__TJ__

possibly the shortest emigration ever.

we landed, it was stressful on the plane because despite paying for baby to have a seat, they wouldnt let us use the car seat on the plane, so he didnt sleep. and cried pretty much the whole way.
two hour wait after our super fast SOWP ( dh had BC PNP and his WP at POE two weeks earlier so i had a copy of that and was good to go) for the dog to come thru excess baggage - which he didnt, we had to go and get him elsewhere but it took 2 hours to get someone to tell me that.
got the dog, went to hotel (accent inn vancouver, very nice, clean room and reasonable given the dog and three kids as well as me and dh)
found a rental, moved in 6 days after we landed and after a few days i started to enjoy the fact that we backed on to woods out here in maple ridge, and our nearest neighbour is 100 yds away.
dh had passed his class 1 and was ready to start work then the bomb dropped.

his contract of employment stated 40hr salary at $28.40 an hour. and we checked verbally with the boss ( also an ex-pat) that this was a basic minimum and we could do our sums to that value - yes he said.

except it was a lie, if there is no work there is no money and the crane industry is dead over dec/jan/feb here.
first week awesome 45 hours, took home over $1200, second week 12 hours bloody pitiful. we cannot survive on $400 a week. we spent a week stressing and redoing the sums and begging family who are already tapped out, and we decided we have to go back to uk.
kids are devastated, that our new life is over because one bloke told a lie ( on a government form no less ) if we had been told not to come till feb we would have made it, if we had been told there was no basic, we never would have come.

there are other companies out there who will take dh on but they dont guarantee hours either so its still too much of a risk.

so sadly - gutted - and devastated we will be using those return tickets that i bought just because it was cheaper to get a return. the dog will have to be shipped home costing $2880 and the container will have to turn right on round when it gets here because we will haver already left.

we just cant take the risk that the money will not come in. at least at home we can stay with family and get kids back into school / routine.

devastated doesnt cover it tho because if we had landed in feb/march we would have made it. we could stay and we loved it here. now i have to start packing to go back and will probably never see canada again.

just keep an eye on the paperwork and have a contingency in place, it cost us £20k but for another £5k or so we would have been ok. we checked and rechecked everything but for the lies of one person we should have made it.

off to confort my daughter now who is gutted because she really liked school here, and my son who only just got his computer fed-ex'd over and now we have to send it all back.

el_richo

Sorry to hear that.

There's no chance of surviving until next month when more work looks to come in?

iaink

Thats very sad... I'm inclined to agree with richo...

__TJ__

It's a hell of a gamble, but we are working on borrowing what we need to survive. It's such a waste to go home, we are going back to no job, no house, and debts up to the eyeballs. If we can stay we will be right now I really don't know how! Just so gutted the actions of one man could cost us everything!

iaink

To be fair, yes he lied, but on the other hand lots of people come on a work permit only to get laid off or fired in short order too. Does he have the option of working more than one place?

Its a sucky situation, no doubt, but I hope you can get it to work out. From what you say going back the UK doesnt sound a lot better, so fingers crossed for you. Is there anything you can do short term to save expense, live without a vehicle, find a cheaper place, that sort of drastic action?

el_richo

It's not my life, my risk, or my money, so it's easy for me to say this:

The cost of moving back to the UK could easily be the equivalent of a few months living expenses in MR. That would take you to March/April. From what you say, the work should come back in Feb. Surely that's worth a risk?

You already have your return flights sorted so getting back to the UK as a last resort isn't an issue. You have places to stay, so accommodation isn't an issue.

Your stuff on the other hand......

Can you not get a local job to bring in money while your hubby is off work? I assume you have an open work permit?

helcat12

As el_richo said, if your OH isn't working at his usual job then maybe you could get a local job instead?

I am just about to start my second job here and I've only been here for just over 3 months (first one was temporary for Christmas), so I know work is available but you have to chase it, there's no doubt about that
.
OK, the money isn't great either but I am sure that you could all make economies and weather through the lean times until work comes through for your OH in his usual trade.
Maybe he could also find work elsewhere?

For what it will cost you to go back, you have to give it everything and not give up yet.

Geordie Lass

Hi

So sorry to hear how tough things are.

Obviously not in your shoes and like el_richo says it's easy for us to say things and give advice.

Like the others have said - what struck me was how much it is going to cost you to get home... can that money not keep you afloat until work picks up for your husband? Even the money on the dog alone is a hefty amount.

I presume if you use the money that you would use to come home on staying until the work picks up you are going to be in a worst state if work doesn't come through and then you don't have the money to get home... sorry prob not helping but 2 sides to the coin isn't there?

Have you got a Spousal open work permit? If not how quickly can you get one?

Again - really sorry to hear how hard things have got - I don't know what else to say...

marika g

Really sorry to hear about your circumstances but have you considered moving say to Alberta?!It might not be where you originally wanted to go but I live in Calgary and there is LOTS of work for people with class 1....especially within the oil and gas industry $$$! If you could handle your OH being away (which I'm assuming that you can with him being a class 1 driver) then it seems like a no brainer for him to go and apply with the oil and gas companies...believe me...I am looking for work here but I am in the Education field so my journey is panning out a bit differently,however wherever I look it's all about the oil and gas!

He could earn good $$ especially if he was willing to go up north...just a thought....you could always reasses the situation (about maybe going back to BC) once you have some money coming in and can settle properly. It seems a shame for you to feel that you have to go back to the U.K just because of the job situation.

Good luck with it all!

__TJ__

thanks for the insignt, all. i do appreciate it.
1. yes i have a SOWP but we have three kids so childcare would cost more than id earn even with the older two in school.
2. he can only work for the one company, we can get it switched but that will take a couple of weeks and then another couple of weeks to get wages in and again there is no guarntee that he will make the mega money he is expecting.
3. oh boy did the buy lie... ggggggrrrrr i could strangle him!
4. getting the dog back is the major expense, the flights are booked but that is fixed, they are not movable. and the money to get the stuff back is on offer from mother in law but its the end of a long rope for her and she insists it can only be used to get us back. possibly selfish of her - i dont know, she has only got my dh left in the world but has thrown a LOT of money at us for this venture, she iws gutted we have to give up but isnt a botomless pit of cash sadly
5. we have leaned down the numbers as much as we can we still dont have enough to make it and if we have to go back, we wqant to do it before too much damage has been done to the kids education.

really gutted tho as i just found the perfect school for my son jack who has aspergers and it would suit him perfectly.

literally £5k stands between us and keeping what we have here. and it makes us sick to think what we are going back to in uk.

oh and BC PNP so have to stay in BC, but coulndt imagine leaving as its so beautiful!

helcat12

I can't help with much here but if it is any help at all, as a teacher it is my opinion that the kids' education is not going to suffer anything they cannot make up easily later. A few weeks off school is nothing compared to the upheaval they have had and are going to have all over again if you go back.

If you get a job, why would you need childcare? Surely OH could do child-caring duties until things pick up for him?

ExKiwilass

I'm with the others...any way you can stick it out???

glenn wilson

You know. Things can get tough and life throws all kinda crap at us to deal with... If you really want something to work out you need to be determined and make it happen... be stubborn and determined to make something of the mess.. One day you just may be pleased you stuck it out.. oh and welcome to B.ring C.ash

el_richo

I think this thread is a great grounder for people with families looking to move over. I think 6 months financial buffer as a minimum is necessary.

Hope it all works out, whatever the decision.

mandymoochops

Can you not get a job in the evening???? What about the pharmacies that open 24 hours / Tims anything.

If you are that desperate to stay you'll find a way. It won't come to you on a plate.