Ticha:


We, last year (spent August 2022 in Vancouver and the greater Toronto region) looked into the prospect of moving to Canada or returning to the UK.

Canadian cost of living is higher in Toronto/ Vancouver (where we can get slightly comparable salaries) but the COL is way way higher than the UK or NZ (rents/ houses are higher costs, food more expensive, bills generally more expensive). For example - our mobile and internet costs in the UK for 5 weeks was around £15 for the 5 weeks (2 sims and 30gb of internet, no contract). It was a whooping $72 for 4 weeks, 1 sim and a paltry 3gb of data) in Canada. That is £44!

We hired a car for only 3 days to head up north and just used public transport within Bristol where we stayed. We needed a car for the whole month in Canada. Public transport is diabolical in Canada. So we will need 2 cars in Canada and just 1 in the UK.

Primary and secondary education is much of a muchness depending on location in both countries. However, our children will be able to access university education as domestic students in the UK (as long as we're there 3 years beforehand), Ireland, Australia and NZ.

Heading back to the UK or Europe will take us closer to home and give our children a strong connection to 9ja. We haven't been back to 9ja since 2016 and used to go every year when we were in the UK. If I'm moving to anywhere else now for better finances, it'll be the US!

Hope that helps! I actually did a week to week breakdown cost of all our expenses in the UK and Canada so we could do a proper comparison. Happy to share if it'll help!

JayGordon:
Hi Everyone,

Your input, especially from those with first hand experience would be appreciated.

We got Canadian PR last year and are aiming to relocate to Canada this summer (family of 5).

However, got a job offer (65k GBP) per year plus sponsorship for just myself. I will have to sort of Visa fees for my family as company will not do this. So I am just thinking how much I will have to budget just for the move.

The sponsorship will be for 3 years so I need to budget for NHS surcharge (3× 600 X 4) and visa fees 600 x 4 I think. Also, I think I have to réserve a minimum balance in my account?

I visited UK last December and the cost of living is high.

Option 2 is to continue with out Canadian plan as we have PR. The thing is no job lined up. I have stepped up search though.

ILR will take 5 years while we already have PR.

Anyone with experience with having to choose from the two countries?

Regards.

FidoNido:
65k GBP a year is a great pay, thats about 110K CAD. Depending on where you are going to be staying, Canada is relatively more expensive. I learnt you even pay more tax than the UK, don't compare yourself with UK residents with student visas who are always crying fowl, yet they payed just 10% of the tuition before moving to the Uk, yet they somehow pay the rest of the fees while even taken care of wife and kids and rent. In your case, you are automatically entitled to ILR after 5 years, after tax you will get over 4k pounds a month, that's easy 7k CAD. Most people I know in Canada are also doing care jobs and customer service and the pay range is usually 10-15 CAD/ hr. Getting the good jobs that pays over 100k CAD no easy at all. Don't be deceived little things like clothes,food,toys and other things we buy everyday are cheaper in the UK.

FYI, my wife and I earn about 70k pounds BTW us and we are doing fine.

Nonexisting1:
Here lies your answer. Person dey UK still wan japa to Canada. I guess that clears all your doubts. I'll rather remain in Owerri than relocate to UK no matter the job offer.

Ticha:
I'm assuming you have EU citizenship?

Yes we do.

We, last year (spent August 2022 in Vancouver and the greater Toronto region) looked into the prospect of moving to Canada or returning to the UK - we're currently in NZ and we have chosen to return to the UK or move to Europe for a few reasons. We have UK and NZ citizenship and would have gone the work visa route for Canada (through the husbot's job)

We did that last year when we landed. We stayed in Hamilton, Oakville, Ottawa, Montreal

How old are your kids? Is your wife wedded to a nursing degree? She can segue into a teaching degree from working in care (no shifts and school holidays yay!), could you live apart temporarily? That way you could potentially take advantage of both?

Kids are all under 10 and wife does not have a nursing degree but she plans on getting one. we feel that studying in Canada was PR will be cheaper than studying in the UK as Europeans.

Basically we found that:

1. Canadian salaries are lower than UK salaries for our jobs on average (husbot is in Engineering and I am a qualified teacher, we both have over 20 years experience in UK/ NZ/ Aus)
Interesting. Some people feel the opposite is the case. I guess it all depends on the type of job?

