Emigration to a free land, advice please!

[bilko]

I am starting the slow mental process of emigrating to a free land after reading a book called " The Good Life" . Much as i love England and all it has to offer, there is more that i dislike. I won't go into the politics and why's now as for one, 'politics' is something that i am not interested in.
I want a simple and happy life free from the modern clutter and woes that weigh most of us down.

Anyone who has read the book or indeed similar books of taking off to begin anew in a life less complicated will understand what i mean. As far as i can see there are 3 main categories that i have to unravel and deal with.

1/ finding a free land where one is able to emigrate to relatively hassle free and which has a policy where you can live wild or off the land so to speak

2/ Learning the skills to be able to provide for myself and live in this lifestyle

3/Finding a partner ( woman ) to be my...well; partner and prefferably soulmate etc etc GSOH and the rest of it for all you on line daters . To accompany me on this life journey.

Yep, it's that simple i'm afraid....NOT
Obviously there will be a gazzillion problems to overcome and a zillion sub categories.

Sweden springs to mind allready as does Canada and Newzealand. Sweden would be the obviouse choice being part of Europe and haveing a rule that anyone can camp wild ( to be simplistic ) . What i need is some advice on item 1 realy. The skills i can learn as well as the language. It's knowing the emigration restrictions and right to roam acts of various countries etc. Oh, and if anyone has a spare woman lying around .
Direction is the word i am looking for. A quest is so much easier when you have a map with a pin in it!

 

[running bare]

hiya bilko

me and the wife are of the same mind having just read "the good life-- up the yukon without a paddle" dorian amos. and we have decided on a five year plan..

canada looks very inviting i dont kno hat your financial state is like but i was looking on a web site about property in the yukon, nw territories and the prices were about £10,000 for about 80 acres of forest by the river, access by float plane or boat so it was pretty remote! But damned inviting all the same.

tom

 

[stotRE]

Skilled worker program!

If you have a skill/trade then Canada needs you.

I have heard but don't remember where that the yukon gov are giving people free farmland.

Alaska is also pretty wild but i am not sure how easy it is to emigrate to the US.

As for living in modern Britain don't set me off

 

[Graham_S]

well, if i can get my canadian uncle to give me a job, i score 88 points on the skilled worker test (pass mark is 67).....could be interesting

 

[bilko]

well, if i can get my canadian uncle to give me a job, i score 88 points on the skilled worker test (pass mark is 67).....could be interesting

Hi Graham
I don't suppose you have a link to that skilled worker test do you?
I am currently a tube driver with no relatives in canada.
I wonder how they would take to me just buying a few acres and living off their land.

 

[bilko]

hiya bilko

me and the wife are of the same mind having just read "the good life-- up the yukon without a paddle" dorian amos. and we have decided on a five year plan..
canada looks very inviting i dont kno hat your financial state is like but i was looking on a web site about property in the yukon, nw territories and the prices were about £10,000 for about 80 acres of forest by the river, access by float plane or boat so it was pretty remote! But damned inviting all the same.

tom

hello mate
Well i would say that the good life has had nothing a profound effect on me. I feel awoken to the possibilities of a happier life doing what i was meant to.
Wouldn't it be wonderfull to finally be in tune with the wilderness clock?
I too have a long term plan. I'm 34 now and want to be there established before i'm 40 so i still have some time left in my life. 10 grand isn't that much to save in a few years if you realy have your heart set on it. canada is my first option but my next step is finding out how realistic that is for me. i have no savings due mostly to my single lifestyle i guess and the CSA but once i get the ball rolling i feel confident about getting my piggybank to swell a bit .

I'm a tube driver by trade ( if it is such a thing ). However i can't help but feeling cynical at the idea of going there to get a job and promptly doing a runner into the hillsides . I wonder if theres a more honest aproach or should i get my nikes on just incase?
Iv'e been googling dorian and bridget and see they have moved even further inland to a new remote spot with the impending arrival of a bridge over the Yukon. Bridget has argued that the bridge and all it brings will spoil their way of life. It appears also that Dorian has made many friends in Dawson and written about it online in a mannner of speaking.
http://www.klondikesun.com/ is a link to dawson city's local newspaper.
I would be most interested to hear of your progress so far. Have you got the link to that property website please?, Something to fuel my dreams.

