GlesgaKiss

Out of those lot it has to be Australia, NZ, or Canada. These countries are going to be where all the action is in a few years I reckon. Maybe a bit too soon for NZ right enough.

SJ_Skyline

Having always wanted to emigrate, imagine my delight when I was offered a job in Melbourne with a full relocation package earlier this year. Sadly these things are never as straightforwards as they could be: We were in the middle of an extension on the house and there were a whole host of family issues that resulted in my decision to turn the job down.

Trying to take positives away from the experience was difficult but: I succeeded in telephone and video-conf interviews across the world. I negotiated a great package. I might even go as far to say I reached my goal - just because I didn't realise the goal doesn't make it any less valid.

What have I lost? well, nothing really. I still have a job I enjoy and the UK isn't really that bad.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Supposed to be awesome (good weather, low crime etc) albeit hard to get in.

TX.

HI SOOB

Just found this again and wondered what people though with the current state of affairs?

We are almost ready to head for Canada.Applying in the next month for Visas

House will be sold next spring/Summer regardless of what we get for it. Even make a loss if need be. Then atleast we are chain free and ready to go before anything gets worse, if possible

Leslie

The only thing that would make me consider emigrating would be federalisation into the Eu, since that would denote the destruction of this country.

Les

GlesgaKiss

Now that I've spoken to a few people who have relatives living there, Canada.

It depends what you're looking for really, but some things out there you haven't been able to do in the UK for a long time. Population is minute for the size of the place. In some areas you can just buy land and build a house or whatever else you want. Planning is either very easy to get or not even necessary - not a key issue on anyone's mind.

If you like living in dirty, overpopulated cities full of crime and layabouts receiving unemployment benefits, the UK is probably the place to be. If you like making a go of things with relative freedom, head to Canada. The aforementioned size and population make that possible in practical terms.

I'm seriously considering it. I know some people who are currently going through the motions of getting over there.

LeeMac

iTrader: (1)

with the current miserable economic climate the way it is, I would try Australia
France is okay though, been there and come back, might go back

DYK

My mate has been living in Canada since 2007,has now bought some land and building a house,never wants to come back to England.He asked me to go over sometime when the house has been built.Now i was thinking about getting back to czech,but having talked to my cousin and mate,i been thinking about Canada myself,and my mate did mention he could maybe get me a job where he works.So i think next summer i'm gonna make some plans to take a trip over.

kbsub

I have lived just south of Calgary for the last 4 an a bit years , Never been back to the UK and no intention of doing.
Without a doubt its the Winters here that are the biggest bugbear , I have seen it as low as -37 without wind-chill and when it snows... It just snows and snows and snows , Plus in Alberta this can go on for 7- 8 months. Would definatly avoid the praire provinces like Saskatchewan/Manitoba as its even worse out there .

We now have plans to buy a small house with land around the outskirts of Kamloops BC and be mortgage free, Much milder winters and spring arrives around the end of Febuary, The wife gets her tropical (ish ) garden and I get some of the best Trout / Salmon / Sturgeon fishing in the world .

Wild Thing

I think you will find it is grass greener on the other side. We have a villa in spain, seen a lot of xpats go there via early retirement to live, all is good until old age sets in, 90% of the xpats have sold up and back in UK due to medical conditions. Just my observations and I am only mid forties

Markus

Not wishing to spoil things but getting over isn't as easy as it used to be. The classification I came in under did not require an LMO (Labour Market Offer) from the company, and that might not have been a problem anyway, but for most jobs you need to get an LMO, basically the Canadian employer has to show why an immigrant can do the job when a resident / citizen cannot.

If you can find an employer that is willing to get an LMO (the paperwork itself does not require money, but advertising for the job and possibly employing an immigration consultant / lawyer does) and some might not want to go for it, less hassle being one of the main reasons.

Have a run through this to see how you would fair.

I would certainly recommend a visit, if not two, one in summer, one in winter. You don't want to come over thinking it's all nice and gets a little cold to then find in your first winter that -32 temps and lots of snow shovelling aren't for you.

Also make sure that your employer will provide you with healthcare, or get some insurance to cover any healthcare expenses as I think you cannot apply (in Ontario at least) until you have been here for 3 - 6 months. If you can get in as an intra-company transferee, and some other categories, I believe you can apply right away, or within 3 months (I only got round to applying for a health card after a couple of years of being here! I'm lazy and lucky I did not require any healthcare)

As always, any questions people want to ask, then go ahead and I'll try and answer.

kbsub

Defiantly agree with this , Its much harder to get Visa's now than 4 years ago , Everybody jumped on the ' Lets go to Canada ' Bandwagon and now it seems they have too many immigrants.

