OH are seriously thinking of moving abroad in 3-4 years time... maybe after the credit crunch/global financial crisis has calmed down a bit. At the moment, Canada is one of the countries we would consider moving to (the 2nd option would be Australia). We want to make sure we are doing this for the right reasons, and hope that you guys can enlighten us on this matter. Obviously, all of you have gone through this process before, and I thought I should ask you guys, if we are good candidates... with this, I don't just mean the visa process, but whether you think that our expectations are viable and whether we would actually be able to integrate into the country. The thing is, some people are more successful in integration when compared to others.

The main reasons we would like to move are the following:

- quality of life
- vastness of the country
- starting anew
- should we have kids in future, we would like to offer them a better childhood than the UK has to offer


I myself have "uprooted" twice in my life already. Born in South East Asia, I moved to mainland Europe with my parents as a kid (to my father's country) although I have also spent some time at high schools in the US and Australia. I chose to attend British universities, and have been educated to Masters level. I have been living here in the UK ever since (in different parts of the country). For the past 6.5 years, I have been working within the financial services industry - although have just become a victim of the credit crunch. I am for the most part outgoing, and the only hobby I really love and could not do without is horseback riding. Due to my past, I am also a bit more independent - leaving behind friends/family does not really faze me anymore, as I have done all that before already. My personal reason for wanting to move is because I want a change in scenery and a new challenge.

OH has lived in the UK his entire life. He is currently finishing his PhD (science subject) and would be starting work this year. He is more introvert, but is very sporty. He loves the outdoors - hence his idea that Canada would be a great place to live. His family is slightly more tight (let's say his parents are slightly more clingy than mine) - though the elder sister may soon move to Africa.

We do not have any relatives/friends in Canada although I do know one or two people in Australia.


I just wanted to know whether judging by our profiles above, you think we would cope with a move to Canada? How different is it to the UK?

Many thanks!

OK, I could pull up a seat, get the popcorn out and wait to see if anybody flames you. Instead I will start with the list of questions you may get asked.

1) How much do you REALLY know about Canada?
2) What does your OH enjoy doing Outdoors?
3) Have you ever visited?

I do not know what you mean with "flames" - but I guess I can answer the above questions.

1. I know much of the facts and figures about Canada, plus have met a few people who moved there a while ago. A childhood friend also went to uni there, but she returned to Europe after having worked in the US instead.

2. Mountainbiking mostly, cross-country running.

3. Yes - but holidays aren't the same as actually living in the country. My family used to holiday in North America every 4 years - we would stay there for at least a month each time.

1. Facts and figures regarding what? Number of births in Nunavit? Number of beds at the Mustard Seed in Calgary relative to number of homeless? Rates of Unemployment? average rent in Kits area of Vancouver?

2. Mountain Biking? sweet deal (IF you're gonna move to the rockies). Cross-country running? well here in Calgary we're innundated with running clubs, not seen much evidence of crosscountry running though

3. So which areas did you visit? which areas appeal to settle in?

I actually meant the history of the country rather than statistics. The rest, I only really heard about from people who had experience of living in Canada... but often, these reports are biased to the positive side, i.e. houses much bigger and nicer, life much nicer, if you get fed up of one city just move to another (very difficult in the UK - the jobs I held previously do not exist outside of London)... I have been a bit shocked that some people describe Canada here as the exact opposite of what I have been told - pretty much a depressing picture - , so that's the reason I am posting in here.

Areas visited are Vancouver area and also Toronto area. So maybe we should make this more concise... what would be the greatest difference living-wise between these two cities?

google it

My opinion is, yes, I believe you are.

Firstly, and most importantly, you are asking the question that many people don't even bother to ask themselves until after they get to another country and find they don't like it quite as much as they'd hoped.

I'm your father (in a manner of speaking) having been the original emigrant from UK to SE Asia, and those experiences are driving my next change, a move to Canada, because I want another challenge for the next phase of my life rather than taking the easy options of staying here or moving back to dreary old UK.

If you've visited both Canada and Australia before, then you have a difficult choice, as both would give you the opportunities you seek. But I'd still suggest you visit again, but wearing a different set of spectacles, so to speak.

I have a couple of questions, but mainly on the flip side.

Would you be in this emigrating mindset if you'd not have been affected by the credit issues?

- quality of life -
What do you consider quality of life? And is there anything in particular that you see within the UK that you imagine to be lesser than Canada or Australia?

- vastness of the country -
Not sure what you mean by this. Europe is vast and offers a huge accessible mix of scenery, culture, weather, etc

- should we have kids in future, we would like to offer them a better childhood than the UK has to offer -
In what way do you believe Australia or Canada will offer the kids a better future?

I'm just being curious really.

As an adage, I LOVE mountain biking too and intend to make the most of the surroundings of Vancouver with my new bike

Cross country running is also a possibility in and around Vancouver. There are tons of routes further afield your hubby would love. Maybe even the Grouse Grind for fun

Welcome to the forum.

This Wiki article may make for useful reading for you.................http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Canada_versus_Australia

Also, I strongly suggest you look into the visa situation for Canada as you may find you struggle to get a permanent visa for Canada anyway and then it's a moot point! So have a read of the Wiki (on blue bar at top of page) and figure out your visa options.

