Are we living in cloud cuckoo land
Jul 14th 2004, 3:04 pm
#31
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Location: Upstate South Carolina
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Originally posted by MikeUK
Quote� We like the outdoors and love walking (Peak District and The Lakes) so a rural or semi rural location does seem very appealing.�
Canada does have some great outdoors, but you don’t have the degree of access to it that you have in the UK, plus the wildlife is a little bigger in places, If this is a point of interest than you’ll need to think about your location and the provincial parks associated with it… there is no such thing as the country footpaths you’re used to in the UK… free access is only really available in the wilderness and the provincial parks..which are great but limited and you have to pay to get in… about $7-$10 for a day pass… roaming the great outdoors in Canada is more of a dream than a reality.. unless you live in the northern areas or BC… the industrialized farmed southern areas are much more restricted…
P.S. I fly a paraglider and as such spend a lot of my time keeping an eye out for hills with free access....
Quote� We like the outdoors and love walking (Peak District and The Lakes) so a rural or semi rural location does seem very appealing.�
Canada does have some great outdoors, but you don’t have the degree of access to it that you have in the UK, plus the wildlife is a little bigger in places, If this is a point of interest than you’ll need to think about your location and the provincial parks associated with it… there is no such thing as the country footpaths you’re used to in the UK… free access is only really available in the wilderness and the provincial parks..which are great but limited and you have to pay to get in… about $7-$10 for a day pass… roaming the great outdoors in Canada is more of a dream than a reality.. unless you live in the northern areas or BC… the industrialized farmed southern areas are much more restricted…
P.S. I fly a paraglider and as such spend a lot of my time keeping an eye out for hills with free access....
Iain
Last edited by iaink; Jul 14th 2004 at 3:07 pm.
Jul 14th 2004, 3:25 pm
#32
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Joined: Dec 2003
Location: Toronto
Posts: 83
Would agree with Ian's comments the price of a season pass to either the provincial or national parks (also less than $100) is really not that high at all.
Jul 14th 2004, 4:07 pm
#33
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Joined: Apr 2004
Location: Bath UK to Penticton, Okanagan BC in 2002
Posts: 241
Re: Are we living in cloud cuckoo land
Originally posted by Gray C
Thank you everyone for your prompt responses, your comments have been very useful, interesting and enlightening. I did not think my comments about British BMW drivers would spark such interest. I did not realise that the driving mentality in Canada could rival the UK. I still believe that it cannot be worse than trying to negotiate the Thelwall viaduct on a cold wet Friday evening (and that is in the summer!). It often takes me 1.5 hours to travel 40 miles to get home (Not much fun) and that is not taking into account the dreaded viaduct.
I was also interested to read about Canadian wildlife and climate challenges. It all goes to making life interesting.
I was pleased to hear from some of you that it would be possible to have a relatively comfortable lifestyle by working part time and utilising the possible rental income as well as my UK Income. We really would like to create some quality family lifestyle, which unfortunately I do not get now with work and commuting. We are living in the typical UK "Rat race".
As for where we would like to live (assuming we are successful with our application) I must admit that we had not considered living in Saskatchewan, Manitoba or Calgary, but as I said before, we are open minded and will consider anywhere where our daughter can get a better lifestyle than here in the UK.
Someone said it would greatly increase our chances if either one of us can obtain employment prior to moving. How realistic is this? I would not be looking for anything too technical or high powered and would accept, and like, a stress free occupation. Does anyone know of a company that I could register with that may be able to offer me employment via a telephone or email interview. I know it is a long shot, but if do not ask..........
We like the outdoors and love walking (Peak District and The Lakes) so a rural or semi rural location does seem very appealing.
My wife and daughter are visiting Brantford next week for a couple of weeks, so hopefully she will get a feel for the place when she arrives. Unfortunately I have never visited Canada, but like many others no doubt, are relying on all the good reports from family and friends who live there or have had extended visits. At the end of the day, we want to leave the UK to get a better lifestyle and if we do not get into Canada, we intend to move to either France or rural Spain. We are all very adaptable and tolerant to change and feel certain that we will be able to integrate successfully.
Again I would love to hear from anyone with regard to their experiences in moving from the UK and especially with regard to any pitfalls or problems they encountered, that hopefully we may be able to avoid. Hindsight is a very important thing.
