Siouxie

There is one in the classified section already, albeit mostly permanent swaps!



http://britishexpats.com/classifieds/showcat.php?cat=13

lf1

thanks for that

Steve_

Yes we do, as JohnBoyE pointed out though you pay the basic amount (which in Alberta means at a bare minimum you're on the non-group coverage, which costs $762 pa and then $25 max per prescription) and the province picks up the rest.

The only real question is whether your drugs are covered. It's not that onerous really. Yes if you have a chronic condition in the UK then the NHS covers the drug costs, but you pay way more in tax. Even if you're on a low income and pay little income tax, other taxes are lower in Canada as well.

oopsbuddy

I did think to myself after posting that comment about house-swapping that it WOULD probably be of interest to many people, so we'll keep an eye on that going forward. I have read a lot about it in the past, and there are lots of associations and websites devoted to it (international swaps too!) where you leave the house and car keys for each other, agree to mind any pets etc, (...kids too would be a great idea!) and "just move in"! I'd be game for it!

Throwing the keys in the fruit bowl....that's a different game!

el_richo

You may pay more tax but the final price differential is minimal, if different at all at the macro level.

The NHS covers all drug costs for a person over 65 (or 60, i forget) anyway. Plus my mum get heating subsidy, free public transport, and pays 150 quid in car insurance including breakdown coverage forher Nissan Micra. You don't get that in AB

oopsbuddy

Those are the type of points I was looking for,...some of which may also apply here in Ireland, ie, things one might not think of "at a gallop" to get to the promised land! HOWEVER, no matter what might be in place now, it doesn't mean they'll still be in place when I (or you) reach the finish line, and if I'm old and blind and can't drive anymore anyway, cheap car insurance suddenly becomes irrelevant.

Plus, where I live,...where there is no public transport....you know yourself, but it's all good debate, eh!

Good points, thanks

el_richo

In all seriousness, i don't think there's much difference to growing old in the UK or Canada other than the weather hinderance of Canada, and potentially lack of family members to help and comfort when needed.

On the west coast of Canada, it's a none issue on all other points in my opinion.

feelbritish

There is very little public transport in Canada apart from the obvious large cities - we live in a "retirement haven" and if you cannot drive anymore (they are talking about making you take a driving test after 75 every year) you are basically cut off unless you live downtown in a small condo. Unless you have family to look after you! You cannot just get on a bus (free in UK to over 65) or train (special deals for 65) and go for a pleasant day out! No public transport between cities either like in UK. In even the smallest of villages in UK a bus comes around and you have trains going everywhere. Read "Jasper's" notes in the "moving back to UK forum" he is having great fun without a car!

ultrarunner

Isn't this where your kids come in? You've done your part for them, time for them to pay it back, and What's wrong with a condo if it's just too adults?

I concur with the getting people over 75yrs old to take the DT again

feelbritish

if they live near you! Nothing wrong with condo at all, it is personal I guess, I would hate to be stuck waiting on "Driving miss Daisy" to help me get my stuff or Thrifty's to deliver my food! Unlike Uk where a lot of retirees may have their children near them, in Canada most retirees want to be somewhere quieter, warmer, with like minded people playing lots of golf and most children want to be near jobs and cities - go figure!

When you are 75 make that statement again!

ultrarunner

I'll remember that when am downgrading to an adult living town home near a city

el_richo

What if your kids do as you did and **** off to another country

dbd33

I think it would be absolutely wrong to cut someone off from driving in Canada simply because old age had made them incompetent. Accordingly, I think such testing is an invasion of privacy.

My arguments are:

- Canada neither expects nor requires competence from younger drivers, it's acceptable to swap a license from notorious lax jurisdictions for a Canadian one

- Canada is a big country in which it's difficult to get around without a car, accordingly behaviour which would not be acceptable elsewhere, notably drinking at the wheel, is accepted here while it would not be elsewhere

- to say that older people will be subject to testing to see if they can drive well while younger people are indulged in driving badly is discriminatory

I don't want to be stuck behind a Cadillac or Buick but I acknowledge the right of the owner to toodle along banging into the occasional static object.

Auld Yin

Fortunately for the rest of us, you are not a legislator.

ultrarunner

I'll be 70 odd and still running