Why move to Canada?

[kimo]

Originally Posted by patoria

I'm guessing you've had some kind of traumatic experience.. I'm sorry for not being specific enough! I lived in ottawa, Ontario.. It did snow at Christmas, my husband is from Ottawa and now lives in Oz and still says Eh... I think it's like anything, you don't notice it because your surrounded by it.. However you obviously failed to miss the humor in my first post in addition to the point.. You seem obsessed with people funding your pension.. Sorry to disappoint I don't really care where my money goes.. Probably just as well you are leaving if the country makes you unhappy but I'm not sure why you are having a go at me specifically, it's obvious my post was mostly tongue in cheek, however my support of Canada is real. Each to their own..

I was having a go at you because like most people on here wanting to come to Canada, you have trouble saying what you mean. If you mean Ottawa, say Ottawa, not Canada, I don't say all of Oz floods just because a small area does, I don't call all Auzies racist just because the few I have met are. And if you don't care where your money goes, then you will fit right into the general Canadian population, our politicians love it when tax payers don't question how their tax dollars are spent. And my pension comment was also tongue in cheek.

[dcraig]

Originally Posted by Heading South

For that price you must be reffering to fresh, but using Safeway for price comparing is not indicitive of prices in BC, because they are one of the most expensive stores in BC, thats why i for one will not shop there. In a recent flyer they had a Jumbo Cranberry Almond Crunch cereal for $10.99, whoopi! we pay $7.99 regular price at Walmart, Costco or Superstore. I agree that groceries in BC are expensive, but also know that there is not as much of a difference as you make there out to be, alot boils down to where a person shops. And I visit Hawaii and California several times a year and alway compare prices, and they aren't 3-4 times as much, overal, maybe 10% more than what I pay here, if any. Maybe your sister should shop around abit.

I have to agree about Safeway prices not being indicative of prices, not just in BC, but everywhere. When we first arrived it was the only store we shopped at as thats where the person driving us around shopped, and we didn't get flyers, so couldn't really compare prices, but when we moved, to an area that got flyers delivered and got our own car, we decided to try other stores, and couldn't believe how much extra we had being paying at Safeway. We normally spent about $100-$150 per visit to Safeway, but now spend $75 - $125 for the same things shopping at either Superstore or WalMart Supercenter, even things on sale at Safeway we find are sometimes still higher than regular price at other stores. We find the same to be true at Safeways in Washington, California and Hawaii. But yet Safeway is always busy, so to each his own I guess, just don't complain about high prices if you shop at high priced stores.

[WinnieB]

You know it doesn't matter where you live, probably you want to move because of taxes, people's attitudes, thinking the country has 'gone to the dogs' but everyone at some point feels like that about their country and then think of moving out of the country, The grass always looks greener somewhere else.
For me, Canada offers a similar way of life to that in the UK, has similar weather (although on occassions depending where you go to can be more extreme). Me, well I just want to go there now but if not will wait until I retire and am looking forward to meeting, the friends I have never met, new adventures and the fantastic open spaces, shopping in Toronto in the winter underground lol!

[Logipolo]

Originally Posted by gringotim

You took the time to write that, but not to answer the question why you left the U.K? or are you just trying to think up a reason that i won't be able to shoot down? And also, didn't police in Canmore just shoot and kill someone, guess you'll have to move to some country without so much violence..

I am Canadian by immigration. There are three things about Canada that makes you move there no matter which country you belong to be it a third world or second world like Europe.)

1. The Canadian Thought and values. these are free,fair, helpful ,accepting open like its land.
2. opportunity for the future. unlike most countries in the world we have plenty of room to grow, plenty of resources and plenty of opportunity not to make the same mistakes.
3. A great mix of people contributing right now this is very important unlike Uk or other countries whose immigration population is holding on to themselves our country makes us all welcome and we love it very very much.


Good luck in mexico Obviously the cold weather does get to you at times I am originally from a hot country and winters are xtreme for me but hey look at CANADA who can resist loving it.!!

Bye

[kimo]

Originally Posted by johndeep

i'm sure its the bset countauh adeverera!!!

what?

[dcraig]

Originally Posted by gringotim

I was born and raised in Canada, and have live in Canada all my life, and as soon as I am eligable for my union pension in 2 more years, when I'm 54, I'm outa here and off to Mexico year round. And I'm just curious to know why someone would choose to move Canada.

The only reason we moved to Canada, (BC) is because my wife is Canadian and her parents own a business that we can both work in. The pay is much better than we were making back home , although the overall cost of living here eats away at it alot. So we are technically no farther ahead, but will be taking over the business in a few years. But once we can financially retire and move somewhere else less expensive to live, and with a warmer, dryer climate, we will have no reason to stay in Canada, from what I know about Mexico, I am putting it on my list, contrary to what I have read by others on here, its not all gang wars and gun battles, but sometimes people only believe what they see on the news, and its a shame.

