Help with thoughts of moving back from Canada
 

Hello everyone, I have posted here sometime ago regarding moving back. Well still here in Canada but thoughts of going home have never really left me. My situation has drastically changed this time about. My hubby has been in and out of work and now works at a very poor paying job with no benefits to speak of. I have now lost my job after trying a new job that didn't work out. I am working with a nursing agency making good money but unfortunately the work is very unstable as far as availability. I also have no benefits. We have two boys, 10 and 14. We have financial issues looming large and I am worried on a regular basis if we are going to go under especially with no benefits. I am one serious illness away from bankruptcy. Anyway, both hubby and I are Brit citizens and I have my UK registration to practice in UK. So making the assumption there wouldn't be much red tape, but please correct me if I am wrong. Secondly, if we are going to make this move want to go back before my oldest boy gets any older, as it is he does NOT want to go back. But we are telling him it may be necessary. Lastly, if you read my previous posts you will see that I have always wanted to return to the UK even in good times. It is like an Oprah thing, I don't feel we are living our authentic lives until we return to the UK.
Should mention that after my original posts in 2007 we did try a move to Northern Manitoba for awhile both having really good jobs up there, we moved everything up and scaled back to a small rental and very little to spend money on as we were living extremely remote. Lasted a year as the culture wasn't for us and no amount of money is going to change that. Again back to square one in South Ontario, just helped prove to me that no amount of money is going to create our happiness.
I would appreciate any info good or bad that can be offered. Such as UK economic situation, work, help, schools, we are also want to bring our dog with us.
Please help
Mandy

Re: Help with thoughts of moving back from Canada
 

Maybe you should make 2011 your year and stop all this indecision. Having read some of your previous posts my basic advice to you would be to "shit or get off the pot". If you're in a position to work in nursing in the UK you'll have regular employment; regardless of the promised NHS cutbacks. Even your husband would probably find better paid labouring work in the UK.

Start to put repatriation plans together. Have you got sufficient finances to make the move now or would you need to save? Has your dog got a pet passport (or equivalent) or would he/she need to go into quarantine? You'll need to think about the associated costs of this.

Nobody can say you didn't give this your best shot. It just didn't work out, there's no shame in that. As you'll be aware lots of people who post here have made their return to the UK and recommenced successful (and happy) lives. You owe it to yourself to hold the same ambition.

Re: Help with thoughts of moving back from Canada
 

Looking for a country that isn't in recession, where you could get a temp 457visa, valid for four years, within a few months, where they desperately want nurses?

Try Australia.

Re: Help with thoughts of moving back from Canada
 

The OP said:

Doesn't seem like Australia would be a good fit ;)

To the OP I would just say that your question is a little too broad to answer. You seem to be asking about everything from what you should do, to how you get your pet home, to where you can find a job.

Maybe do some searching on this site. I have found answers to pretty much all my questions on here.

Re: Help with thoughts of moving back from Canada
 

Hi Mandy
You didn't say how long you have been in Canada. I moved back to the UK after being in Canada for 30 years!!. What a culture shock. It took a while for me to get back into the UK way of life and accept the way they do things here. I found the whole process infuriating and incompetent.
Fortunately I was on my own so the issues I had to deal with were mine and mine alone. Having a family presents you with many hurdles to jump. Life here is good but only if you have money and a good job. Life in Canada is FAR BETTER especially for your sons. The UK is a violent nation within the cities (I know as I was with Manchester Police before I retired 3 years ago).
Gasoline is the equiv of $2.20 a litre, car tax annually $500 per year, yearly MOT $100 plus insurance another $400 per year. and that's just for having a CAR.
Jobs are tough to find here and there are massive cut backs presently by the Government with many losing jobs. If you are over 50 finding work here is tough and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Housing costs here are astronomical compared to Canada and renting is also expensive. Housing in London is the equiv of $500,000 for starters and prices go up. Renting a home for 4 would run about £600 ($1000) per month outside London.
I moved back as I say on my own and had a job to come to. I was lucky.
Don't get me wrong, I have no regret moving back as I live in a small cottage near the sea in Cornwall but away from all the crap in the big cities.
I do miss Canada and visit twice per year to Toronto to see my family.
Do yourself a favour, think hard about moving back to ol blighty. Ride the wave and take my advice...stay in Canada...you are far better off trust me and your son's deserve their Canadian upbringing. You are a nurse and work should be easy for you. In the UK you would have had to keep your UK RN registration up to date to work here.
Have a Tim Hortons double double for me will you?

Re: Help with thoughts of moving back from Canada
 

Go with your heart. I have been in Canada for 5 years and would get on a plane tomorrow but my boys are 15 and 17 and it is the wrong time. Find somewhere nice to live in UK. There are loads of nice places and think of all the great things about GREAT Britain. Pubs, fish and chips,green grass, theatre, tv dramas, friendly old ladies in tesco, lovely coleslaw,humour, architecture oohhh I could go on and on. Good luck:fingerscrossed:

Re: Help with thoughts of moving back from Canada
 

I don't think it's a given that the OPs sons will be better off in Canada. It depends on so many factors. Being poor in Canada is as bad a place as being poor in the UK, possible worse as the safety net has a lot more holes in it. Education can be excellent in the UK, and there are a lot more interesting things to do within short distances.

