Elnino05

christmasoompa

Lots of people have, I will move your thread to the Moving Back to the UK section of the forum, where you're likely to get more responses. You can also search both forums to find relevant threads from others who've been in the same situation.

Good luck.

Elnino05

getoutofbritainquick

We feel the same way living on Vancouver Island and will be moving back to the UK when my youngest finishes high school in just over 3 years or maybe sooner. Nice in places but cost of living is way out of control and people hear don't care about what they destroy or how they do it. This place is so corrupt its embarrassing. Common sense does not exist here and people are not willing to stand up to the few people that run everything probably due to the fear of reprisals especially if they have a business etc. The are some really good informative posts from on the Back to UK forum. Does not work for everyone but most are really objective.

Elnino05

rivingtonpike

part of this is perhaps coloured by where you came from in the UK. We moved from South West London so the cost of living on Vancouver Island is not prohibitive compared to what we left behind.

chasingsun

we are in the process, I'm british, partner is Canadian and kids are dual. I am.so.unhappy with the educaton system in ontario and what is being cut out. As a family moving back will be good for us, I've been here 15 years and kids were born here, but they see uk as home more than canada, plus family being close, cousins...

Elnino05

ann m

Elnino05

getoutofbritainquick

Not really we originally came from Kent. I used to manage London for National Grid and are well aware of London costs which are not representative of elsewhere in the UK. London also pays big wages as well. Those that can't afford to live in London commute. Just a warning to anyone thinking of moving to BC, I still have most of our bills since we arrived in BC. They have at least doubled in 10 years and shows no signs of abatement. In fact costs seem to be accelerating and wages are static. What has really opened my eyes since we moved to the Island is who runs the place. A lot of people here are scared to say anything for fear of reprisals. I am sure you are aware of Langford and who runs the place (and the Province). Check out the voting stats in the last election for Langford. Out of 26,000 eligible voters the Mayor got elected with around 3600 votes (probably most of his employees). Yes, he also has most of his businesses all over town as well. We didn't vote because there were no different choices from the last election. Exactly the same people got elected with a turnout of around 18%. This is the place the Mayor lets his developer buddies do exactly as they like. I don't think there is one part of the Municipality that is not being dug up or forests being destroyed. I met a guy from your neck of the woods in Mill Bay not so long ago and he is an Engineer who has worked in the Municipality recently. He said the same thing. But what was worse he said he couldn't believe the short cuts that were being taken during construction.
We are thinking of retiring shortly and are looking at relative costs between here and the UK. My family and I are hoping to retire to Cornwall or Devon and have checked out the relative costs with my brother who lives in Plymouth - a lot of things are far less than what we are paying here for just about everything. Most of my work colleagues are also complaining about the cost of living, something I have not heard of since we arrived in BC. Even these people who have lived here all of their lives think this is unsustainable.

Moses2013

Be aware that many people all over Europe feel the same about cost of living. Salaries can be very low in the UK too, so Plymouth might not be cheap for the worker either. It's different if you are retired and have a good pension and I agree that Canada is bloody expensive:-). I would say that over the last 10 years many things have doubled in price in Europe too.

getoutofbritainquick

We would be financially independent in our retirement which is why we are choosing the SW area of the UK in a way its very similar to VI scenery. The wife would leave tomorrow if we had the chance and I have to agree with her. We are so disappointed with what we have seen here in BC. My other British friends on the LM are also considering returning due to to similar issues. The last time we visited the UK it was the first time we didn't want to come back to Canada.

shelley748

feelbritish

We left after 15 years on Vancouver Island. The place we moved to in Comox Valley eventually became unrecognizable from the valley we saw and loved! Mostly Albertans retiring and with them their large houses in new housing estates, attitudes and West Jet flying in! The cost of living had increased and friendships for me were of no depth. In the end I persuaded hubby to come back to UK. I had to wait patiently 3 years but in that time I did a lot of research. We moved back into our house we kept here and rented out but are now selling up and also moving to the West Country! We can look back on some lovely memories and pictures of our life there. It was great for the first 10 years! We are also both Canadian. We also could not see ourselves retiring in Canada!