stuartgreig1978 - I will send you several posts to answer and inform you. I am a Canadian living on Vancouver Island in a city called Nanaimo, BC. You can qualify as your wife's common-law partner, but it is best to be married and apply through the family sponsorship process. I did this with my Filipina wife. Check out information at cic.gc.ca The immigration website. Also jobalerts@workingincanada.gc.ca For climate I would pick Southern Vancouver Island. Vancouver is very expensive. Victoria is the capital on the southern tip of the Island and is the nicest city in Canada. Its about 12cl during the day and 8cl at night right now. May brings the warm weather. June can be cool. Look on craigslist.org for adds for housing. There are lots of social worker jobs. More later. I did a lot of posts to a guy moving from Singapore to Canada. Look at my posts to him. He's headed to Vancouver with two friends.

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@standupguy

Thanks for your reply. Had a look at your other post from the Singapore guy. Some very good information. Also had a look at craigslist. Was very good for houses to rent etc.

Thanks again. Much appreciated.

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LOL, I find it amusing that anyone can suggest that anywhere is the 'nicest city in Canada'. That is a subjective opinion, not an objective fact.

You couldn't pay me to live in Victoria. Not because there is anything particularly wrong with Victoria itself as a city, but simply because of its location.

It's on an ISLAND with all that means in terms of getting to anywhere not on that island. What's more, it does not have any better weather than you get in the UK and that is one criteria specifically being asked for here. A lot of Brits like Victoria specifically because it is much like 'home' weatherwise.

The warmest DRIEST climate in Canada is in the Okanogan Valley of BC. The southern portion actually qualifies as a true desert. But in summer it can get really hot and that seems to bother a lot of Brits. It's too hot.

Vancouverites love to suggest they get the best weather. 'We have the mildest climate in Canada' they say. That's true but they forget to mention that 'mild' means only that, no huge differences in climate year round. In other words, it rains all year round and it rains OFTEN. Sound familiar stuart?

I live in Southwestern Ontario in an area that is referred to as the Banana Belt. You read that right. It is not called that because bananas grow here, they don't. It is called that because we do not get as much snow as most places. In fact, this winter which was admittedly a milder than normal winter, I had my snow blower out to clear my driveway (it's a long driveway) ONCE. Even that once was more about firing up the snow blower to turn the engine over as a practical thing to do rather than out of necessity to clear the driveway. There was only about 2 inches of snow. I could have not cleared it at all and just drove in and out. In an average winter I might use the snow blower 6-8 times on an average of 3-4 inches of snow.

Canada is not covered in 3 feet of snow everywhere, all winter. If you look at a map of N. America Stuart you will see that Southwestern Ontario is at the same latitude as Northern California and so far south of anywhere in BC including Victoria. If you look at a world map you will see it is in line with Barcelona and Rome!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/40025248@N04/5073344346

It annoys me a bit when people think everywhere in Canada is in the far north. A good third of all the states in the USA are farther north than I am and they get the snow to prove it. I can understand someone from elsewhere in the world not realizing that but it annoys me even more when Canadians don't realize it.

Anyway Stuart, my point is do not listen to nonsense about any place being the 'nicest' or the weather being better than elsewhere. There are as many Canadians ignorant of the rest of Canada as you might be at the moment.

Now for some facts for you to consider. Ontario has the most job opportunities. Always has had, always will. It is simply the most densely populated area of Canada (but nowhere near as dense as in the UK) which means it has the most cities and the most jobs.

There are job opportunities in every Province but some do have more than others. Alberta right now is down due to its dependence on the oil industry. The Martime Provinces always have less to offer job wise.

But I would not necessarily use that as a primary factor in deciding where to try. I would say it was more important to look at all the other things an area has to offer you. Those are weather, access to a major airport(you will want to fly back to the UK to visit or have visitors come to you). Activities available that you are interested in. etc. etc.

As far as schools go, generally speaking, Canadians do not obsess over schools and 'catchement areas' the way many Brits seem to do. Most Canadians schools do a good job. In other words, as many students go on to university from any high school as any other generally speaking.

House prices outside of major cities can be quite reasonable. Your 250k will buy MORE than it will in the UK regardless of where you buy.