 

[Jjv110]

Hi Bilko,

I like your way of thinking and fully understand your motives. But I just want to say that sometimes when you move away, the problems are far worse than in the UK. I think the problem is, is that when you are faced with a problem you don't know where to go to get it sorted, whilst in the Uk it's easy. You just go to the relevant office and the paperwork is very straight forward compared to most, if not all other European countries. It's then when you realise how ridiculous some of the red tape really is. Much worse than England.

However, I'm not saying don't go. I'm kind of doing the same thing myself and have come across more problems than ever. I think moving to a non English speaking country is not such a good idea if you have no connection with the place. You'll have no-one to help you sort matters out. I think canada sounds a very good option. I don't know much about it, but only know what people have said, and it's all been good. At least you'll have plenty of space and can get away from the crowds and traffic etc. I'm not sure if you'll escape the system though, which could be just as annoying as the UK. Try to find some kind of forum in Canada and ask the blokes a few questions.

Anyway, good luck, and let the research begin.
Julian.

 

[stotRE]

Hi bilko mate try this link

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/skilled/

 

[stotRE]

Another thing mate on saving up.

Write a menu for the week and buy only the food you need for the menu.(me and my wife spend less than 50quid a week and live like kings).

Take your own lunch to work and buy a big flask.

Start up a coppers jar (mine has ten quid in ones and two p's).

If you own an expensive car sell it and buy an old banger.(you live in London and drive a tube train so i doubt that you have a car )

Get a second job that pays cash (speak to any builders as they are always looking for older labourers and you will learn a skill as a general builder) or just work full time for a builder.

Cut up your credit cards!

Enter magazine/radio/tv quizes as many people do this as a living and earn a small fortune.

collect coupons for free offers/samples etc.

Sign up for a store points card and always carry it.

 

[leon-1]

Good tips there Stu, thinking about it yourself.

I must admit I had to find out whether I would pass the skilled worker test

I passed it, but would seriously like a few more points in my favour.

 

[Spacemonkey]

Well I made 82 on the test. Must admit Canada has been on my lists of potential destinations for years. Most of my family on all sides was there before WW1, but returned to Blighty after the war. Food for thought....

 

[Kane]

For gods sake don't start talking about Canadian emmigration here - been trying to get a passing score on that damned test for years now grrrrr

Kane

 

[arctic hobo]

Hi Bilko,

I like your way of thinking and fully understand your motives. But I just want to say that sometimes when you move away, the problems are far worse than in the UK. I think the problem is, is that when you are faced with a problem you don't know where to go to get it sorted, whilst in the Uk it's easy. You just go to the relevant office and the paperwork is very straight forward compared to most, if not all other European countries. It's then when you realise how ridiculous some of the red tape really is. Much worse than England.

Very true. I'd add that there's a lot of "grass is always greener"... there are many things about another country that are very attractive, but often others that we tend to overlook that are a complete pain in the neck. For example, I've always wanted to live in Norway, and have done for a few months before, but the taxes are prohibitive and the alcohol is incredibly hard to get (anything over 5% is only available from state shops that are very thin on the ground, and incredibly pricey - or mediocre wines are available with meals, think 50-60 quid for something that tastes more like "grape flavoured alcoholic drink" than wine ), and getting around is very expensive - although petrol is about the same as in the UK, everywhere is so remote you drive a lot. So it's swings and roundabouts.

 

[bilko]

Excellent help you lot!, it's so good to be supported like this....
StotRE, Thanks for the tips and advice, i hadn't seen your canada thread before but i shall be reading this one and yours intently tonight.
Where can i get my score from??
I can always learn another trade.
Right now though i am late. I amm taking the boys out to collect conkers

 

[Abbe Osram]

I am starting the slow mental process of emigrating to a free land after reading a book called " The Good Life" . Much as i love England and all it has to offer, there is more that i dislike. I won't go into the politics and why's now as for one, 'politics' is something that i am not interested in.
I want a simple and happy life free from the modern clutter and woes that weigh most of us down.

Anyone who has read the book or indeed similar books of taking off to begin anew in a life less complicated will understand what i mean. As far as i can see there are 3 main categories that i have to unravel and deal with.

1/ finding a free land where one is able to emigrate to relatively hassle free and which has a policy where you can live wild or off the land so to speak

2/ Learning the skills to be able to provide for myself and live in this lifestyle

3/Finding a partner ( woman ) to be my...well; partner and prefferably soulmate etc etc GSOH and the rest of it for all you on line daters . To accompany me on this life journey.