[JohnSoCal]

Originally Posted by dcraig

The only reason we moved to Canada, (BC) is because my wife is Canadian and her parents own a business that we can both work in. The pay is much better than we were making back home , although the overall cost of living here eats away at it alot. So we are technically no farther ahead, but will be taking over the business in a few years. But once we can financially retire and move somewhere else less expensive to live, and with a warmer, dryer climate, we will have no reason to stay in Canada, from what I know about Mexico, I am putting it on my list, contrary to what I have read by others on here, its not all gang wars and gun battles, but sometimes people only believe what they see on the news, and its a shame.

My wife is Mexican and I lived and worked in Mexico. I am also fluent in Spanish. It is true that some areas are not that dangerous but it is spreading. I strongly recommend that you spend several months there before making a move. Staying in a resort for a few weeks will not prepare you for living there. It is also important that you learn some Spanish.

[dcraig]

Originally Posted by JohnSoCal

My wife is Mexican and I lived and worked in Mexico. I am also fluent in Spanish. It is true that some areas are not that dangerous but it is spreading. I strongly recommend that you spend several months there before making a move. Staying in a resort for a few weeks will not prepare you for living there. It is also important that you learn some Spanish.

Moving to Mexico is years away, if we even ever go, I know there is crime, but theres crime everywhere in the world, people all over the world say there is crime everywhere in the US, but you and I both know thats not always the case, especially violent crime. But you can't argue with the thousands of US and Canadian and European expats that live in very safe parts of Mexico. I am far from being an expert on Mexico, but what little I do know,is enough to help me dream. I don't think anyone would move to a Mexican town on the Texas border, but whats wrong with a coastal city thats no more, if not less dangerous than a place like say San Diego. I watch KTLA news 2 times a day, and theres always shootings in the LA area, but how many millions of people live there and never have a problem? Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad, I know staying in a resort is nothing like actually living somewhere, be nice if it was!

[JohnSoCal]

Originally Posted by dcraig

Moving to Mexico is years away, if we even ever go, I know there is crime, but theres crime everywhere in the world, people all over the world say there is crime everywhere in the US, but you and I both know thats not always the case, especially violent crime. But you can't argue with the thousands of US and Canadian and European expats that live in very safe parts of Mexico. I am far from being an expert on Mexico, but what little I do know,is enough to help me dream. I don't think anyone would move to a Mexican town on the Texas border, but whats wrong with a coastal city thats no more, if not less dangerous than a place like say San Diego. I watch KTLA news 2 times a day, and theres always shootings in the LA area, but how many millions of people live there and never have a problem? Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad, I know staying in a resort is nothing like actually living somewhere, be nice if it was!

I was not referring to crime when recommending that you spend some time there. You will face many other issues that may or may not bother you. I know several people that moved there without thoroughly investigating it beforehand and have since moved back because of cultural shock and various other reasons.

[PoundFoolish]

Originally Posted by gringotim

I was born and raised in Canada, and have live in Canada all my life, and as soon as I am eligable for my union pension in 2 more years, when I'm 54, I'm outa here and off to Mexico year round. And I'm just curious to know why someone would choose to move Canada.

Originally Posted by gringotim

Well lets see, warm weather year round, lower cost of living, no French forced down our throats, no 37% Canadian content on TV/ Radio forced down our throats, great health care, Here in BC, my wife has been on a waiting list for knee surgery for 11 months and is expected to have to wait until maybe late 2011, I waited 7 months for an MRI, my dad waited 17 months for a new hip, inlaw waited 15 months for foot surgery

Tim, congrats on your upcoming escape to balmier climes. Allow me to offer a few answers to your question, why someone would choose to move Canada. Being in the US, most of my answers will deal with why an American might choose to move to Canada and potentially pursue citizenship.

Answer #1 ties right in with your upcoming move. As a US citizen, I envy the ability of Canadians like yourself, once they expatriate, to declare non-resident status and thus effective disconnect themselves from Revenue Canada. Americans can't do that. The IRS follows them around and extracts its pound of flesh no matter where in the world they live. Many Americans find that highly objectionable and unfair. People who haven't set foot on US soil for decades are still hounded for income taxes on income earned outside the US. So anyway, that's one point where Canadian citizenship is more attractive then U.S.

Answer #2: the Canadian passport is one of the best travel documents in the world, as far as giving you the freedom to explore the world without the bother of acquiring a visa first. Also, traveling on a Canadian passport is probably safer than traveling on a US passport: probably more people abroad have beefs with American foreign policy than with Canadian foreign policy.

Answer #3: the Canadian government has its financial affairs in order, especially compared to the US and the UK. Similarly, Canadian banks are on much more solid footing than US banks. I'm not saying Canada is not without its problems (such as an overheated real estate market), but Canada's financial woes pale in comparison to the US & UK. While the Pound and US$ go down the toilet, the CDN$ should remain strong, unless Ottawa changes course and really screws up.

Answer #4: Canada consistently earns top marks for its education system, making it a very attractive place to live if you have kids. I also happen to like the French immersion option, not because I'm a fan of Quebec, but because being fluent in French is a great life skill that could lead to opportunities in Europe or the Caribbean later in life.

I can easily come up with several more answers, but that's all I have time for now. You probably noticed I did not include the health care system in my answers, and it's because I agree with you on that point. It's one of the handful of factors that gives me pause when considering a move to Canada.