gotoronto

I never actually thought I'd be on this forum, especially not after only having moved to Toronto 2 months ago. We put our lives on hold in the UK, we sat in the queue forever, then upped and moved when the visas came through. I had lived in Toronto for a year as a student and I absolutely loved it...

Now that we are here, we find that Toronto is not all that different from London. The disturbing thing is that when weighing up the pros and cons, neither place comes out on top. The big plus in Toronto is that we could afford somewhere decent to live (once I find work), which we could not in London. The big plus in London is that I'd be able to find work much easier and would not have to go through the pain of requalifying in my profession.

People keep telling me to "stick it out" and that I am giving up to easily, but I have been told that even Canadian-qualified people in my profession in Toronto have to wait 6-12 months to get a job these days... . That's a bit too long in my mind! I suppose if Toronto was really a lot better than London, perhaps it would be easier to wait and to fight for it, but all things being relatively equal???

Has anyone else been in this dilemma where they truly could not decide where would be better? I do have to make a confession that I miss certain things in the UK I never thought I'd miss (I was one of those people who laughed out loud at others who said they missed M&S or British TV), but all in all there is nothing that really helps make up my mind!!

I do sometimes think that I was not making the most of my life in London, though, as I was constantly living the Canadian dream, wishing PR would come through. On the other hand, when I think about the crowds, the commute, the drunks in the street, I dread the thought of going back.

Thoroughly confused... and please don't slate me for it, as I am depressed enough in my dilemma as it is...

Gcauseway

What's the little saying ... the grass is always greener?

Maybe you should look into job potentials in other provinces of Canada. I live in Alberta and from what I hear there are oodles of jobs. It would be a shame for you to trek here from London and not stay for a few years at least. Are you limited to only being in Toronto?

But saying that, I can totally relate about all the little things that you miss already like M&S. Have you looked into the BBC Canada website? It has some good british shows ... mind you most are a year or so behind, but it gives you the humour. There are days when I hit the british sweet shop buy a bag of hula hoops, minstrels and a lilt and sit down and just watch Location, Location, Location or the Royle Family

Good luck!

gotoronto

Grass is always greener is exactly the right saying... although at the moment, I think both places have a "Wimbledon Centre Court after final's day" kind of green to them.

We are not necessarily limited to Toronto, although the whole reason for moving to Toronto was that I really loved it over here. There is of course the option of trying another province, but I am just wondering whether it's worth it or better to stick to what we already know. Plus, there is also more to the UK than just London, I suppose.

River

I do not know what profession you are in but if you like the city life did you ever look at Ottawa? seems a shame to pack it in so soon.

gotoronto

I am in law... which in Ontario seems to be overfilled as even Canadians have to consider other provinces.

Elaine B.

Not sure what advice to give you but I think it's only when you live somewhere else for awhile that you appreciate the UK. I've lived in Toronto since 2001 and while I like it, it's no better or worse than anywhere else. If you do decide to pack it in just remember you had the guts to at least give it ago and anyone who slates you for that is an idiot. Good luck with your decision

Uncle Ebenezer

I know how you're feeling - I'm a UK qualified accountant and it took me 10 months to find my first job here in Texas and even then it was at a much more junior level than I was used to at home. But, that got my foot on the first rung of the ladder and it was only a year or so before I was further ahead than I had been in the UK.

In the meantime, just be prepared to take a job doing anything to bring some money in - at one time I was up at 2 each morning delivering newspapers!

You must have considered your move very carefully and came to the conclusion that Canada was where you wanted to be - consider moving back just as carefully.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

gotoronto

Thanks for all the nice responses.

You must have been really eager to stay in Texas if you did all of that - or really eager not to go back. I am prepared not to earn as much as in the UK or work in a position at a lower level than in the UK, but not quite prepared to do anything... I think I'd rather go back.

But you are right, everything has to be considered carefully!

quoll

Oh dear, what a dilemma! I have no views on Canada but on life in general - it is what you make of it no matter where you live it. All the best with making your decision - whatever it is, I am sure you will make the "right one" for you! Good luck.

Judy in Calgary

Sorry to see that you're experiencing this dilemma, gototoronto.

Would you be willing to write an article in the Canada section of the Wiki about what is involved in re-qualifying as a lawyer in Canada?

In the case of several other occupations (nursing, teaching, skilled trades, truck driving, midwifery, policing), I've been able to pick up enough information from forum posts that I've been able to write Wiki articles -- although I have experience in none of them.