Yep, it's that simple i'm afraid....NOT
Obviously there will be a gazzillion problems to overcome and a zillion sub categories.

Sweden springs to mind allready as does Canada and Newzealand. Sweden would be the obviouse choice being part of Europe and haveing a rule that anyone can camp wild ( to be simplistic ) . What i need is some advice on item 1 realy. The skills i can learn as well as the language. It's knowing the emigration restrictions and right to roam acts of various countries etc. Oh, and if anyone has a spare woman lying around .
Direction is the word i am looking for. A quest is so much easier when you have a map with a pin in it!

Hi mate,
I am living in the north of Sweden but originally 18 years ago I started to break loose as a town boy from Berlin West Germany. The best advice I can give you is to try it out before you go fully out. Its easy to dream but much harder to live the dream. I remember the first time I left everything and found myself in a cabin in wintertime in Finnish Lapland. Finally I made it, finally I left all the bad stuff behind me, sitting in the outhouse in 35 minus I noticed that a dream fills you with a warm and cozy feeling while reaching your dream which now means, being alone, freezing, having no job anymore, no social contacts, no language and no money. I noticed a creeping feeling of depression setting in called “dis….illusion”. Illusions help us to fill us up but kissing reality is another matter.

Understand me right, it has nothing to do with the fact that someone is cut out for it and another person is not. It has to do with the fact that we are more formed by our way of living that we would like to admit. It takes time brother, and I wish you that you make it. One has to be flexible too and find the right approach. To give you a better chance in making it I would suggest that you try it out first, before you give up your job and run off.

Come here up to the north. I might be able to fix you with a cheep but very simple hunting cabin for a week or two where you stay alone and see how you cope with it. A week or two up here in a cabin can give you a better picture.

Second:
If you don’t go into Siberia or into the Amazon’s somewhere I doubt that there will be any place left on this earth to live from the ground only. Here in Sweden you have to have a hunting license, pay for a hunting card, go with a hunting group hunting moose and get your share of some meat but the cost for all of that is more expensive than buying it in the shop. It’s more a hobby than anything else.

I am going to buy my own land and see how it goes with the living from my own ground but I doubt that there will be enough to catch. Maybe I switch then and see if I get a hand on some reindeer, which off course will be a big hassle with the Sami who like to forbid it to the average Swedish citizen. With my own land I have the right to shoot a moose if I have enough land and get the B-rights. This law allows me to shoot a moose within 3 days off the year. Well, guess if you don’t get it within these three days than you will not have any meat for the entire year. I was trapping for about 4 weeks last year and got only one single "Ripa".

Without a supermarket here I would be dead now.

Finding a woman:
Well, that’s a hard one if you like to move to Alaska as 86 percent, I believe I read somewhere, are men. My sister in law was in Alaska and was treated like a queen from the men there. That could be a good tip for our “Bushcrafter” ladies as they surly get a job and a husband in Alaska. My sister in law said to me that they where real gentlemen with her over there. Maybe men get nicer when they are fewer women available. ;-)

I don’t know of a lot of women who like this kind of life. My wife and I made a deal; we have a place for the family in town and a remote cabin for me when we get enough from the town life, so we plan to bounce back and forth.
As I told you before; to be able to adjust is the most important skill in making it or not. If your dreams are too tight; I am pretty sure you will not make it.

I failed 2 times before and now I am in my third attempt to break loose. I managed now 2 years up here and I believe I can make it this time. So, never give up if your heart burns for it.

If you want my help PM me and I see what I can do for you.

Good luck and God bless
Cheers
Abbe

 

[Stuart]

remember guys, The grass is always greener

I have lived in the middle east for 7 years and Mauritius for 2

yet I always return home.

the benefit of living here is that I can use it a base with which to explore the rest of the world.

take Mauritius for example, imagine living on a tropical island in the indian ocean, the coconut trees swaying in the warm breeze eating freashly caught fish without a care in the world.........

how long could you sit on that beautiful white sand beach.........

and do nothing (there is nothing to do)........

before you got board?..... honestly?