I'm not a fan of surveys and lists of the 'best places to live' in general. I find that they are only as good as the critieria they use to rank the places and those criteria are not necessarily the criteria that matter most to me. But I do think they can be useful to someone in your position IF you read between the lines and bear in mind your criteria vs. the criteria any such list uses. Here is one such list to take a look at but you can find many more.
http://www.moneysense.ca/canadas-best-places-to-live-2015-full-ranking/

And by the way, where is Victoria on that list? Number 50.

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OldPro - Have you ever lived in Canada? Here's from your data:
Okanogan Valley - raging forest fires every summer destroying 100 of homes.
What you say about Vancouver is absolutely false. The weather from May to September is fantastic. I lived there for 24 years. From November to April you get lots of clouds and cold rain and a little snow. North Van is the 9th. best city in Canada, West Van. is the 11th. best city, Delta is the 13th best city. Pt. Moody is the 32 best city. Pt. Coquitlam is the 34th. best city. That's the lower mainland. Only for the rich. No parking anywhere, anytime, lots of traffic, bridges jammed. Commuting takes forever, everything is a long drive from home. Vancouver rates at 46th. best city. Now onto the Capital Regional District that includes Victoria rated at 50. Saanich is 12th best city right there next to Victoria. Langford is the best new up and coming area next to Victoria. Like Vancouver at 46 and North Vancouver at 9, you're best off in the burbs. Comox on Vancouver Island is the 25th best city. Speaking as someone who has lived for 23 years on Vancouver Island, Nanaimo and anything South to Victoria is great. From Nanaimo's Departure Bay it takes 1 hr. and 50 minutes on BC Ferries to get to Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver for $13 walk on. You then take the Blue bus, $3.00 to downtown Vancouver which takes about 30 minutes. I commuted twice a day for 11 years to Vancouver from Nanaimo. The Duke Point ferry in Nanaimo to Tsawwassen takes 2 hours and then about another hour by bus and sky train to VAG (Vancouver International Airport). Victoria also has an International Airport that flies everywhere. I have been all over BC, Ontario and across Canada several times. Stratford, Ontario is a great city. That's it for the East. Southwestern Ontario, where you live can get biter cold in the winter. Regardless of how much moisture comes down as snow. I have been there. Tell people about the Artic outflows. Also, the warm/cold weather is determined by the Jet Stream, not geographical location. Ottawa is a great city, too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. Personally, for the cost of living, price of homes and access to beautiful nature, great fishing and hunting, I like Nanaimo at 85,000 people. I like the ocean. I am a scuba diver and own a great fishing boat. I have lived there for 24 years. You can have your land locked cities. Not my cup of tea.

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Hilarious standupguy.

Yes, I have lived in Canada. I've lived in Ontario, Alberta and BC (Oliver, in the Okanogan), before ending up here in SW Ontario in a small town of 3000 population. I've also lived in France, Greece and the UK.

I've also spent every second week for 18 months in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island for business reasons. I've also travelled all over Canada from East to West many times in all seasons for business reasons. I would venture to say that I have seen more of Canada than the average Canadian and am familiar enough with Europe to be able to draw realistic comparisons of things.

Some of your comments are amusing. Victoria has an 'International Airport' you say. Oh really? With flights to what International destinations pray tell? Non-stop international destinations please. Non-N. American destinations please. Care to list them? Let me. There is one, Honolulu.

So how do you think that Victoria's 'International Airport with flights to the USA and Mexico is going to help someone from the UK as the OP is?

You say the weather in Vancouver from May to September is fantastic. You're right. Do you know what the word 'fantastic' means though? It means it is a fantasy. I've been there, it rains. I've never driven through Oregon at any time of year and not encountered rain. I've never visited Vancouver and not encountered rain. What else do I need to know beyond that to have an opinion on the desireability of a place to live in? Let me also clarify that I do mean to live in. I would not live in Vancouver but do consider it one of the most beautiful cities in Canada to VISIT. So I don't dislike Vancouver, I just don't consider it a good choice for a place to live for various reasons.

Also contrary to what Vancouverites living in their 'fantastic' city might want to think, snow is not a bad thing. You can do a lot of things in snow, unlike rain. Rain sucks far more than snow does in every way.

As for 'land locked' standupguy, I live on the waterfront. Duh, Lake Erie has a waterfront and yes it is in Southwestern Ontario. I have my own little private beach and as it happens there is a marina about 10 minutes down the road from me where my neighbour keeps his boat and yup we go fishing sometimes. Gee, did you think the west coast is the only place you can go fishing?

