D8ncer

Hi Folks,

Looking for a bit of advice on possible job relocation offer to Nova Scotia. Have the possibility of a job offer to work on the new ships being built for the Canadian navy. It is a good salary and slightly more than I am earning at the moment in Scotland.

They are also offering to cover our relocation expenses, shipping our furniture, etc. They even fly my family out for a few days to see the place before we decide. They also cover all our legal requirements such as permanent visa.

One issue I am concerned about is that my daughter is 14 years old and heading to half way through high school and moving at this age is a worry.

Also, although the wage is slightly more than the UK, not sure if the grass is green enough to move. The job has over 30 years of work but also concerned about what my daughter may do when she is older.

Bit lost on if I should consider the offer.

nikki dreaming

Why are you looking at a move to canada? Is it just the job offer that has come up or are you looking to move for other reasons ? A visit is a must is my recommendation

D8ncer

The job offer is part of it. Currently working on the new aircraft carriers in the UK, but they will end in a about 5 years. Not sure what will be on the cards then. We spend a lot of our weekends going way up the west coast of Scotland for the peace and quiet.

Seems to me that NS may be a bit of the life we already live and enjoy. Job security is another thing, but my daughter may grow up to not appreciate it if she cant find employment.

The company has painted a great image of this new potential life and maybe just clutching at straws to justify the move, when really should be happy where we live now and with what we have.

We are expecting an annual salary of 75,000 Canadian dollars not including overtime, that seems a lot, but have no real world experience if this is a good or bad and will give us a comfortable life in NS.

Piff Poff

One thing to consider is the possibility, once your daughter has finished school and even further ed if she stays in NS for that too is the likelyhood she will end up going west, whether it's to Ontario or futher to Alberta/Vancouver etc.

MillieF

Had you ever had the desire to come to Canada prior to the job offer? What does everybody in the family think in general about the move?

It's a hard move, everyone in the family needs to be 100% committed to the positive aspects of Canada, if you aren't to go collectively insane. Some people love it here from day one and some take longer to settle. There would be pros and cons for a 14 year old, depending on how you look at it.

Why don't you come and have a look?

Very best of luck

Wombat7

I agree that moving at that age is a worry. Is your daughter a good student? if so that would probably make it easier for her. Is she out going and able to make friends easily? What does she feel about the possible move?

Have a look at property prices around Halifax. Carefully consider the weather - not only the temperatures but the length of winter. Some love the extreme seasons and embrace the opportunity for winter sports, others hate it.

how will you feel being on this side of the pond when your parents age?

Lots of questions that only you can answer. I moved to Canada in 1980 but it was an easy move, no kids, few possessions and the view "let's give it a go, if it doesn't work out we can always go back or go somewhere else"

confused_uk

$75k is above the average household income in NS (I think it's around $50-60k) so I should think you would be pretty comfortable on that, add on top possible overtime & maybe spousal income & you'll be just fine. Where is the job?

As far as your daughter is concerned I would say it's important to talk to her & make her feel she has a say in whether she wants to move or not but I wouldn't dwell too much on her future job prospects. It all depends on what kind of career she chooses. Also she will have more options if you are in Canada because she will have the whole of Canada & the UK to look for opportunities. Kids will go where they want to go when they are adults so you might as well live somewhere that makes you happy, even if you stay in Scotland your daughter could decide to move to OZ for a job, it's just something you won't have control over or be able to predict I'm afraid.

Personally I think it's an amazing opportunity, not many people are able to emigrate with a good job offer & all expenses paid. Plus if you don't like you can always move back but you would have the added bonus of not having wasted £20k on the initial moving costs, so you haven't got much to lose if it doesn't work out. It all depends on you though, if you really enjoy your life in the UK are you willing to give that up & move away from family & friends? Only you can answer that.

Novocastrian

^This. +1 Except she'll have the whole of Canada and the EU, not just the UK.

D8ncer

Thanks for the many replies.

We are comfortable in the UK. However I know that once the ships we are working on at the moment are finished I will be in my late forties and jobs where I live are are hard to find. especially with what I am earning at the moment. does not mean that the company I am with will shut up shop as such and could possibly have employment until I retire.

I do have relatives who moved to Canada about 30 years ago who I would struggle to find now. Have thought many times and once had a similar offer about 10 years ago to relocate to New Zealand.

The job is at Irving shipyard and they actually come over to Scotland to try and poach skilled workers from the yards here working on the two aircraft carriers.

My daughter makes friends fairly easy and is doing well at school. Both my wife and I don't have many friends as such and only my wives parents are the only family we have.

Feel I am wondering if it is a better lifestyle with more opportunity for my daughter. Do note that the 2 weeks holiday a year is a pisser.

Novocastrian

Since they've approached you and it sounds as if you're highly experienced, you're in a strong position to negotiate more than that (e.g. 4 weeks).

Lychee

Think long and hard about whether you'd be happy swapping your UK lifestyle for a Nova Scotia lifestyle. It is not better, it is not worse. You will not have UK pub culture, train travel, close proximity/short travelling distances, short/cheap flights to Europe, Marks & Spencer/Tesco style supermarkets, online shopping, British media, music, history, architecture, etc. The way people interact on a social level is different, even down to the things you like for granted, like doing your banking, small talk about local sporting teams, TV shows, etc. You will be driving to get anywhere. You will be travelling hundreds of miles to go anywhere geographically or culturally different. Flights will be long and expensive to go anywhere, etc. It is not a "better lifestyle". It is a completely different lifestyle. Are you looking for a complete change?

confused_uk

Wombat7

british media you can have - well BBC, ITV Ch4 and the other one.

But a very good point about the distances here. You have to go a long way to find something different and even then it is not that different.

Atlantic Xpat

A few thoughts to consider....

You say that $75k is more than you make in the UK. What factor are you using to compare? Received wisdom is that somewhere around 1.6 CAD$ to the dollar is reasonable as an average. So for every GBP 10k you make in the UK you'd need around CAD$16k to have the same income/quality of life in Canada. There is a degree of generalisation of course, but just do a sanity check that you are not, for example, expecting 75k CAD to be the same as 75K GBP!

$75k is certainly better than average pay in NS as a whole. How it compares to your profession and similar jobs is the key. I live a little further East than NS and from my perspective $75k as a family income is not a lot at all. Others will disagree. With O/T and a second income from your partner it would be OK but you will not be living the highlife on that wage.

Others can comment on cost of living in NS but again by and large cost of living in Canada is roughly the same to UK. Property is the usual bonus as your money goes a lot further in NS than elsewhere in Canada and the UK. Even the big house has downsides though - maintenance, heating and so forth.

Is the job salaried or hourly? If the latter is it unionised. (Likely yes I'dve thought.) If so then check out what that means very clearly. Unions are more powerful in Canada than in the UK and seniority, for example, is all. You don't want to come over and find that you don't get the O/T you've planned for because you are too low on the totem pole.

Finally what happens after the ships are built? In the UK you likely have more alternatives for employement within reach. In NS you might be a long way from the next job.

Not trying to rain on your parade but give further food for thought.

AX

D8ncer

Thank you all for taking the time to provide information.

It seems to be boiling down to what Canada offers us in to relation to what we currently have that would make me and my family to want to move. I think I am looking for something that shouts out, this is why we should go. Other than a slight increase in my wage based on the UK, there doesn't seem to be.

From what I have researched and information from yourselves it seems not a great deal when you take everything into consideration.

As 'Atlantic-Xpat' mentions I have taken account into the currency and it is around £8000 more on what I earn here in the UK each year. Does that really justify all the change and upheaval. As the old saying goes the grass aint always greener on the other side.