SharonMcCormick

Hello Everyone!

My hubby and I are seriously thinking about moving to Canada. Can anyone please shed some light on the following - in order to help us make up our minds. I would really appreciate any advice as we dont know anyone living in Canada....and only have opinions of people who have visited their relatives on holiday. I have twin girls 18 months old and our main motive for moving is a better quality of life. Here goes:

1. Is the education system better in Canada than the UK? From what little I've read sport/arts/music is very much promoted - is this true? Also, in the UK there are 'League Tables' to compare schools performance - is there such a system in Canada?

2. Cost of living. Im really struggling to find out if Canada is cheaper, the same or dearer...without purchasing a survey! Could anyone help?

3. Im told the West Coast's climate is much the same as the UK - but about 10 degrees higher...is this true? I have no issue with cold/snow, but I would like to move somewhere where summer will guarantee at least a good few months of hot weather!

4. From your experience, do you consider employment to be a problem - I know you'll probably point me to alternative web sites but from being 'through it' - what do you think? Im a great beliver that if people want to work - they'll work, no matter what the job. Is unemployment a big problem and how do Canadians respond to British people?

5. Do British people have a 'steriotype' and if so, what is it?

Thats it for now. I was swaying towards East Coast cause if it being 'closer to home' in case of emergency. I know that sounds ridiculous, but having spoken to a friend, he says the weather is more extreme on East Coast so now I'm swaying towards West....any thoughts?

Many, many thanks in advance....

Sharon
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MikeUK

Ok my opinion

1. My wife is an ex Canadian teacher who’s worked in the UK as well. In her opinion the UK is better.. some here will beg to differ …. My guess small changes but from what I know most Canadian schools are about 1 year behind on the syllabus compared to there UK counter parts .. but that doesn’t mean they are better or worse just run at differing speed on differing subjects.
2. Cost of living.. depend where you live, here in Toronto its much the same as the UK except that the houses are bigger (not better), cars may be cheaper but thats offset by the much higher insurance, My budget is the same here as in the UK.
3. The climate in Canada doesn’t compare well to any part of the UK, yes it rains more on the west coast and has a climate that could be considered to be more like the UK than the rest of Canada but that’s as far as its goes.
4. Employment can be problematic in some places and for some careers. Right career and right place … well it all comes down to what you want to do and where
5. Yes we’re all a bunch of stingy whiners ….. to some

And if you want to be close to home the best airport is in Toronto… but having said that getting across traffic here can be the worst part of the journey.

iaink

Where to start???

Many of these issues have been thrashed over in great detail before, so worth searching back through the archive of old posts. Heres my take though (I am in the pro canada school!).

1. Its slightly different, not really a question of better / worse. There seems to be more emphasis on personal development than "book learning", for example kids in Ontario cant graduate until they have logged so many hours of "volunteer" work. The irony of compulsory volunteer work is largly lost on canadians!
League tables dont really exist (yet) but standardised sylibi will probably lead to them someday. I have no qualms about sending my child to school in Canada, its a first world country and has a first world education system. There was a debate recently about Uni tuition costs, and Im not sure what the conclusion was. Thats going to be expensive whereever yo go, so plan ahead seems to be the message. My local school still has a music program, they supply instruments etc, but of course it is the first victim of budget cuts. School spirit is promoted, and school sports is a way to do that. Kids in canada all seem to be signed up for some little league sports, but its not through the school system really, more a lot of hard working parents out there volunteering their time and money.

2. Cost of living is lower, my guess is about 75%???. but salaries are also lower. You will probably end up with a bigger house and car here, but your disposable income isnt going to fantastically triple overnight. Dont compare what your £ will buy here, you will be paid in $. property can be much cheeper, food is generally cheeper. Petrol much cheeper, but needs to be as places are more spread out and engines bigger. Insurance is more here. On balance I live comfortably on an average sallary, but Ive been here a while. see jobs comment below. Biggest single difference for me is I can afford to own a house, something that was out of reach in the UK, and has got further out of reach since I landed 7 years ago. In my view the quality of life is better although the lack of vacation time is annoying sometimes.

