# Canada or Australia? can't decide



## dalaney (Oct 7, 2008)

Hi
Hoping you can help me decide on where to immigrate to.

My hubby been offered a job in Calgary (plumber) but really unsure if Canada is right for me because I hate being cold.

Apart from the weather Canada looks like a beautiful country to live and Calgary looks great just can't stop thinking about how cold it will be.

Australia looks great aswell plus its warm but we haven't received a job offer from there and visa application looks more complicated.

Can anyone help me decide


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## leoman20 (Feb 15, 2008)

dalaney said:


> Hi
> Hoping you can help me decide on where to immigrate to.
> 
> My hubby been offered a job in Calgary (plumber) but really unsure if Canada is right for me because I hate being cold.
> ...


Australia is like Canada a resource rich country and there is a big demand for workers for those mining and oil/gas field areas (and support services) of mainly western australia and queensland on north east
people often live on coast of queensland (like miami beautiful beaches good surf holiday feel sun++ but may be too hot for you in summer up to 35 degrees C 70% humidity) and commute by plane to inland mining areas of Mt Isa -look on google earth
western australia mining areas are in more arid frontier company towns but good facilities air con etc.


Sydney (2.5 million people ) Melbourne and Brisbane are big population centres with good supply of suitable jobs not just cashier type.but sydney housing is expensive-eplains why young families are moving en masse to high growth areas of south east queensland 
although some like the slightly cheaper but colder area of melbourne.more english weather very changeable 4 seasons in one day they say.but not as cold as UK


Australia has small population however and 3 levels of government making the admin overhead high and hence taxes although they are falling
highest tax rate 41.5% occurs around 150000aud
average wage is $50000 
free (or almost free) medical care for all but not for elective surgery (must queue 2 years for hip replacement typically) or specialist care that is not emergency.
e.g. if have heart attack free ambulance then free treatment in hospital if queue not too long e.g. for stenting.
expensive but not as bad as USA
I think Canada has similar medical model to australia.

There are small government pensions and unemployment (if you are long standing citizen)
Australia is a melting pot with not much real racism no land connected neighbours 
most who come here are mixed in within a generation speaking aussie slang 
and have same friendly one class society openness.

so we are safe few guns unlike USA .hunting is not the norm.farmers may have guns for animal pests.
the spiders and snakes are not seen in urban cities in practice.I have seen one funnel web in 24 years on my land and only because i made a small excavation for a shed in a disused part of the block.when bushwalking again rare to see a dangerous anything.birds of all kinds in the cities.kangaroos in more nature park areas outside cities.
lots of space big blue sky like that of soouth africa .
it can be dry here droughts can go for 15 years in some parts.
most people live along the coast where beaches are best in world next to perhaps hawaii but much less people.
good infrastructure -roads gas electricity blackouts rare .can drink water from the tap.air quality even in sydney is still good.
sewerage excellent. 
good quality goods and consumer protection
like most countries politicians are soso especially state and council ones occas caught with hand in the till but good press and tv help to epxose that eventually.plus national carrier ABC radio/tv like BBC no advertisements and lot of bbc productions.
supermarkets are vry good here-
food is still relatively cheap and range is huge
fresh frozen peas $5 /kg pork and chicken 12-15$ /kg steak around $16/kg cheezes -esp new zealand and local around $10/kg among best in the world but also danish imported cheese italian sausage greek olives as well as local 
local yoghurt $5/kg greek style or fruit flavoured.
local anfd imported coffee .local tea sugar macadamia nuts rice avocados
tomatos year round
fresh bananas oranges pawpaw pineapple apples granny smith pink lady jonathan etc all local 
onions-white red 
cabbage standard red
lettuces-standard rocket 
cauliflower cabbage spring onions potatoes egg plant garlic cucmber 
nearly every kind of fruit vegetable not all seasonal. 
fish barramundi atlantic salmon tuna plantiful (lots of fish farms inland!)
all take away and restaurants.indian thai chinese french lebanese italian greek
but more expensive.
alcohol cheap-24 cans beer $35
spirits expensive (tax) jonny walker $35 /750 ml
wine good and relatively cheap one of australias big exports!
good red $15/bottle reasonable champagne style $10 /bottle
good white $13/bottle

weather lowest for 40 years was this winter 8-13 degrees C in Sydney -i.e. not even a frost! 
minus 5 on highest mountains with snow.
bit warmer than Canada!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
warmest is in late december jan feb around 30-35 high hunidity in sydney.
tend to have rain in summer . just go to beach and put on t-shirt or sunscreen
(must watch sunburn as most poms dont understand how strong it is here because of the clear blue skies.)
spring and autumn breathtaking flowers here 

in short nearly everything you want at affordable prices and great weather except houses in sydney and taxes.
canada has advantage of being near usa to visit ir get bigger paying job .i am not sure once you are canadian how easy it is to work in usa.
stan


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## dalaney (Oct 7, 2008)

*Wow*

Thankyou Stan that is incredibly imformative.

