Wish to Emigrate to Canada? Heed this Warning!
May 5th 2004, 3:34 pm
#16
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Joined: Dec 2003
Location: Waukee, Iowa
Posts: 1,583
When moving to Canada, it pays to learn very quickly that caveat emptor is the modus operandi.
May 5th 2004, 3:42 pm
#17
Just going for Holidays
Joined: Mar 2004
Location: Paignton, Devon
Posts: 521
I do agree with stepnec that the stories of plumbers etc. are anecdotal, but they seem to have been just an adjunct to the main problem.( perhaps the straws that broke the camels back?)
I am sure that Gezza has had some very major problems in Vancouver that have made him so embittered about the area, but that problem does not seem to have come out in his story.
It would appear that Gezza was happier in Calgary than he was in Vancouver. Would a move back there not have been a better option?
I know that everyone has to lie in the bed that they make, and then to live or die by their decisions. This is why I am headed over to Nova Scotia in September rather than rely on glossy pictures of the place in high summer. I will also go in mid winter and summer before we make the move. Research and more research are the keys to making the best move for you and yours.
I wish Gezza all the best in the UK, and I will heed his negative points about his Canadian experience. No one can give you better advice than someone who has been through the problems, but personally, I hope that I find Canada a happier and more welcoming place than Gezza found it.
I am sure that Gezza has had some very major problems in Vancouver that have made him so embittered about the area, but that problem does not seem to have come out in his story.
It would appear that Gezza was happier in Calgary than he was in Vancouver. Would a move back there not have been a better option?
I know that everyone has to lie in the bed that they make, and then to live or die by their decisions. This is why I am headed over to Nova Scotia in September rather than rely on glossy pictures of the place in high summer. I will also go in mid winter and summer before we make the move. Research and more research are the keys to making the best move for you and yours.
I wish Gezza all the best in the UK, and I will heed his negative points about his Canadian experience. No one can give you better advice than someone who has been through the problems, but personally, I hope that I find Canada a happier and more welcoming place than Gezza found it.
May 5th 2004, 4:09 pm
#18
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Originally posted by Iain Mc
Blimey. Sorry it went so badly wrong n'all but I don't think your experience correlates to all Brits who go to Vancouver. There are plenty who've done very well out of the move! What area were you/your partner working in?
The housing thing is certainly important, if things stay as they are it's effectively a one-way ticket if you have to sell in the UK. Buying back into the British housing market is a horrible prospect. You've been very unlucky with the way the housing market has gone in the UK since your departure, that at least is not Canada's fault!
For the record, I do intend to sell my property and move to Vancouver with my partner, having been lucky enough to have done well out of a renovation and the last five years of property lunacy in England. We will be leaving enough for a house deposit in the UK as insurance, we have a plan and are as certain as we can be things are going to work. If we weren't, we wouldn't be moving. I've lived in Vancouver before, fairly recently, and know it very well. I have a lot of friends here and it's like a second home already. It has it's foibles but then so does anywhere else in the world. We can't wait to move, are over here every year anyway and are looking forward to being here permanently.
Obviously, every negative account is extremely useful for those heading in the opposite direction to yourself, so more specifics would be appreciated!
What gripes did you have with the schooling, for example? And where abouts in Greater Vancouver were you based?
In response to your comments about some Brits enjoying it there.
True enough. A rough shake of what I found is:
Family feud in U.K. is of great help
If you come from some deprived areas of the North of England
Or if your trade and intention is to be selfemployed in Canada. because trading as selfemployed in Canada is easier and more lucrative.
Cheers, Iain
Blimey. Sorry it went so badly wrong n'all but I don't think your experience correlates to all Brits who go to Vancouver. There are plenty who've done very well out of the move! What area were you/your partner working in?
The housing thing is certainly important, if things stay as they are it's effectively a one-way ticket if you have to sell in the UK. Buying back into the British housing market is a horrible prospect. You've been very unlucky with the way the housing market has gone in the UK since your departure, that at least is not Canada's fault!
