hh619

Hi all

My Fiancée and I have recently been accepted for IEC. We both have up until to December to activate it. We are planning to sell our house and move between March – May 2018. So far, I’ve been rather lucky with getting remote interviews and have various companies interested in hiring me.

Due to the field in which I work (IT), the vast majority of jobs are in Vancouver and Toronto. I currently have 1 company in Vancouver and 2-3 companies in Toronto who are 90%+ likely to hire me. There is also 1 potential employer in Halifax, NS and Vernon, BC who have closing dates around the 15th this month which may also develop into something.

We are potentially going to start a family quite soon in our IEC (which I will ask questions about later) so we’d ideally like to live in a “town” or suburbs, with close access to walks and amenities, within a commutable distance to downtown Vancouver, Toronto, or even Halifax & Vernon.

Our plans are to achieve PR within the 2 years. I’m currently scoring too low on CRS, so we will likely go the PNP route, or the CEC route after one year.

To give as much info as possible:

Vancouver Job - $90,000 - $100,000
Toronto Jobs – $110,000 - $130,000 + 5 – 20% bonus (guaranteed, apparently)
Vernon, BC - $80,000 - $90,000
Halifax, NS - $80,000 - $90,000

Our preferred location was originally Halifax, NS due to the setting, proximity to the sea and the lower house prices. However, jobs in my field are few and far between. So, we are worried that if I do get a job, and it doesn’t pan out, we will be in trouble financially. The same for Vernon, although, my knowledge of the area (except the nice google images of the place) is limited.

Here are my questions:

1. What is employer extended health care and does it cover pregnancy care?
2. Are there any potential issues of having a baby in Canada on an TWP?
3. Should I be happy with 3-4 weeks holiday? I’m used to 5, but I haven’t played hard ball yet with demanding more.
4. Based on the above figures, do you recommend any places to live near to those cities that match our criteria? We both drive, but we’ve heard the GTA traffic is horrendous. A 30-min max commute would be ideal.
5. We expect to have approx. £25,000 with the sale of our house and after clearing our debts. Would it be wise to pay £4-5,000 to ship our contents, which we are not even sure equate to the cost of transfer? I’m less attached to our belongings, by my fiancée would like to bring furniture, etc.
6. Has anyone used OIPNP Job Offer Stream or BC Tech Pilot scheme?

Apologies for so many questions, it’s hitting home that we are making the move and want to get as much information as possible.

Thanks in advance!

dbd33

Reply your thinking seems sound. We need to know roughly where the GTA jobs are. 30 minutes isn't far on the 401.

Danny B

I live in Kamloops (about 115km from Vernon) here is a comparison if you're interested

$80k - $90k is a good salary for a blue collar town, your money will go further in Vernon than it would in Vancouver.

The are plenty of pros and cons of leaving in a small city, if you are serious about BC, I would definitely recommend a one week recce trip to check out Vancouver & Vernon before you make your decision.

hh619

Hi Danny, Thanks for the link!

We like the looks of Kelowna, Vernon and other similar areas in BC, but it's a rarity to get a senior job in my niche field. I worry that if I find one, and anything happens to it, we will struggle to get by.

I’m wondering whether we try to find somewhere around Toronto / Vancouver until we get PR and then widen our search. There’s a new job in my area almost every day in Toronto. But where? lol

mahdawg

Hi Matt,

You don't mention much about your fiancee's plans? I know you said you have plans for a family so will she be taking all that time to look after them?

The reason I ask is, your quoted salary in my opinion is pretty good for one person (well done!). However in the GTA, for two people it becomes average and for three people less so. If you want to live in an apartment fair enough, but if you want to live in a house within 30mins of Toronto, it isn't going to happen. You may be best looking at outer areas such as Burlington/Hamilton to the West, or Oshawa to the East.

Any reason you want to sell your house?