I came over on a Temporary work permit then applied for Permanent Residency, The whole process took 14 months from start to finish , Now its taking up to 4 years to do the same. Its either that or apply for a skilled worker visa and do that from the UK , But that takes as long .

As for snow shovelling been looking at these for my fifth winter :

lordharding

iTrader: (1)

Well since this thread started 2 years ago we added another bathroom and shower room to the house for £500 and decorated it again and next year we are going to build over the kitchen and put another bedroom in upstairs and extend the balcony which will cost us maybe 1000-£1500
4years to go unless I get made redundant again will do it

Bad thing is electric has gone up and exchange rate is only 70pesos to the pound ,it used to be 92 so living costs are going up steadily and the interest rates are hitting me hard now with 3% in the uk
Cebu still features in my long term plans

Matt_F

iTrader: (2)

never really thought about this to muc, but only been to australia to see family, and was undecided as whether i would move out there at all

atm is doesnt suit my lifestyle, speed limits are just stupid and the cops are proper on the ball all the time. less than 70mph on a 4 lane motorway and every1 does the same speed, its crazy. they also have these massive v8 cars and all the jap performance cars, but cant drive them fast anywhere except tracks and drag strips

they are also a bit backwards when it comes to certain things imo, and are pretty much oblivious of much going on news wise outside their own country. many of them have never left or seen other parts of oz.

they do have a great sense of humour though, esp against us poms

HI SOOB

Hi Markus,

I am applying under FSW , using my trade as Heavy plan/Agri mechanic, even though I am now in the Subsea construction industry. The experience is within the last ten years though, so ok there.

You are right though, seems to be taking a while just now to get through the application process. However, that’s good, as it will put off many folk who are not serious about it. And I am all for keeping the criteria as strict as possible. If the UK had done the same.......

We have been over to Canada and find it to be good. Last trip was in the depths of winter, Feb/March time. We had a load of snow when we were up in Quebec, Mont Tremblant area. Staying in cabin in the sticks. Must have had a couple feet of snow, but no hassle. By the time we reached the main road system, it was all being cleared. Everyone was clearing their own drives. Life was as normal. I had a Suburban truck on hire, so we were prepared too. Managed easier in two foot of snow than we do back home in Scotland with two inches to be honest.

People were friendly where ever you went, particularly in Ontario around Toronto, Niagara, Belleville and Ottawa. Montreal would probably be the least friendly and most dirty city we experienced. Probably still not as bad as some locations in the UK though.

We are lucky , having a unique situation where we don’t need to locate to any specific location for work. So long as we are in a good schooling area, and not a million miles from civilisation, we can settle. At present it looks like we are headed for the Muskoka region. Purely because of its setting, relatively close to TO and the States border.
It gets the kind of weather we are looking for too. Snow winters and hot summers. Something we have not seen properly.....ever.

There will be plenty of negatives, and many folk seem to love jumping on the band wagon saying that its not all milk and honey. Of course it isn’t. What country is?
It comes down to some simple factors that are personal to each family that choose to make the move to a foreign country. For us it is about looking to the future for our children, as well as here and now. We don’t enjoy being in the UK now, and having had the great fortune to have travelled round the world for the past years, meeting people from all walks of life and all corners of the globe, it is a bit easier to get a grasp on what is available to you when you leave the comfort zone of your own front door. Something I had not done until recently.
If I was still working within a forty mile radius of where I was born, or currently living, I wouldn’t know any better either.
And some folk are also not fortunate enough to be able to just up sticks and move, for various reasons.
While we have the chance, we are going to make the most of it.
If we don’t make a go of it then at least we will have tried and wont spend the rest of our days regretting it.

HI SOOB

Oh, and Kbsub....I have one of those snow blowers already at home(scotland).

I dont mind shoveling snow, but if you can buy something that clears it in minutes, why not get it.
Its amazing how many folk will waste their energy complaining about the weather, rather than deal with it and prepare themselves for winter in the appropriate way.

Best purchase ever in terms of a garden maintenance tool.
Will invest in a pertol driven one for the front of an ATV or the likes when we move over.

Cant wait

RobJenks

A statistic that has just been released :

UK population density 246 / Square Km

Oz 3 / Square Km

Fat Boy

There's a reason for that though - not many people want to live in the middle... a bit hot and quite a drive to the beach

Anyway that's pretty crowded compared to Greenland's 0.067 people per Square km