If you went back to Canada, would you live in the same place?

[Hugglebuggles 60]

As much as I miss Welland, I don't think I would ever move back. But, I would love to move back to Ontario... To get my husband there, we would probably need to live somewhere in the GTA.

[BlueBonnet 84]

Well I'm not Canadian but...I'm all for fresh starts! If you are both going to a new city it would be a great experience to learn the city together. Calgary is a great city and I would think an easy transition for an American. Vancouver is also pretty damn cool!

Calgarys alright, Vancouver is to busy and to smoggy.

Absolutely (Calgary)!

I would go back to what I know too. I lived in Calgary since I was 7.

Yes Calgary is nice, but its getting far too big! I would love to just live out on a farm, but that would mean living without my wife,lol

One of my first memories, I was about 10, was that they were building Sunridge Mall in a farmers field across the street from where I lived at the time. I remember standing on a big pile of dirt looking at what would be the mall, and I just couldnt get my head around it. I think about 300,000 people lived in Calgary around this time, 1980ish, when I left, its over 1.1 million. I certainly didnt like the big city feel, and here I am living in Dallas ... go figure. But yeah, Id go back, I still own a house there too.

But I really try not to think like that. I try to be in the here and now. Im lucky to married to man who adores me, and whom I love. Hes worth everything I gave up and so much more. I think what I miss most, is my healthcare security ... it scares me here in the USA what can happen to someone if they get sick.

[awkwardsoul 20]

I'd still go back to Vancouver just for the less winter time. That and my fiance could only find work in big cities, so we are stuck between more or less Vancouver or Toronto.

[warlord 73]

If some horrific circumstances made me have to go back to Canada to live, I would hang myself if I lived back in Guelph. If I had to go back to my college town (U of Windsor), I'd then have to hang myself twice to make sure I was dead.

So hopefully by this point Canada has acquired the Turk and Caicos islands and that's where I would choose to live. If not I'd probably be forced to chose between overpriced and cold as hell in the winter Toronto or warmer, but depressing as hell rainy Vancouver. Neither of which I would really jump up and down for, but if I had a great job and worked downtown and could afford to live decently, then I could always live in those apts downtown that are connected underground to the subway and office buildings and therefore never have to venture outside in the cold. That might be my best bet...

[Colleens 40]

We are actually seriously considering moving back to Canada. And as much as I loved Ottawa, and all my friends are there, my family is in Edmonton, so that is where we will move to. We would get a lot of support from my family...helping with child care etc. And my sister and her husband recently bought a 2nd home, and they have offered their 'rental' to live in for free until we get settled with jobs etc.

I am actually waiting for a response from CIC to see if my husband would be admissable right now (he made a really stupid decision this past spring and stole something from work and got caught. He now has a record of 'charges pending" that will be expunged next April.) It is only a misdemeanor charge, but I don't want to go through the whole process and pay out all the money to find out he is inadmissable!!

We really want to have another child, so it would be nice to get back, work a bit to qualify for mat leave again, but I am also torn if I should wait until I get my citizenship in case we ever want to come back......so many decisions!

[Kimbear 53]

Thanks for all the replies so far. I've been debating myself whether to stay and get naturalized or go back sooner. I still have no job, having one car is hard so is living with the in-laws for the 2nd time. House hunting has been pitiful, and i'm just getting mroe and more depressed as it drags on.

No way will i ever ever ever ever go back to Montreal. Toronto, well i just hate the congestion and omg..the price of houses. Even if David got trasnfered to the Toronto Headquarters, no way in hell we'd be able to afford a place anywhere in mississauga. I just looked at the realtor.ca site and the cheapest house was 300k..

Vancouver although warmer, well all that rain..UGH it would be depressing as hell for me. And i've heard that area or even some other places in B.C are expensive. course i've been told the same thing about Calgary.

David spent most of his time in Chicago, but he did live a stint in new jersey and in norfolk va when his parents were stationed there. Hes pretty much used to city life, which i can deal with provided i have a house a yard no bad areas i guess. part o f my issue is that i guess i dont deal well with big cities..just driving in them stresses me out. like i have never even gone to visit downtown chicago or the navy pier or any of the museums or zoo's. Smaller subburbs would be better for me. with that semi country feeling i guess.

