iaink

Who knows. My kids are happy, thats the important thing. I think "opportunities" is a euphemism for "I can afford for them to do more stuff here", which is true for me. Of course, come time to go to Uni and the fees associated with that I may be singing from the other side of the choir book.

And despite Alans cynicism, my kids are more protected from adult hassles and influences here than my nephews and neices in the UK seem to be, in short they can be innocent kids for longer. Partly I suspect thats a semi rural location, and partly its societies outlook.

Jinxy70

I think you should always be running be running towards something and never just running away. If you've done your homework and you believe the opportunities are better then I can think of few better reasons to make the jump

Tangram

Your mother in law is in NZ and is retired in Canada and is moving back to the UK ? You lost me on that one.

iaink

It also seems to me on the opportunities front that there is a generation in the UK that seems lost and without a plan? What do kids there intend to do after school? Maybe its just the media portrayal (probably is) but the youth of the UK largely seems content to drift along. Most of the teens and young adults I know here in Canada have a plan and some optimism about their future. There seems a lack of optimism in the UK, and thats disturbing. Of course, the average British resident looking at the expat forum is probably considering leaving, so this seems likely to be preaching to the choir

As I said, my view of the UK is largely via the media, and lets face it, they are a pessimistic bunch at best, so maybe there is no truth in this.

cheeky_monkey

i would say thats true..never believe what you read or here too much..there are alot of no marks and scum bags who will amount to diddly in the UK but they have always been there to a more or lesser degree..but there are plenty of kids with the get go attitude that take that through to adult hood.

Why do you think you find so many Brits wherever you go around the world..but not Canadians?

iaink

Er, cos there are twice as many brits as Canadians to start with

Also there seem to be plenty of americans overseas, I expect a reasonable number of them are actually Canadian on closer examination. After 13 years here I would not claim to be able to distinguish a canadian from an american from the same geographical area without actually asking them...

Piff Poff

I feel the same way. There is a positivity here among people of all ages that just seems to be missing in the UK. For the kids in the UK that definitely know what they want to do when they leave school, then there is help and guidance, for those that don't know there is nothing. Here (certainly at dd's school) the kids that don't know get just as much help planning their future as the ones that do. There also 'seems' to be more options for them here.

Mind you kids being kids for longer is and isn't a good thing, mine is going to be 17 in January, there is no way she would be grown up enough to survive on her own, she still needs lots of guidance everyday. At her age I was largely self sufficient.

Oink

What you call 'positivity' I'd suggest is more naivete. I've visited many schools in Canada and I'm shocked at how unprepared they are for the reality of adulthood. They all seem to have that Bitch Stewie quality to them. The culture seems to quash any reality and creativity out of their children. They don't seem to grow up until about they're about thirty.

Steve_P

I saw some time ago a newspaper article about this and it basically said what you did, that children in north America nowadays don't mature until they are in their mid-thirties.

From my completely biased viewpoint I'd tend to agree.

iaink

When do they leave home? Is it just that they stay home till they can afford their own place? I dont think thats unique to north america?

dbd33

To the extent that the parents have more disposable income here, are willing to spend it on their children and have children able to take advantage of that, it's better for the children here. For example, my educable children were able to graduate debt free (well, one degree each, I aint made of money that grew on trees), something that I doubt would have been possible in the UK.

In the absence of those conditions I think it's a wash.

Lemi

Really? Just going by posts read on here that seldom seems to be the case. Plus, "stuff" for kids to do out here invariably appears to involve the outlay of large wads of dosh.

dbd33

If it's not the case it's not at all obvious why people come. I think salaries comparable to those at home combined with cheap housing make it true for most posters.

Well yes, children are expensive, but I don't know that they're more expensive here than there. If you stay clear of winter sports and don't have sickly children I'd think the running costs about the same. The big cost, education, has historically been lower in the UK but that's less and less the case. The one clearly greater cost in Canada is giving them all cars, something that can be avoided by living near a subway station.

Boy d

wow, quite a generalization......

jericho

Well, we actually did move to Canada for our children. And I couldnt give a rats ass what anyone else thinks about it.