're increasingly fed up with the government, the culture of giving everything to everyone else and taking from anyone who is child free, working all hours and trying to keep their head above water. We're fed up with kids running riot, the blame culture, the taxes, the 'best buddies with America' policies...and the idea of Canada resurfaced again recently.

After a lot of talking, we just decided to go for it. We thought of Alberta because of:

1. Cost of living (less taxes for a start)
2. Availability of jobs, potentially.
3. Hubby's company has ofices in Calgary
4. Up and coming, affluent area
5. Proximity to the Rockies and Banff Townsite

If things go to plan (which I'm prepared for not to be the case) we will eventually get shot of the house soon, and instead of paying over the odds for a crummy semi in Ely with rooms you can only just swing a cat in, we'll pay off all our debts and put what's left into the Canada fund. We can still move temporarily to the next town to cut transport time and costs, but rent for a while, which will be about the same as our current mortgage.

We can save loads of money as we'll have no debts, wait for hubby's HR to sort out a transfer and paperwork, and then I'll apply for the voluntary redundancy, keep some aside for living on, get a temping job doing absolutely anything for a month or two, and put the rest in the fund for Canada.

We can move over there, rent a small place in Calgary for a year or so, until we get to know the area. We'll have enough money coming in to be able to live on one salary (if he gets a comparable job on transfer) and hopefully that means I can get just about anything to contribute to the coffers until the *right* job comes along. Ideally it would be in journalism or if not the Alberta government looks like a good bet. But we'll see. I'm flexible and don't expect a perfect job to just materialise in my first week there.

After a year, and a bit more saving, we should be able to put down around $40K on a house, in an area which we'll decide on after we've done some proper research. Of course, after a year we may decide we hate it (I doubt it though) and can come home with around £20K to put down as a deposit on a house here.

Anyway...there's my reasons, my plan and my feelings on the matter. I don't *think* I'm being unrealistic. I know the timings may not work out, I may not get a job for a while, and it may take time to settle in. But I'm not one of those people who thinks I'll just take my life here and transfer it all to a new location...I know it will be different and I'll feel oit of place and worry if I've made a mistake. BUT you're more likely to regret NOT doing something than doing it, and it not working out....

Rich_007

You can cope with bears, and angry moose, and rattlers, and black widows ?

Man, you is as hard as nails

Rich.

RobinHood

I think the British still have a massive fixation with North America as a whole. Many are taking advantage of their house equity and moving to Florida.

"Quote: 14,915 Brits followed in the footsteps of the original European pioneers, with the majority heading for California, Texas and Florida."

http://www.outboundpublishing.com/cg...howitem=000005

If it were easier/faster to move to Canada I believe a lot more would. The figure of 5,000 p/a would be higher if they processed the applications quicker. I originally applied Skilled Worker - and have to admit I bawked a bit when I got an AOR stating 36 months. That was last January and some of the folks are now getting them stating 40 months plus! Luckily for me my subsequent Provincial Nomination went through very smoothly - but I have to admit I may have waivered say 2-3 years into the process.

We've had some shipping companies round our house over the past month or so - and all of them mentioned that Canada is becoming popular again. I also noticed the increased interest at the recent Emigrate Show in York.

Steve_P

Judy a very interesting and valid view.

I'll add that as someone who has some fairly serious health issues that Calgary might just be the place where I want to die. I am also very aware that death could come at any time and given my current circumstances will consider myself lucky if I live another ten years. However one never knows, with the advances in modern medicine.

I am in my late fifties (very late, like I turn 60 next April) and would not consider moving out of our present home until we absolutely have to. Reason, we are only ten minutes from Foothills hospital, a place I have become very familiar with in the last ten years especially the last three. It's very important to us that we have good medical facilities close by. Plus our home works very well for us.

In addition to that is the fact that both of our boys and their families are here in Calgary with two granddaughters now and a grandson on the way, we're not going anywhere.

So although I can see your point about kinder gentler places, for me Calgary could very well be that place.

Cheers
Steve

Lord Pom Percy

Go to the loo in Canada and get eaten by a bear