Kind regards
Graham
Thank you everyone for your prompt responses, your comments have been very useful, interesting and enlightening. I did not think my comments about British BMW drivers would spark such interest. I did not realise that the driving mentality in Canada could rival the UK. I still believe that it cannot be worse than trying to negotiate the Thelwall viaduct on a cold wet Friday evening (and that is in the summer!). It often takes me 1.5 hours to travel 40 miles to get home (Not much fun) and that is not taking into account the dreaded viaduct.
I was also interested to read about Canadian wildlife and climate challenges. It all goes to making life interesting.
I was pleased to hear from some of you that it would be possible to have a relatively comfortable lifestyle by working part time and utilising the possible rental income as well as my UK Income. We really would like to create some quality family lifestyle, which unfortunately I do not get now with work and commuting. We are living in the typical UK "Rat race".
As for where we would like to live (assuming we are successful with our application) I must admit that we had not considered living in Saskatchewan, Manitoba or Calgary, but as I said before, we are open minded and will consider anywhere where our daughter can get a better lifestyle than here in the UK.
Someone said it would greatly increase our chances if either one of us can obtain employment prior to moving. How realistic is this? I would not be looking for anything too technical or high powered and would accept, and like, a stress free occupation. Does anyone know of a company that I could register with that may be able to offer me employment via a telephone or email interview. I know it is a long shot, but if do not ask..........
We like the outdoors and love walking (Peak District and The Lakes) so a rural or semi rural location does seem very appealing.
My wife and daughter are visiting Brantford next week for a couple of weeks, so hopefully she will get a feel for the place when she arrives. Unfortunately I have never visited Canada, but like many others no doubt, are relying on all the good reports from family and friends who live there or have had extended visits. At the end of the day, we want to leave the UK to get a better lifestyle and if we do not get into Canada, we intend to move to either France or rural Spain. We are all very adaptable and tolerant to change and feel certain that we will be able to integrate successfully.
Again I would love to hear from anyone with regard to their experiences in moving from the UK and especially with regard to any pitfalls or problems they encountered, that hopefully we may be able to avoid. Hindsight is a very important thing.
Kind regards
Graham
Have you considered BC at all? When you said you like the outdoors it made me think you might like it in BC as it very outdoorsy all year round. There are plenty of trails that you can pretty much reach from your own front door!
Obviously Vancouver is a large city and so you may not be interested but the island can be rural and it can be here to in the Okanagan. Kelowna (which is quite big) is having a big boom at the moment.
JJ
Jul 14th 2004, 4:11 pm
#34
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Joined: Apr 2004
Location: Bath UK to Penticton, Okanagan BC in 2002
Posts: 241
Originally posted by mikejw
We decided not to go out'west' as we thought it was too American in its culture.
mike.
We decided not to go out'west' as we thought it was too American in its culture.
mike.
Never heard the West being described as 'too American in its culture' before.
Any comments?!
JJ
Jul 14th 2004, 11:04 pm
#35
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Joined: Jun 2004
Location: Northern BC
Posts: 123
The North of BC is even more unspoilt and you can have the hiking trail, lake, x country ski run and many other things on your own land!
One of the biggest reasons why we have chosen Northern BC...
One of the biggest reasons why we have chosen Northern BC...
Jul 14th 2004, 11:29 pm
#36
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Posts: n/a
Never heard the West being described as 'too American in its culture' before.
Jul 15th 2004, 4:30 am
#37
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Joined: May 2003
Location: Regina,Saskatchewan
Posts: 68
we live in west , regina , sask
and they are horrified to be thought american
they are much less loud and more genuine than americans ( although admit my experience is only Florida holidays )
and they are horrified to be thought american
they are much less loud and more genuine than americans ( although admit my experience is only Florida holidays )
Originally posted by joggerjo
Never heard the West being described as 'too American in its culture' before.
Any comments?!
JJ
Never heard the West being described as 'too American in its culture' before.
Any comments?!