I thought nurses were in demand everywhere, Mandy (I don't know anything about keeping up qualifications.) What are your husband's chances of getting good work in the UK. Things are tight here, but people are getting jobs.

The unemployment rate in Canada is 7.6%
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/subjects-su...fs-epa-eng.htm
The unemployment rate in the UK is 7.9%
http://www.hrmguide.co.uk/jobmarket/unemployment.htm

Bev

Re: Help with thoughts of moving back from Canada
 

I agree. My boys education is no better off in Canada and actually the kids that they went to school with back in UK are doing slightly better. I live in Kelowna BC and the work ethic here is not good. There are a lot of rich kids here that party hard. I wish we had chosen somewhere else to live in Canada. It has the best weather, and we just didnt think we could do the harsh winters and baking summers anywhere else in Canada. Even the Canadians here in Kelowna moan about the rest of the country, especially Edmonton for some reason. Kelowna is the most expensive place in Canada to live. The wages are so low. We definately had a better standard of living in Uk and even had 2 holidays a year in Europe some years. I have had 1 holiday in 5 years. There is also a safety net in uk. If you lose your job in Canada you are stuffed. Me and my OH both have jobs but we struggle every month to make ends meet. In UK i didnt work for 10 years. Stayed at home looked after kids. I lived in a nice place in UK. Not much crime and friendly people and lots to do. So OP just do it before its too late for your kids.

Re: Help with thoughts of moving back from Canada
 

I hardly think that most people's lives in England are as violent as what you saw every day as a police officer. Most of my friends live in Manchester and none have been the victims of violent crime. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, just saying that your perspective is skewed because of your job and doesn't reflect every day life for the people I know.

Also I note that you say life is good for you because you live in a nice place ... why can't the OP do the same?

I have Canadian and UK citizenship, spent 6 years in Toronto, and when I leave the US, nothing could make me choose Canada over the UK.

The differences in perspective just go to show that one man's ceiling is another man's floor and no one can give you the right advice. Only you know what's right for you.

Re: Help with thoughts of moving back from Canada
 

Agreed. I have been victim of crime here in Canada (3 times car broken into) in 5 years of living here compared to no victim of crime in UK in 39 years of living there and i live in quite an affluent area here (even though i cant afford it). Why do you not like Canada?

Re: Help with thoughts of moving back from Canada
 

Hi

posted something similar on a different site, we are in much the same boat except our children are a lot younger.
Been in London for 7 years, have a nice way of life alough much quieter than the one we had back when we lived in Glasgow.

We are taking our time to reach the decision to go back, it holds fears for all of us there is pros and cons on both sides.

I have an enjoyed the lifestyle that canada can give the extra space in our home, but it cannot fill the things that we miss the most and family is a good a reason as any to return.
As our parents age, they will have limited opportunities to see us.
With canadian holidays and salaries its difficult to take our family home for visits.

we have decided to take our time and make the decision as a family and I know I could go back and I go settle back in, that would be the challenge as it was when we first came here.

But back home we are rich in family and friends and I think work opportunities would be easier to find as i have friends in the same field.

Lots to mull over the coming weeks, hopefully we reach the right decision and it brings a happier life for our families......................I could live in a smaller place and be happier if I could have everyone back in my life again.
we wanted to come and live in canada, it has been good to us in many ways but I think i am ready to go home..............No shame in that.
good luck in your decision.

Someone quoted that sometimes when you go back you have a greater appreciation for what you have missed and many of us can be happier and live happily that we at least experienced a new country.

All the best for 2011. Happy New year !

Re: Help with thoughts of moving back from Canada
 

Well said. Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:thumbsup:

Re: Help with thoughts of moving back from Canada
 

It's not that I actively dislike it - I just prefer the UK. I lived in Toronto, which is a great city but which meant a drop in standard of living from the UK because everything was so expensive. Still, we liked the city ... in the summer. The winters were just way too brutal for me. And I also found Canadians hard to get to know. When we moved to the US, it was like a breath of fresh air in that Americans are so upfront and honest. In Canada, we had a lot of surface relationships but no real friends.

Don't get me wrong though - I am not badmouthing Canada. There was lots to love - the Blue Jays, the Toronto waterfront, the market, Queen Street ... But when we decided to move from here because of the US healthcare situation, we both agreed very quickly that we prefer the UK. I spoke up only because one poster was so adamant that the UK couldn't stack up to Canada and that's not my experience.

Re: Help with thoughts of moving back from Canada
 

Understood and I agree:)

Re: Help with thoughts of moving back from Canada
 

Well I know nothing of Canada but I do know a fair bit about the UK. I only got back here to Australia in April 2010 and will be going back next month to England to live for good.

I spent a year in the UK and honestly I didn't see any crime nor was I a victim of it, however I did read a lot about it in the newspapers and saw some very strange people on The Jeremy Kyle Show.

I am sure it does exist, just like it exists in most countries in the world whether it is worse in the UK than anywhere else I don't know, I can only speak from my own experience. I suppose if you are going to live in a sink estate then you will have a very different experience from somebody living in a nice town or suburb.

I will tell you something that my 38 year old daughter told me last week. When we emigrated to Australia, she was 9 and her brother was 6. She said some of her happiest childhood memories are when we lived in England and she had her cousins and grand-parents around her and to think I took my kids away from all that to give them a "better life" living over here with no other family or family support.

I wish I knew then what I know now, of just how important extended family are to young children.