Where to go? Canada, Australia or New Zealand?

[Brunocat]

My husband and I have been thinking of moving abroad for a couple of years and can't decide where to go.
He's a G.P. so we could get into any of these countries fairly easily (Thinking about somewhere within 1 hour of a big city / town)
Can anyone sing the praises of where they live at the moment?

its ok ghosty
im sorry too for that previous thread
i was in a sarky mood that day and it doesnt come across well on internet. sorry

BC always gets rave reviews, so I thought I'd give Ontario a bit of a plug. When DH was posted to Toronto, I was a bit , but it's been fabulous. Very relaxed and multicultural. We're in quite an urban setting were we are, but there are some beautiful houses with big gardens very close to Downtown, so you don't necessarily have to be in the countryside to benefit from green space and a villagey lifestyle if that's what you are looking for. Parts of it remind me of places like Oxford.

The countryside north of Toronto is absolutely beautiful, lots of rolling hills and lakes.

Personally, I would avoid living in the dormitory towns in the Greater Toronto area, as they do seem a bit samey and typically suburban as far as properties go -just the impression I get.

The economy seems fairly sound at the moment and there's a sense of optimism that is sadly lacking in the UK right now. Not had a winter here, but local friends say while it's cold, everything is set up to cope with it and make the most of the winter season.

My one word of advice, wherever you choose would be Go For It. So many people procrastinate about things like this when they could be having a wonderful experience right now. It's easier than you think.

i have friends in toronto who rave about it too - esp the multicultural aspect. i agree too with the GO FOR IT advice - we went for it, stayed away for two years, came back - loved the experience and have no regrets. at the end of the day your move doesn't have to be forever!

I agree that NZ is not that great, Looks just like the Peak / Lake District no people anywhere not much to do. Sydney OTOH is an amazing city although IMO the best city in the world is NYC.

Thanks for all the posts, in answer to earlier posts we are looking for somewhere rural but within an hour or two of a big town / city. Perth is out of the question because although it looks fantastic, you are right it's just too far away from anywhere! I am leaning towards Australia myself, maybe, NSW, Victoria or Tasmania. I know a lot of you have said that Canada ia amazing but I'm just not feeling it - I don't like cold weather. I've been to New Foundland and I can't get that image out of my head, I just can't picture mainland Canda being much different.
As soon as my hubbie gets his MRCGP (hopefully in March) I can start getting job offers finalised and get us out there. (The agreement is is that if I organise it all, we can go!)

australia is great brunocat. just beware won't you of those rural posts...i once signed up for 6 mths in toowoomba (qld) as a young and naive junior doctor and bitterly regretted it when i got there - tho i guess with two kids in tow i might like it more these days...but i really would look out for the smaller towns in oz, they can feel really parochial and boony-esque. good luck!!

Brunocat... if you don't like cold weather please don't move to Canada! Toronto is certainly warmer than average by Canadian standards but it can still quite easily be minus 20 on a cold day. The only two places in Canada that aren't really cold in winter are: Newfoundland (pretty wet and foggy but a beautiful province) and southern BC (again pretty wet).

To be honest, though, you would probably get used to the cold (especially if you are sporty - lots of cross country skiing, downhill skiing, ice skating, tobogganing, curling depending on what you like to do and where you are in Canada. Also, of course, everywhere is well insulated and well-heated. Most children usually LOVE the winter in Canada, until they hit around the age of 12-13...

Agree that if you don't like cold weather, forget Canada. I was near Montreal in March and it was minus 17 at midday without the wind factor. I couldn't live like that for three quarters of the year, and some of the children we spoke to seemed fed up with snow. Shame, as apart from that Canada ticks a lot of boxes.

It sounds like NZ or Australia would suit you better. Newfoundland is very different from the rest of Canada. Canada is very diverse in it's topography so don't judge canada on what you found in newfoundland. I agree with the comments on BC and Ontario. THey are much warmer and less wet than the east coast of canada. However, if you don't like cold, it is not the place to be. But I would add that anyone I have met who moved here, tend to adjust fairly quickly, even when they come from really warm climates. My friend is about to marry an australian and he can shovel snow like the best of them and Canadians are really big on winter sports like snow shoeing, skiiing, sledding, skating (and hockey of course) and it does help the winter pass.

It sounds like NZ or Australia would suit you better. Newfoundland is very different from the rest of Canada. Canada is very diverse in it's topography so don't judge canada on what you found in newfoundland. I agree with the comments on BC and Ontario. THey are much warmer and less wet than the east coast of canada. However, if you don't like cold, it is not the place to be. But I would add that anyone I have met who moved here, tend to adjust fairly quickly, even when they come from really warm climates. My friend is about to marry an australian and he can shovel snow like the best of them and Canadians are really big on winter sports like snow shoeing, skiiing, sledding, skating (and hockey of course) and it does help the winter pass.

I lived in Wellington, NZ for five years and loved it. Kiwis are very friendly and it is a beautiful country. They are great travellers and you will probably meet someone who once lived in your street! Wellington isn't very warm though; the hottest it ever reached while I was there was 27c. Travelling back to the UK will take longer and be more expensive than from Aus. and Canada.

