WHAAAAAAAAAT?

Maybe this is the start of something beautiful

Took us 18 months to settle in though of moving back took the wife 14 months to get her nurse qualifications sorted so we were a lot worse off for that time now thinks are a lot better than uk
1. Low cre rate to UK city's
2. Friendly and more respectfully teenagers hold the door open for you
3. Wages 3 times more than NHS
4. Cheaper gas electric and petrol
5. Cheaper car prices

People sell for all sorts of reasons - retirement, family reasons, health, wanting a change etc. I sold mine as it had served it's purpose helping me to emigrate here and i wanted to release the equity I had in it to do other things. Just because it's for sale need not be a negative thing.

I agree. There are businesses for sale all the time, and with the boomers starting to retire there will be more and more.

I did the reverse nearly 10 years a go - and the movers are here in the Cotswolds today packing us up for our 'delayedl' return! I came to a London contract, taking a leave from my job in Canada for 6mths. The job in London was for a year but I figured 6mths was long enough to see if I wanted to stay on or not.

In reality the option of the leave of absence from my Cdn job made the whole thing safer but didn't change things - I realised after 6mths when I had to decide to return to Canada or quit that my desire had been to move to experience life in the UK - the job itself in London sucked but the fall back in Ca was just that. With that in mind I quit the Cdn job (and would have do it in the beginning if the leave wasn't an option - meanwhile, people thought I was nuts since the Cdn job was great (permanent, intl travel and well paid) and I had a good and happy life - but I knew if I didn't leave then or soonish I probably wouldn't; sometimes having it too good can be as much a trap as the reverse in the job market - and I clearly had wanted a change. Jobs are not the memories a life are made of.

Did I regret it? Absolutely not - even though I only had 6mths left on the London job contract. And financially it definitely has cost. On the job side, before that 6mths was up I had a new job and was living in gorgeous west Cornwall with my partner having flown over as well (on a work permit) along with our dog and 3 cats (yes, complicated and not cheap).

We've had no intention of permanently settling in the UK but it's been nearly 10 years and the impetus back was a new dream. We're at a place that we know it's either settle here for good or go. Despite now returning to Canada I wouldn't pass up these years for anything. And in this day and age - if you decided it's not for you it's entirely possible (with planning) to get yourselves back to merry England should the experience not be what you and your family want. Some children can have difficulty with such change but I think most do as well or better than adults.

I realise we had no children involved but I have a very good friend who is just about to do this - taking 2 kids and husband and heading off to NZ for 6mths. Her OH has landed a short term job, the kids will go to school there (this is the last year of elementary school for one and the other is 7 - they wanted them old enough to embrace/remember the experience) and my friend will shut down her business for the duration. They don't expect to move to NZ but it will a wonderful experience for them all I'm sure - something the kids will cherish when they're older.

So - to my mind, it's not a great risk you're taking on, more like a great opp - you've got your docs sorted by the sounds of it so with the right planning forward you can make it positive, whether it's for the long haul or not. Good luck.

Go for it!!

Personally I would prefer to regret something I tried, rather than regret not trying something

Good luck!

You could always try and take a sabbatical from your Job in the UK for 6 months...then to me you have nothing to lose..of course assuming they would let you do that?

Kids education at that age is different in canada and the UK, Canada is less rigidly academic, its based a lot more on socialisation and settling in. Kids will adapt either way so I wouldnt be too concerned., its all good life experience for them.
I know a guy who sold up cos he wanted to travel, the business was thriving, he had just had enough. A couple of years up north and he came back and restarted a similar business, and now competes with the old one that still carries his name. Theres lots of reasons, just make sure you do your due diligence!
There are mixed reports on credit. Real credit I think it very hard to get. You can get the ball rolling by backing your mastercard with money left in the bank though. Not all banks charge fees, some credit unions and presidents choice financial are free... check out the wiki, none of this should come as a suprise to anyone. Rich got credit via his business, so it can be done. It would be tight, but stick to one car and avoid a $200 a month phone internet cable package and it may be doable. Personally in your shoes I would come over alone, rent a small place, but some cheap used furnature (kijiji), and see how the business / job situation pans out before dragging the family over. That of course depends on UK expenses and income too.
$4000 net might be OK, thats like $5 or 6k gross no? $2500 a month should cover utilities, groceries, car expenses etc, just. Car insurance will be a biggie though.

^^^ OK. If he's talking $4000 / month net, then possible. $4000 gross, no.

As ever IMHO.

Close friends of mine did the exact same thing a couple of years ago. They returned to the UK just short of a year later, his dad had died, his kids hated the NZ mentality, their marriage became strained, and they spent a ton of savings.

It took them a while to get work when they came back but they're now enjoying life and regretting every second they spent in NZ.

All experiences differ.

My dad regretted smoking, during the later stages of his lung cancer at a very young age while trying to support a family.

I personally detest this mindset because in the context of the OP, they haven't tried to bring their children up in the UK so they could regret not trying to continue giving their kids a nice life there.

If it all goes tits up in Canada, it triggers kids and/or wife/hubby emotional issues, they spend most of their savings and begin struggling financially, etc etc. How can there not be regret?

It's like booking a flight. Once you've booked, stop comparing prices.

Its an unknown unknown innit.

Bottom line is that your kids reflect you as a parent. Happy parents have happy kids, unhappy parents have miserable kids.

The OP should make the move (or not) based on how they think its likely to work out for them in the long term. Whether its better for the kids or not is something no one can know. I dont know about you, but I grew up happy enough in the UK, moving around with my dads career (sometimes he went on ahead on his own if it was a bad time to move the family), but in the end I ended up the other side of the Atlantic for one reason or another anyway. Parents cant control everything, they should do what they think is best for them and hope the rest falls into place.

Regret re a move abroad is a strange thing - much like having 2 job offers, picking one and later wishing for the other - there's no way the road not taken is what you imagine. Even if you leave the UK, spend a year anywhere, have difficulties, come back and eventually get back into a groove in England - regretting that time away? Initially maybe as all that change can be bloody stressful. But in the long term? Who's to say that had you not gone you'd not have spent the whole thing thinking 'what if'. Most people regret actions which put their lives at serious risk but otherwise regret when they've not done something with potential to bring them some reward.

There's a few things I regret that I'd not done in life (in hindsight) but this is through tinted glasses. I spent much of last year in Australia, starting a Phd. Before the year was out I was back in England, having realised the programme wasn't for me - some degrees lighter in the bank balance and with a chronic illness to boot. Nope, don't regret giving it a go though. Family tragedies can throw a spanner in the works and change your views on many things - but then there's no way to plan for that.

My view is you make decisions with the best info at your disposal, follow your gut/heart AND your head (make a plan), be sensible but allow yourself to dream/do - life is short.