3. Its wet out west. I doubt it is 10° warmer than the uK. Lots of weather stats out there to compare if you go look for them. Summer in ontario is hot and sunny, but can be pretty humid. Fall is breathtaking (I live in the country). Winter is sunny and cold with some (managable) snow. Some prefer sunny cold winter to wet grey winter, others dont want the snow and cold. Each to there own. Summer in Ontario surprised me with how hot it is. Didnt expect to spend time sunning on the beach here!

4. Canadian experience is a hurdle for many newcommers. Brits have a slight advantage that there english is not in question, but canada is very backwards at recognising foreign credentials and experience, and the job market here is very "who you know not what". Networking with contacts is the key as a very low percetage of jobs are advertised. www.workopolis.com is the main canadian site, but I dont know any non canadians who landed a job that way. Network Network Network. Do not expect to walk into a job at the same level of responibility and compensation as you have now. Compensation will probably not ever catch up in some fields, although my experience is Engineers are at least valued a little by society here, and earn a living wage.

5. I dont think so? Something like 40+% of canadians claim some kind of UK ancestry, so they know better than to stereotype.

East coast gets a lot of snow, but it deals with it. Really the only sane way to make a decision is to visit places, it cost money, but its going to save you in the long run. Of course there is nothing to stop you moving once you get here if you decide you dont like a place, Canada is a huge and diverse place, with something for almost everyone.

Good Luck.

George-Ang

What an absoute and fantastic reply. if that does not help i dont know what will....... go have a look at Canada........ OPEN your eyes is what i say, and the best of luck to you, i cant wait to get there.
George.

Grah

Iain has given you a lot of really good advice Ihave some questions for you


What is your idea of a good life?



How good a student are your girls? See here its not ageist you can move ahead if your academically ahead or stay back and retake a year.

If you want to to you can really fly or sit back and cruise totally up to the student.


What are you purcahsing now? there is a suggestion that you use the Mcdonald conversion rate. i.e burger in UK burger in Canada to workout costs.



Ok what weather is better for you "John o Groats" or "lands end"? Unless you get S.A.D. wouldn't be a biggee, lots of Sunshine to be found around here.

Word of mouth network got both the Jobs I had. So a good reason for getting the kids involed in something. ( Meet parents - Parents Work ... )

Very true, unemployment depends on your skill set like you said willing to work or picky


What ever you do they thats because your "British" try it its fun.

Well the plane goes direct from each side, from the middle you normally have to change. so if your planning a emergency your better be near Toronto airport or Vancouver. Suppose that narrows down your selection of where to live. But I'd bet you could get to England from almost any where in 15 hours at a price..



Many, many thanks in advance....

Sharon
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NessieOggy

Hi Sharon

I had to double take at your user name because a pal I work with has the same first & last name!!! Small world to say the least!

I have to reply to #3 because of the idea that the west is wet!! The coastal areas do receive a fair amount of rain, but then the area is rainforest & at sea level... so that would be expected.

If you travel about 350 miles inland you find the Okanagan Valley which is anything but wet. The region is classed as semi-arrid, so we see very little rain in comparison. You'll see long hot summers with temperatures normally into the 30's and sometimes over 40C. We wouldn't want to live without air conditioning during the peak of summer!! lol We do get rain, but not large amounts of it and the winters are fairly mild (by Canadian standards).

Cheers!

Oggy

SharonMcCormick

Hi everyone!

My girls are 18 month old twins...so I dont know their 'student capabilites' yet...althought Neve (first out) is slightly more advanced than Anya...lol

My idea of a good life is:

1. Opportunities & prospects (for both kids and us)
2. Active, outdoor fun
3. Space
4. Lots of different experiences

I HATE the fact that our house is at arms length from our neighbours....give me SPACE!!! I've got addicted to that ever since we had a house extension. We now have a 5 bedroomed detatched house and I fill every room (yes - typical woman...I know!).

In terms of where I prefer in the UK for weather...Lands End def...

I was in the RAF for 8 yrs, lived in Scotland, London, the Falklands, bit of time in Germany - so experienced different climates (?) and I like it bright, sunny - dont mind cold...hate rain....am I still being vague? It sounds like the West coast is looking favourable...anyone disagree?

In terms of jobs, that also sounds to be a bit of an issue - my husband is a Coppa and as far as we know, the Canadian Police Force do accept transfers, but we dont have a clue as yet at how difficult that will be.