In the case of law, however, the topic is just far enough beyond my understanding that I feel out of my depth.

But if one of you solicitors / lawyers was willing to write a Wiki article, I believe it would help future BE members.

If you're willing to do this, there is a Wiki article about how to create a Wiki article.

As to your personal decision, I wish you all the best with that. It's a tough choice you're facing.
x

ann m

Hi gototoronto

Have you liaised with Almost Canadian from this site at all? Although he is here in Calgary, he has had a tough old year re-qualifying, and I'm sure he won't mind me saying that sometimes he might have thought "oh, sod this". BUT, and it's a big but, I think he and his family found many other aspects of their new lives that outweighed his first sh*tty year (workwise).

Two months is not a lot of time - you're probably still in that "where do I find this, and where do I find that" phase! So although you do know Toronto to some degree, is it feeling the same as when you lived there before? Or is the "work" part of this equation over-shadowing everything - and I do know that that is entirely possibly, having watched my husband suffer through his first year (yay, one year next Weds for him, and miraculously, he is still with his same employer ). I do hugely empathise.

While you sat waiting for your Canadian dream, I am sure you did your research. Is the reality matching that ?

Not sure what else to say - big hugs from me - been there and watched it! We are finally, I think, coming out the other side, but it really is a horrible and depressing place to be when your work life is up the shoot - it takes up such a big chunk of your week - or not, as the case may be, if you cannot find any !

Best wishes - and keep chatting on here !!

Judy in Calgary

I feel uncomfortable quoting someone else's experiences on another forum, but since you've brought this up ....... One of the points that Almost Canadian has made on the Canada forum is that it's easy for British lawyers to find jobs as paralegals in Calgary. On the other hand, gototoronto has stated that Ontario is particularly bad for this, and even native Ontarians with legal degrees look for work in other provinces.

I'm in the process of relocating to Victoria, BC, and I'm not an unswerving champion of Calgary. Expats have their own reasons for choosing the cities to which they move. Still, I think this is a piece of information that would be useful to a British solicitor who was heading to Canada. If all other things were equal, work opportunities might influence the decision. If there's ever a Wiki article about the legal profession in Canada, I hope that's one of the tips that will be included.
x

backagen

I moved from Manchester to Australia, hated it for 3 years so moved back to Manchester to be near my family and friends and familiar places.

After 2 years in UK, and for reasons I don't wish to go into, I ended up moving back here (I will say this was only as a last resort, and was meant to be temporary).

So here I am still, 13 years later, in my "temporary" home. I have not, up to now, been able to gather the determination and internal strength I require, to move back to UK again.

There a lot of reasons for this, but one of them is that, being honest with myself, I can now see that there's a lot of things about Australia that I really like, and in fact prefer to UK.

At the same time though, the UK is still my real home, and this isn't and if it's not after 13 years, it never will be.

There's a very good book I partly read once in a library in Manchester. You can get it here
http://www.amazon.com/Third-Culture-.../dp/1857882954
or no doubt you can find it through a bookstore or library.

I only read a few chapters as that's all I had time for, but I found even that bit very comforting, because it explained why I felt (and still do) the way I do and helped me understand why I find it so impossible to decide whether to stay here or go home.

I strongly recommend you try to obtain a copy.

gotoronto

Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions. Yes, I have spoken to AlmostCanadian several times.

I think reality is that you can only do so much research before going out here. The lack of job issue is something that people hid well from me when talking to them - everyone thought we'd be successful here, etc. really quickly. But on arrival, the tune changed to "impossible" or it will take a very long time.

I don't really think moving to another province is something we'd like to do. I felt "at home" in Toronto when I was a student and there was really only Toronto on the cards for us from the start. We are not really the kind of people who came to Canada for the great outdoors. There is also the issue that time is running out for us on certain life plans, so we really can't mess about too much trying some other place. We also don't want to put all our savings into experimenting more, as then that house in the UK is even further out of reach!! This experience has been expensive enough so far...

Judy, I'll have a thought about the WIKI. I think law should be a topic on there - but I need to have a moment or two to think. At the moment I am meant to be studying for exams - but given all the other stresses and all these big choices, I have not been doing that much on it.

G586

The house in the UK is probably becoming more in reach as time goes on.....headline prices haven't dropped that much but no one is buying.

You don't have to live in London to practice law.......depends on what vibe you are looking for. Will that not change anyway with your life plans?