I would also suggest you have a good read of the Moving Back to the UK forum to see the reasons why expats return home - for many, the grass is not greener after all.

Good luck.

Give it a go - better to have loved and lost etc............

and you can always move back to the UK or try somewhere else if it doesn't work out.

I dont see why your not a good candidate

We moved here last year, I didn't know all the facts and figures about canada, we chose to live where we did as it was convenient and thats where the job offer was. I had no idea how much rent was, etc etc when we first started thinking about it - as you are now.
We had never visited - i have visited canada once for 10 days and that was the other side of the country - Myself or hubby had never visited the part we have moved to..

We both like outdoors stuff - this ranges from horse riding to skiing ( just learning) to just enjoying being outdoors and walking in parks etc

I dont think there is set criteria as to who can move to canada -unlike some people who feel you have to meet their standards, and unless you are an authority on all things canadian you dont deserve to move here - what cr*p

We love it, we have bought our house, our kids are settled, we are both in work - I dont regret a single minute and we dont intend to move back to the UK

Our reasons for moving from the UK - fed up in general, wanted a "change": wanted to try and provide a better quality of life for our kids ( dont ask me to explain this - quality of life is unique to what you want - what is quality for us may not be quality for you - so pointless in trying to explain this to anyone) plus a few other reasons.

the point of my post is :- yes you are good candidates, i would suggest whilst your waiting do a little research and look at what areas appeal to you etc - you have 3-4 years to do this, so make a list of things you like and have fun researching stuff
good luck

John5655 - thanks for your reply. I am just wondering where my next move should be. It is a bit difficult also to decide between Australia and Canada - the reason I currently lean towards Canada more is simply because of the "reviews" I got from people who have moved to either country. I know of at least one person who attended high school in Australia with me (we were there for only a few months) and went back to attend university there. All of a sudden, what was a country we did love when we were teenagers was no longer as appealing to her - she had a problem with the culture more than anything else. But then again, she didn't spend the last 10 years here in the UK like me either...

Christmasoompa - thanks, I will be reading this! My job category is sort of on the NOC list, skillset, etc. so we hope we can indeed get a visa. But looking into Oz, too. Hopefully, in 3-4 years time, they will have relaxed their immigration policies that was tightened by the credit crunch...

Yes - the thing is, the UK was just supposed to be my "temporary" base after uni. But then, I met OH - in fact, I was thinking of leaving the country just before we met (didn't know where to, but I definitely got itchy feet).

Well, it's mainly because people who have gone to either country often say that unlike in Britain they now work to live rather the live to work mentality that is going on here (or at least at every single place that I have worked for so far). I am sure France would be better than the UK in that respect, too (my sister lived there for a while, so I know).

I know, but OH does not speak any other language other than English... we can't just move within Europe easily... (e.g. my sister lived in France, Spain, etc. without problem. In fact, she had a fantastic job in Paris - which I would have died for - because she spoke the language fluently).

Let's put it this way... OH and I compared our childhoods, and we both agree I had a much better childhood than he had. Of course, some of it was economically - my father had a fairly similar job to his father's but was paid more (relatively to how things cost in either country) and had a lot more business sense. So for the first 18 years of his life, his family hardly ever left the UK (other than to France once or so), whilst my family was a lot more international and that sort of upbringing would have been unimaginable - basically, we have visited most continents by the time I went to uni. What is the real difference though is that although he is the sportier out of the two of us, I spent a lot more time doing outdoor activities than he did... apparently, a lot of the outdoor things that I have done is not commoly done by youngsters in the UK. Even an activity like horseback riding is seen as slightly exclusive in Britain (no wonder, judging by how much it costs)- whilst where I grew up, a lot more people tended to do this as a pastime activity (it was cheaper).


I know that there is a grass is always greener attitude, and in some way, that is why I am posting here. I just want to be more realistic. To be honest, many of the people I know who came to live in England - me included - were shocked at how England was... I mean, it was just so much behind in terms of technology, living facilities, etc. than what I have gotten used to (my dad rents out a few flats in mainland Europe - and if they were in London, the could actually be advertised as "luxury" flats, although they are the norm in the country they are in). So I do have a bit of a chip on my shoulder - I long for the life many of my childhood friends have now simply because they never left the country we grew up in (I took the more ambitious option of studying abroad, so to speak). But we can't move there, due to OH not speaking the language and not being very good at learning languages either... In contrast, my brother-in-law is American (told you I came from an international family!) and seems to be able to learn languages in no time - thus, him and my sister having lived in France, US, Spain and now Eastern Europe...

So I was just wondering whether there was another English speaking country out there that can offer us that sort of life.

Hopefully you've read up a bit now but just in case you haven't, as a word of warning, just being on the NOC list is not enough. Unless you are in a job on a list of 38 occupations in demand, then you also need a job offer to get a Skilled Worker visa (plus meeting the other criteria i.e. requisite number of points, proof of funds, passing the medical, no criminal record, etc).

Just didn't want you to assume you could get a SW visa easily because you're on the NOC list! Hope you're on the list of 38 occupations in demand, but if not then you'll need to get job hunting first - have a read of the Job Hunting section of the Wiki for more info on that.

Good luck.

Fair enough

Reading your reply, and if you're eligible to obtain your PR for Canada, i'd say go for it

I truly wish you lots of luck with your decisions and emigration