quickest way to bc,canada
Mar 8th 2008, 7:05 pm
#16
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 789
Re: quickest way to bc,canada
We thought people were joking when they said BC stands for 'bring cash' - they weren't!
Mar 8th 2008, 7:09 pm
#17
Banned
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 128
Re: quickest way to bc,canada
1. Insurance . I have had several car insurance companies in last few years . Shopped around . Cheaper quotes if they are trying to get your business . Have asked 3 companies for ' Non standard ' proof of no claims bonus as I am hoping to move to BC in next month or 2 on PNP . They have all got back to me refusing to give any but the Standard Letter , saying to get the Canadian Insurance Company to contact them if they have any queries !I sent them a well worded letter stating the info I needed included .
2. Will my laptop work in BC ? With adaptor etc .
2. Will my laptop work in BC ? With adaptor etc .
Mar 8th 2008, 7:12 pm
#18
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 789
Re: Work Permits
PS - Don't make our mistakes - sort out your proof of no-claims bonus with your UK car insurance before you come to BC. There is a very specific way of doing this, and lots of information on this site about it. If you don't have the right evidence in the correct format, you will be paying 100% of the ICBC car insurance rate. There is no competition in BC car insurance - one province-run insurance decides how much you pay. Our insurance is really expensive because we didn't sort out our information properly. This has haunted me....
We found the same - our UK insurers have been very good and sent several letters to help us but our UK no claims bonus still hasn't been accepted even though the letters are worded as required. You can pay for your individual case to be looked into and even though we did this and our insurers provided all the details, our no claims bonus is still not recognised. To insure my car and my husband's truck cost nearly $5000!
Mar 8th 2008, 7:12 pm
#19
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Joined: Oct 2007
Location: In a darkened room somewhere.............
Posts: 34,035
Re: Work Permits
I agree, when we looked at Vancouver we would have had almost double that income but when we worked it all out (being extra cautious with the figures I admit but figured better that way than the other) we just wouldn't have had as good a life as we could get elsewhere in Canada due to the cost of things in Vancouver. We are a family of four and would have been looking at a 4 or 5 bed house in the suburbs with two cars, and although we could have lived on that money, we wouldn't have had as much disposable income as we would have liked.
I don't think $65,000 would go very far in Vancouver tbh, certainly not for a family of 5 to live on.
If you do a search of the threads you'll see there have been lots of threads about the cost of living in Vancouver and how expensive it is, with people listing all their outgoings which should help you.
Best of luck with whatever you decide.
Edited to add this thread that may be of use to you, a recent one on cost of living in Vancouver http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...cost+of+living
I don't think $65,000 would go very far in Vancouver tbh, certainly not for a family of 5 to live on.
If you do a search of the threads you'll see there have been lots of threads about the cost of living in Vancouver and how expensive it is, with people listing all their outgoings which should help you.
Best of luck with whatever you decide.
Edited to add this thread that may be of use to you, a recent one on cost of living in Vancouver http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...cost+of+living
Last edited by christmasoompa; Mar 8th 2008 at 7:20 pm.
Mar 8th 2008, 8:24 pm
#20
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 47
Re: Work Permits
I agree, when we looked at Vancouver we would have had almost double that income but when we worked it all out (being extra cautious with the figures I admit but figured better that way than the other) we just wouldn't have had as good a life as we could get elsewhere in Canada due to the cost of things in Vancouver. We are a family of four and would have been looking at a 4 or 5 bed house in the suburbs with two cars, and although we could have lived on that money, we wouldn't have had as much disposable income as we would have liked.
I don't think $65,000 would go very far in Vancouver tbh, certainly not for a family of 5 to live on.
If you do a search of the threads you'll see there have been lots of threads about the cost of living in Vancouver and how expensive it is, with people listing all their outgoings which should help you.
Best of luck with whatever you decide.
Edited to add this thread that may be of use to you, a recent one on cost of living in Vancouver http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...cost+of+living
I don't think $65,000 would go very far in Vancouver tbh, certainly not for a family of 5 to live on.
If you do a search of the threads you'll see there have been lots of threads about the cost of living in Vancouver and how expensive it is, with people listing all their outgoings which should help you.
Best of luck with whatever you decide.
Edited to add this thread that may be of use to you, a recent one on cost of living in Vancouver http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...cost+of+living
Mar 9th 2008, 12:37 am
#21
Pea Brain
Joined: Jun 2005
Location: TBD
Posts: 6,005
Re: Work Permits
I was able to obtain a mortgage within 6 months of arriving in BC on my Work Permit. I used a Credit Union (bit like a building society but more local) and they accepted by 10% deposit, provided I pay for the BC insurance policy that protects lenders against less than 25% deposit mortgages.
