Canada - British Expat Forum

Hi can anyone help us out here. We really want to immigrate to Canada but are being put off by the incredibly long waiting times. Does anyone have any useful info on New Zealand as another option ? We would welcome any useful advice, suggestions or experiences that others have had. Is it a feasable alternative ?
Thanks.
Ros.

NZ is pretty, pastoral, laid back, and well away from most of the world.

Opportunities are limited to fairly specific sectors.

Canada is large, diverse in population mix, offers many opportunities in all professions, has easy access to the U.S and to its' markets.

Anything worth having is worth waiting for, although for the life of me why it takes so long I don't understand, but the other side of the coin is, maybe the screening process is better?

I have travelled the world several times, I am always glad to come home.

Hi Michael, thanks for replying so quickly. Do you live in Canada now ? We really want to get into B.C & are thinking of giving the Nominee Program a try to see if it is quicker. I appreciate your view as its basically how we feel anyway ! Its just frustrating as we have children aged 8, 13, 17, & 19, so we are keen for them to get into the school system so that they can get a social life through going to school/ college.
Ros.

nik, came in '57 from a Council Flat in Bermondsey, 8 boys, 1 girl.

Now, graduated from 3 universities, retired President of very large company, all brothers have done well, all own their own places, most reasonably wealthy.

BC is a beautiful place, but there are many areas to go.

2 brothers live there, one in Vancouver, another in Salmon arm in the Shushwap Lake region.

A couple of months in a lifetime is not a big deal.

2% of the world's population living with 20% of the world's fresh Water, the only country in the world totally self suffiecient for water, energy, and Food.

Alberta has more Oil Reserves than Saudi Arabia.

100 years from now, where do you want your descendants to be?

Like Michael I came to Canada to begin a new life, unlike Michael I came as an adult because I could see for myself the advantages that Canada has to offer. I know I couldn't go back to live in the UK, it's nice to visit but not to live. It's hard to know where to begin to list the advantages, I think Michael has done a fairly good job of it. The political situation is pretty middle of the road for the Federal government, provincially in BC the governments tends to swing left or right every ten years or so. The economy is fairly robust and even in bad times in BC there is work for those who want to work. I've been out here 23 years, mortgage free for the past ten, own two vehicles and a pretty nice motorbike (my baby 8) ) all from my working hard. I don't think I could have done that in UK. Not only that but the way I've lived during that time has been very nice, buying what I want to buy, when I want to buy it. It certainly is a land of opportunity, but a mid life move is not for the faint hearted. It will require a commitment from the whole family. But is it worth it? Oh, you had better believe it!!


Graeme

Some friends of ours have recently emigrated to NZ and they seem to be enjoying it. I want to travel more and whilst deciding between NZ and Canada I thought that NZ was sooooo remote from most places that travel would be limited. I have also been told recently that meds for NZ are much stricter than for canada, I don't know if that may be a consideration for you or not. My friend told me that in the NZ medical that your waist has to be under a certain size and he only passed by breathing in! Not a question of fitness either, because I know you guys are all muscle, right, just a question of size!

ellsie wrote:My friend told me that in the NZ medical that your waist has to be under a certain size and he only passed by breathing in! Not a question of fitness either, because I know you guys are all muscle, right, just a question of size!

Right, cos, like, it's such a tiny Island community see?

Not like in Canada where we can afford to let our waistlines spread as much as we like as we have all this SPACE!

Hope I'm not too late; DONT DO IT!! Wait & go for Canada, we originally applied for Canadian PR in 2004, but it was taking so long we decided to come to New Zealand & give it a try in December 2005, biggest mistake we ever made. We knew after a few weeks we had dropped a clanger, luckily we have now received our visas, so we are moving to Ontario in April.

Broadband is so pathetic it's comparable to dial up in the UK due to the old telephone wiring not being able to cope with the demand.
Shopping is very poor, my wife has been driven to despair. I had to pack her off to Oz at Crimbo or she would have gone mad putting up with the shopping over here.

It is too far away from anywhere & costs are so high because everything is imported. Once you get here people just forget about you because you are so far away, it is like the Twilight zone.

Anyway I've had my rant about NZ, looking forward to coming to Canada, better late than never

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we have lived in new zealand twice ( both for 2 years ) and canada once ( 1 year )...we have NZ residency and canadian citizenships and are english....new zealand does have drawbacks but so does canada...NZ has a great rugby,out doors sport culture and my son is now sailing,windsurfing,playing rugby etc etc....canadian sport is very different for the british psyche......shopping is good in canada if that is all you need....sense of humour in NZ is great and the culture is very british...scenery amazing......canada can be bland,ontario a little boring scenery wise........the bright colours in NZ are spectacular because of the 'clean' air...something many parts of canada does not have.....canada is so BIG whereas NZ is small and accessible....many differences but i feel neither country is better it just depends on what you want.

