We have spoke on and off about emigrating to Canada

[needsomesunshineandwine]

Can anyone give me some advice on this? We have spoke on and off for years about this but never actually followed through.

How would we go about it, we are a family looking to go permanently. My husband is a skilled worker and I'm only admin, would this be doable, would we need a minimum amount of money?

Can anyone advise or know anyone that we can speak with to try get a plan of action?

www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.asp

Do you speak French?
He might be a skilled worker, but is he on any skilled migration lists (google Canada skilled occupations list and you'll likely find it yourself too)
In fairness there list is pretty large, but does exclude some skilled occupations too.
The application process is tough. Start saving, talk with a migration agent and get an application in (if you can) but nothing is guaranteed. Don't set your heart on it too much.
I have a friend, her and her husband are both skilled workers on their skill list. They speak French (not necessarily required but a huge bonus) 6 figures in the bank, lots of experience and 3 degrees between them, no criminal record and a support network (friends and some cousins) in Canada.
On paper they were perfect.
Application rejected. The kicker being that they'd saved for years, sold their house and told everyone they were going as their agent had told them that they were perfect applicants and likely wouldn't be refused. So try to avoid that situation by keeping it under wraps (and just saving/not tying yourself to the uk further) until you have your visa.

Canada is massive and ease of immigration depends on which province you are going to. do you know where you want to go?

Aside from the practicalities of "will they have you?", what appeals to you about it.

Some parts of the country are bloody freezing. Other parts are wetter than the UK in the winter. Some cities are very affordable, some not at all.

Where I live the expected work ethic is pretty intense. Many places you are expected to live to work. My hairdresser from the Balkans sighed heavily on this topic the other day and said she missed that about home. "There we worked to live."

On the upside most cities that I've been to are clean and well-maintained (I've only seen the west coast & Toronto though). Our healthcare system is great & the education ... is not terrible. Women are very much equal partners. There is racism but in general it's not acceptable. Lots of pretty things to see.

Immigrants have said to me that they find we're very friendly (Canadians) on the surface, but you will never get invited to someone's house. To an extent I think that's true - we skew private after hours. When people go out I think they more go out than come over.

So some cultural differences to bear in mind.

What part of the country do you want to go to?

Have a look at Express Entry. I think paying a (good) immigration lawyer is worth the money.

What Province are you looking at?

lizzieoak the funny thing about the comment that Canadians are friendly but hard to become real friends with is that I've moved around a lot, between countries and between cities, and I've had people say that about the "locals" in every single place I've lived. I'm starting to think that maybe it just takes time to make real friends!

Maybe. I moved to the UK though and found people a bit less warm and fuzzy but much more likely to invite you round.

I think the cold in much of Canada has bred a sort of Scandinavian reserve. Even my closest friends and I, we're more likely to go for coffee or a walk than to go to each other's homes. Big moats ;)

Do you live in a city? In every city I've lived in, people meet outside of the home for the convenience of meeting centrally rather than to avoid having people over. Maybe it is a Canadian thing, I don't know, but I've heard people say it about all sorts of places.

Yes, a big city.