My main downsides to living in BC on a Work Permit are:
You can't get car credit - I have had a series of old vehicles, which I could buy for cash. Still, it's worth asking a dealership if you had a good deposit.
You can obtain a mortgage from day one in BC when you arrive on a WP, no need to wait a number of months. You may need some bank references from the UK and a deposit though.
Car credit is available to WP holders, either as a HP loan, or as a lease on a vehicle. A deposit isn't always required.
Mar 9th 2008, 4:16 am
#22
Binned by Muderators
Joined: Jul 2007
Location: White Rock BC
Posts: 11,682
Re: Work Permits
If your OH can earn a salary of $65,000 he will have an after-tax income of $4,211 a month. You will also get a child tax credit of $245 a month (not in your first year though). With a $200,000 down payment you realistically afford to pay $450,000 for a home. In Langley or Maple Ridge you can buy a 3/4 bed detached family home for this. For that price it won't be new and may need a bit of updating but it will be perfectly livable. If your OH is handy you have the opportunity to add significant value.
At a rough calculation, after paying loan and insurance for one car, groceries and utilities (inc TV, Internet and phone) you should have about $1,000 for discretionary spending such as clothes, meals out and other entertainment. It is not the life of the rich and famous but heck, there are a lot of people living on a lot less. Once you can get some work as well things could be quite comfortable.
Mar 9th 2008, 4:31 am
#23
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Joined: Feb 2007
Location: BC The best place on earth
Posts: 491
Re: quickest way to bc,canada
1. Insurance . I have had several car insurance companies in last few years . Shopped around . Cheaper quotes if they are trying to get your business . Have asked 3 companies for ' Non standard ' proof of no claims bonus as I am hoping to move to BC in next month or 2 on PNP . They have all got back to me refusing to give any but the Standard Letter , saying to get the Canadian Insurance Company to contact them if they have any queries !I sent them a well worded letter stating the info I needed included .
2. Will my laptop work in BC ? With adaptor etc .
2. Will my laptop work in BC ? With adaptor etc .
We saved about $1000 on our insurance in Vancouver (where we bought our car) and got a rebate of about $150 when we moved to Creston.
Laptop will work fine with a plug adaptor.
Mar 9th 2008, 7:08 am
#24
Joined: Dec 1969
Posts: 2,484
Re: quickest way to bc,canada
Hi and welcome to the forum 
My hubby is an industrial electrician by trade in the uk he is in maintenance.
Is your hubby maintenance or contruction or domestic electrician
There is more to alberta than calgary and not being funny i wouldnt head to the big citys with the kids
We also have three kids and although we started off looking at ontario have spoke with many on here and have booked a trip to alberta in april to check it out, looked at websites in areas and emailed like crazy to employers just with a enquiry and attaching OH resume to them.
Just being polite and asking to meet them to talk etc has really worked he now haitervews set up when we are there.
Its true about networking as i have been in regular contact with a construction electrician who is sooooooo after uk electricians, but sadly hubby cant fill the job, but if you pass me your details i know i can pass them on.
it is the AAIT who looks after the licence in edmonton and surely if you explain t them they can sort something for hubby.
Have you looked at the other areas of alberta, the wiki is good
Just an idea
gill
My hubby is an industrial electrician by trade in the uk he is in maintenance.
Is your hubby maintenance or contruction or domestic electrician
There is more to alberta than calgary and not being funny i wouldnt head to the big citys with the kids
We also have three kids and although we started off looking at ontario have spoke with many on here and have booked a trip to alberta in april to check it out, looked at websites in areas and emailed like crazy to employers just with a enquiry and attaching OH resume to them.
Just being polite and asking to meet them to talk etc has really worked he now haitervews set up when we are there.
Its true about networking as i have been in regular contact with a construction electrician who is sooooooo after uk electricians, but sadly hubby cant fill the job, but if you pass me your details i know i can pass them on.
it is the AAIT who looks after the licence in edmonton and surely if you explain t them they can sort something for hubby.
