Auld Yin

So, you have a nice middle-class or better lifestyle in a nice part of England/Scotland/Wales/NI. You own or are buying a nice house, you both have or one of you has a good job with an income(s) sufficient to support your lifestyle/family. You get 30-40 days vacation a year and take two or more family vacations each year. Two cars are on your driveway and you have all the boy’s/girl’s toys you want. Your children are happy in and doing well in school. You’re close physically to your families and value that greatly.

So why are you contemplating abandoning all this and travelling between 3,000 and 10,000 miles to move to Canada/Australia/New Zealand for, hopefully, a similar or perhaps slightly better lifestyle? The move will cost you a considerable amount of money to say nothing of the stress factors involved for all in the family.

There are a number of people on this site who have posted describing such a UK lifestyle. So what's in it for you?

Novocastrian

Far too many Brits in the UK.

geedee

Far too many non-Brits in the UK!

Butch Cassidy

Weather, proximity to the mountains and an adventure

bsmith

....they're the ones that'll go back in a few years.

Aviator

Or months!

ScottDrummer

Because (to me) life is not about toys, money, having two cars on the drive, Canada offers me a million things UK cannot regardless of money.

Scott

dbd33

Apart from customer service in French, what does it offer ?

mandymoochops

<feels a Python moment coming on>

bsmith

..far too many Daily Express readers in Canada.

ScottDrummer

not worth biting tbh, but I believe it depends on your lifestyle, and what area of Canada you choose to live.

dbd33

I see that as rather backing down. If your argument is that living in Whistler offers you more than living in London because you're keen on skiing, I can see that, but I don't see how it applies to living in Mississauga vs. living in Basildon.

Alan2005

The group you are asking this question to is going to be self selecting. You are also asking it in a slightly leading way (nobody is going to admit to being materialistic or that material things are important to them on BE). The fact is that we are all leading middle class aspirational lifestyles and that's the way we like it. I doubt many of us are living from pay-day to pay-day working in a factory or a coal mine (either now or before we came).

For me the reason is that I like it here (mostly), I like being an expat, I like travelling, I like skiing, I can afford to do it. The real question is why wouldn't you if you had the opportunity?

ScottDrummer

I agree, which is why I said it depends on the area you move to and your intended lifestyle.
Personally Whistler offers mountains, skiing, a particular lifestyle, relaxed (sometimes too relaxed) attitude from people - a general sunny attitude, Biking, leisure, and 999,997 other things.

I don't see why the reason needs to be justified to anyone, as long as your happy thats all that matters.

dbd33

Fair enough, parts of Canada offer something you can't find in the UK. It's worth noting though that the reverse applies, whatever Conrad Black wanted was offered there but not here.