Some people say it depends alot on the area in which you live in NZ, we live in Mt Maunganui on the North Island. We have heard it is nice on the South island from friends in Queenstown, it is much more scenic & quieter than the North island. Having said that most of the English people we know are just waiting while they can apply for citizenship so they can ship out to Australia, quite a few Kiwis are getting the same urge too, driven by the high real estate prices & the market being flooded with houses that aren't selling.
I agree about the sports side of things, the lifestyle is great but we find that alone is not enough & it is really the only thing NZ has to offer. When we have visited Canada in the past we have found Canadians alot more helpful, friendly & generally more welcoming, as opposed to the Kiwi attitude of here comes more Poms driving up the property prices with their pounds.
Super 14 is probably the best, toughest Rugby Union on the planet, but even that wont make me stay!!

....super 14 is the best franchise sports series on the planet...we are crusaders supporters through and through...kiwis do it well..totally a family experience..babies to grand dads go for the best sports entertainment...we went to watch the london knights several times when we were living in canada....our local team there.they won the championship that year..cannot even compare with super 14 for quality,value,entertainment...rugby rules here...my son has been playing team rugby since he was 6 and full tackle from 7...kids learn heaps from it and how to handle themselves..i agree the south island is the place to be...we found canadians and kiwi's equally friendly...housing market still hasn't run out of steam after 5 frantic years when houses have doubled in price,athough only rising by 9% now so bottoming out..but houses only staying on the market for an average of 29 days...pretty good......GO THE CRUSADERS....rugby is LIFE

The desire to change countries is often due to the hopes for our Children, Canada absolutly offers many more opportunities.

Proximity to the US is both good and bad, but you can drive from Toronto to Brazil, if you want.

howardk, not sure what you find bland about Canada's scenery, especially Ontario, I suspect you did not travel much??

Fall Colours are spectacular, summers are great with easy access to lakes, winters open up multitudes of sports opportunities.

BC, these is a reason they call it beautiful, why Vancouver is rated the Number 1 city in the world, routinly, and Whistler is the best place on earth to ski.

Newfoundland is majestic, Quebec a never ending parade of beautiful countryside.

howardk, rugby is a sport like many others, and if you think your son will be a Professional rugby Player, stay in NZ, Canada should only be a destination for those who want to come and grow,to contribute to our future.

Personally, I found NZ, the world is full of beautiful vistas,. from an opportunity to succeed and to grow, to be part of a multi cultural opportunity, to feel plugged into the world rather than cut off, Canada, hands down.

I will now snow blow my driveway, maybe take the sled out for a run, but if I like, we could grab the dog and our passports get in the car, and be in Florida for lunch tomorrow.

We found we only had to drive about an hour from Toronto & the scenery was great, not quite as good as some areas in NZ, but Canada is a huge place I have heard it is just as nice as NZ you just need to explore different areas, try them on for size, we are looking forward to it.
We are trying Barrie to start with & see how it goes, or possibly guelph we haven't completely decided yet, but thats all part of the fun of starting life in a new country you never quite know what to expect.
The housing market must still be quite good in the South Island up here houses take on average 6-9 months to sell, I know of a few that have been on the market for over a year now.
Crusaders haven't had as good a start as last year, hope its a sign the Hurricanes are gonna give them a run for their money!!

hi michael1944....yes no doubt many area's of canada are beautiful....we travelled all over ontario from windsor to ottowa and up to collingwood etc and i guess we were comparing these area's to NZ and found there was no comparison...we were missing NZ big time........housing very cheap in canada and more work opportunities...but found that compared to kiwi's humour and passion for life was much less...more low key....but each to their own....canada V nz.........who knows.

My personal experiance in NZ, was that ii is/was a very traditional society committed to a beaurecracy and that it does not enter into change easily.

I felt it was like living in the Cotswolds, very pretty but very Rural and Agricultural oriented.

Those with ambition seemed to leave and move to Australia, and the enimity between NZ and Australia is quite amusing to watch.

Passion for life, not sure what that means, I will accept that we are materialistic, but we are also the Nation that created Green Peace, formulated the UN Declaration of Human Rights, spawned entertainers such as Lorne Greene, Kieffer Sutherland, Celine Dion, Jim Curry, and whose citizens won the MVP Honours for both professional MLB BaseBall and for NBA Basketball.

My oldest Son, after Graduation from University relocated to China and has been a Resident for 8 years, fluent in the language, has had great life experiences and now has a major opportunity with a UK Company who want to do business there.

The Rockies bear strong resemblances to NZ, Victoria is more England than England.

I can get on a plane in TO, 6 hours and $400 round Trip to UK or to LA or to South America, plugged into the world.

Canada is not for everyone, some people go back, then come back, others go back and stay.

Me, I like the space, I like that whatever I want is easily accessible, life is not overly expensive, Health Care is good.

2010, Winter Olympics in BC, that will give you some good pictures.