JJ
Jul 15th 2004, 4:30 am
#38
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2003
Location: Regina,Saskatchewan
Posts: 68
we live in west , regina , sask
and they are horrified to be thought american
they are much less loud and more genuine than americans ( although admit my experience is only Florida holidays )
and they are horrified to be thought american
they are much less loud and more genuine than americans ( although admit my experience is only Florida holidays )
Originally posted by joggerjo
Never heard the West being described as 'too American in its culture' before.
Any comments?!
JJ
Never heard the West being described as 'too American in its culture' before.
Any comments?!
JJ
Jul 15th 2004, 4:35 am
#39
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Joined: Dec 2003
Location: Waukee, Iowa
Posts: 1,583
Originally posted by joggerjo
Never heard the West being described as 'too American in its culture' before.
Any comments?!
JJ
Never heard the West being described as 'too American in its culture' before.
Any comments?!
JJ
Jul 15th 2004, 4:43 am
#41
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Joined: May 2003
Location: Regina,Saskatchewan
Posts: 68
re access to land
its true there are not so many pathways as we were used to in UK oxfordshire but they invariably meant walking on country roads and risking life and limb with roaring 4x4 passing on narrow blind corners or horse muck piles of
however the canadians seem to have so much land they are less protective of it
in countryside there are wide ditches each side of road and we ride quad bikes ( atvs) and skidoos in these , also if a farmer doesnt fence a field it usually means he doesnt mind you going across snow in winter and round edges in summer
we live near quapelle valley and theres loads of regional parks here and a season ticket for one car is $ 27 but lots of people park up road and walk in!!
and we go to classical concerts there , use the beaches to swim and alsorts on the back of it
also the river meanders through valley and we often see teenagers with kayaks on it they tend to launch just outside town and follow it out into countryside
the main thing is if you drive to one its no traffic
we had a horrific summer holiday in lakes UK about 8 yrs ago , rained so much the drain lids lifted and floated in the street and driving home we were stuck with screaming hot toddler for 6 hrs on motorway
we can get from regina to candle lake way north in sask in a day with no traffic and without encountering anything as poisonous as a little chef restaurant ( restaurant used in the loosest meaning of the word )
and because cars and gas ( petrol ) are so much cheaper here people have holiday homes on these lakes , doesnt appeal to me to go to one place on holiday all time but lots of familes have cabins passed down generation to generation and mum and kids spend school hols there
if you did that in uk the council tax cost would kill you
mrs goatee
QUOTE]Originally posted by iaink
Although this is true, for stuff like biking and short hikes there are many conservation areas, forests and trail networks around here that are just fine for what I want to do. Plus a season pass to the provincial parks is only $110, or $70 for the summer only, which is not a lot really.
Iain [/QUOTE]
its true there are not so many pathways as we were used to in UK oxfordshire but they invariably meant walking on country roads and risking life and limb with roaring 4x4 passing on narrow blind corners or horse muck piles of
however the canadians seem to have so much land they are less protective of it
in countryside there are wide ditches each side of road and we ride quad bikes ( atvs) and skidoos in these , also if a farmer doesnt fence a field it usually means he doesnt mind you going across snow in winter and round edges in summer
we live near quapelle valley and theres loads of regional parks here and a season ticket for one car is $ 27 but lots of people park up road and walk in!!
and we go to classical concerts there , use the beaches to swim and alsorts on the back of it
also the river meanders through valley and we often see teenagers with kayaks on it they tend to launch just outside town and follow it out into countryside
the main thing is if you drive to one its no traffic
we had a horrific summer holiday in lakes UK about 8 yrs ago , rained so much the drain lids lifted and floated in the street and driving home we were stuck with screaming hot toddler for 6 hrs on motorway
we can get from regina to candle lake way north in sask in a day with no traffic and without encountering anything as poisonous as a little chef restaurant ( restaurant used in the loosest meaning of the word )
and because cars and gas ( petrol ) are so much cheaper here people have holiday homes on these lakes , doesnt appeal to me to go to one place on holiday all time but lots of familes have cabins passed down generation to generation and mum and kids spend school hols there
if you did that in uk the council tax cost would kill you
mrs goatee
QUOTE]Originally posted by iaink
Although this is true, for stuff like biking and short hikes there are many conservation areas, forests and trail networks around here that are just fine for what I want to do. Plus a season pass to the provincial parks is only $110, or $70 for the summer only, which is not a lot really.