You write about your area is if it were the BEST in Canada standupguy. You are of course entitled to that opinion however wrong it might be. But it is only your opinion. I am sure that a lot of people who live in some little town in Nova Scotia feel the same way about where they live but they are not on here telling someone who is considering emmigrating to Canada that their choice is the 'best' choice.

I am more interested in telling the OP that there are a LOT of choices and all have some good and bad points. I am interested in telling the OP to consider THEIR criteria, not YOUR preference.

Nainimo isn't the edge of the world but I hear you can just about see it from there standupguy.

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OlePro - I acknowledged that you lived in Canada at the end of my last post. My comments were intended to clarify some of the misleading information you posted. Vancouver is number 50 on the best cities in Canada but North Vancouver, across the bridge is 7th or 9th. Victoria doesn't get a great rating either, but Saanich gets 7th or 9th and is part of the Capital Regional District right next to Victoria. It's about how you are pointing your finger. Onto weather: last summer was a drought. Climate change is here. In Nanaimo there was not one day of rain from May to October. Traditionally the last two weeks in August you get some rain. You get rain on the West Coast near Tofino but mostly around August. Lake Erie is waterfront, not oceanfront. It sounds like you got pretty nice digs so you are probably well heeled. Good for you. But a lake is a lot different. No Sockeye or Coho salmon, Halibut, Cod, Oysters, Clams, Muscles, Octopus, Scallops, Prawns, Crab, the list is endless. The diving in a lake is boring. The bottom is leaf and dead tree sediment, No sea pens, coral, Wolf eels, sea aneomes, swimming scallops. I'm not knocking your lake and hope the acid rain has stopped there, but the Pacific Ocean cannot be compared to Lake Erie. Sorry to sound biased. Victoria International Airport flies directly to all sorts of destinations in the USA, Mexico and Hawaii. Believe it or not so does the Comox airport (Comox is up there on the bet cities in Canada). My brother flied directly to Victoria from Phoenix Arizona and rents a car. No ferry and cheaper. There are several other ferries out of Victoria and Saanich to Washington State. There is just far more natural beauty that what you have there in Ontario. Mt. Washington has the biggest snowfall in BC. Cathedral Grove has 40 feet thick original growth Spruce, Cedar, Fir, and Hemlock trees, lots of them. Then there is Long Beach and Cox bay where you get international surfers, You also get some of the best waves anywhere in the world at Beach Camp near Port Renfrew. International Surfers there too. Stubbs Island Charter near Pt. McNeil has the second best scuba diving in the world. For those who like the woods, Northern BC is tops. Hunters from all over the world head to Dease Lake or Smithers. Hollywood uses Hudson Bay Mountain for many of its outdoor movies. Its a great modern small city on the Bulkley River which has a great salmon run. Ontario isn't all that bad. A lot of tobacco is grown there. You are exaggerating the rain in Vancouver some, Nanaimo is al lot drier. Like you say Duh, you have your preferences, but it's more complex than you make it sound. I have lived all over the US and traveled everywhere in the world except Africa. But I have been living in the Philippines for 5 years in my house 5 minutes from the beach on the Philippine Sea for 6 months a year, because there isn't enough sunlight for me between November and April in Canada and I hate the cold, snow and ice. I don't mind over 32 cl with lots of humidity every day. Besides I have Air Con. I always get a nice sea breeze. I return to Canada on Wednesday.

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And that is your problem standupguy. All your comments are about things that matter to YOU.

It is what the OP wants that matters, not what you prefer. An airport with flights to the USA, Mexico and Hawaii is of NO use to someone who wants to fly to or have visitors from the UK. So no matter how much it suits YOUR brother, is irrelevant.

You want to fish and dive. So what? Did the OP ask for a place to fish and dive? Or is that yet again about what YOU want. How does it make Vancouver Island a better place for the OP to live? Answer, it doesn't do so at all.

You want to have a debate about whether your island/Vancouver/BC is a better place to live than Ontario. I'm not the least bit interested in what YOU want to debate or what YOUR opinion is of either area.

So stop writing about YOU and what YOU like. It isn't about YOU.

