Former Lancastrian

Yes it is but be aware you might not get an IEC spot this year and have to wait until 2017. Submitting an Express Entry and getting the ITA based on your scores might be quicker.

Novocastrian

Indeed it's possible, assuming both of you qualify for IEC (i.e. are under 30 if you're Brits). Chris said that his partner has 15 years experience as a manager in a Boot's, so it seems probable that s/he is over 30.

Atlantic Xpat

Mid level Procurement job in GTA? $60-80k - as a general range. Take home pay calculate via taxtips.ca . Pensions a rarity in the private sector but most employers contribute to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) through some sort of matching contribution formula - typically 3-5% each from employer and employee. RRSP are equivalent(ish) to a money purchase or defined savings scheme in the UK.

No idea about employment prospects for a Boots manager. Assuming you can find a path for immigration / visa, then a responsible and conservative assumption is that you may have to support yourselves for a period on no income and one income as you are unlikely to both walk into jobs straight away.

chilly_canuck

Sounds like you have already made up your mind so good luck to you, I wish you all the best.

I know plenty of people from the UK now living in Toronto who made the move after a brief holiday and only realised a year or so on that they had made a mistake. By that point they had spent all their savings, were in debt, and can't do much about it - so I wanted to provide a bit of a reality check for you from someone who was born and bred over there!

My advice would be to take a longer vacation there (a month or two if possible) and try living like you are working - living in a suburb and commuting downtown during rush hour for instance. Hire a car and try driving between the various suburbs and shopping malls that will become your regular weekend grocery trip. Live like it is your home, and not just a holiday destination, and see if you still feel the same.

To address each of your points briefly (if you are interested in the links then PM me and I'll send them across to you)

TRAVEL: As mentioned by others 1hr 15 mins is quite short by GTA standards - after a year of living there you'll start thinking that houses within an hour of commuting distance of work as being 'close by'!

DRUG USE: Agreed - but you'll see what I mean when you get there.

PROPERTY: Average Toronto house prices are around $596k (£298k at 2:1) with detached houses averaging $1m (£500k). You can easily enough compare that to UK prices on the internet - it is more expensive than anywhere in the UK except London. In fact the IMF is constantly warning that Canada has one of the most overpriced house prices in the world.

WEATHER: Yup, you can pretty much get used to anything - I for one have gotten used to the rain in the UK. Although surprisingly if you look at the stats it rains less in Edinburgh (704mm per year) and London (600mm per year) than in Toronto (714mm rain and 121mm snow) or Vancouver (1152mm)

CRIME: Again it's easy enough to look up stats online from various government or police sources. But, at a general level, there is more violent crime in Canada than the UK. For instance Canada has a murder rate of 1.4 per 100,000 people, compared to the UK's murder rate of 1.0 per 100,000 people. The difference, I have found, is how the media reports it. In Canada 'light' news stories get prominence, with murders often relegated to short segments. In the UK, I have found, the media will give each and every murder wall to wall coverage, with just a brief mention for 'light' news, often at the end of the news broadcast.

Let me know how the move goes, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts after a year of living there!

NOTE: I tried to post a longer version of this with links to the stats but it wouldn't post - so if another similar post pops up in a few hours (I assume it is being reviewed by the admins) then I apologise!

Shard

The problem with Edinburgh rain is that, although less in volume, it's far greater in frequency.

Interesting observation on the crime reporting. It is true that of the many horrific crimes that take place each week, the U.K. media do seem to single one out for extensive analysis and coverage.

Shakyuk

Great post again! Interesting to read. Cheers

HGerchikov

I was just about to make the same observation on the rainfall, for example Trinidad gets over 2000mm of rain in a year.

Also on crime figures it's tough to compare like for like, for example there was an article on a U.S. programme stating that the UK had a four times higher rate of violent crime that the U.S. Turns out that the definition of violent crime is significantly different between the two countries. Also where there is a difference in population size it's hard to compare based on the per capita measure.

Engineer_abroad

If you like rain come to Vancouver 360 shades of grey.

That being said we do get some great summers and we have positive temperatures in the winter.

Shard

Agree. One thing I really dislike in Canada is the heavy handed nature of the police. In the UK, when speaking to the police, you generally feel they are decent reasonable guys, whereas in Canada/US the police are usually on a power trip.

dbd33

I'm not sure I understand the drugs and crime issues mentioned above. I don't think we, as a family, have been particularly sheltered, my children went to school at Church and Gerrard (near my office) and played iced hockey in Moss Park where I hung around outside waiting for them. One now works in Vancouver at Hastings and Main, she took us on a walking tour "see, it's not any different to Toronto". "Toronto" in this case being downtown.

That is, in Toronto there are lot of visibly wasted, probably homeless, people on the streets. Walking to work, from Scotland Yard to University and College, I was typically asked for money forty times. Traffic lights often have beggars and the ones outside the Hooker Harvey's are very aggressive. Most of these people have thin arms, poor teeth and bad skin. They're pathetic and they make the streets look untidy but they're not a direct threat, one just steps over them or ignores them.

People in pubs routinely step outside to share a joint, some people smoke at work, no one seems offended if one doesn't go. Weed is pervasive but not, in my view, a problem. I know of people using cocaine but I wouldn't say that's routine. I see a lot of evidence of drugs but not a lot of risk non-users or moderate stoners.

Some areas of the GTA are unattractive due to heavier drug use and related crime but I think you'd have to be both unlucky and careless to wind up in Rexdale or Tuxedo Court. As a rule of thumb, don't move into any building where the lobby smells of piss or any street where there are abandoned cars. Just like home, innit.

Engineer_abroad

I find Canada quite a lot less than the US though. You do have to remember there is a much wider gun ownership in North America and as a result police have to be far more cautious.

I have found CBC officers to be far friendly and more professional in Canada than both the UK and US.

I am I said

Another Canadian living in the UK... I have looked a few times at returning to Canada, but have not done so [yet?] because my type of work inevitably has me living in Toronto and I will not live in Toronto [I was raised just the other side of the Lake]. It is too crowded, too expensive, too far away from the bits of Canada I like, too flat [see previous point], too cold in the winter, and even more than that - too hot and humid in the summer.
I have more or less resigned myself to waiting until retirement [given my industry, my employer might decide when that is...!] and will then look at moving to Vancouver Island or somewhere in the Okanagon.
I have only recently stopped working in London, but still live in the south east.

chilly_canuck

Agreed, and very good point about the humidity in the summer - it has to be felt to be believed.

chilly_canuck

Thanks for your question. I don't want to stray too far off the topic of this post, but yes you are right. Tuition fees vary in the UK and across Europe - England has the highest tuition fees of any European country and they are much more in line with what we would expect in Canada. Scotland, in line with the Scandinavian countries, Germany and Austria on the other hand doesn't charge fees. This article does a good analysis if you are interested in more information
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-30080662

Shard

Is it that bad? I have been hearing about Toronto humidity since I can remember. I've been to TO during summer on several occasions, but never found it that horrendous. How would it compare to Bangkok or Hong Kong, for instance, both quite humid?