My girlfriend is Canadian and I am English, we lived in London which she hated and now I am not enjoying living here in Vancouver. But she thinks the lifestyle and prospects in Vancouver are better than in London, for the future I.e. Kids and retirement. I mainly miss my family, friends and job (surprisingly). I have no friends here that I have clicked with and although I have 12years electrical experience in the UK, I had to take an apprentice job to get in the door after trying for 3months to no avail. I need help with the biggest decision of my life, because I am so bored here and think the Canadian social side is very boring compared to London.
All Advice gratefully received

Go back to London.

+1

On what grounds? Explanations and opinions always help when making decisions

Is she serious?

First of all you have a population of around 8 million in London rather than approx. 600K here. London is major economic centre in the heart of Europe while Vancouver is a smallish place on the edge of nowhere. London is one the cultural capitals of the world and comparatively there's not a lot of culture here.

Go back home.

On the grounds that you don't seem to like it here. Going back is the obvious choice in that situation.

There's obviously more to it than just moving back.

You have a girlfriend, and she has opinions too.

Question is, if neither of you are happy in the other's home country, will you ever be really happy together?

It's a tough choice, but either you love her enough to shut up and get on with it, or you make the painfull decision to move back home, with or without her.

Relationships need compromise I'm afraid.

Depends on how much you love your GF i suppose and could you live 5000 miles away from her?

My husband has 20+ years experience being Sparky but has also had to take job as fourth year apprentince but once he has completed the IPC he can challenge Red Seal and be Journeyman.
I was an Intensive Care Nurse in the UK and i'm currently working in retail
it will take about 2 years to be up to Canadian standard but as were expecting it will probably take longer than that
We have to make some sacrifices to make life work together, but as long as you have each other than surely you can make things work out and be happy?!

I thought London was about a square mile.

Sit down together, collaborate on a list of pros and cons for each city, and make a decision. Make sure you understand her feelings and she understands yours.

Different people have very good reasons for loving or hating both cities for many different reasons. You just have to decide on the reasons that matter.

Sorry to hear about the job situation though, that sucks. Vancouver is a very popular place to live so the job market in many fields is over saturated with people looking for work.

How attached are you to your girlfriend? That seems to be the crux of the matter.

I expect they are and, if you're ready to focus on retirement, Vancouver seems like the place to be.

I have lived in both and would happily raise kids in either. Vancouver is amazing for the lifestyle and outdoor beauty it offers and would've amazing place to raise children. London is the coolest city on earth and I love it but now that we have 2 small kids we rarely get to enjoy it like we used to. Depends on what is important to you and your future plans x

I've been here over 7 years. I much preferred working in London except for the long commutes.

There might be better prospects for retirement but not if you can't get your career re-ignited and have a decent income. It might be a better place to retire to once you've finished working though. Lifestyle? Depends what you want. Each city offers something the other doesn't have. I agree it's boring socially compared to London.