We are about to move permanently to (Sydney-Aust OR Vancouver-Canada).?

Question

We are a young family of four. I am a pharmacist & my wife is an IT Project Coordinator. If you have lived in both Australia and Canada, pls tell me which one do you think would be a better destination to settle & WHY ?

- We like Canadian Culture & close to the rest of the world but apprehensive of snow/cold/long winters, crime rate & possibly recession starting next year.

- We like the outdoorsy Australian lifestyle & friendly Australian attitude, but are apprehensive of poisonous insects/summer heat, possible droughts & of high prices of homes and being so far away.

Pls help!!!! Thanks.

Answer 1

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE

Answer 2

I haven't lived in Australia, but.....no place is recession-proof, so I wouldn't make any decisions based on that. Crime rate in Canada? You're worrying about that? I don't know what the statistics say, but I can tell you I've lived in Canada my whole life, 55 years, and no one I know has been the victim of a serious crime--no house break-ins, no car theft, no assaults, etc. No doubt it varies from place to place but I have lived in Toronto, Vancouver, and rural BC with no problem. It depends how you live and who you know, in large part.

If you can't stand the thought of long cold winters, just about any part of southern BC would be okay. On the coast, winter tends to be grey, cloudy and rainy but it rarely snows. Summer is lovely--not too hot. In the interior, winters are colder though not really cold as a rule, summers can be blazing hot, and it's fairly dry all year. BC is very outdoorsy--when it's nice in Vancouver, everybody gets outside, and there are lots of great places to be outside at.

On the coast in BC, there aren't many bugs, especially mosquitos, which is not true of most of the rest of Canada. Varies from place to place but generally speaking you can sit outside in the evening without being bitten 100 times.

Answer 3

Pretty similar... but, have you noticed. in every competiotion between these two.   Ozzies usually wins.   probably there's   something in their water.

it's only shows that the quality of life in oztralia would be better for you and your family.

and there is this popular website www.notcanada.com   pretty scary.

Answer 4

It rains a lot in Vancouver and it gets quite depressing.  Best bet would be Australia - mulitcultural, beautiful beaches, good weather, low crime rates...as for heating problem, they do have ACs in Australia.

Answer 5

If you don't like bugs or hot weather you may not enjoy Canadian summers. Housing prices are very high in Vancouver. Also wonder where you are comparing the Canadian crime rate to.

Have you looked at immigration procedures for either country? It may take up to two years to process a Canadian immigration application.

Answer 6

Couple points

Australia : VERY far away.  Prices for freshwater will skyrocket eventualy, they have no supply.  Nice place though, close to the east if you want to travel there.  Australian attitude is friendly, but they are always weary of foreigners, that whole "White Australia Policy" was only a few years ago.  And those Sydney Riots.  

Vancouver: Rated the number one place to live by many think tanks (google it)  There are no cold snowy winters in Vancity, and the good thing is if you want cold snow, you can drive to Whistler or to any mountain resort and do whatever.

Answer 7

Vancouver - no real snow. Wet wet winters, loads of grey. Summer has been HOT. Average thus far 24 daily highs.

House prices are insane 800,000 will get you a small 2 bedroom. High crime rates, drug issues and masive homelessness. Gentrification of everything. Lose of history. 2010 Olympics are coming and causing massive construction making the views horrible and blocked.

Plus - many vegetarian restaurants. Pretty good kid friendly stuff. Independant schools very very pricey. Over packed public schools. Choices in immerision programs. Childcare crisis.

I've never been to australia.

-Just saw what some others had to say about crime.... Vancouver is property crime capital of Canada. I've been broken into 3 times. Have had my locker broken into a everything stollen in highschool. My husband has been locked out of his apartment by a drug addict inside trying to steal his stuff (got away with a camera). Everyone I've talked to and met in Vancouver has had some encounter with property crime. Bikes are stollen left right and center.