Originally Posted by HairySnotter

Hi .... In my opinion there is always work out there, its just if you are able and willing to do it (beggars cant be choosers) I was not narrow-minded enough to think that me or my wife would walk into high paying jobs.

And I feel this is were a lot of new comers especially British new comers fall down they expect to go back into there field at the salary level they left and in reality that very rarely happens .So after six months of very few job offers and a dwindling bank balance the call it a day and go back home.

.... We decided that the first few years would be the toughest and if I had to work two jobs so be it, as we wanted to live in Canada.

Originally Posted by Dave+Jules

Grab a job, if you have only a temp low level job paying tuppence an hour, then volunteer to do a job for a charity that demonstrates your original skill levels. Create an opportunity by offering to be a manager for fund raising at your local hospital etc... At least your experience with the charity will show your abilities.

Originally Posted by Dave+Jules

Grab a job, if you have only a temp low level job paying tuppence an hour, then volunteer to do a job for a charity that demonstrates your original skill levels.

Originally Posted by Rich_007

And that is one of the wisest BE nuggets I've seen for a while.

Hopefully it may deter the selfish me,me,me brigade who only seek to take, not to give, from their international relocation.

R.

Originally Posted by HairySnotter

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Originally Posted by HairySnotter

Hi all I have been one of those guys that has sat reading this forum from the day me and my family decided Canada was the place we wanted to call home ,that was over four years ago. I never posted or joined as I got most of my answers from previous posts and a few holidays we took to Canada. This forum is an absolute gold mine of information and peoples own experiences bad and good.



We (myself wife and two kids) have now lived just outside of Oshawa for a year now (we rented near Ajax for the first year) and Canada has become every thing and more that we all wanted it to be. I now feel that I can pass on some information to all you guys wanting to move from the UK to start a new life. Because it is a new life you are leaving that street you walk down every day, the neighbors you speak to every day, the family that is always there, the city village or town you lived most of your life all the familiar things that you take for granted every day . So do you still want to move to a new Country? If the answer is yes read on and I hope you do.


We are earning less than we earned in the UK but our quality of life is far superior to that in Glasgow. We could not afford to buy the house we wanted in a good area of Glasgow, we now have a detached house in a very quite subdivision. Our two kids are doing extremely well at school our oldest even has a well paid part time job. We did not bring a substantial amount of money with us (enough to rent for a couple of years if it was necessary) as we where the average lower middle class UK family. We both got full time jobs within the first week of posting our CVs, so that meant our savings could now go to a down payment for a house. So we decided to keep renting for the first year then buy a house the second year.


We used Abrams & Krochak yes I know you can do it yourself but we felt it would be better to let them have any headaches than us and the price was incredible (I had approached an English based specialist and she wanted three times the money and she gave us bad advice).You must come out on Holiday a few times as the place is so vast and you can get a feel for it. You have no credit history when you land in Canada no matter what any one tells you, I guess there will be some on this site that will beg to differ. That also goes for car insurance some insurance companies will ask for a letter from your old insurance company in the UK bring it anyway but it will make virtually no difference to your premium (you are effectively a new driver in the eyes of the insurance companies) .So get yourself store cards and even a preloaded credit card as soon as you open your bank account as this starts to work in your favor providing you pay it of monthly.

There is plenty of work out here as long as you are willing and able to take any thing on at first. Our telephone, internet and TV bill is the same amount we paid to telewest, electricity and gas are slightly cheaper and we have a much bigger house than in the UK. Our weekly grocery bill is cheaper as is our petrol bill. We pay for water in Canada and that works out around sixty five quid a quarter (and we have a swimming pool and three bathrooms) our property tax is the same as we paid in the UK for a two bedroom semi in Glasgow. So when every thing adds up we are not much better of financially but we never moved here to be better of financially we moved mainly for the kids, better weather, more opportunities, cleaner environment, spectacular county side, incredible wild life and a country that seems to know how to treat its tax paying workforce right (you get every opportunity to claim your tax back at the end of each year).Me and the wife still get what we call that Canada moment when you’re sitting in the car, store, work or watching the kids play street hockey and you suddenly think god I am in Canada its a great feeling. It was worth all the hassle and sleepless nights to get here and that’s after being here two years.


So quick recap decide you want to do it, do your home work and read this forum
It mite be for you it mite not, but you are the only one that can make that decision.
There is a huge expat community stretching from Ajax, whitby, Oshawa, Bowmanville and I better not forget Port Hope and the ones that are reading this (you guys know who you are) will help you out especially if you move to this area they all have there own stories to tell and have valuable advice for the new family on the block
We all get together now and again for a drink or a BBQ and new faces are always welcome. One thing I will say if you are coming to Canada and expect to get a huge house and a great job with a wallet busting salary and retire at 50 Canada is probably not the place for you .In our experience the ones that don’t make it are the ones who come over without doing adequate homework, or will not just take any job it has to be that very special $180,000 a year job that gives them 6 weeks paid vacation and the company Ferrari. There are loads of them just ask the next flying pig you see to point you in the direction of the $150,000+ job centre. (Canadian employers love this phrase you will here it a lot Canadian experience) So take that job it will get you the Canadian experience and you can move on from there. Canada does have its bad points but the good ones far out way them.


This is our experience and I don’t wish to get into any he said you said garbage that inevitably follows some ones opinion in forums. So be four you decide well I gave my letter to the insurance company and it made a huge impact to my premium, my grocery bill has tripled, my kids hate school, the weather was garbage this summer (ok I will give you that), Canadians cant drive, I never get my tax money back, they don’t recognize my qualifications, I cant get bisto, the washing powder is crap, I am getting withdrawals from eastenders. Like I said this is our experience not yours and yes like I also said we all have different stories to tell. Hope this helps some one, and if you want to know anything and I can help just ask. And for the argumentative ones out there think be four you start to rip people to shreds or shoot there post down in flames ok

Originally Posted by HairySnotter

I am sorry to be so blunt and yes every one has a different story to tell but there are good paying jobs out there but you need to go look and be willing to look outside your field. We decided that the first few years would be the toughest and if I had to work two jobs so be it, as we wanted to live in Canada.

Originally Posted by iaink

One thing Ive learned from my time on this site is to be humble and to count my blessings. Sometimes you need some dumb luck too and you dont necessarily know when you got it.

There are plenty of people who do all the right things, and never catch a break. I have a good life here, and I dont forget to count my blessings because so much comes down to chance. Some people are still waiting for that break. There are no guarantees in this life.

Lets not pretend that Oshawa hasnt just seen the loss of a ton of jobs directly and indirectly through the closure of one car plant and the loss of shifts from the other. That has a massive impact all through the community and larger area. I certainly wouldnt be painting too rosy a picture of the local economy there in the short term.

Originally Posted by Rich_007

And that is one of the wisest BE nuggets I've seen for a while.

Hopefully it may deter the selfish me,me,me brigade who only seek to take, not to give, from their international relocation.

R.

Originally Posted by hudd

iank

Are you in the automotive industry?
I read in the Telegraph recently the in Canada and the US the automotive industry are closing truck plants and reducing car production staff.

Is you work OK? The UK automotive industry has been hit with global downturn. I am glad I working in the electricity generation business looking at some industries such as car production.

There still demand for good engineers in the UK if you get into problems.

hudd

Originally Posted by HairySnotter

Hi Beaver born and bread %100 pure Glasgow boy (old fart) from that quaint picturesque little hive of activity possilpark