For the record, I do intend to sell my property and move to Vancouver with my partner, having been lucky enough to have done well out of a renovation and the last five years of property lunacy in England. We will be leaving enough for a house deposit in the UK as insurance, we have a plan and are as certain as we can be things are going to work. If we weren't, we wouldn't be moving. I've lived in Vancouver before, fairly recently, and know it very well. I have a lot of friends here and it's like a second home already. It has it's foibles but then so does anywhere else in the world. We can't wait to move, are over here every year anyway and are looking forward to being here permanently.
Obviously, every negative account is extremely useful for those heading in the opposite direction to yourself, so more specifics would be appreciated!
What gripes did you have with the schooling, for example? And where abouts in Greater Vancouver were you based?
In response to your comments about some Brits enjoying it there.
True enough. A rough shake of what I found is:
Family feud in U.K. is of great help
If you come from some deprived areas of the North of England
Or if your trade and intention is to be selfemployed in Canada. because trading as selfemployed in Canada is easier and more lucrative.
Cheers, Iain
May 5th 2004, 4:30 pm
#19
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Originally posted by stepnek
Why do you consider that you have lost £50,000 a year since moving?
Why do you consider that you have lost £50,000 a year since moving?
Say you sell your £350k house in U.K. recovered £150k of equity.
This in Vancouver?Toronto gives you some 350k CAD.For a decent family home with a little privacy you will pay 400k CAD.Mortgage. If all goes well in 3 years that house, your neighbours will congratulate you,will sell at 470 CAD.
So you have gained 70k. There are only 2 proper Estate agents Remax and La Page who will charge you 7%. that could be about 20k. This leaves you with about £23k So you then return to U.K. as 6/10 [from Emigrate statistics] of us do to find that your house from £350k now costs £470k. You will be extremely lucky with cars & houses is a new country if you recover all the money you had ploughed in. What about the job you left in U.K.? You will find all your collegues still on your old salary but will you get it? or 5k-10k less now?
So you have your circa £173k. plus
I recon if you stay there longer like 6 years you will end up with starter home buyers.
Financially it is a mortal time trap!
May 5th 2004, 4:34 pm
#20
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Originally posted by liftman
I do agree with stepnec that the stories of plumbers etc. are anecdotal, but they seem to have been just an adjunct to the main problem.( perhaps the straws that broke the camels back?)
I am sure that Gezza has had some very major problems in Vancouver that have made him so embittered about the area, but that problem does not seem to have come out in his story.
It would appear that Gezza was happier in Calgary than he was in Vancouver. Would a move back there not have been a better option?
I know that everyone has to lie in the bed that they make, and then to live or die by their decisions. This is why I am headed over to Nova Scotia in September rather than rely on glossy pictures of the place in high summer. I will also go in mid winter and summer before we make the move. Research and more research are the keys to making the best move for you and yours.
I wish Gezza all the best in the UK, and I will heed his negative points about his Canadian experience. No one can give you better advice than someone who has been through the problems, but personally, I hope that I find Canada a happier and more welcoming place than Gezza found it.
I do agree with stepnec that the stories of plumbers etc. are anecdotal, but they seem to have been just an adjunct to the main problem.( perhaps the straws that broke the camels back?)
I am sure that Gezza has had some very major problems in Vancouver that have made him so embittered about the area, but that problem does not seem to have come out in his story.
It would appear that Gezza was happier in Calgary than he was in Vancouver. Would a move back there not have been a better option?
I know that everyone has to lie in the bed that they make, and then to live or die by their decisions. This is why I am headed over to Nova Scotia in September rather than rely on glossy pictures of the place in high summer. I will also go in mid winter and summer before we make the move. Research and more research are the keys to making the best move for you and yours.
I wish Gezza all the best in the UK, and I will heed his negative points about his Canadian experience. No one can give you better advice than someone who has been through the problems, but personally, I hope that I find Canada a happier and more welcoming place than Gezza found it.
I hope you like high GM soya diet!
May 5th 2004, 4:50 pm
#21
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Thats is very fair to say. But I did not have a Canadian attitude untill I started to see paterns. These experiences are only 3 At one time I had 3 a day and pondered that writing them all down would not be practical with a ful time job.