I think I would really like Australia, especially like the Victoria area. But my hubby and 2 kids have got there heart set on Canada because it's closer to England and because he has been offered a job there.

I think if he had a job offer for Australia aswell I might be able to pursuade them but I have sent his CV off to lots of employers with no answer from all but 1, who told us to contact them once we had arrived in Australia.

Also financially it's not going to cost us too much to get too Canada, just flights and work permit initially, so if we decide we are not happy then we haven't lost too much.
Australia however is going to cost us a lot more to apply, as we need visa and skills assessment before we move.

If anyone knows of how to get a job offer in Australia before we apply I would greatly appreciate their help


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## Raymapleleaf (Nov 1, 2008)

hi we look at both too we are going to calgary canada its better for kids ,money and much more closer to u.k to but we are not looking back
regards 
ray


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## dalaney (Oct 7, 2008)

EDWARDTHE CHEF said:


> hi we look at both too we are going to calgary canada its better for kids ,money and much more closer to u.k to but we are not looking back
> regards
> ray


Hi Ray

We going to Calgary too, when are you off?.
We just waiting for hubby's qualifications and experience to be regonised (AAIT) then we can apply for work permit. Hoping to be there around middle February. Although might go sooner if we can, as employer keen to get him there asap.

The more I have looked into Canada the more I think we have made the right decision. Australia was calling me because of the weather but I think Canada will suit us more.

Like you we have decided no going back and we are going to apply for PR straight away.

Denise


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## Raymapleleaf (Nov 1, 2008)

Hi Denise,

We have been in the queue for 24 months and have just received a letter saying that need us to have police checks and certs etc. This is needed by the end of December so unsure from there how long to the medicals?

We are visiting Calgary and Banaff in late December to check out the weather as only been when it has been sunny! I am hoping to be out there all going well by late summer or christmas next year.

Are you going to buy or rent out there? What does your husband do for a living?
I am a chef and going as a skilled worker.

The good thing about Canada is that the people are reall nice and extremely proud which is something we are not!! So looking forward to being part of something.

Keep in touch and good luck,

Ray










dalaney said:


> Hi Ray
> 
> We going to Calgary too, when are you off?.
> We just waiting for hubby's qualifications and experience to be regonised (AAIT) then we can apply for work permit. Hoping to be there around middle February. Although might go sooner if we can, as employer keen to get him there asap.
> ...


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## Raymapleleaf (Nov 1, 2008)

*Cold in Canada but the sun still shines!*

We are also trying to imigrate to Calgary, we have been in the queue for 24 months, just received the letter to get our ref/ police checks etc. We have only visited Calgary twice both times it was in July and very hot so we are going in late December this year to check out the cold as my wife also worries about being cold, but has been informed by so many canadaians that the sun shines every day and the snow is not that bad as you get the chinnock wind coming across so makes it less harsh; also it is a dry cold not a wet cold that goes to your bones, so they say. Will let you know how we get on!

Canada is geared up for the snow and extreme weather so I shoudn't worry to much as you would get used to it and you would see the four seasons, something we don't see here alot!

Good luck,

Ray::











dalaney said:


> Hi
> Hoping you can help me decide on where to immigrate to.
> 
> My hubby been offered a job in Calgary (plumber) but really unsure if Canada is right for me because I hate being cold.
> ...


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## dalaney (Oct 7, 2008)

Hi Ray

Husband is a plumber, he got his job offer from emigrate2 website, check it out got lots of jobs on there.

We are going to rent initially as dont think we are going to be able to sell our house in time so will probably rent it out.

Also better to rent I think so you can get a feel of the place before you decide where you want to live long term.

Not too worried about the cold now, getting used to the idea and like you said it's all geared up to deal with it. Even quite looking forward to the snow.

Just want to get there now!!!!!!!!

Don't know how you are coping with waiting so long, must be quite stressful.

Have you looked at areas you think you would like to live. We thinking about NW, SW or further out SE next to the lakes looks nice. going to be working downtown so don't want to be too far away especially as he will be starting work at 7am.


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## ChungyUK (Feb 27, 2008)

All I can say is your very lucky to be moving to Canada and I do wish you good luck!!! I badly want to move to either Canada or the USA. I've completely tried everything to do an internship or an traineeship program but im not having any luck....Oh well my life seems to be stuck in grotty UK...all the best!!!