I'm a former IEC'r just like you and living in Toronto, but I've had a few IEC friends call it quits on Canada at the end of their visa's, or before. Would you not want the security net if you don't like it here?

hh619

Hi mahdawg,

The plan is to start a family, so we want to make sure we can afford to live on 1 salary. My fiancée will likely get a job too before and after, we just don't want it to be a necessity right off the bat.

I’ve seen some jobs around Oakville, Kitchener & London that are Circa $80,000 - $90,000 so that might be a better option? We want a minimum 3 bed house in a good location, with a decent commute where ever i decide to take a job. Hopefully it won't be too hard

In regards to selling; we have debts which we wouldn’t afford to pay off whilst living in Canada. We’d love to rent out so we have that safety net. Anyway, we were going to move to a new house in the near future so it’s not that much of a problem.

mahdawg

I certainly think it's a lot more doable than Toronto! I like it here but accept that I can't afford the quality of life I want to have, so will he heading either East or West as well. Always worth noting that if you're near the GO train you can pop into downtown Toronto quite handily without the costs of living here

hh619

Thanks mahdawg! Areas situated near Go Lines are also very expensive, which is expected. I'll keep looking

Aviator

Employer extended healthcare covers some expenses not covered under the provincial plan. To benefit from extended health, the employee also needs to be covered under the provincial plan. On IEC you have to have travel medical for the duration of the permit, you may not be covered on the provincial plan.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/h...liday-programs

Only if you don't have medical coverage. Check your IEC insurance. Also, any major illness of injury, could end up with repatriation to the UK rather than extended care in Canada. Once a baby is born in Canada, it will be Canadian and get provincial coverage. The mother may not if she goes not qualify.

Only you can answer that. Depends how strong a position you are in. Some try and push with success and others have lost.

Siouxie

In Ontario, once you have a contract to work for at least 6 months (that's the contract, not the time actually working) you would be able to obtain OHIP - you can read more here: https://www.ontario.ca/page/apply-oh...et-health-card and http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/publi...hipfaq_mn.aspx
Please note though, in order for your fiance to qualify as your dependent (rather than getting OHIP in her own right, with job etc.,) you would either have to be married or qualify as common-law spouses by residing together (without a break) 'as if married' for a minimum of 12 consecutive months.


Kitchener would be far cheaper to live than Toronto or Vancouver.

hh619

Ah, thats great news then! I'm assuming most full-time jobs come with a contract in Canada? probably sounds like a stupid question, but you never know!

Aviator - Thanks, haven't looked for IEC cover just yet. I'm guessing that even with a full time contract and employee healthcare + provincial cover, you still need the 2 year cover? What happens if we get PR before the 2 years, is the insurance cover paid upfront or monthly?

thanks all.

hh619

We'll be married before going out. Ah, another question: We will be getting married within months of coming to Canada. Will there be any issues with the change in surname for my fiancee? Will the passport need to be changed before departing?

Cheers

Aviator

Travel insurance is always paid up front.

Re employment contracts, lots of jobs are very informal, with at most a letter acknowledging a hire. You may have to ask the employer to draw something up.

adele

Given your options and the scenario you describe, I would not choose Vancouver (or suburbs). It is significantly more expensive than the other cities on your list and to live here on the one salary and start a family would be very, very tough. Especially if your wife-to-be doesn't work enough before going on maternity leave to qualify for EI payments during the leave. Housing here in Vancouver is very expensive. Likely you'd only manage a very small apartment on the one salary. Childcare is $$$$ too, something else to consider. Plus childcare is difficult to find. (Our daughter started daycare this week and I go back to work tomorrow after mat leave).

Personally I would plan to move over to your chosen location, both work at first and then once you're settled, then look into starting a family. To have a baby with no social network for support would be hard too, so best to make friends first.

hh619

Thanks Adele, very informative!

Yeah, I think we’ve both concluded that Vancouver is a no go! Unless we can earn more than $150k minimum for the quality of life we want.

Great advice regards starting a family. How long does it take to qualify for EI payments? Also, my Fiancée’s parents are near retirement age so we except they might be joining us for extended periods which will help with Childcare.

Thanks again!