Have you looked at the other areas of alberta, the wiki is good
Just an idea
gill
Mar 9th 2008, 7:50 am
#25
Banned
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 128
Re: Work Permits
thank you for all your help. $65000 dollars was just my husbands wage and thats without any overtime. I don't particularly want to live in Vancouver. When he was in alberta he could get a mortgage of $490K and thats with smaller deposit on house. We don't want to stretch ourself too much we just want a better life and not to work 7 days a week away like he does in UK. Better doesn't necessary means more luxurious. Although money is great in UK we are not happy as we don't seems to have quality of the family life we want, if canada isn't the right place we will continue our search further NZ, Australia...
Mar 9th 2008, 10:07 am
#26
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 139
Re: quickest way to bc,canada
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to ask is anyone knows the quickest way to get to bc, canada? My OH is electrician, last year he spent 5 months in Calgary on PNP. The plan was to get him there before us while I was staying in UK selling our house. It didn't work that way, we couldn't sell the house and he didn't like Calgary(it wasn't our first choice, we always wanted to go to BC,preferably Vancouver island) also the dollar rate gone down the pan just under $2. His 6 month limit to take red seal exam just expired ( he never took the exam, ..I know how stupid?). He has bank account, insurance number, canadian driving license - all for Alberta. Is there a quicker way once you have been approved by AAT in Alberta?
The situation now is just sold the house to a cash buyer, need to be out in 10-wks. Got rented accommodation till September by then I will finish my law degree.We were planning to get to BC not later than September. Is this possible? I also have 3 kids, one school age another two nursery age, is it better to employ nanny or au pair or nursery? What is the cost in BC? We need the visas which we don't pay for my daughters school. I would appreciate if someone can put me in a picture of how much family of 5 needs to earn to live comfortably. Thank you very much. Any advice or info would be much appreciated..... By the way, no offence to Calgarians I quite liked it there.
I just wanted to ask is anyone knows the quickest way to get to bc, canada? My OH is electrician, last year he spent 5 months in Calgary on PNP. The plan was to get him there before us while I was staying in UK selling our house. It didn't work that way, we couldn't sell the house and he didn't like Calgary(it wasn't our first choice, we always wanted to go to BC,preferably Vancouver island) also the dollar rate gone down the pan just under $2. His 6 month limit to take red seal exam just expired ( he never took the exam, ..I know how stupid?). He has bank account, insurance number, canadian driving license - all for Alberta. Is there a quicker way once you have been approved by AAT in Alberta?
The situation now is just sold the house to a cash buyer, need to be out in 10-wks. Got rented accommodation till September by then I will finish my law degree
.We were planning to get to BC not later than September. Is this possible? I also have 3 kids, one school age another two nursery age, is it better to employ nanny or au pair or nursery? What is the cost in BC? We need the visas which we don't pay for my daughters school. I would appreciate if someone can put me in a picture of how much family of 5 needs to earn to live comfortably. Thank you very much. Any advice or info would be much appreciated..... By the way, no offence to Calgarians I quite liked it there.Hi
Sorry to hear you've really been through it.
There's quite a bit on working in Law in Canada on this forum, you can search. Some Law staff transferred, I know there's various hoops to go through.
Have you used Judy's excellent 'Wikipedia' info for all sorts of things. Some of your questions may be answered there.
Cheers,
All the best.
Mar 9th 2008, 12:37 pm
#27
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 47
Re: quickest way to bc,canada
Jill and grew, I have never been to edmonton apparently is pretty cold out there. To be honest we are looking at primarily BC, but anywhere we can have a good family life will be considered. I will send you PM with my OH details.
Mar 9th 2008, 1:38 pm
#28
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 139
Re: Work Permits
Hi there,
Possibly, you might be able to secure a Temporary Work Permit if a potential employer was interested in your husband. However, I really feel he has to know the licensing requirements for BC first. BC is arguably renowned as having the most licensing red-tape of anywhere!
That's a very tight time span with children involved. Many good schools are over-subscribed. You will need to investigate how you gain permission for children to be entered into school if you enter Canada via a Work Permit.
The employer seeks permission for your Work Permit, and there is very detailed information on this site regarding the process. It is the quickest way into Canada - my process took 6 months beginning to end, but that included finding a willing employer and applying to my licensing board for certification.
There seems to be tons of work for electricians here as we had tons of trouble getting one to come and do our electrical upgrade.
With 100,000 pounds you are not going to be able to buy a single family home anywhere near Vancouver or Victoria. However, it would be a comfortable deposit for a house for somewhere outside of those hotspots such as Nanaimo, the Comox Valley or Campbell River.
I was able to obtain a mortgage within 6 months of arriving in BC on my Work Permit. I used a Credit Union (bit like a building society but more local) and they accepted by 10% deposit, provided I pay for the BC insurance policy that protects lenders against less than 25% deposit mortgages.
