Gozit

Well I don't like the climate here at all, the winter's too long and what summer we do get it rains alot... I also don't like the atmosphere, in Canada you need to have a really good degree/job to function and live comfortably because everything is so expensive and you are taxed to no end. Car insurance is expensive, travel is expensive, etc... Mobile phone bills are absurd... From Malta I can travel all over Europe at low cost, my extended family is there and there is a more laid-back lifestyle and a much nicer climate. The economy isn't so nice though down there. But i'm hoping it picks up a little. And the place has always just resonated with me. Maybe it's the vacation-rose-tinted-glasses syndrome but the place has always just resonated as "home" ... I think thats because since I knew from when I was young that I didn't like it in Canada... I didn't know what to do with the thoughts at the time but I knew I didn't like it here... I could go on and on but I won't.

True... But it is less common to find a Canadian leaving Canada then a Brit leaving the UK per se... Out of curiosity, which welfare state did your one child end up in?

burks

I'm intrigued.. yes those things may be cheaper in Malta, but surely it's relative to income no?

The climate will definitely be nicer though!

Gozit

Tis true, you're right it is relative to income, which like I said isn't as much as here in Canada, but it's easier to afford things in Malta on a lower salary than it is here...

caretaker

You know, Gozit, i've been thinking for some time what a whiney kid you are, then the other day I recalled the few weeks I spent in Mississagua {sp}, and I realised I didn't like it either. I was 18 then so not too far off your age. I had the option of moving to Thunder Bay, spent a couple of weeks and didnt like it there either {possibly my worst mistake because I could of gone to college there). I like Saskatchewan, and when I'm away I Iong to come back. After a few months in Vancouver in '83 I got the conductor to let me into the dome car early on the way back so I could see the sun rise and the antelope running.

Novocastrian

Close but no cigar. Mississauga back when you were 18, was, comparatively speaking, a quaint rural village, its much, much more horrible these days.

caretaker

Didn't like Brampton either and it only took one night to figure that out. Now Rainy River is nice, I'd give that an easy 8 out of 10 for beauty, and I feel the pull of the gold even from inside a vehicle driving through White River (Magnetic Creek specifically), but any place in Ontario that has a lot of people (where I've been) is only good for touristing or a brief visit. The Canadian Shield gets tiresome to drive through, but my uncle who was a game warden at Swastika up by Kirkland Lake showed me that the forest is full of treasures and Ontario has no shortage of that for those so inclined.

Steve_

10 C.

All day I've been hearing icicles fall off of buildings, thud, crunch, wallop.

Wagaress

Yes! At bloody last. I'm holding a big yard sale this Sunday so I'm so glad this weather is here now.

dbd33

Switzerland.

Gozit

Interesting... Yeah no Mississauga isn't really the best place to be LOL... I've thought about Vancouver/Victoria but they are so damn expensive it's insane...
Agreed
Ahhh Brampton, LOL My grandparents from the non-Maltese side lived there for a chunk of their lives, we always wondered "Why? "

Ahh it's finally bearable out

Nice...

orly

Fair enough. I'd be somewhat skeptical about the cost of living being less, or less to any really noticeable degree but I might be wrong.

Unless everything is literally 1/4 the price it is here.

scrubbedexpat091

When I try to explain why I stay here and don't move back to the US where the cost of "everything" is cheaper in their eyes many don't seem to understand that yes things are cheaper, but wages overall are less, so reality is, I'd be no better off there, and to boot would have to pay a significant amount of my income to medical expenses.

If I did the same job here in say San Diego, I'd be making around 9-9.50 hour, and with the cost of housing (renting) (similar to Vancouver, Squamish region) but lower wages, really doesn't matter if things are cheaper, the wage goes down, so reality is, not really better off at all.

Gozit

Well I think it balances out, and Jsmth below might be right with regard to the wages, but taking money out of the equation, it boils down to if you are happy or not in the place you're in... So I could make $50,000 a year in Canada on one job, and have a better "quality of life" , but still be unhappy, but in Malta making €25,000 a year on the same job, considerably less than the Canadian wage but I would probably be alot happier. I would also hope that should I choose to get a higher education here in Canada before I go, which my family would gladly pay for fully, so I wouldn't ruin myself with student debt, that if I went home after i'd be able to get a job in that field (I.T.) ...

Dashie

I thought you were aspiring to work in a call centre Gozit? Not a lot more than minimum wage doing that, most would struggle. And they're not considered a great place to work. I know I wouldn't want to do it again by choice.

We would be on a lot less money in the UK, but also more tax credits etc. Unlike in Canada, we would never be likely able to afford to buy a house for example. There would seem to still be more that attracts us to there than to here most days though, the weather being only one part, despite the financial gap. Yes, a lot of things are cheaper, but the wages too low and house prices too high for it to be comparable.

Gozit

Yeah that option clearly went down the tubes after asking advice on here and from others. I realized that I need a solid financial plan, as I can't work forever, I could get sick, etc... and whilst theoretically I could go home and be happy there on minimum wage, I couldn't afford to enjoy life, I couldn't afford to travel elsewhere in the world, or afford to visit my family here in Canada, or drive a decent car, etc. If I went back at 18 i'd use my connections in the hotel industry (my uncle; he is the almost-manager at the Kempinski hotel in Doha, Qatar and everyone he's touched along the way (Malta and Dubai) has loved him) to get a job in Malta.