# Ontario or British Columbia? (Thinking of moving with a young family)



## dave5282

Hi,
I am a married (Quantity Surveyor) construction professional with a toddler and a small baby, we were looking at the possibility of moving to Canada in the future. 

Which area do you guys think offers the most opportunity and better quality of life for familes, and the best possible start for the two kids.

There is so much info out there, and we are hoping to plan a holiday/fact finding trip in the near future, but its hard to trap down some honest facts.

Thanks in advance


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## American_Woman

I can only speak for BC but I think it would be a great place to raise a family if you can afford it. I plan on raising my family here.


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## dave5282

Thanks for the reply


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## Heading South

*Southwestern BC*



dave5282 said:


> Hi,
> I am a married (Quantity Surveyor) construction professional with a toddler and a small baby, we were looking at the possibility of moving to Canada in the future.
> 
> Which area do you guys think offers the most opportunity and better quality of life for familes, and the best possible start for the two kids.
> 
> There is so much info out there, and we are hoping to plan a holiday/fact finding trip in the near future, but its hard to trap down some honest facts.
> 
> Thanks in advance


As was mentioned in another post, it all depends on your lifestyle, but I would suggest either Southwesten BC or Southern Vancouver Island, warm to hot summers (allthough short), mild winters when compared to most of Canada, but alot of rain, not always everyday, but in our minds, alot. Somewinters there isn't even snow, at least on the Southern part of the Island, and if it does snow it usaully melts within a day. Housing is expensive on the lower mainland and Victoria but if you move away from those areas it becomes more affordable. Gas is also expensive in BC, but varies, filled up in Duncan the other day (45 minutes north of Victoria) and paid 113.9 per liter, but in Victoria the same day was 115.9. If you have specific things you are looking for, mentioning them might help get more specific answers. For all I know you might like frigid, long winters, in which case choose anywhere else in Canada other than where I mentioned.


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## dave5282

Mainly looking for a nice friendly area, with good schooling and opportunities without being inner city. Good access to the great outdoors. But most of all good kid friendly neighbourhoods and access to places of work.....umm doesn't really narrow it down, although the winter side of things ie real cold doesn't bother us much


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## Heading South

*Brrrrrrr!*



dave5282 said:


> Mainly looking for a nice friendly area, with good schooling and opportunities without being inner city. Good access to the great outdoors. But most of all good kid friendly neighbourhoods and access to places of work.....umm doesn't really narrow it down, although the winter side of things ie real cold doesn't bother us much


If the real cold doesn't bother you then I can't help, because anything below 10celcius bothers me, which is why I have lived on southern Vancouver Island my entire life, instead of venturing eastward. If you like alot of snow and frigid temps etc then choose eastern or northern canada, if you like to jog in just a t shirt and shorts in the middle of winter choose sw BC. Check the current weather online for places like Vancouver, Victoria, then compare to Toronto, Montreal. you'll see why I live here.


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## m field

Have a look at the Okanagan valley in B.C. areas in and around Kelowna. We too were undecided about 18 months ago but after research and a trip out there we loved it . Mainly because of the climate. We are just now applying for P.R. throught the skilled worker route.
Good Luck
the fields


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## derrickdavies

dave5282 said:


> Hi,
> I am a married (Quantity Surveyor) construction professional with a toddler and a small baby, we were looking at the possibility of moving to Canada in the future.
> 
> Which area do you guys think offers the most opportunity and better quality of life for familes, and the best possible start for the two kids.
> 
> There is so much info out there, and we are hoping to plan a holiday/fact finding trip in the near future, but its hard to trap down some honest facts.
> 
> Thanks in advance


Hi.
My wife and I moved to Canada 8 yeras ago,we moved to Manitoba.We have our PR cards now,we did think of moving to Ontario,but when we went to visit in October it rained every day,we hate the rain which was one of the main reasons of moving from the UK.We have now been to the Okanagan valley in BC looking at property,yes its more money there but the area is really nice.I know the cost of living is higher there but everything is relative,we intend to move there,hopfully this year as we want to buy a business there.I would add that in my opinion( I an a skilled worker)you will not make money here by working for someone else,the employers here expect and awful of commitment for least amount of pay,also their conditions of employment are also crap.After saying that I do not think as family we would ever go back to the UK,If we were forced to move we would go to another country.We do like the US,but getting in is hard.


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## dave5282

Cheers for replies, it seems more people recomend BC, so I think we should probably give this a good looking at. 
@derrickdavies and mfield, good luck with what you guys are doing, derrick Im not really wanting to move to make my millions, I just want somewhere pleasant with a good wage to give us a good quality of life/improvement on the UK where the kids will have a bright future, and with redundancy looming here in the UK it just seems a good move
Thanks all, much appreciated


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## Kapasa

*Response*

Hi,

I've lived in Ontario most my life, right up until I was 22. I moved out west to BC and more specifically Vancouver Island. So far I haven't seen anyone on here with the same experience as me, so I'll tell what I think about the east coast vs west coast debate.

First of all British Columbia is beautiful, much better scenery than Ontario. Ontario is mostly flat with some mountains in the north. 
Now most people in BC think Ontario is a frigid iceland which just isn't true. But if you're not use to the ice and snow like most British Colombians you may find it difficult. I've seen car crashes here from about 2cm's of snowfall and they close schools if it even snows the slightest. The weather here (BC) is very mild, the winter's are almost constant rain instead of snow and it's almost always overcast. I regularly comment to my girlfriend how much it feels like England out here.