A salesmen in U.K. would not shout at you over the phone for testing the car and not buying it in the end!that you wasted the entire hour of his time.Westminster/VW Port Moody.
The main gist of them is that in Canada no-one complains or demands anything so you only get what is given. And with competition for custommers scarce. Sevices are low
A salesmen in U.K. would not shout at you over the phone for testing the car and not buying it in the end!that you wasted the entire hour of his time.Westminster/VW Port Moody.
The main gist of them is that in Canada no-one complains or demands anything so you only get what is given. And with competition for custommers scarce. Sevices are low
May 5th 2004, 5:44 pm
#22
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 383
One can call these stories anecdotal, but there are just too many of them to dismiss. I could happily sign my name under everything Gezza has written, because it is very similar to my own experiences. Incompetence seems to be the key word here, and it is very frustrating.
May 5th 2004, 8:23 pm
#23
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Joined: Sep 2003
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,152
Originally posted by Alexandra
One can call these stories anecdotal, but there are just too many of them to dismiss.
One can call these stories anecdotal, but there are just too many of them to dismiss.
Here's another anecdotal story. I got a call from my daughter the other day when I was at work. The police had knocked on the door looking for someone who had given our address as theirs apparently. I had to leave work to go and sort it out. When I got home and spoke to them they realised they should have been in the next road on the estate. Goodness knows what would have happened if it had been a police raid! Totally incompetent but that doesn't make the UK a bad place.
May 6th 2004, 2:55 am
#24
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Joined: Feb 2004
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Posts: 801
I think looking at what you COULD have made on a property in the UK in your absence just makes things look a lot bleaker. You couldn't possibly have known it was going to work out like that, and that's completely unrelated to your problems in Canada.
On a similar note, on the news today, the average home in Vancouver is now appreciating at over $200 per DAY, and is expected to keep on rising in a similar vein - probably all the way to the Winter Olympics. I've just worked it out and this is a better performance than my UK property has put in over the last few years.
I'm sorry things didn't work out for you and hope you have an easier ride now you're back in the England. Seems like you've earned a break or two!
6/10 eh? I wonder what the return-home statistics are for Canadians that move to the UK?
Cheers, Iain
On a similar note, on the news today, the average home in Vancouver is now appreciating at over $200 per DAY, and is expected to keep on rising in a similar vein - probably all the way to the Winter Olympics. I've just worked it out and this is a better performance than my UK property has put in over the last few years.
I'm sorry things didn't work out for you and hope you have an easier ride now you're back in the England. Seems like you've earned a break or two!
6/10 eh? I wonder what the return-home statistics are for Canadians that move to the UK?
Cheers, Iain
Last edited by Iain Mc; May 6th 2004 at 2:59 am.
May 6th 2004, 4:27 am
#25
Cynically amused.
Joined: Oct 2002
Location: BC
Posts: 3,648
Originally posted by Alexandra
One can call these stories anecdotal, but there are just too many of them to dismiss. I could happily sign my name under everything Gezza has written, because it is very similar to my own experiences. Incompetence seems to be the key word here, and it is very frustrating.
One can call these stories anecdotal, but there are just too many of them to dismiss. I could happily sign my name under everything Gezza has written, because it is very similar to my own experiences. Incompetence seems to be the key word here, and it is very frustrating.
But the mountains are nice...tee hee...
May 6th 2004, 4:30 am
#26
Cynically amused.
Joined: Oct 2002
Location: BC
Posts: 3,648
6/10 eh? I wonder what the return-home statistics are for Canadians that move to the UK?
Cheers, Iain [/QUOTE]
I know several Canadians who moved to the UK and stayed. Without exception they agree that Canada is behind the times and lives off the great wilderness reputation. Great place to holiday, but I would never move a family here unless you are leaving abject poverty and rented accommodation in the UK.
Cheers, Iain [/QUOTE]
I know several Canadians who moved to the UK and stayed. Without exception they agree that Canada is behind the times and lives off the great wilderness reputation. Great place to holiday, but I would never move a family here unless you are leaving abject poverty and rented accommodation in the UK.
