Originally Posted by dbd33

Toyland, innit?

Originally Posted by Souvy

Is this the same Brighton that ranked No. 12 among the largest UK urban areas in 2011, ahead of such places as Cardiff, Stoke, Teesside and Coventry? That sleepy little Brighton?

Originally Posted by the undutchables

That is expensive for milk! Here in Calgary it is $3.37 and 32 cents for a recycle fee for 4 litres.
Are groceries on a whole more expensive? I know we only pay 5% GST but I have been told things here tend to be higher priced which evens things up.

I have lived in several european countries, and while I have, on par, higher earnings here, I find my outgoings a month are also higher. The main reason for looking to move is so we can purchase a house, we have been renting since leaving the UK, but here in Calgary, what we want to own, and what we would be able to afford are very different.

My thoughts are, by moving we would be able to buy sooner, even though we are having to start my business over again. Also, there is a lot of competition in construction in Calgary, so cheaper houses could give me the opportunity to buy and renovate property that I can sell for myself.
In Calgary, people spend $300,000 for a house that needs knocked down so they can get land to build on. And the bank won't give you a mortgage to do that!

While Calgary is a great city, I am working longer and harder here to try to get ahead. All I do is work, so to be able to spend my days off walking on the beach would be heaven. Hence the choice of Nova Scotia or Vancouver island

Originally Posted by rivingtonpike

Whether NS or VI, I think we'd pretty much all agree that you can buy more house for the equivalent amount of money than we could in the UK - at least the South and South East of England. There's no way in a million years we'd have the size of house and land if we were back in Surrey!

Originally Posted by rivingtonpike

Whether NS or VI, I think we'd pretty much all agree that you can buy more house for the equivalent amount of money than we could in the UK - at least the South and South East of England. There's no way in a million years we'd have the size of house and land if we were back in Surrey!

Originally Posted by dbd33

I think that's the case. While in VI I got to chatting with the daughter who lives in a rented flat in Tower Hamlets (rented at GBP500 a week) about her search for a place to buy; a million Canadian doesn't get you started in places I remember as being rough, Limehouse, Shoreditch, Dalston, so they're looking at places I remember as terrifying and unsanitary, Poplar, Isle of Dogs, North Greenwich. That kind of money gets you quite a choice of flats in Vancouver, nevermind VI or NS.

Originally Posted by rivingtonpike

I think it does come down to how you quantify your quality of life quotient. If you love high end theatre, art, bars, restaurants, etc etc etc, go to London or another cosmopolitan international city. If you like messing around with a chainsaw and having a ride-on 'mower, come to VI or go to NS.

Originally Posted by dbd33

Agreed. Tomorrow will be devoted to mowing and sawing.

Originally Posted by rivingtonpike

That's the beauty of this place - there's always another tree........