Wet and dreary just like the UK

Yes, i find the weather here for late fall and much of winter is very similar to manchester - although the rest of the year is ight years better.

Ive been around Vancouver which doesnt really have extremes does it. My cousin however lived in Williams Lake BC where the cold and snow was legendary LOL

I get the impression you haven't yet started the process, if so, do you realise how long it takes. It took us 2 1/2 years from application to getting the visas and seemingly it is now taking longer.

Is it worth it yes, even if it fails at least you have tried. there is so much here for people compared to back in the UK. It definitely feels more family orientated.

Many people think you go abroad for a cheaper lifestyle, when in reality it is a better lifestyle. I certainly do not find the main essentials cheaper - food, heating, clothes etc - but houses depending on the location are, cars and gas.

Go for it, what do you have to lose - there is so much freedom here. It is an expensive process though - from your application, landing fee and set up costs - money just runs out your hands like water - but for happiness sake it is more than worth it - I just read the UK news and know I have done the right thing.

Good luck!!!!

(Not necessarily in that order)

At the moment they are doing a special project to fast track software engineer applications so I guess it isn't going to take to long once a job is found, Unless my info is wrong I understand my OH could be out there in a matter of weeks on a TWP. just seems a bit scary. There are obviously things I dont know, like health care, taxes etc. As you say Im right at the start of looking at this as a chance to change our lives.

I find the heath care great - and have used it both in NB and Ontario. The emergency doctor service is fab and i have been many times with my little ones, hospitals have long waiting times just like the UK but give excellent service.

It can be hard to get a personal doctor (but not a dentist - 10 a penny!). You just have to keep checking the web sites for doctors who are accepting patients, or calling them up or more importantly word of mouth!!

We have always had medical cover via our work and just pay a small percentage once a year towards costs ($25), plus payroll deductions - other people though advise me they pay out a lot for their prescriptions etc. For example under my health cover I get 100% prescription costs, and $400 eye cover per person every 2 years. I find eye exams expensive, around $75 - 80 and this as far as I am aware not covered. For a family we will pay around $280 per month - although this varies greatly with each company - we only get 30% discount on the total cost.

I would certainly log on to all the different employment sites to see what is listed and what the job descriptor says about requirements. We got told my husband would have no problem - ex-forces, mid-senior level management positions and a PhD in Micro Electronics. He ended up in a call centre - but with us now moving to Ontario we hope he can get a better job. Why when the immigration office accepts your educational credentials as proof of your ability you then find employers what Canadian equivalency papers is beyond me or Canadian certification which is both expensive and time consuming.

It really depends on your luck - many people have been there at the right time, right place and landed wonderful jobs, others have struggled even though they knock on doors, join clubs etc. They say you make your own luck but it can be soul destroying to keep getting knock backs - the important thing is to keep looking on the positive - enjoy the surroundings while you have the freedom of not working, because another fault here is the lack of holidays. Canadians certainly make the most of their free time and definitely utilise weekends whereas back in the UK this was either laundry or shopping time - here in Canada weekends are clubs, hiking, family you name just not household tasks. Live life and live it to the full.

Thanks for you info, its all very helpful. Did you go out there before your OH had a job offer then?

NO, we all landed together in April 2007. We had tried applying for jobs for months prior to landing as we had our visas from end of 2006 but had no luck - we had tried all over Canada - particularly Ontario, Alberta and NB.

It took him 2 months to get the first call centre job, which he left after 6 months to go to another call centre as it was slightly better paid. We had a terrible time with employers in NB - tooooo long a story but many were so rude.

I eventually got a job in Aug 2008 in London and the organization were very good in allowing me to do two telephone interviews and then a final skype interview as there was no way I could afford to fly down as flights here are sooooo expensive and it was over 1700 Kilometers to drive. I started at the end of September 2007. We had already put our house on the market in May 2008, but is has only just sold this week - another long story - 50% economy - 50% really bad realtor (who finally admitted on being fired he couldn't be bothered answering the phone!!). My husband will finally after 11 months be rejoining us - now if anyone says they find emigrating hard - try living apart for 11 months working full time with two young kids (3 & 8) while your husband is in another province earning crap money and you are paying both rent and mortgage plus double bills - even those problems have not put us off!!!

It's just not all that easy for a while...it's a gradual process and it does take time getting used to the new lifestyle. I like it here as does my partner, I wouldn't say we necessarily do more than we did in the UK, but the opportunity is there (if we can afford to).

As for things being cheaper, I actually don't find that they are, some food is about the same price as the UK and some is more, we usually spend about $80 a week on groceries for the two of us. Car insurance is about the same as what we were paying back home, petrol is cheaper, rent around the same, houses around the same (depending where you live). Also we drove Volvos back home and pretty much couldn't afford one here so ended up buying a Jeep Cherokee, we also wanted a classic Mini here as we also had those back home but again we laughed at the prices here.

Jobs, well my other half had a pre-arranged job, I tried to look before we came here but it wasn't all that easy considering we didn't know which area of Edmonton we were gonna settle in so I'm still on the lookout unfortunately having only really had the option of commissioned car sales or no guaranteed hours at a supermarket. I am finally insured on a car though and we now have two cars so it has gotten alot easier.

Don't come here thinking it's gonna be the best thing ever and everything is gonna be perfect as it won't for a while...we've been here 6 months and we're still trying to get into order with everything but we now really like it and are comfortable...I still miss the little things about Northern Ireland and my friends and family but I realise I'm probably better off here when I look at how crappy things are in the UK at the minute.

Is it worth it? Well I would say yes but it just all takes time to get used to everything and get everything into line.

Just to correct this, SW applications are now only taking 6-12 months to be processed under the new system.

A member of BE just got her SW visa within 5 months of applying.

So it's much, much quicker these days anyway, and the OP is planning on going via TWP which will probably only take 6-12 months too.

People with have different experiences when moving abroad, there are really too many variables to generalize. Also some move for adventure and the experience of it all, while some have more of an escapist attitude, believing that they are heading abroad for a better life, again what qualifies as being a better life is highly subjective. Then there are those of us that ended up here by chance and never had a real plan to come here.

Attitude and expectations are everything but you have to be truly honest with yourself and examine what you will be losing and what you will be gaining in a move across the pond.

As you have likely learned, standard of living is much the same here as in the UK and assuming you are earning much the same then financially you will be in the same boat. Quality of life, which again is highly subjective, may be better, but is it worth the sacrifices?

No easy answer I'm afraid, those that tend to fair better are those that view it as an adventure and leave the possibiliy of moving on as option.

Was it worth it for me? God yes.

Good Luck

I am pleased to see that the process has got faster but on checking the following:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/informa...nal/01-all.asp

it still quotes:
Processing Times at 30% of cases finalized in:
Individual Visa
Offices in Europe

London 31

Why not chocolate, cake and shoes

Yes, but those figures are (a) old (last year and previous, before system was changed; and (b) averages. They won't yet include those who have applied under the new system, but only those who applied prior to the changes, many of whom are still waiting for PR 3 years later despite the newer applicants receiving PR within months!

CIC have said that anybody that applies under the new system (since Oct 2008) will be processed within 6-12 months, and so far they're sticking to that and most seem to be being processed well within six months.