Canada or Majorca

[countydurhamlass]

We have the possibility of moving to either of these countries at the beginning of next year but i am torn between the two. they both have their positives and negatives. every time i think one place would be better than the other something crops up that changes my mind.

the main negative for moving to canada is the cold weather but surely it can't be any more unbearable than in England...can it??

if you were me what do you think you would choose?

anyone living in either country ..can you tell me what it is really like?

Before we are all terribly rude about Regina, have any of the Canucks/new Canucks on the thread ever actually been there? I have a colleague from Regina who absolutely loves it and indeed spends every single summer there at her family's beautiful lake cottage....the weather is cold in the winter but apparently glorious in the summer, typical prairie climate. ALso it's quite pretty. Because it is the provincial capital it has the main university and also government so a highly educated population.

As mentioned there are a number of beautiful lakes in that part of Sasketchewan. And it's cheap.

However, I would suggest as my fellow Canadians have a note of caution because it's not a big city. Could you visit beforehand?

Quality of health/education very high in Sask.

PS I am always surprised by the suggestion that living in Canada is more expensive than the UK. I find the exact opposite, every time I go home I take an empty suitcase and fill it up, but that might because Alberta is cheaper than other provinces.

One more PS regarding the cold. Can never get my thoughts organized :) I found that the reliable summers compensated for the cold, in Edmonton you get at least 6 weeks and usually longer of glorious summer weather, and you can buy a summer wardrobe and actually wear it, which was not the case in the UK. However, it is very cold. Growing up in that climate is different because it's normal to you, but yes, it can snow in May (but it melts). But generally until it gets very very cold you can dress for it and go outside for cross country skiing, tobogganing, skating etc and things are geared up for outdoor life. One thing I found hard about the UK was the 4pm, raining, November afternoon when it's dark. What do you do? At home we would go skating or something because it's all lit at night, or go to the local ski hill, or cross country, or just a frosty walk. Snow is more fun than rain and although it can be very cold the cold which prevents outdoor activity still occurs less often than the number of days of rain in the UK...

yy to 300 days a year of sunshine (calgary) it's v nice!

would rather snow and sunshine than grey and wet - and i've lived in vancouver too so i know a lot about grey and wet!

I am with Roary - I am wondering if anyone on this thread has actually been to Regina. Yes it is pretty quiet, but it is actually a lovely city. (I like Saskatoon better, but oh well!) Yes the winters are hard and long in Saskatchewan, but the summers are beautiful, there are lovely lakes nearby, it's a booming province and it's still relatively cheap. People can be awfully mean about Sask without knowing much about it!

Yes I have been to Regina, my mother lived there for 8 months and then moved back to Edmonton. Regina was just too slow and erm...too conservative for them...

Like I said there are some good things about the place, but wow...serious culture shock if you are coming from the UK.

And I do find Canada far more expensive than the UK when I go home, it shocks me how quickly I burn through money. I go out and fill up my dad's house with groceries when we are staying and it costs nearly 3x as much to buy the same as I would buy here.

I also find clothing and toiletries very expensive. I lot my entire makeup bag when I was last home and had to replace everything. It cost me near to $400 where it would have cost me £50 here.

I like that I can nip out to a shop like Uniqlo and buy good quality cotton t-shirts in multiple colours for £8 each. I send a girlfriend clothes regularly..staples..t-shirts, bra's etc because she saves so much that way.

Not to mention the cost of mobile telephones, utilities and car insurance!!

I am living in Toronto (just moved from London) and it has been extremely hot here (some days around 36 degrees C). The way you shop here is in bulk - that way it's cheaper. The subway train is air conditioned which makes it so much better when lugging around a buggy. I do miss cheap parmesan cheese and the Sunday Times (shelled out 12 c dollars for this paper as a treat!)