2. Canadian cost of living is higher in Toronto/ Vancouver (where we can get slightly comparable salaries) but the COL is way way higher than the UK or NZ (rents/ houses are higher costs, food more expensive, bills generally more expensive). For example - our mobile and internet costs in the UK for 5 weeks was around £15 for the 5 weeks (2 sims and 30gb of internet, no contract). It was a whooping $72 for 4 weeks, 1 sim and a paltry 3gb of data) in Canada. That is £44! Anywhere else in Canada will see me earning around $50k pa! Hian! That one go hard o

Telecommunication is very expensive in Canada. During our stay we used data from our French network so we did not pay extra. With our contract we could call Canadian numbers free of charge. We could also browse the internet free with our data. 19 euros per month. You would not get this in Canada.

£500k in the UK will enable us choose a school and buy a house in the school catchment area in majority of the large UK cities (excluding London). $800k in Vancouver and Toronto will mean we're heading at least an hour out of the city to find a house. It will get us an apartment but why would I do that to myself?!
Houses are expensive in Canada.

3. We hired a car for only 3 days to head up north and just used public transport within Bristol where we stayed. We needed a car for the whole month in Canada. Public transport is diabolical in Canada. So we will need 2 cars in Canada and just 1 in the UK.
We stayed in Bristol as well during our visit over Christmas to see what life was like living in the UK. We had not visited UK for like 6 years before this. We found driving in Bristol a bit tough at first. Double parking on the streets, etc.

4. Primary and secondary education is much of a muchness depending on location in both countries. However, our children will be able to access university education as domestic students in the UK (as long as we're there 3 years beforehand), Ireland, Australia and NZ. Uni fees are dirt cheap in Europe anyway.

To put all this into perspective, we (family of 5) lived just outside Norwich on a combined wage of just over £50k until 2017. We owned our own home and 2 rentals. We had an au pair, travelled abroad every holiday, spent every half term somewhere in the UK and didn't feel we were poor at all! The feeling of being poor actually came after we moved to New Zealand and tripled our wages.

We are a family of 5 as well. The wife does not work at the moment.

Our move to NZ has been a fantastic financial decision. Any move to another country now either has to make serious financial sense or give us something we're missing. Heading back to the UK or Europe will take us closer to home and give our children a strong connection to 9ja. We haven't been back to 9ja since 2016 and used to go every year when we were in the UK. If I'm moving to anywhere else now for better finances, it'll be the US!

So are you guys settling in the UK? Would you have considered Canada if you had PR?

Hope that helps! I actually did a week to week breakdown cost of all our expenses in the UK and Canada so we could do a proper comparison. Happy to share if it'll help!

JayGordon:


Thanks a lot for your input. See our responses in bold.

JayGordon:


Thanks a lot for your input. See our responses in bold.

GraciousWords:


I'd like to message you if that's ok, to get your breakdown of expenses and to pick your brain on mortgage, childcare and education related bants. Thanks

Wsx2:
This is my phone bill for this month in Toronto

I am paying 1100 cad for 1 single room a month

rotile247:


I may be wrong and I don't have experience of UK but from your write up, the UK offer is temporary and for just you alone. Since you already have PR for you and your family which is permanent. I think Canada offer is permanent for your family and better. You are sure to get a starting level job at least as well as monthly child benefits for the 1st year which will cover your expenses. There are other family benefits depending on the province.

N.B: This is not a professional advice.

JayGordon:


Thanks a lot for your input. See our responses in bold.

dupyshoo:
Is this with phone or just call and data?

Wsx2:


Not with phone just the call and data

JayGordon:
Hi Everyone,

Your input, especially from those with first hand experience would be appreciated.

We got Canadian PR last year and are aiming to relocate to Canada this summer (family of 5).

However, got a job offer (65k GBP) per year plus sponsorship for just myself. I will have to sort of Visa fees for my family as company will not do this. So I am just thinking how much I will have to budget just for the move.

The sponsorship will be for 3 years so I need to budget for NHS surcharge (3× 600 X 4) and visa fees 600 x 4 I think. Also, I think I have to réserve a minimum balance in my account?

I visited UK last December and the cost of living is high.

Option 2 is to continue with out Canadian plan as we have PR. The thing is no job lined up. I have stepped up search though.

ILR will take 5 years while we already have PR.

Anyone with experience with having to choose from the two countries?

Regards.

lilbro:
I

Why in the world will any one who's got an EU citizenship want to come to Canada? Canada is overrated! i have lived there for almost 2 decades ( Calgary and Winnipeg ) and i keep telling folks if you got another option like the UK and Australia or NZ go for it! unless you don't have an option you can consider Canada.