Also taxes, price of living etc..i can compare Chicago to Ontario all i want, but it doesn't help lol. The real decision i have to make is leaving here by myself and starting over up north if i were to go back, then wait until I can support David's process to get up there.

[Marilyn. 340]

I would take rain over snow any day ..lol

and it really only rains a lot during the winter months

Edited August 30, 2011 by Marilyn.

[SapphireDreams 71]

^^ There are a lot of places you can live in the GTA that are cheaper, but still close enough to commute into the city for work (for David). The commute wouldn't be ideal, but it might be a good trade off. I also find that the suburbs east of Toronto are cheaper than west (Mississauga). For example, I know a lot of people that live in Brooklin, Pickering, Whitby and are able to commute to Toronto. You can also go more west of Mississauga in Brampton, Milton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington (although Milton is now getting pricer).

Salaries in general are also a lot higher in the GTA. Heck, my salary in NYC is comparable to Toronto and the cost of living would be much lower. So if David were to transfer, his salary would probably change (or would need to change). I also think the job market in the GTA is pretty good, much better than a lot of US markets for sure!

Obviously I'm bias since I'm from Mississauga, but there are a lot of options!

[CBM 14]

Probably not. I grew up in (very) rural Nova Scotia, and as quaint and scenic as it is... I have no desire to live there forever. Or even a while.

We're happy in California anyway

[thetreble 19]

I would never move back to Kitchener-Waterloo, even though that's hwere my family is and where many of my friends are. It's just not enough for me & too boring.

With our move back to Toronto, we are just looking to rent. We got caught up in the housing bubble here in the US and now have a house we can't get rid of because it's worth way less than we owe. So, as you can imagine, we aren't looking to buy another house any time soon. Renting in Toronto is actually cheaper than renting in the suburbs of NJ which is nice. Plus, I'd most likely (although who knows!) make a bit more money in Toronto for what I do.

I love Toronto. I really do. I think I love Ottawa more but my husband refuses to move there because he says its too cold in the winter. He does have a point!

But because I'm a huge music fan, Toronto is such a great city for live music so I'm really looking forward to going back. Plus, I want to be closer to my mum since her and my dad separated two years ago (after 35 years!) and she's on her own.

[LuvIllinois 1]

Such a small world!

Kimbear: my hubby and I live in Lake in the Hills now(near Algonquin/Crystal Lake).

Hugglebuggles: I'm from Thorold/St. Catharines. I worked in Welland for a while and never was really fond of it.

But Kimbear, I'm in the same boat as you (not a lot of family/friends back in Canada) and I would definitely move elsewhere. Not sure where but nowhere near the Niagara region in Ontario, LOL

Edited September 2, 2011 by LuvIllinois

[cdneh 3,112]

Well, I've had to give this a bit of thought. Like some of you, I am in small town USA, and I also live with my MIL. I'm possibly a bit older though than some, my husband just had his 60th birthday. His Mother is 81 in a few weeks.

My husband is unwell, and waiting on a transplant. We know how long those waits can be, and we also know that his name may not come up on the list in time. It's okay to hope for the best, but you still have to be prepared for other outcomes.

I am about to send in the ROC paperwork in a couple of weeks. But if the worst happens, I am sure I won't remain here.

I came from a small hamlet in Ontario, the population was 54 the day we moved away. It's bigger now, and they actually have sidewalks! Our old house is gone though, and as they say you can go home again, but some of the places and people are gone, and all of the people have moved on. That's an unlikely destination.

I have lived on the East Coast, the West Coast, and various places between. I left in 1970 for the UK, and outside of a single year have not lived in the country since then. 19 years ago I moved to New Zealand, and that is where I would rather go, but it's impossible. I was there on a permanent residence permit I had to surrender in order to come here. So, it has to be Canada it seems.

I have only three sisters left in the family, all younger. They lived in Midland until a few years ago, but are now in Barrie and Toronto. My Mother is still with us, but she has Alzheimer's and no longer knows who anyone is.

I'd go back to Charlottetown in PEI. It's small-ish, it has plenty of snow, and seems the place for a quite and peaceful retirement. By the time that happens, I will be more than ready for it