May 6th 2004, 5:01 am
#27
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2003
Location: Vancouver Island
Posts: 298
Originally posted by dingbat
Here here - Gezza and Alexandra are right. Vancouver is the worst place to consider moving to. Oh if I had my time again....my semi in South London would be all paid for and my kids would have been educated properly. I would be at the top of my career instead of at the bottom, having retrained at huge expense to work with incompetents who get the jobs because they are related to someone in the right place. My kids would have friends who knew that Zimbabwe wasn't a new Blizzard flavour at Dairy Queen. My neighbours wouldn't ask me if we had satellite dishes in the UK yet. I would not be so completely, totally and utterly bored by the poorly travelled, politically ignorant people of this province. But the mountains are nice...tee hee...
Here here - Gezza and Alexandra are right. Vancouver is the worst place to consider moving to. Oh if I had my time again....my semi in South London would be all paid for and my kids would have been educated properly. I would be at the top of my career instead of at the bottom, having retrained at huge expense to work with incompetents who get the jobs because they are related to someone in the right place. My kids would have friends who knew that Zimbabwe wasn't a new Blizzard flavour at Dairy Queen. My neighbours wouldn't ask me if we had satellite dishes in the UK yet. I would not be so completely, totally and utterly bored by the poorly travelled, politically ignorant people of this province.
But the mountains are nice...tee hee...
May 6th 2004, 5:21 am
#28
Just Joined
Joined: Oct 2003
Location: Michigan
Posts: 19
I am certainly a newbie to Canadian living,
But, the little I do know about it is that you should always research thoroughly the area to which you wish to immigrate. I would love to move to Nova Scotia, but I plan to make several trips before making that decision and talking to "natives." Even after one short trip (one week), I have a more realistic picture of what I can expect if I choose to move to NS. As every place on this planet, there are negatives and positives. I just have to decide what is most important to me. For me, it is safety, community, health care and cost of living (not in any particular order).
For me, NS provides an energy that feeds my soul and I am willing to give up nearby cultural possibilities to sustain my spirit. I just now need to figure out how I can manage that financially and feel secure about my old age needs. I don't wish to be a burden on my new country and would wish to be able to give back to my neighbors, as that is what is important to me and what sustains me.
I hope I am able to achieve this, but if not, I hope to be able to visit my newfound friends and soak in what I can of the environment. Please NS natives, don't let corporations suck up this precious commodity. You possess one of the few unspoiled areas of this planet.
In hope and faith,
Tondra
For me, NS provides an energy that feeds my soul and I am willing to give up nearby cultural possibilities to sustain my spirit. I just now need to figure out how I can manage that financially and feel secure about my old age needs. I don't wish to be a burden on my new country and would wish to be able to give back to my neighbors, as that is what is important to me and what sustains me.
I hope I am able to achieve this, but if not, I hope to be able to visit my newfound friends and soak in what I can of the environment. Please NS natives, don't let corporations suck up this precious commodity. You possess one of the few unspoiled areas of this planet.
In hope and faith,
Tondra
May 6th 2004, 5:25 am
#29
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Originally posted by dingbat
I would be at the top of my career instead of at the bottom, having retrained at huge expense to work with incompetents who get the jobs because they are related to someone in the right place. ...... I would not be so completely, totally and utterly bored by the poorly travelled, politically ignorant people of this province. But the mountains are nice...tee hee...
I would be at the top of my career instead of at the bottom, having retrained at huge expense to work with incompetents who get the jobs because they are related to someone in the right place. ...... I would not be so completely, totally and utterly bored by the poorly travelled, politically ignorant people of this province.
But the mountains are nice...tee hee...
May 6th 2004, 5:38 am
#30
Cynically amused.
Joined: Oct 2002
Location: BC
Posts: 3,648
Originally posted by Spongebob
If BC pisses you off so much, why dont you move to Ontario instead.
If BC pisses you off so much, why dont you move to Ontario instead.