Canadians cant even afford vacations without working 2 jobs or a side hustle, all they do is work work work! the pay sucks and the US dollar kicks the Canadian dollars in the ass. Canada is the land where subtle racism was invented, you need to write one certification or get one license or the other for you to get into a real professional gig as your experiences outside the country means nothing to them!

Toronto and Vancouver are the most expensive cities but lots of opportunities ( a more milder climate of maybe -20 in the deep winter) there, just like Newyork and California but be ready to rent someones basement. Even Canadians are looking for greener pastures in the Us. My friend Honestly the lawn is not always as green as it looks on the otherside. If you consider other provinces be prepared for the cold and owning 2 cars insurance is thru the roof, telecoms bills are crazily expensive. the wether makes everyone depressed. Think Again!

abuhusna1:

Brother hold your canada tight oo. If yoy can get job in uk you can get in canada as well. That your 3 years sponsor is a trap as you will need another sponsor after 2 years what if e no want give you. Just carry pr enjoy your canada

JayGordon:


Thanks for the input. It is not necessary a case of the lawn being greener on the other side. We have done some research into Canada and are still doing our research and of course continue to learn from people like you who have plenty of first hand experience. We have achieved what we set out for by getting EU citizenship - not just the passport and material stuff but also mental and language stuff for couple and kids. You get to a level where you feel you need a change to take your career to the next level. The wife and kids are strong fans of Canada as well and until recently, I was at the back seat in our family regarding the move. I and my spouse both felt it was time to look elsewhere - an anglophone country preferably. So the choice was between the UK and Canada. We are still collecting data and even if we try Canada and do not like it, we can always move elsewhere.

The points you raised are valid points that we are taking into consideration.

Wsx2:
This is my phone bill for this month in Toronto

I am paying 1100 cad for 1 single room a month

lilbro:


Now that you have said all these, i will be quite frank and honest with you, I am an American citizen but born in Nigeria and Nigerian Raised, left 9ja after my college days. My wife ( high school sweet heart) on the other hand is a Canadian citizen and was an advocate for us raising our kids in Canada but thank God i let her have her way (until she saw the truth) and now we are happily living our lives with our kids in the US. and yes i am an American and a Canadian.

So basically you got your US citizenship before moving to live in Canada with your family?

I also am in the Power Generation Industry Nuclear turbines and CCGT. The USA has so much unlimited opportunities when it comes to our field but in Canada only the white Canadians are allowed to venture into such fields ( even in the military only on very rare occasions) speaking from my experience i think I've seen it all. i will not discourage you but i will encourage you to go back to your drawing boards and do some more research. The USA gives you options as a professional and depending on your specialization they will welcome your experience from other countries but that is not the case for Canada, not only that, you have got 50 states to choose from even if you want a Nigerian weather its in the US!

Great one. I am also with the power generation industry and hopefully I can learn a few things from you. I have seen a few Nigerians work in this sector in Canada. I have seen many engineers use Canada as a gateway to the United states. Some were professionally registered in Canada and went on to join the power generation sector in the US and professional registration in the states was easier than, say, someone like me who is professionally registered by a UK professional body.

So the US will definitely be on our radar.

Another key aspect is education for the kids, the opportunities are just immense in terms of sports and talent seeking, their High schools are top notch. In Canada when my kids were in middle school and high school the educational level was just too poor and laid back, they don't drill the kids with extra homework and assignments. I can categorically tell you my kids went to one of the best top rated public high schools in the us ( which was a struggle for them the first year, but the had to sit up) and we have been so glad we left Canada ever since.

I have heard many British families living in Canada complain about the cost of sport activities for kids and some have raised similar concerns like you. They have also talked about the school systems being too "woke".

Just like every other western country you just have to look for a home where the schools in that vicinity are highly rated in terms of academics and sports, trust me when i say true born Canadians are leaving Canada for the us because of lack of opportunities. the Canadian economy thrives on immigration and it will get to a point where if not well managed the structure will start to deteriorate. Indians have messed the country up and they have carved a niche for themselves that they look at Africans and Nigerians most especially as big competition for them and they will go all out to frustrate you. But guess what? they have little or no say in the US! my family and I have tons of experience with Canada and we r so glad we left and now living our American Dream!

True that Canadian born citizens are looking for greener pastures and many have moved over to the states.

JayGordon:


Thanks for the detailed information. My responses in bold and it will be great if we could chat at some point. Sent you a message request.

