Quote:
Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington
A number of Australian States are actively welcoming Brits again......South Australia and Western Australia being two that spring immediately to mind........and while it isn't easy to emigrate to Oz, it isn't nearly so hard as it has been in the past.
They are actively seeking out building workers, Nurses, police personnel and painters and decorators....if you are a hairdresser too, you would find open arms in the two states mentioned.
I wish I had gone when I was younger - they aren't so keen on the wrinklies....they want people who are going to have children....so that lets me out  |
It is similar in Canada ... we have very strong family ties with Great Britain. And we have lots of shortages in the skilled trades, and particularly in nursing. However, with nursing and medicine in particular, immigrants willing to live in the underserviced areas are given priority. Kingston, for example is very short of nurses in its two major hospitals, Kingston General and the Hotel Dieu (for this last one it helps if you are catholic). In general though, it is getting increasingly more difficult to get citizenship in Canada. I know that I am biased, but this is a very desirable place to live. Living standards are high, and , compared to England, the cost of living is still relatively low. (I remember someone asking if there was somewhere in Accy where a couple could go out for a meal for 40 pounds. Assuming this is about $85 you could eat your fill at any one of the really fine restaurants in town.) A country such as ours, rich, safe, and free, attracts a lot of applications for entry. And, unfortunately for most applicants, this means that the people at Immigration Canada can afford to be choosey and restrictive.
Also, to keep more or less on topic, we too have a social safety net, which includes unemployment benefits, worker's compensation, old age and disability pensions, welfare payments to those not covered by any other programme, and universal access to medical care and education below the university level. At that level, there is, for those who qualify but can't afford to go to college and university, an extensive system of grants and govt. guaranteed loans.
And in winter you can watch hockey every night on tv. And Coronation Street if you wish.