As for me, I run my own business (albeit part time) as a counsellor, corporate trainer in stuff like stress/time/absence mgmt and also lecture part time at a local college on the subject of Counselling....

Am I right in assuming that there are only 2 weeks holiday per year? That hurts!

If we're going to do this, I think we need to do it while the girls are so young, as it wouldnt be that much of a wrench.....

BTW - thanks for that post Iain...I'll be referring to that a lot!

twiddle

Hi

We are still in the Uk awaiting our Visa and we have visited and researched the provinces.

We are hoping to land in Nova Scotia. If you want to research the areas and like the idea of being nearish to the UK I would suggest you have a look at Nova Scotia. It does not attract as many immigrants as the other provinces but it ticks all of our boxes. Happy researching !!

Darren

Glaswegian

No thats not vague. Its Alberta - bright, sunny, sometimes cold with very little rain (except last summer but thats because we went camping).

It is said that bits of BC get more rain than the west coast of Scotland. You need to decide if you can tolerate the rain or would rather shovel snow.

Mrs G

Grah

My nephew is a coppa looking to come over had a friend use some one and it happened fairlly quick apparently. don't know the details.

ClareBC quoted a couple of sites in http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=241080

In fact there are at least 7 yahoo discussion groups you might like to check out which are specifically for Brits moving to Canada

This is the police one...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ukpolice2canada/


So you could check this one.
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Your idea of a good life is:

1. Opportunities & prospects (for both kids and us)
2. Active, outdoor fun
3. Space
4. Lots of different experiences

thats anywhere you choose to be happy.

Only problem one is space the cities are big so getting out to the real space may include a bit of a drive depending on the city.

Have you been to the www.mls.ca house search site. Is great for looking for the type of home you want across the country.

Something like this

http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetails.as...ertyID=3121538

or 10 acres


http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetails.as...ertyID=3170745


Being as you know there are police men every where and your being flexible you'll be able to work you desire for space into your finding the location of your real home. As central "City" wouldn't seem to aplly to you.

dawnwynne

Hope this helps

SharonMcCormick

I sincerely appreciate all of you taking your time to educate me on a subject Im sure you go over and over and over with - with people much like myself!

Anyway, I will continue to read as many threads as possible so as not to repeat subjects already covered.....

It seems there are many pros and cons to moving to Canada....if I could ask you all one last question then I'll gracefully retreat.....

If you could list 5 good and 5 bad points to emigrating/living in Canada, what would they be?

Glaswegian

Take a look at the Fraser Institute's school report cards:
http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/report...ex.asp?snav=rc

SharonMcCormick

Thanks - that will prove helpful - but what is your top 5 ??

Glaswegian

Depends on your persepctive ... in my opinion, the Calgary board of education is pretty good, but our kids had only just started school when we left the UK. Our local TV channels don't run continual "education system in crisis" news stories ... Alberta has oil money and spends it sensibly.

Personally I find it cheaper ... property in Calgary is still reasonable ... we're also not trying to get by on $30 or $40K a year ... it would be a lot tougher if we were.

Calgary is situated in the foothills of the Rockies where they meet the prairies. The city is almost as elevated as the top of Ben Nevis. We get roughly 8 cold months and 4 warm ones ... we also get chinooks which muddle the weather. In winter it can drop down to below minus 30C, in July and August it gets into the mid 30C's. For the rest of the year it's usually somewhere between plus 20C and minus 20C - there isn't always a logical pattern to it. On average we get over 300 sunny days a year, which is great from my point of view.

It can be ... the more time I spend reading this forum, the more I realise that I'm in a very good situation jobwise. Anyone coming to a Canadian city where they don't know anyone can have a rough time getting a job - doesn't matter where you're coming from. Some people get jobs quickly, some don't - it's as predicatble as the Calgary weather.

Critical whiners who drink a lot.

Last time I flew home from Toronto on a Sunday, it took me longer to get from Gatwick to Leicester than it took me to cross the Atlantic.

The weather all over Canada has extremes - the east gets huge dumps of snow, the prairies are cold in winter and hot in summer, BC gets more rain than Glasgow - you aren't going to find anything equivalent to UK weather.