I have never been so utterly mind numbingly board in all my existence if I had stayed there any longer I would have gone insane, I shudder at the thought of ever having to return, yet this is most people Idea of paradise, why? Because they haven’t lived it that’s why!

and thats before we look at the corruption of the islands govenrment or the compleate lack of work, if you think this countries corrupt, vist africa or india or a hundred other countries for an education of the true meaning of the word corrupt.

the government here are practically saints compared to the majority of the world.

if you cant make you self happy here, what makes you think you could do it somwhere else, in a place you know nothing about?

 

[Spacemonkey]

Very wise words, there from Stuart. I suppose though, that sometimes you just go somewhere and just gel with it. It feels like home. Language problems are one of the biggest obstacles and not knowing the local laws/traditions. I suppose that Canada is quite similar to here in many ways but different enough to be interesting and tempting. The landscape is definitely an improvement! I suppose that you guys have become dissilusioned with this country. It's not the country we used to know from just a few years ago. More and more people are leaving every year, so something must be going wrong. I guess by the very fact you are reading this then you appreciate the outdoors and space, something that is decreasing rapidly on these shores, well, down south anyway.

So Canada-wide open natural landscapes, generally friendly people, though not too many of them , cheap property/land, and almost the same language . So what are you waiting for? If you can genuinely up sticks and leave everything and everyone behind, then go for it. After all, it's not that far away...

 

[stotRE]

In Spain they say "Llegar y besar el santo" which means 'go there and kiss the saint'.

Having travelled the world in the Army and lived in Catalonia for two years i can tell you that nothing ventured nothing gained.

The grass isn't greener but if you don't tread on their lawn you cannot compare colours.
Canada is a vast continent that you cannot comprehend until you have tread her land and paddled her rivers.
The people are hardworking and friendly and as one cannuck once said to me;

"The only Canadians without jobs are lazy Canadians!"

The last time i was over their i was offered five different jobs on building sites (And i was there on my honeymoon!)

If i was you mate i would go there on a skilled worker program and gradually move from a large town/city(calgary,whistler etc) to smaller towns all the while saving up and working towards your permenant residency/citizenship.(need this to purchase and own a firearm)

Canada is extremely enviromentlly friendly so you could apply for grants for alternative farming,wildlife management etc or you could run your own hunting camp.

Buy woodland and plenty of it, with your own lake and river (or close too a river).

Read up on log cabin construction and timberframing and also on how to hew your own beams with a broadaxe.

Some good books to read are:-

Shelters,shacks and shanties by D.C. Beard (ISBN 0-936070-13-7)

Build a classic timberframed house by Jack A. Sobon (ISBN 0-88266-841-2)

Timberframe construction by Jack A. Sobon & Roger Schroeder (ISBN 0-88266-365-8)

 

[bilko]

Truely excellent and level headed advice folks. Quite sobering too. I think it would be a good idea to have a few weeks there at the very least so see what it's like. Not in winter but when it's starting to get cold. I just did the skilled workers test and passed with 82 i think so long as a year diploma and 12 years full time or equivilant study means attending school and getting a grade in your exams . Oh!, that and having a spouse who has a secondary school attendence certificate. Oh, and moderate french as a second language.
Off now to find some maps of Canada. I must get away from living someone elses dream in this Dawson city business and find out what else is available.
have you read their list of costs for application? . Just off to find out what the current exchange rate is .
I believe Sweden would be an easier choice in some ways as they are part of european union and i would have better rights there i think.
Abbe has made some very sobering points and i truely admire you mate for living your dream.
So much to do and think about.

 

[Jjv110]

the government here are practically saints compared to the majority of the world.

I'll second that. I've had a bit of experience living in other countries within Europe and I've yet to find one with as straight forward methods for getting things sorted as the UK. People sometimes say that other countries are so much more "layed back" than Britain. All this means is that nothing gets done and the place you want to go is always shut! Yet another day wasted. Very annoying.

You don't necessarily have to go for the self sufficient approach immediately. I'm sure that just by going to somewhere where you are able to purchase some cheap land and use it for your own pleasure, you'd already feel better. I think it is useful to have acess to the modern world for things like supermarkets and just to have a beer with a few mates is important.

What are the property prices like in Wales for a remote farm buliding? If you could somehow try to have a practice run it would be good. In the meantime you can still get stuck into researching plans for Canada. I'm sure it's a really nice place that has amazing scenery etc. Like I said before, I'm not telling you your idea is bad, but just trying to explain a couple of problems that may exist. My way of thinking is similar, it's just not easy.

Cheers, Julian.