Iain [/QUOTE]
Jul 15th 2004, 4:49 am
#42
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Joined: May 2003
Location: Regina,Saskatchewan
Posts: 68
one of my best memories is landing at Calgary airport worn out with delays from UK flight and going to viewing point for city and seeing the plain its built on and HUGE mountains behind it
i had only been to Wales and Lake District before they were like molehills compared the scale of that
i dont think any british person can appreciate scale until they come here , i lived on Fens in Norfolk as a child and thought that was a skyline but the expanses here are massive
i have seen lakes with tides!!!!!!! and we went out on a jet ski on one lake until we couldnt see the shore behind us and still couldnt see shore on other side so turned back in case got lost
are evn the scottish lochs that big? i think all lakes in uk you can see both sides ???????
sorry to wax lyrical
anyone considering moving here should visit for at least 3 weeks
and go ordinary places not just tourist ones
i had only been to Wales and Lake District before they were like molehills compared the scale of that
i dont think any british person can appreciate scale until they come here , i lived on Fens in Norfolk as a child and thought that was a skyline but the expanses here are massive
i have seen lakes with tides!!!!!!! and we went out on a jet ski on one lake until we couldnt see the shore behind us and still couldnt see shore on other side so turned back in case got lost
are evn the scottish lochs that big? i think all lakes in uk you can see both sides ???????
sorry to wax lyrical
anyone considering moving here should visit for at least 3 weeks
and go ordinary places not just tourist ones
Originally posted by Glaswegian
Some people consider it a Houston away from home
Some people consider it a Houston away from home
Jul 15th 2004, 4:51 am
#43
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Posts: n/a
Scottish lochs are tiny by comparison - they're probably the size of Ontario finger lakes.
Jul 15th 2004, 12:47 pm
#44
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Joined: Sep 2003
Location: Upstate South Carolina
Posts: 30,768
Originally posted by goatee
if a farmer doesnt fence a field it usually means he doesnt mind you going across snow in winter
if a farmer doesnt fence a field it usually means he doesnt mind you going across snow in winter
In ontario there are thousands of miles of dedicated groomed trails, so its probably better to stick to them.
Jul 15th 2004, 2:11 pm
#45
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Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2004
Location: Cheshire England
Posts: 1,125
Here in Cheshire we have Frodsham Hill and a small lake in Delamere with a few trails. Further afield we have Rudyard Lake (Rudyard Kipling named after the lake). I somehow think they do not compare with The Great lakes and the mountains around Calgary. We will have to give the mid to west coast a visit, along with some other areas that have been suggested. I just hope that we do not set our hearts on a particular place and then get turned down by the immigration panel. We shall have to wait and see.
Thanks to everyone for your suggestions
Graham
Thanks to everyone for your suggestions
Graham
Originally posted by goatee
one of my best memories is landing at Calgary airport worn out with delays from UK flight and going to viewing point for city and seeing the plain its built on and HUGE mountains behind it
i had only been to Wales and Lake District before they were like molehills compared the scale of that
i dont think any british person can appreciate scale until they come here , i lived on Fens in Norfolk as a child and thought that was a skyline but the expanses here are massive
i have seen lakes with tides!!!!!!! and we went out on a jet ski on one lake until we couldnt see the shore behind us and still couldnt see shore on other side so turned back in case got lost
are evn the scottish lochs that big? i think all lakes in uk you can see both sides ???????
sorry to wax lyrical
anyone considering moving here should visit for at least 3 weeks
and go ordinary places not just tourist ones
one of my best memories is landing at Calgary airport worn out with delays from UK flight and going to viewing point for city and seeing the plain its built on and HUGE mountains behind it
i had only been to Wales and Lake District before they were like molehills compared the scale of that
i dont think any british person can appreciate scale until they come here , i lived on Fens in Norfolk as a child and thought that was a skyline but the expanses here are massive
i have seen lakes with tides!!!!!!! and we went out on a jet ski on one lake until we couldnt see the shore behind us and still couldnt see shore on other side so turned back in case got lost
are evn the scottish lochs that big? i think all lakes in uk you can see both sides ???????
sorry to wax lyrical
anyone considering moving here should visit for at least 3 weeks
and go ordinary places not just tourist ones