Originally Posted by I am I said (Post 11772417)

In case it is not obvious, I am a Canadian living in the UK. I mostly lurk on this forum and have done so for years, regularly musing over going 'home'.

But, then I think of the price of wine and cheese, the thick people, the dreadful weather and the mosquitos....

Originally Posted by BristolUK (Post 11772596)

I must try to remember that the next time I need to give examples of how it's not just Brits that concern themselves with class type distinctions. ;)

Originally Posted by Paul_Shepherd (Post 11772662)

In Southern Ontario we have exactly equal portions of weather, on average we have 4 months of summer weather, 4 months of winter weather and 4 months of inbetween weather. Winter may seem longer but its not, .

Originally Posted by Paul_Shepherd (Post 11772662)

After reading your post, I hear you on these silly complaints people seem to have about Canada so thought id add my view on them....

As a Brit who has lived in Canada for over 6 years, i must have turned Canadian, i loved the cottage retreat by the lake, its my idea of paradise, however i opted for the boat as i couldnt afford a cottage or the time to maintain it, the boat also allows me to explore the miles and miles of rivers and lakes in Ontario....which are truly beautiful.

I love cheese, its one of my favourite foods, id almost go as far as to say i am obsessed with it! lol but i dont consider the price of it something to be bothered with, its just puzzling as to why, i can buy Canadian cheaper in the UK than I can here, but really, who the hell cares!

My Canadian friends must be a alternative breed as none of them are thick or struggle with the British sense of humour, or for that matter are shallow and just "surface friendly" i have made some real meaningful friendships, and ive found some of these people have done as much or even more for me than family ever would. Nothing is ever too much trouble, they are always there for me.

Finally the weather....ive never understood the issue. Unlike the UK Canada gets defined seasons (except for spring which is usually ommited) its cold in winter (anyone who considers moving here should know that, i knew that when i was 7 years old :sneaky:) and summer is hot, which it should be so you can do summer things! Ok its humid, but if your house, work and car are AC controlled and your sat next to some water (for a cooling dip) during you relaxing time outdoors its fine! :thumbsup:

In Southern Ontario we have exactly equal portions of weather, on average we have 4 months of summer weather, 4 months of winter weather and 4 months of inbetween weather. Winter may seem longer but its not, the only thing that bothers me about winter is the windchill. It feels like ive had my face ripped off! but again i think this is something i can deal with.

Yes there little things that are annoying about Ontario, (like the stupid archaic liquer laws) but as a whole suits me fine!

Needless to say there have been zero musings from me about going "home" Ontario and Canada is my home now.

Originally Posted by Paul_Shepherd (Post 11772662)

...its cold in winter (anyone who considers moving here should know that, i knew that when i was 7 years old :sneaky:)..

Originally Posted by dbd33 (Post 11772635)

My issue with it is not only the financial implications (I'm unusual in that adding a 17 year old to my car insurance would probably make the average premium per driver lower) but that it doesn't provide the child with the same level of independence as giving him or her a bus stop.

Originally Posted by Gozit (Post 11772653)

For me to go on my parents cars as a secondary driver, it was "only" $700/year. If they were to buy me one (which they won't be) it would have been $500 a month. This is in small-town Ontario. YMMV.

Originally Posted by Partially discharged (Post 11772788)

Our daughter (18) is an 'occasional' driver on both of our cars. She caused it to go up by about $100/year.

Now she is over 100 km away from our home, we got a new(ish) car that is worth a lot more than the one it replaced, we have winter tyres and we park one car in the garage and the net difference was an increase of $2/month as a result of the newer car. Winter tyres and parking in the garage reduced the costs.

We pay $151/month for 2 cars.

$700 for one year is a lot. What kind of car are you listed on.?

Originally Posted by Partially discharged (Post 11772788)

Our daughter (18) is an 'occasional' driver on both of our cars. She caused it to go up by about $100/year.

Now she is over 100 km away from our home, we got a new(ish) car that is worth a lot more than the one it replaced, we have winter tyres and we park one car in the garage and the net difference was an increase of $2/month as a result of the newer car. Winter tyres and parking in the garage reduced the costs.

We pay $151/month for 2 cars.

$700 for one year is a lot. What kind of car are you listed on.?

Originally Posted by Partially discharged (Post 11772567)

They live in a small town technically part of Hamilton that has no public transit. The people in the community are fine with it as I get the sense that they equate pubic transit with the lesser classes.

Originally Posted by Partially discharged (Post 11772788)

Our daughter (18) is an 'occasional' driver on both of our cars. She caused it to go up by about $100/year.

Now she is over 100 km away from our home, we got a new(ish) car that is worth a lot more than the one it replaced, we have winter tyres and we park one car in the garage and the net difference was an increase of $2/month as a result of the newer car. Winter tyres and parking in the garage reduced the costs.

We pay $151/month for 2 cars.

$700 for one year is a lot. What kind of car are you listed on.?

Originally Posted by HGerchikov (Post 11772817)

IME $700 increase for an occasional driver who is a 16 year old male is really cheap. It cost us close to $2000 extra for our son as an occasional when he was 16.
We currently pay something like $475 for three drivers, three cars, the youngest driver is 20 and is primary driver on a car that is registered to me. Number 2 son is just about to take his test, I am hoping that already paying for one young driver will somewhat mitigate the damage this time.

Originally Posted by Gozit (Post 11773308)

The $700 covers both of the cars i'm on, a 2014 F150 and a 2015 Lincoln MKC. Both got brand new last year, so that's probably why, as well as the fact that i'm a male vs female.

Wow. :eek: $2k for an occasional! Is younger one about to go for his G1 or G2?

Originally Posted by Gozit (Post 11773308)

The $700 covers both of the cars i'm on, a 2014 F150 and a 2015 Lincoln MKC. Both got brand new last year, so that's probably why, as well as the fact that i'm a male vs female.

Originally Posted by HGerchikov (Post 11773318)

G2, just finishing up his Drivers Ed. in car hours. The insurance doesn't change for the G1, it only goes up when you get G2.

I suspect the occasional went up such a lot because our policy had a number of discounts for older drivers with good record attached to it, these were removed when we added our young driver. Interestingly when he had to get his own car (he is doing a co-op course at Uni and needs a car for the working part as he has to visit clients) that insurance company were the cheapest by some measure for him to go on as primary driver - its still $3000 for the year though, some quoted over $8000.

Originally Posted by Piff Poff (Post 11773636)

The most my daughter has paid, was the second year as she had a crash and that $1300 for the year. I thought that was ok, 3rd year its down again by a coupke of hundred.