Check out this post on linkedIN. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/daniel-j-bernhard_newcomers-falling-out-of-love-with-canadian-activity-7031649155877937152-8ooC/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&fbclid=IwAR3b2Xt8Z-iQUWqJlEBFso5g57LDkcfHlmg8AD-yi2eDZv2FofzIwgiVkiI

JayGordon:


That is really expensive. Will definitely be keeping my EU Mobile contract

lilbro:
I

Why in the world will any one who's got an EU citizenship want to come to Canada? Canada is overrated! i have lived there for almost 2 decades ( Calgary and Winnipeg ) and i keep telling folks if you got another option like the UK and Australia or NZ go for it! unless you don't have an option you can consider Canada.

Canadians cant even afford vacations without working 2 jobs or a side hustle, all they do is work work work! the pay sucks and the US dollar kicks the Canadian dollars in the ass.
[b]I am sorry Sir, I totally disagree with this statement. Well maybe this is true amongst your clique or circle but within my circle this is not the case.[/b]
Canada is the land where subtle racism was invented, you need to write one certification or get one license or the other for you to get into a real professional gig as your experiences outside the country means nothing to them!

I also disagree with this statement. In my field (finance/accounting/auditing), ur experience outside Canada is not discounted and u don’t need to write any professional exams before u get professional jobs in that industry.

Toronto and Vancouver are the most expensive cities but lots of opportunities ( a more milder climate of maybe -20 in the deep winter) there, just like Newyork and California but be ready to rent someones basement. Even Canadians are looking for greener pastures in the Us. My friend Honestly the lawn is not always as green as it looks on the otherside. If you consider other provinces be prepared for the cold and owning 2 cars insurance is thru the roof, telecoms bills are crazily expensive. the wether makes everyone depressed. Think Again!

lilbro:


Just like every other western country you just have to look for a home where the schools in that vicinity are highly rated in terms of academics and sports, trust me when i say true born Canadians are leaving Canada for the us because of lack of opportunities. the Canadian economy thrives on immigration and it will get to a point where if not well managed the structure will start to deteriorate. Indians have messed the country up and they have carved a niche for themselves that they look at Africans and Nigerians most especially as big competition for them and they will go all out to frustrate you. But guess what? they have little or no say in the US! my family and I have tons of experience with Canada and we r so glad we left and now living our American Dream!

Wsx2:
This is my phone bill for this month in Toronto

I am paying 1100 cad for 1 single room a month

Wsx2:


Not with phone just the call and data

lilbro:


Now that you have said all these, i will be quite frank and honest with you, I am an American citizen but born in Nigeria and Nigerian Raised, left 9ja after my college days. My wife ( high school sweet heart) on the other hand is a Canadian citizen and was an advocate for us raising our kids in Canada but thank God i let her have her way (until she saw the truth) and now we are happily living our lives with our kids in the US. and yes i am an American and a Canadian.

I also am in the Power Generation Industry Nuclear turbines and CCGT. The USA has so much unlimited opportunities when it comes to our field but in Canada only the white Canadians are allowed to venture into such fields ( even in the military only on very rare occasions) speaking from my experience i think I've seen it all. i will not discourage you but i will encourage you to go back to your drawing boards and do some more research. The USA gives you options as a professional and depending on your specialization they will welcome your experience from other countries but that is not the case for Canada, not only that, you have got 50 states to choose from even if you want a Nigerian weather its in the US!

Another key aspect is education for the kids, the opportunities are just immense in terms of sports and talent seeking, their High schools are top notch. In Canada when my kids were in middle school and high school the educational level was just too poor and laid back, they don't drill the kids with extra homework and assignments. I can categorically tell you my kids went to one of the best top rated public high schools in the us ( which was a struggle for them the first year, but the had to sit up) and we have been so glad we left Canada ever since.

Just like every other western country you just have to look for a home where the schools in that vicinity are highly rated in terms of academics and sports, trust me when i say true born Canadians are leaving Canada for the us because of lack of opportunities. the Canadian economy thrives on immigration and it will get to a point where if not well managed the structure will start to deteriorate. Indians have messed the country up and they have carved a niche for themselves that they look at Africans and Nigerians most especially as big competition for them and they will go all out to frustrate you. But guess what? they have little or no say in the US! my family and I have tons of experience with Canada and we r so glad we left and now living our American Dream!

JayGordon:


Masters in Electrical and experience in nuclear power generation