Originally Posted by Jules Europe

Personally I`d sooner freeze my nuts off in Ontario and be financially comfortable than to struggle in Vancouver.

Originally Posted by gmralston

Now I have never been to Milton Keynes but I want to know what makes it so depressing? I myself have to chose a new place to live when I return next year and on paper (so to speak) Milton Keynes is fine, it's got those redways so you don't walk next the roads and it's got cycle ways for the kids. The photos I have seen look fine, nice lakes lots of parks, it's got a good town centre, good shopping, employment does not seem a big problem and crime rates are no higher than average. No traffic jams and plenty of concerts held there too. Someone coming from North America may fit in to Milton Keynes quite nice. I will be visiting in March so maybe I will see for myself what these problems are, and if it's just because there are too many roundabouts and too much concrete then I can see this place being in my shortlist.

Originally Posted by Jules Europe

The problem with Milton Keynes is, that it is anti-UK as in it has no nice old buildings, no nice churches, no nice historical buildings or nice victorian houses etc. In fact it is very north american with its town planning and shopping centres etc and the dreaded roundabouts make it worse. In fact if you want to see anything old or historical, you have to go somewhere nearby like Northampton etc. Its probably a great place to visit for shopping and probably to work but I wouldn`t want to live there. I believe it came about because a lot of businesses relocated there from London, as the premises they could get there were a lot cheaper than London.

Originally Posted by gmralston

Well that is what I suspected and that kind of thing is not really a problem to us. We are living in country with very poor infrastructure at the moment so we find the idea of a planned town quite appealing.

But if anyone would like to share their experiences with this town, I am interested on hearing them. As I say we have not been yet, only passed through on the train a few times.

Originally Posted by gmralston

Well that is what I suspected and that kind of thing is not really a problem to us. We are living in country with very poor infrastructure at the moment so we find the idea of a planned town quite appealing.

But if anyone would like to share their experiences with this town, I am interested on hearing them. As I say we have not been yet, only passed through on the train a few times.

Originally Posted by OurStory

Hi All,

Well I think me and my family are destined to return to UK from Vancouver very soon in the new year. At this point we would have been here a few years. Homesickness is NOT so much the problem as far as I'm concerned. Being sick of our situation in Vancouver IS very much the issue. I won't paraphrase my other recent posts but you're welcome to look these up.

So what has pushed me to this decision? Well a number of factors, any of which would have been justification on their own. The key two are (1) my work situation and (2) my family's state of mind and mental health.

Making this decision is not easy because there's always an unknown element. We've been away from Britain a relatively short period of time and on a recent visit back we all found it a breath of fresh air. One concern is my children's education although they are quite young still. Moving back to Britain means another major readjustment as my kids were never in UK schools when we moved out.

We're all pretty frustrated with our experience here. We're not "Losers" and don't have bad attitudes or blind to cultural differences or any other offensive remarks we've received from some people, sadly on this forum. The reality for us of living in Vancouver was very different to what we had come to expect and we had been researching for several years before we came out, so we felt we'd done as much as we could to prepare ourselves and assure ourselves as to what we were doing.

We were debating whether to hang in so we accumulate enough days to apply for citizenship, which would at least give us the option of coming back here to retire or for our kids to move out when they're older. But it's a big sacrifice on OUR wellbeing.

The other frustration is with my work. Before I came out I was a highly reputed professional in my field. I have not only failed to build this in Vancouver but as we're financially starved, I'm having difficulties finding work which doesn't even come close to meeting our living costs, in areas I would have never considered before. I have applied for any opportunity I see and have not even raised a flipping interview! And why does nobody ever advertise the stupid salary or rate here. Do companies really think people join Faceless Corp Inc because thy always wanted to work for them. People need money and if I see job ads without salary ranges specified, this says that they're not paying enough, so why waste anyone's time?! At the same time I still get job postings for UK job sites and in the time I've been here, my profession (which was relatively unknown) has boomed. Even entry level positions are well paid. This is handy because I feel like taking a position which is at least a couple of levels below where I'd normally be aiming, so that I can hopefully become gainfully employed without feeling like I'm struggling to remain in the shoes I've chosen.

