brizzle

I am based in surburban Vancouver. Part of my problem is that I am here for family reasons and never had a desire or dream to live here. It can be a nice place to live especially if you love certain outdoor activities and can afford to live in one of the more central locations. Trouble is the lack of decent, interesting jobs. I'm working in a job, I was doing 10-15yrs ago. Outside of downtown, there are possibly one or two areas that have any life or soul.

If I were you I'd give it a year or two, it may grow on you. For me, I love my football/cricket, pubs, history, quality tv, culture and travel to Europe. Been away too long and would rather be in the UK than here

pinkkristen

your last sentance could have been written by my husband! All the best!

jonfrank123

We have recently returned to the UK from Canada. While I have nothing against Canada, since moving back our lives have improved imeasurably. Our Social life, money situation, and accomodation are far better now than they were in Canada.

It's also the little things. In our suburb of Montreal, Canada I could ring the doctor as an emergency and not get an appointment for a week. I rang my local surgery for a non urgent appointment here in Oxfordshire and got to see the doctor on the same evening. Our prescription charges are far, far cheaper now we are in the UK. The saving is almost £150 per month!! Even our weekly supermarket shop is less than half the price we paid in Canada.

We will certainly back to visit Canada as that's where my wife's parents live, but for us living in the UK wins hands down.

sans

Nice to hear your all settled and pleased to be back
I've been saying that the grocery shopping was dearer in Canada for the last 2 yrs and got shot down in flames every time lols...So pleased i'm not on my own anymore

Just curious...how do you compare the utiities and car insurance to what you use to pay?????

jonfrank123

Hi Sans

Thanks for that!! At the risk of sounding repetitive I pay a lot less on Car insurance in Oxfordshire than I did in Quebec. However I do live in a quite Cotswold Village, I reckon you could double my premium if I was back in North London.

Whilst it's true Natural Gas is more expensive in the UK than Canada, you need to use a lot more of it there due to the minus 30 degree winters so overall bills are lower in the UK. As for council tax, it's very similar in both countries.

sans

Mmm i was on VI..so didn't get the winters, still paid out more a mth on utilities, we was mostly electric heating. I've been paying £160ish a mth here lately for gas/elec/phone and internet. Altho i think my council tax is extortionate here at £1823 for a 4 bed detached, i paid $4075 in Canada for a 4 bed detached , admittedly it had ocean view .

pinkkristen

i have to agree the shopping bills have increased even though i use about 3 different places to shop in! Which is a pain in the backside dragging little ones around!! Oh and don't even get me started on the cost of a pint in a pub and wine in LCBO!!!

sans

The cost of living out there on Canadian money is so different to reccy-ing on british £s I think lots of us have got sucked in with that one, but you can never truely know until you have actually done it.

dingbat

Just been down in the States for three days. I was really surprised at how much groceries have gone up there since last year. Beer is still cheap, so all was not lost.

dboy

I too don't care for the spralwing residential developments that make up much of north america. Row after row of over sized houses with replicated strip malls with stock tim hortons, rogers video, subway etc. Although they are very efficient, they lack real livability. I lived in coquitlam for about 6 months (not sure why) and did n't care for the place. It was like living in the middle of a shopping mall.

However, I do like living in vancouver proper where the neighbours are very unique and very livable, close to the beach and many independent stores as well as the convenience of stock stores. I can find absolutely everything I need within a short walk, be ti cafes, bars restaurants, banks, supermarkets, cinemas etc. It is this lifestyle that I'm drawn to, however, as brizzle rightly points out it may not be doable for all given cost etc

betty2009

Im moving back to the UK next week and can't wait. Personally I find it quite dull here in the Lower Mainland and I don't believe there are too many prospects (academically or professionally). Im glad for the experience though!

brizzle

I live in Coquitlam I think that I get a different experience to those that are able to live more centrally. Thing that pee's me off is that I could really afford to buy in UK/Van after 2002, but didn't get to visit the UK enough to be able to buy a place and didn't know I'd end up marrying someone from here and then return later. If hindsight prevailed I'd have bought something in Van, but it was too expensive before I knew it. Van can be great place if everything falls into place right, but it it don't necessarily always happens that way.

brizzle

Me too. I think it depends on what field you are in, but it ain't easy for sure. Vancouver is way, way, way overrated and honestly, it's getting so much more crowded and expensive, that'll it end up putting people off. The original appeal of the place and the subsequent movement of 100's of thousands of people here will kill the golden goose. Really most days, I could be living in Hong Kong or similar for the amount of English being spoken. At least there, I probably be earning a decent salary.

sans

Is that like nipping over to france for cheap booze ....Mind i think that bubble has burst, from what i hear people saying.

To be honest "D" we would of never been able to afford a trip anywhere on the money we had coming in...
And now we just nip to tesco's or Morrisons for cheap wine and beer

dboy

Ah now i know why you are such a miserable bugger. When I speak of Vancouver i tend to omit the metro areas and think only of Vancouver proper. The reasons I enjoy living here don't really apply out of the city. I have zero desire to live out of the city with the exception of one or two places. The experince of living in metro vancouver's burbs is completely different to the lifestyle of living in the city. I find life, for the most part, deathly dull out in the burbs.

I too met a Canadian and ended up here by chance. We actually met in San Diego when I worked for the cruise lines. I knew very little about Canada and even less if anything about BC/Vancouver. Funny how life conspires against you. The prospects of a crap job, low pay and a house in Coquitlam would not be overly appealing to me and would defeat the reasons that I enjoy living here. I would rather rent downtown than own out in the burbs. Easy for me to say since I only have me to worry about.