Where do you think we go when we want something different? It's not enough, the climate in Alberta doesn't suit our hobby, the summer season is just too short, we thought we would adapt, we haven't. There are many amazing things about Alberta and until this last winter I wasn't ready to give up the mountains, I am now We have obviously discussed this much amongst ourselves, we want easier access to the wider world too. We want some smaller roads, more places to visit without driving for days. It's hard to put into words how we feel and what we want, the main thing OH and I are on exactly the same page. Classic cars are a huge part of our lives and it's just not diverse enough in Alberta, you go to a car show and it's all camaros and challengers, last week at the downtown cruise there was a mini and a spitfire but dozens of firebirds and mustangs, there were in excess of 500 cars, so it was a great night, there just isn't 'enough' here for us to spend the rest of our lives.

I agree with Auld Yin. Not everything posted here is either a) true or b) intended to be helpful. For a newbie it takes time to work out who is offering genuine advice, who is polishing their ego, and who (for whatever reason) is being deliberately misleading.

I know quite a number of ex-Brits who have a good life here. Many emigrated at a time when return to the UK was neither cheap or easy. Some say that if it was they might well have gone back. However, now they have established their lives here they are glad they didn't.

Obviously, Canada is not going to suit everyone. I am glad about that. If it suited every Brit then it would be no different to Britain (and I would want to leave). The key word is different. If you can enjoy, or at least accept, the differences you can have a good life. If you have a mindset that thinks everything that is not exactly as you are used to is somehow bad or backward then you will probably struggle, at least at first.

Something that is very individual is how much you will miss your family and friends. It seems to hit some people much harder than they expected. A reality of emigration is that you can't replace a supporting network of family, friends, colleagues and contacts in six months. It gets done, but it takes time and effort.

Fortunately for me this was never really an issue. I have never felt the need to be surrounded by friends and acquaintances, I enjoyed the challenges of starting out afresh (and avoiding some of the mistakes I made first time around) and I brought the people who really mattered with me. That said, it is difficult to be sure in advance how you will react. You learn a lot about yourself when you emigrate. Some people learn that they are not emigrating type of people.

Anyway, on to money. Posters here say you need somewhere between $25,000 and $250,000 a year to live an acceptable lifestyle. IMO an acceptable lifestyle depends as much on what you want to spend as what you earn. Also, and also just IMO, $28 per hour is doable, it is OK to get started, but it certainly does not buy an aspirational lifestyle.

Your biggest expense will be rent so if you can be flexible about size and location this will help. You will also need some cash to make a deposit for rent and utilities, to buy a vehicle, and to pay the first year's insurance. You are probably used to budgeting carefully and this skill will help. If your OH can get a promotion/payrise in the future, or if you could find a job when the children are a bit older, that will pay for things like a holiday or a trip back to the UK.

I can see comparing exchange rate and how if affects lifestyle here, but don't see the point in comparing the cost of goods between two countries, unless you plan to move there or regularly purchase goods from there.

Getting paid in a foreign currency, which we do and paying bills in a foreign currency, which we do, affects what is left in our pocket at the end of the day. Comparing the cost of living in Australia, the US or the UK to what my converted CAD ends up being is pointless. It is how many CAD I have in my bank account and how it pays for my cost of living where I live, not what it would get me if I lived somewhere else.

I have a friend who's pension is in GBP and he has taken a 30% cut in income over the past few years compared to when he arrived in Canada. The price of cheese, milk or car insurance in the UK has no impact on his lifestyle here.

It is what it is.

More like the first few years.

Sounds like you really want the UK!

I have to say that's what would worry about living somewhere like Calgary, it's just too cut off from the rest of the continent.

Well that's fair enough. I thought it may have something to do with the classic car thing. I suppose southern Ontario has more places to go than out West and is closer to the Eastern US, so that makes sense, though I think the winters will not be altogether different. In any case, interesting to hear your thought process.