I hear people going on about UK economy and how it's going to come off bad. But all the people I know there are doing really well and I believe Britain has always had strong politicians who come up with innovative solutions to problems. The Canadian government and opposition are just plain embarrassing. And with the whole world in economic turmoil, do I want to remain in a place that just follows every other country, but 10 years behind? Do I want to remain here in a place where I have to place a cost of my kid's lives because I cannot afford to match the medical coverage and certainties I'd have in the UK? Do I want to be in a place which has crazy levels of poverty and high taxation? A place that seems to be all take and no give. Where nobody seems to give a shite about anyone else? I'm not a moron and yet I wake up every day devastated by the decision that I made for my family, hoping that I haven't blown any chance of putting it right.

We're already planning on our return and one thing that shocked us is that it's almost as difficult as our original immigration. Despite knowing many parts of UK and having lived in some of these, choosing where to live comes down to many factors like lifestyle, community, work and opportunity, schools, climate and leisure.

Most of my work would be in larger cities, especially London. So living within commutable distance of the capital would be highly desirable. I often need to travel to other cities in UK and abroad, so being near an airport would help too, especially one served by easyJet. One such place, that I have never lived in but was thinking of it in the past, is Milton Keynes. I think although the place probably deserves some of the bad press associated with it, it's largely underrated and relatively affordable compared with most places. The only thing is that it's not an easy or reasonably priced commute to the Capital. There is a lot to do there. And as the new part is a North American style plan, it doesn't seem to suffer many of the problems that overloaded routes in the rest of Britain suffer. It also seems to have quite a bit of employment closer to hand with many Head Offices being based there. Ok ok I sound like I did 5 years ago, convincing myself to move to Vancouver, but the difference is that I do know the MK area quite well. Without having employment lined up in advance it would appear to be a good risk compared with plonking ourselves somewhere nearer London but 3 times the price, or out in a cheap nice area but then being distant from work. In contrast I'm finding Vancouver is like the worst of both these scenarios.

Just wondering what other people's experiences are with MK or moving back to UK. I don't think my family want us to which might sound really odd to most people. But my family sucks big style. They just don't want to have to help us out if we need it, although their lack of support (emotional and financial) while we've been in Canada is in part why we're now in the crap and wasted emotionally. And it's painful because we've always been able to stand on our own feet, but my sibling has lived off them for years.

It's good to see some 'good news' stories on the BE site. While I don't miss family I do miss British people and all of the many good things about the country that out-weigh (in my opinion) the bad. If times are going to get worse, I think Canada is going to become a very bad place to be based. And while Britain may not be the best place on earth (and it doesn't claim to be on its vehicle licence plates!), living in Vancouver has certainly made us wake up to how good life really is in Britain, and how much more we want to be there.

I'd welcome comments or responses to some of the questions above. Thank you.

Originally Posted by Danny B

Look I didn't come here to pick a fight and put you down, how can I possibly give you advice when your circumstances are unknown. How can you be near bankruptcy with substantial equity in your home? Wouldn't they just auction it and give back the bank what you owe on your mortgage?

By downsizing I meant selling your current place to free up some cash and then buy (or rent) a smaller place. Houses are selling, albeit slowly and for 30% less than this time last year, but that's the world over not just here.

My Wife works in Canadian Tire earning $8.50hr, she is friends with people who are a Husband & Wife team ie- both working at Canadian Tire earning minimum wage. They have 2 kids, rent a place to live, have one car and the other takes the bus. I don't mean to sounds patronising, but living on a low wage can be done, not everyone in Vancouver earns $70k+. The question is, would you work in a shop earning minimum wage until you found a suitable job?

Some people have this thing about being a qualified professional and doing a job which to them is beneath them, the best thing to do is get out there and network. You still haven't said what it is you do, who knows, someones Husband / Wife working at a shop could be looking for someone in your profession right now. Over here it's all about who you know, not what you know.

I'm sorry if I upset you, it wasn't my intent, believe me I do know exactly how you feel. Your job in Vancouver will come...eventually. You'll look back on these times and remind yourself how strong you were.

I would hate to see you pack everything in, move back to the UK and be stuck in the same situation as you are in now. I wouldn't even contemplate moving back there (UK) until early 2010.

Whatever you decide, good luck