My main downsides to living in BC on a Work Permit are:
You can't get car credit - I have had a series of old vehicles, which I could buy for cash. Still, it's worth asking a dealership if you had a good deposit.
You are tied to your employer - good or bad! Until you apply for Permanent Residency, you can't work for anyone else on your existing Work Permit. However, I learned through the excellent knowledge on this site that they are now doing an expedited PR application for people already working here on Work Permits. Search this site and you'll see that the transfer can take considerably shorter time than just applying for PR from the UK. There is a Wiki detailing the information, and a number of posts about it.
So my short answer to you question is:
If you can find an employer, sort out the BC electrical certification, find out how to registered children into the schools while living on a Work Permit, pack up your life etc, then it's all possible.
However, I think you're timescale is going to put enormous pressure on you, so you may have to take a bit longer in the planning process.
I hope this helps. This is a condensed version of some of things I wish I'd known before coming to BC!
All the best,
Sarah
PS - Don't make our mistakes - sort out your proof of no-claims bonus with your UK car insurance before you come to BC. There is a very specific way of doing this, and lots of information on this site about it. If you don't have the right evidence in the correct format, you will be paying 100% of the ICBC car insurance rate. There is no competition in BC car insurance - one province-run insurance decides how much you pay. Our insurance is really expensive because we didn't sort out our information properly. This has haunted me....
Oh, and by the way, bring all quilts covers, bedding, crates of Bisto instant gravy, a TV with a really long lead so you can get UK television.
Good luck!
Possibly, you might be able to secure a Temporary Work Permit if a potential employer was interested in your husband. However, I really feel he has to know the licensing requirements for BC first. BC is arguably renowned as having the most licensing red-tape of anywhere!
That's a very tight time span with children involved. Many good schools are over-subscribed. You will need to investigate how you gain permission for children to be entered into school if you enter Canada via a Work Permit.
The employer seeks permission for your Work Permit, and there is very detailed information on this site regarding the process. It is the quickest way into Canada - my process took 6 months beginning to end, but that included finding a willing employer and applying to my licensing board for certification.
There seems to be tons of work for electricians here as we had tons of trouble getting one to come and do our electrical upgrade.
With 100,000 pounds you are not going to be able to buy a single family home anywhere near Vancouver or Victoria. However, it would be a comfortable deposit for a house for somewhere outside of those hotspots such as Nanaimo, the Comox Valley or Campbell River.
I was able to obtain a mortgage within 6 months of arriving in BC on my Work Permit. I used a Credit Union (bit like a building society but more local) and they accepted by 10% deposit, provided I pay for the BC insurance policy that protects lenders against less than 25% deposit mortgages.
My main downsides to living in BC on a Work Permit are:
You can't get car credit - I have had a series of old vehicles, which I could buy for cash. Still, it's worth asking a dealership if you had a good deposit.
You are tied to your employer - good or bad! Until you apply for Permanent Residency, you can't work for anyone else on your existing Work Permit. However, I learned through the excellent knowledge on this site that they are now doing an expedited PR application for people already working here on Work Permits. Search this site and you'll see that the transfer can take considerably shorter time than just applying for PR from the UK. There is a Wiki detailing the information, and a number of posts about it.
So my short answer to you question is:
If you can find an employer, sort out the BC electrical certification, find out how to registered children into the schools while living on a Work Permit, pack up your life etc, then it's all possible.
However, I think you're timescale is going to put enormous pressure on you, so you may have to take a bit longer in the planning process.
I hope this helps. This is a condensed version of some of things I wish I'd known before coming to BC!
All the best,
Sarah
PS - Don't make our mistakes - sort out your proof of no-claims bonus with your UK car insurance before you come to BC. There is a very specific way of doing this, and lots of information on this site about it. If you don't have the right evidence in the correct format, you will be paying 100% of the ICBC car insurance rate. There is no competition in BC car insurance - one province-run insurance decides how much you pay. Our insurance is really expensive because we didn't sort out our information properly. This has haunted me....
Oh, and by the way, bring all quilts covers, bedding, crates of Bisto instant gravy, a TV with a really long lead so you can get UK television.
Good luck!
I've sent you a PM.
Cheers,
HL
Mar 9th 2008, 4:36 pm
#29
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Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Cascadian Autonomous Elysian Region
Posts: 5,069
Mar 9th 2008, 7:44 pm
#30
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Joined: Jun 2007
Location: Cobble Hill, Vancouver Island
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