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## louiseg (Nov 17, 2007)

EDWARDTHE CHEF said:


> Hi Denise,
> 
> We have been in the queue for 24 months and have just received a letter saying that need us to have police checks and certs etc. This is needed by the end of December so unsure from there how long to the medicals?
> 
> ...


Hi Ray,
Just noticed you are planning a trip to our neck of the woods later this year. We live in Canmore, it is a great place to live. Banff is very much a party town with the younger ski set in winter, and back packer travellers in summer. You are welcome to come by and visit to get a take on expat life here.


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## WhiteRose (Nov 27, 2008)

dalaney said:


> Hi Ray
> 
> We going to Calgary too, when are you off?.
> We just waiting for hubby's qualifications and experience to be regonised (AAIT) then we can apply for work permit. Hoping to be there around middle February. Although might go sooner if we can, as employer keen to get him there asap.
> ...



Hi Denise

Sorry to butt in on your conversation but my family and I are moving to Calgary too in February, and my husband is a plumber! 

We have everything in place now, the AAIT is all sorted and all the paperwork completed just waiting for the LMO to come through which should be anyday now.

Would be grate if we could keep intouch.

Rosie


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## dalaney (Oct 7, 2008)

Hi Rosie

Great to hear from you. We still waiting to hear back from AAIT, been about 5 weeks now so hopefully will hear soon. We got all other paperwork sorted out so as soon as we hear we can apply for work permit.

Have you been looking at areas to live yet?

What company is your husband goin to be working for, be funny if they working together!


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## WhiteRose (Nov 27, 2008)

dalaney said:


> Hi Rosie
> 
> Great to hear from you. We still waiting to hear back from AAIT, been about 5 weeks now so hopefully will hear soon. We got all other paperwork sorted out so as soon as we hear we can apply for work permit.
> 
> ...


Hi!!

You should hear from them anytime soon, it took us 6 weeks to get a reply.

He is working for Arpi's. What about yours?

Have you got your police certs from the ARCO done yet? They take 10 working days.

We are not sure where we want to live just yet. We are flying out to Vancouver Jan 15th and staying with my mum who has just moved back there for a few weeks, then going on to Calgary from there. We keep shipping boxes over to her to put in storage to cut the costs down and at least by the time we get there we will have most of our stuff.


What about you? Have you sorted all shipping/houses etc?

Do you have kids? We have three 7, 3 and 9 months..nightmare

Rosie


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## IOWgirl (Nov 7, 2008)

dalaney said:


> Hi
> Hoping you can help me decide on where to immigrate to.
> 
> My hubby been offered a job in Calgary (plumber) but really unsure if Canada is right for me because I hate being cold.
> ...


Hi Mark, if you go to the thread...Your first job in Canada.... I have a post in there that may be of interest you. Also, I do only get two weeks holiday a year, but my friend gets 4 weeks per year, We are both in the same field, special needs adults. He is in the union, I am not. My boyfriend, in sales, gets 3 weeks per year. Good luck with the move, Canada is a great place.


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## IOWgirl (Nov 7, 2008)

Sorry last post by me was supposed to be on another thread.


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## dalaney (Oct 7, 2008)

Hubby working for Watts but he looked at Arpi's aswell.

Haven't done police check yet. We going through Atkins West so just sending them stuff when they ask for it.

We living in Cyprus at the moment (been here a year and half) and house been on the market for about a month with only 1 person looking so quess we will be renting out aswell.
We will probably rent for a couple of years, been looking at NW and SW but will probably go NW as schools look good there.

We got 2 boys, 12 and 16, and 2 dogs.

Don't think we gonna ship stuff, apart from personal stuff. Will probably rent our house here out fully furnished. 

Sorted out dogs though, they definatly coming with us


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## ACoz2000 (Sep 15, 2008)

Worked in Perth Australia, holiday'd in Calgary and Banff and quite honestly the Bears of Canada worried me at first but they are not a patch on Aussies! Everything in Australia is labelled as being the Best In the World and that every other country is trying to keep up with the advanced nature of Australians! 

Felt like going back in time to me from a small valley in Wales! Honestly, the tax man took a big bite out of my ass and shows no remorse! The only nice thing about Australia was BBQ's (best in the world apparently) and Beers / Wine (Also best in the world apparently)...

Canada was very very friendly from the off! I landed 10 minutes after the last shuttle bus left for banff and it came back for me!!! Amazing! From then on great place, great beer, great atmosphere... I cant speak about tax but... it cannot be more than that place called Australia which is the dumping ground for convicts and has the "Best stock of human race in the whole world". You do the maths...


