Nothing wrong with wanting a bigger house and more stuff. There is an argument for quality of life vs standard of living, however the two are linked much more closely than people like to admit.

Why? Very good question!

I think if I'm really honest the desire to 'go on a huge adventure' was a major factor in our moving here and a need to push ourselves out of our comfort zones - we had a pretty good life in England but it as a family with young kids we found everything so overcrowded, oversubscribed and overpriced. Here we find we're able to do more with the kids for less money - sledging in winter, building snowmen and snow forts, then in the summer, off to the local lakes and camping - the weather conditions here being a huge factor. OF COURSE the opportunity to cash in on our house value in the UK and buy something even nicer here was an added bonus too, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't but it really isn't ALL about that. Here we have a sense that if we push ourselves then we can achieve anything - is that really down to the change in location or just a change in our mindset, I'm not sure...........

Back on t'internet!

Ok, if your theory is correct, please explain why there are 2.5 million Brits unemployed.

BTW, I wasn't looking at the "cause of the recession".... I made a comment about people leaving the UK!

Er, the recession and rising unemployment are kind of linked.

Er.. employing Latvians at minimum wage or less and 2.5M Brits with no jobs are kind of linked.....

If they were willing to take minimum wage I'm sure a Brit who could speak English would be more likely to get a job than someone who couldn't. No?

Er, why don't you understand that there is no fixed number of jobs that immigrants are 'stealing'. There is always work to be done and money to be made. We don't need this culture of whining to the government about immigrants etc. We need the government to get out of the way so that people can start up businesses, be enterprising and create wealth etc. That is how you reduce unemployment. Protectionism such as closed borders or subsidies never works in the long term.

The only answer to the question of Why? is Why Not?

People have come to NA for a better opportunity for centuries. For themselves, for their kids, etc. Many of those people were poor and lower income people who simply wanted to own their own land or their own house. Others came for adventure. I'd rather give those folks a chance than someone who views immigrating to Canada the same way they would a job promotion and with their hand held out.

I don't understand why anyone who is already happy where they are would want to move across the ocean in an attempt to be a bit more happier unless it it to satisfy their sense of adventure or out of love for a partner.

I often wonder why other folks from non western countries who are educated and have a good job and lifestyle in their home countries and are likely in the "upper class" would move to a developed country were their skills and income may place them in the middle class. To me it sounds like moving backwards. I guess it is the Hollywood syndrome for some folks.

If you come here and find that it isn't what you wanted or expected then move on or change your strategy. Since I have been on the site I have witnessed a person acting scared shitless of their new neighbors before they have even meet them FFS. Another has been here for decades and indulges in relentless incessant whining. It is not Canada's or Canadians responsibility to make you happy. That is up to you. It is your life. If you are not happy then do something about it. Seems like the first ones to complain are the last ones to get off their ass. Make yourself happy, you owe it to yourself.

^ Many good points there Lord Vader.

And slightly hungry........

GEEDEE

Im sorry to say but alot of brits dont want to work, they know how to cheat the system, claim benefits, go on the doll, young girls getting pregnant because they get free council housing and kids growing up with no fathers turning to a life of crime, yobs, chavs etc.......alot of brits refuse to clean streets or wash dishes and thats when the foreigners and immigrants do the minimum wage jobs as others are too lazy to do them, its a case of they stole the jobs from the brits its a case of they didnt refuse to them while some brits felt they were above doing low paid jobs when they could stay at home and claim claim claim... this is not the case for everyone but its true....UK never was an immigrants country but it sure does feel like one now and Canada is an immigrants country that is full of multicultural people and a country that relies on immigrants, good hard working immigrants....

A lot of Canadians dont want to work either, a lot of kids grow up with no fathers in Canada, A lot of teenage girls are getting pregnant here, a lot of canadians dont want to wash dishes, clean streets, drive taxis, thats where the (non-white) immigrants seem to be employed , UK ALWAYS was an immigrant\invaders country, (Vikings, Angles, Saxons, Normans, Jews, there are records of Moors, Indians and Africans going back 100s of years).

Nothing wrong with not wanting to work. Who actually wants to work? Forgive me a potential sweeping misconception, but I get the impression that welfare is tougher existence in Canada than the UK.

LOL

I was pointing out that damning the UK for those things could be deemed foolish given that they ALL occur here (but yes I agree welfare existence does seem harder here)

I will also add that the homeless 'problem' in Canada seems a lot more visible

Yes it does. You don't see people in the UK pushing super-market trolleys around to collect stuff for recycling, and that's something you see a lot here (at least in Vancouver you do)

I do know that the UK benefit bill is larger than the income tax take. i.e those in work do not pay enough income tax to support those out of work. Anyway, I don't think brits are too lazy to do min wage jobs, it's that when they do the marginal tax rate's are horrendous. Often they are only a tiny amount better off than they were on benefits, and if they have kids they can even be worse off. I don't blame them, I know I wouldn't work just for an extra few quid a week. On the other hand as most immigrants can't actually claim benefits they have to work to live. So there you go, another cause of british unemployment is a mismanaged welfare system that doesn't know how to incentivise working whilst providing a safety net for those that need it, not a bunch of immigrants stealing everybodies jobs.