[QUOTE=Auld Yin;10862220]Lyn1972,
You should be aware there's a great deal of anecdotal claptrap written on this site. There are many people (most) live quite satisfactory lives here. It isn't perfect and I know of no-one who claims it is. So many on here have the "it's not like England" syndrome and it's definitely not, which given the UK economic shambles today, is a blessing. Canada has only been identified as such since 1867 (146 years) so its history is short.
I'm under no illusions as to Canada's shortcomings but for me and many other British ex-pats who I know, it's a good life, and I'm not necessarily talking about
old fogies like me, I do know some younger ones.
I am fortunate insofar as I can, and have been for some time, able to return to the UK at any time and live wherever I choose, and I arrived here with £300. Over the years I have travelled the UK extensively, probably I've seen more of it than 99% of posters on here, but I choose to remain in Canada as it's my home and always will be.
Look forward to your adventure and new life. It will not be easy at first but if you tough it out I'm sure you will do well and your family will be happy here.[/QUOTE

Thank you and what your saying is so true, we dont expect to live in luxury or have lots of spare money we just want to live and have a better chance in life, canada is a beautiful country and for us its an adventure and the chance to be happy.....


You are so making sense I am looking forward to it..... I have expect it to be

this is an interesting point. When we chose to move to Canada we could have located absolutely anywhere. We weren't constrained by jobs or provincial nomination. We chose Vancouver Island for the very reason that we don't feel it's cut off from anything. We can be in downtown Vancouver in 20 minutes from Maple Bay (just up the road from us) by float plane (for about $75). We can be in Seattle in 2 - 4 hours by boat. We can be in Victoria (the capital of BC) in 40 minutes. I know the Island is considered an old person's graveyard, but we honestly haven't found this at all. We have 2 young kids and they have lots of friends all around us. We have friends - many of them - of our age all around as well. It was the fact we don't feel isolated here that won us over from being on the mainland in the interior somewhere. We had the perception - right or wrong - that to live in, say, Kamloops or the Okanagan was lovely, but to get to somewhere else was a very long trip. We just liked the proximity of big cities without having to actually live in one.

This is something we have in Ontario. We look out on fields in every direction, the park across the road is 10,000 acres (10,000 acres of bugs admittedly) but we shop in central Toronto and can be in NYC in less than a day by car/train. We have easy access to Detroit and Buffalo (which, to us, is an advantage). Piff Poff would gain that by moving to southern Ontario though not by going to Cochrane or similar.

It's called "Thrifty's" in Vancouver.

Yes fair point, I did think that myself after I posted. The closeness of the US means people use that as a release valve rather than objecting to some of the more stupid things in Canada, on a variety of issues.

I think the main example actually is the lack of private healthcare in most Canadian jurisdictions. Oh this is so stupid I'd rather pay for the operation and not wait... so I'll go to the US.

In fact the booze situation is even more stupid because it's illegal to buy interprovincially (except for wine bought in person) which encourages people to go to the US also.

I'm not. Well I mean I'm happily criticizing I suppose but Canada is definitely a better place to live than the UK. (Although I suppose I am always posting on here about how much I prefer the TV and radio which appears to be a unique POV. )

I could go on at great length (and have) but basically the underlying reason why Canada is better is that the UK suffers from a wide variety of problems, the root cause of which are that there are too many people living too close together.

Just on the basis of how quiet it is in Canada I think it is worth moving here. Took me three months to be able to sleep properly because it was so weird that it was quiet at night.

I never get that comment. I assume it's because the Canadian dollar is so high against foreign currencies at the moment. A hang over from when the dollar was weaker perhaps.

I can't imagine that's a factor (assuming it's true). I don't go to Qc specifically but, if I'm there, I'll buy booze and bring it back, the same way I used to take cigarettes to Newfoundland. I imagine everyone does and, like me, probably has no idea that there are regulations around it.