I always thought Canada would be a lovely place to live. My best friend from when I lived in Bangkok has just moved to Ottawa from Berlin.(Her husband is a German diplomat). It will be interesting to see what she thinks of it. With my experience of Wellington, I have formed the thought that living in or near a smaller capital city like Canberra or Ottawa would be a good lifestyle choice. (Hobart, a state capital has been a fancy as well). This thought is influenced by my experience of being a librarian for government departments and the possibility of lots of interesting jobs being available.

Despite all the negative opinions on another thread about Australia,(and like NZ and Canada) it is not a country without culture. However, the culture is not British, it is different and you will need different 'lenses' or knowledge to see it. Most people on that thread failed to acknowledge that the culture of Indigenous Australians has been around for 40,000 -60,000 years. It is still living and you can give yourself opportunities to experience it or to see where and how it once flourished. Culture is not confined to Sydney and Melbourne. Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth all have populations of over a million people and have art galleries, museums, opera and ballet companies etc. They do travel to regional centres and these centres are particularly strong in the visual arts.

I am back in my home town in South Australia after living in Adelaide, Sydney, NZ, Thailand and Vietnam. I am surprised how much I like it. It is 450kms from Adelaide and Melbourne though!

The town is crying out for doctors and it is really interesting how the multicultural mix of the town is being expanded by doctors from many different countries. For many people here their first meeting with a person of a different culture, colour or religion is their GP. The town's first wave of none UK migrants were Italians, Greeks, Dutch and former Yugoslavians after WW2, now it is doctors and Burmese refugees.

Have a look at one of the local medical clinics and the need they have and the services they offer overseas trained doctors.
www.hawkinsmedical.com.au/

Where am I? www.mountgambiertourism.com.au/

Oh I forgot. I love Radio National and Late Night Live in particular. www.abc.net.au/rn/latenightlive/

I'm a kiwi (Hastings, Wellington, Invercargill, Thames, Auckland), have lived in Oz (Newcastle, Boyne Island, Brisbane) and now live in Canada (Montreal).

While I would like to return to NZ as it is a fantastic place to bring up kids, I find it too small, a bit narrow minded, and too quiet. Last time we visited, we went to my Dad's bach with my stepsister and her 3 little kids were running around on the beach, just like we used to do when we were kids, and I feel heartbroken my son won't get to share that with his cousins. This is what I miss about home. If there was a big construction project on, we'd definitely go.

I enjoyed Australia, but found it hard to cope with the humidity and heat, and had an even harder time dealing with the creepy crawlies, snakes were fine, but the crawly things I couldn't cope with. It is a great place to live though. People are laid back and family orientated, based on what I saw in Brisvegas, and they would quite happily strike up a conversation while waiting to cross the road. And it didn't feel weird. We had the opportunity to go to Perth before we came to Canada, but just couldn't bring myself to go as it just seemed too far from anywhere.

I suppose that is what puts me off going home or back to Oz, they are both far, far away from Europe/UK and was the main factor in our decision for Canada.

This is my second time now in Canada, I have been through a winter, and loved every minute of it. We really enjoy it here. The city is just big enough without feeling hemmed in. We live in a lovely suburb, 10mins from downtown, with great leafy trees and many parks within 15min walk. Last time I was here, I remember walking home from work with massive snowflakes, as big as my fist, falling, just looking up into the sky in wonder. Locals must have thought I was nuts, but I do love the colder climate.

Canadians, extremely friendly and almost ridiculously polite, and everything is SUPER. We love it, and even DH, who has an extremely good reason to return to the UK thinks we'll stay for good.

Whichever you choose, it's a matter of getting into it as soon as you arrive. Invite people over, set up playdates, take people up on their offers straight away, immerse yourself in local friends. I've found that has much helped us here, where as when I moved to UK I was more reticent with this, and even though we lived in DH's hometown and did have friends there, didn't really feel part of the scene.

We live just outside Wellington and love it. We have 6 acres, chickens, ducks, geese, veges etc. Best of both worlds as where we are feels very rural, but we can be in town in 20 mins. Wgtn has a very lively music/arts scene (which we know nothing about as we're too busy changing nappies to be cool...) and a nice cafe culture.

Biggest disadvantage is being so far from anywhere else. But with technology like the internet, skype etc there's no need to feel cut off from the rest of the world.

Brownsuga, I am envious. You live in what is, IMO,by far the best city in Canada! Montreal is fantastic. It's the only place in the country that I would love to live. But it is generally hard to find a good job there as so many companies have ceased operations over the years, largely for political reasons. So highly unlikely that I could ever live there again. makes me happy to hear you are enjoying living there!

brownsuga, i wanna live in montreal too now, having read your description! hey - you did the right thing deciding against perth. we were there for a year and i have never felt more remote from the rest of the world - even new zealand where we went after that seemed positively in the centre of things!!
i have made a mental note to visit montreal one of these years...

We are just about to move from New York City to Kamloops in British Columbia. Just to give you an idea of the differences in climate, we are going to a semi arid region, similar apparently to California. Sunshine most of the year, in the 30s from April-October. We might get a few weeks of snow in December/January, but we've been told it rarely drops to crazy Canadian winter temperatures - average temp in January is -6. Plus it doesn't rain much, friends say they don't own an umbrella/rain coat. So check the region before making any decisions, Australia and Canada in particular are big countries! Having just had a NYC summer, I will be sad to leave, we have had five months of pretty much continuos sunshine here, but the humidity has been horrible at times. We really like BC, people are friendly and laid back, and it is incredibly beautiful. Whatever you do you must visit wherever you are thinking of going before making any decision.