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## Getting There (Nov 19, 2008)

Hi Ray (EdwardTheChef) - As a chef, we imagine you are going to have opportunities to gain employment just about anywhere...Calgary, surrounding towns, Canmore, up in the Rockies...so that's a nice position to be in, especially with, in due course, your PR status too. Going back on something you said earlier...typically, you might expect a couple of months or so between sending off the response to your 90 day letter and getting your medical instructions through. If you fancy meeting for a coffee and a chat when you come over on your research trip, drop us a PM and we'll sort something out.

To Dalaney - glad you are coming around to the idea of Calgary verus Australia. The winter and coping with the cold and snow was one of my big three risks to successful settling (the others being missing family and friends and achieving financial stability). However, a few short snaps of seriously cold weather aside, it is much more manageable than you think. With the dry atmosphere and the frequently (not always) clear blue skies and bright sunshine, even temperatures down to -10 feel absolutely fine with a couple of extra layers on. You might like our weather blog (see link in the signature line below) as it directly addresses people who are coming here that have the concern that you have expressed. As with Ray, drop us a line if there is anything we can do to help address concerns.

Kind regards,

Eamonn & Janet.


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## dalaney (Oct 7, 2008)

Hi Eammon and Janet

Thanks for info.
Ive already visited your blog a few times.
watching the weather is great, keep it up.


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## Getting There (Nov 19, 2008)

dalaney said:


> Hi Eammon and Janet
> 
> Thanks for info.
> Ive already visited your blog a few times.
> watching the weather is great, keep it up.


Hi dalaney,

Thanks for the feedback. It's Eamonn here. Jan does the weather blog so I'll let her know you're watching! Can't believe how well the weather is holding up so far...barely any snow so far and as I look out my study window this second, I see lots of blue sky and a few wispy bits of cloud, bright sunshine. Looks lovely out there.

The other (no weather) blog will hopefully give you a reasonable flavour of life out this way and we'll be publishing some area guides in the days ahead that might give people more practical info on day to day living. We're always here if you want to bounce questions off us.

E&J.


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## WhiteRose (Nov 27, 2008)

dalaney said:


> Hubby working for Watts but he looked at Arpi's aswell.
> 
> Haven't done police check yet. We going through Atkins West so just sending them stuff when they ask for it.
> 
> ...


Cyprus eh? I see now why you were not keen on the Canadian climate! My husband was stationed in Cyprus for a bit and says it'sreally nice there but I have not been unfortunately 

Yes, we are going to rent for a few years until we can sell our property here and make some form of a profit on it, if we dont rent it out furnished then at least we can sell the contents for a bit of extra cash. We have just shipped personal stuff, no furniture and am amazed at just how much stuff we have!

Have you got schools sorted then? I have been corresponding with a lovely lady at the Calgary Education Authority and she has told me that as we are coming on work permits we have to wait until we land in Calgary before we can sort out a school for our eldst boy. She has given me the number of the 'Multi-Cultural team' whom I have to call, they will then meet with us and Brandon and assess his skills etc and decide from there which grade he will be going into as they don't start full-time education until they are 6 yrs old and he has been in f/t since he was 4yrs old. My middle boy has just started nursery and loves it, unfortunately there they don't start that till they are 5yrs old....help! If you want her email address or the number just let me know.

SO we have 2 boys and a baby girl, no dogs yet but that will change when we get settled 

We are using Four Corners, they were recommended to us by the HR lady at Arpi's, she used them when she moved there some time ago, she calls Calgary her 'little bit of Paradise'. She said that she spent her first winter wanting to leave but since then she has got used to them and would never consider moving back to the UK.


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## louiseg (Nov 17, 2007)

dalaney said:


> Thankyou Stan that is incredibly imformative.
> 
> I think I would really like Australia, especially like the Victoria area. But my hubby and 2 kids have got there heart set on Canada because it's closer to England and because he has been offered a job there.
> 
> ...


Hi Dalaney,
Glad you have made some decisions now on where you are going, and I hope you are happy with going along with hubby and kids. Things we do for them eh?

My opinion for what its worth ~
A key thing with moving to a new country is that your reasons are based on what you want long term, with lifestyle, standard of living, opportunities etc.

Don't be tempted to move to a place because its easier in the beginning. The getting there is a temporary stage, whether it is closer, costs less to get there, you have a job to begin with, fade in to the background over time, and the every day things dictate if you settle well and enjoying living there.
Do you like the people? does the culture fit with your ideas and values? can you do the things you enjoy doing? Does it offer the opportunities you want?
Those are the things to base you decision on.

Good luck Louise


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