Shall we go to Canada?

We both really like Canada and having family and friends there as well makes the move a lot easier. Montreal is without a doubt my favourite city, lots to see and do, a vibrant cafe style culture, and incredibly laid back. I have never felt more safe or at ease in a city as I do in Montreal, and I don't even speak French yet! The laissez fair attitude is in stark contrast to the CCTV, Big Brother, blame culture that pervades the UK. George Orwell depicted in his book '1984' a surveillance society where liberty was constrained by a politics of fear and perpetual wars overseas. I think he was slightly out on the date, but not much else.

Leaving family and friends in the UK will be the hardest part, but communications are so cheap these days (free with Skype) that we will never be out of touch. We will be coming back to the UK regularly, and our businesses will still be (mostly) based there. Flights are cheaper than ever, and it is less than a days travel door to door. Our carbon footprint may be big in terms of travel but we hope to make up for it in other ways. International flights are a fact of life for many families now, we rarely stay in the same town all of our lives these days, and more and more people move countries now as well. Personally, I see that as a good thing, it broadens our horizons and makes us realise that we are not so different from everyone else afterall. Of course I might be biased, but I have to say that I really appreciate the opportunity to get to know another country and another culture, even if it isn't so very different from my own. Anyway, we hope that we get plenty of regular visitors as well, even if it is during ski season! I always enjoy visiting people in other countries, you get a much more authentic taste for the place than as a regular tourist.