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As you like fishing, you might want to know what in fact is caught in Lake Erie which includes Chinook and Coho Salmon standupguy.
http://www.thefishinguide.com/lake_erie_fishing.php

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yes, I know about the fresh water Coho, Lake Michigan has them too. Then there are the large Pike, Chinook I did not know about. Out on the West coast, you look for diving birds on a Herring Ball which is usually 50 yards across. at the surface. You can't even get your line out before a Pink Salmon is on it, which are not my favorite. Below the Pinks are the Coho and they are fun to catch. Below the Coho are the large Springs to 50 lbs. There is a challenge for a fisherman. At least you have a nice beach, pretty good fishing, and geographically a good location to go to Boston, Florida, and the Caribbean is you are a snow bird like me. Here in Toril, Davao City Philippines they catch the yellow fin Tuna 300 - 500 lbs each. Fish are the main diet with a little chicken and pork. They eat dried fish, cooked smells like old socks. And Balot, which are chicken eggs just before they hatch, baked. It's a delicacy I have yet the stomach to try. Sockeye and Dog Salmon are my favorites. I get them professionally smoked. I buy them off the Aboriginals for less than a tank of gas costs. A 30 lb. Sockeye is $7-$9. Fresh caught in the Native fishery. The band goes around delivering them iced to everyone for their freezers. So they sell them for beer money.

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OlePro - calm down. You started this string on the best place in Canada being where you live. I don't have a problem with your opinion. You asked questions about Victoria's airport, I answered them. You didn't ask if they fly to the UK, no they don't. You talked about fishing so did I. Wht you are saying here is a projection of you and I am loosing interest in that. My information is not meant for you personally, but you continue to cast doubt on the veracity of my posts. I am not interested in your biases or comments any further because you are a person without objectivity.

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No where have I ever written that where I live is the 'best place to live'. If you read what I have written, I started by objecting to YOU calling Victoria the the nicest city in Canada.

It is hilarious for you now to suggest I have no objectivity. If anyone has a lack of bias, someone who thinks they can name the nicest city is the one lacking objectivity.

I didn't ask about Victoria's airport. YOU wrote that it was an international airport as if that meant something relevant to the OP. In fact, it is useless as an airport to the OP.

I did not start any comments about fishing, YOU did as if that were a plus yet again for the OP. In fact, you have no idea of the OP likes fishing or not but YOU were very quick to suggest it as a plus simply because YOU think it is a plus.

Now you suggest I am not objective. That is hilarious coming from someone who clearly isn't the least bit objective at all.

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Hi Stuart I can answer all your questions as I was a returning Canadian who was only born here as my father worked here in the sixties, your wife will be able to get a passport easily and you can apply online for your sons citizenship then he can obtain a passport, I had to sponsor my husband and it took about 9 months, we came on this day in 2013 to toronto and with the same amount of money as you. We rented a town house in Richmond hill for 6 months at $1600 a month then bought a house in Alliston 1 hour north of Toronto, we came from Winchester in the UK and the houses here are 3 times bigger for the same price. We spent to hideous winters in ontario and decided to relocate to vancouver island last October, we now live in paradise and it's cheaper than ontario, they are also crying out for social workers and IT specialists. The schools are smaller and good here aswell and we are already up to 29 degrees but not humid. Good luck and I'm always here if you need anymore help
Sue

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Hi Sue,

thank you for your message. has made us think a bit more regarding location. We were pretty set on Ontario (not sure where though) but the long cold winters would obviously take a lot of getting used to.

Reading a few posts i see the west coast can get a lot of rain. have you found this since you have been living there.

We plan on doing a sight seeing/recci mission to Canada in 2017/8 to both Ontario and British Columbia. Now possible Vancouver Island also. Want to make sure we make the right decision. Lots to think about.

Thanks again and hope you've not been caught up in any of these wild fires. Looks terrible on the news here in Scotland. Very sad!

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stuart - I have lived in Canada 48 years, 25 of them in Vancouver which used to be nice. For 23 years I have lived in Nnaimo, on Vancouver Island accessible by ferry from Horseshoe Bay ferry and bus to the downtown, but I never go there. Too chaotic. Nanaimo is 85,000 people. It's hard to find a job and when a local has the same qualifications, they get the job. From here south, South Wellington (10 minutes) you can find nice homes and lots for around $150,000. No bus service there. Then on to Ladysmith, Chemainus, Duncan, all the way down to Victoria. The Capital Regional District of Victoria is great. Not like Vancouver. Langford is the new up and coming area. It won the award for the best municipality in Canada. Saanichton neat Victoria ia very nice. If you are rich, then West Vancouver or good North Vancouver properties are bent, but upwards to 2 mil. Nanaimo has great out doors and marine areas, great fishing. I was told it took you three years to get used to living here and you would then never leave. This is true.

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