I personally find the lack of sunlight depressing, even on sunny days the clouds block out the warm orange light and cast a more florescent glow on the island. In Ontario you get rainfall in the summers and snow in the winters but the rain comes hard one day and is gone the rest of the week whereas in BC or on the island it can rain slowly all day and sporadically the entire week. If you're trying to dodge the dreary rain than I recommend Ontario. If you prefer a milder temp all year long than BC is the place to be. Expect some red hot summers in Ontario and some hot summers in BC.

Overall I prefer Ontario but not just for the weather. Vancouver Island is great but it is more expensive because everything must be ferried over, not a problem if you choose Vancouver but of course Vancouver has more crime, so for a family I would recommend the island. If you want hot summers and wide open spaces and clear blue skies than Ontario is the place to be.

When it comes down to the medical services I would say that Ontario and BC are on par with each other. I got a Doctor very quickly when I moved here. Health care is universal in Canada so except for some remote communities which suffer you will be very happy with major cities in ON and BC.

My opinion on social services in BC is poor. They create a lot of barriers for anyone in need of assistance and getting on disability here is very difficult, it may not apply to you but it's something to keep in mind. BC also until recently has one of the lowest minimum wages in Canada at $8/hr, it is suppose to be raised but who knows when, ON min. wage is around $10.25 last time I heard. Again this may not apply to you since you seem to have a reliable vocation.

I'm guessing your key concern is schooling and your children's safety. So I wouldn't recommend Toronto or Vancouver, they do have a higher crime rate but mostly because of population density, in fact Toronto is one of the safest cities per capita in Canada - just stay away from Regina. Schooling across Canada is a fairly standardized system and is excellent in most populated areas. If you're concerned with post-secondary education I would have to give Toronto the nod for having more variety of Universities and Colleges although Vancouver Island University seems very nice and attracts a lot of foreign students. Vancouver Film School is also the premiere school in Canada for media studies but very expensive.

Vancouver is significantly more expensive than Toronto. If you want a nice two storey house on the island expect to pay up to %50 more than what you would pay for the same house in Ontario. When it comes to housing costs, living costs and social services I think ON is superior - exactly why I'm moving back.

Vancouver and Toronto both have a lot of attractions. For me Toronto seems to offer a lot more considering the CN Tower, The Skydome (Rogers Centre) and the Royal Ontario Museum. The aquarium is great in Vancouver and I must see and the Science Centre is a fun trip. If you're expecting a lot of sandy beaches and warm water from Vancouver Island or BC then you'll be disappointed as I was. The beaches here are mostly rocky but if you like to surf than Tofino is highly recommended, just don't forget the wet suit. If you just like to chill on the beach and soak up the sun and enjoy warm water in your shorts than the great lakes and lake ontario is your best bet, plus no salty ocean water.Also to note, that houses here seem poorly built and the high humidity breeds a lot of moss and mold - ontario is much drier all year round. 

The best place in Ontario to raise a family is probably Paris or similar small communities (I grew up there). Paris is convenient as it's about 20 mins from the City of Brantford which has all the mall's shops etc but isnt the best place to live and Paris is also 45-60 mins from Toronto and about 2hrs from Niagra Falls. If cultural diversity is important than Toronto is the place to be as that's where most immigrants have settled over the years. Vancouver is primarily white with a large influx of Asian immigrants.

If finding work is a major concern than I think BC may have the best opportunity given your vocation, there's a lot of construction going on here. Ontario has a lot more factories and productions plants though. I'm sure you could find work easily in either province so I guess it's a matter of what's most important to you. If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them.

Hope this helps


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## Jennianne

Seeing your in construction you should maybe look at alberta? Going to be alot of work going on here in the next 5 years construction wise


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## Oggy

Kapasa said:


> Hi,
> 
> The weather here (BC) is very mild, the winter's are almost constant rain instead of snow and it's almost always overcast. I regularly comment to my girlfriend how much it feels like England out here.
> 
> .... whereas in BC or on the island it can rain slowly all day and sporadically the entire week. If you're trying to dodge the dreary rain than I recommend Ontario. If you prefer a milder temp all year long than BC is the place to be. Expect some red hot summers in Ontario and some hot summers in BC.


You've shared some great information, but may I point out that there is more to BC than the coastal areas of the province. I don't know how much of BC you've seen, but there is a region in the southern interior of the province that doesn't receive high levels of rainfall. The Thompson Okanagan is known to be semi-arid which brings hot, dry summers, with low humidity. 

We do get snow in the winter, although the past few years didn't produce much here in Kelowna. We were expecting to have a tough winter this past season due to La Nina, but it didn't materialize (although the ski resorts had great powder bases).


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## derrickdavies

We live in Manitoba and are moving to the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia,the soother Okanagan has the only semi Arid region in Canada.The area is dry and similar to the great wine growing areas of France.The Okanagan is a wide valley with lakes and close to the mountains for sking.The climate is modarate all the year round


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## derrickdavies

:ranger:


derrickdavies said:


> We live in Manitoba and are moving to the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia,the soother Okanagan has the only semi Arid region in Canada.The area is dry and similar to the great wine growing areas of France.The Okanagan is a wide valley with lakes and close to the mountains for sking.The climate is modarate all the year round


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