Hi,
I cannot disagree with anything that Gruff said above. I can only add to the point that day to day costs of living in the UK (rent, utilities, transport - particularly if you commute into London) have all risen significantly over the past decade and wages have simply not kept up. At the same time the services and benefits that everyone used to receive have been cut massively, and as a result; crime has risen; healthcare has become more difficult to access; money has been hived out of the education system; and it’s not as if the average joe got any significant tax cuts to compensate (although those earning over £140k a year did - I earned nowhere near that amount hence a slight bit of bitterness about it!). All things being equal, it’s a lot tougher than it was in c.2005.
I am sure that many of the same issues above also exist in Canada to some extent. Toronto and Vancouver are definitely pricey, but still nowhere near London in my opinion.
However, having been negative in the push factors listed above, without a doubt the primary reason for our move is the pull factors of Canada if you are interested in outdoor pursuits (hiking, skiing, canoeing, mountain biking etc). The UK just cannot compete on those terms.
In addition, we have two young kids and from what we have seen over the past six months the facilities for children (clubs, playgroups, sport facilities) are just amazing. In general they are pretty new and cheap or free to use which is definitely a contrast to where we were in the UK.
Apologies - I said way more than I was expecting there! Needless to say we really like Canada and I haven’t mentioned the generosity and friendliness of the people, which so far, we have definitely found to be overwhelmingly true to the stereotype.
