Bekes

Hello, so loving this forum. Iam 35 years and my Husband is 42 we have 3 kids 13, 10 and 5. We are British and live in London. As a family we want to move to Albreta, Edmonton, Calgary, also open to other Towns depending on where there is a job. I work as a family Assement office with Social service with over 7years exp I also trained as a Nutritional Therapist just last year. My Husband has exp in Project mangt (prince 2) he is a Train operator/ Train Driver over 10years.
What are our options as par work please. What is the best place to apply for jobs, to get work permit?
How much is renting a three or four bed house? What is a good wage? Just thought going through my mind/ head?
For Families that have made the move how is life in Canada compare to London?
Any information or exp will help.
Thanks in advance.

Former Lancastrian

The first question I would ask is why do you want to move?
The wiki at the top of the page is a must read about all aspects of Canada.
Also read the London or Toronto thread thats developing. This thread could end up like that London or Edmonton
Be prepared for some light hearted banter or not and questions about your sanity in wanting to move to Edmonton though you do mention Calgary as well.

Seriously why do you feel the need to move?

Bekes

We just want a change of life. A different country. I was told Education in Canada is better. Read a lot looks like we will have to start at the entry level. I guess the Toronto tread miss home. Thanks

christmasoompa

Your kids will do well and have the same opportunities in any first world country tbh. Would a move out of London to elsewhere in the UK achieve the change of life you're after?

Have you visited Canada before? It's a great country but spending tens of thousands of pounds on a move there could be an expensive mistake if you haven't. A reccie trip to job hunt will be pretty essential anyway (from what you've said, one of you would need a job offer & LMO to get a visa), so maybe plan that and then you can explore the cost of living (about the same as in the UK) and housing areas whilst there.

Best of luck.

Bekes

Never been to Canada just my Husband. In London we pay fees for the Kids just to get better education. Iam hoping that Canada or USA will give a better family and work balance. The houses in Canada is bigger I was told. How have you found Canada to be prons and cons. Thanks

christmasoompa

Again, just playing devils advocate, but if you want a bigger house and to not have to pay for education, then would a move to another area of the UK achieve the same thing without the hassle of visas etc and at a much lower cost?

But plan a reccie & job hunting trip to Canada and see what you think maybe?

Bekes

Is summer a good time to try and visit and work? Looking at July. I have not thought of outside London. How easy is it to set up a cafe? Thanks, you have got me thinking.

rivingtonpike

Best thing would be to come out here and have a look around. You should also factor in that moving here will likely cost you £20k+++++++. That pays for a lot of relocation in the UK.

Siouxie

I would suggest you decide which country you most favour (US or Canada) once you have ascertained if you can qualify for any kind of visa to allow you to live and work there, then go and have a look at the areas you are most attracted to.

There is some good information in the wiki that may help.

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Catego...an_Immigration
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Category:USA_Immigration

Oink

MikeUK

Not true...

At best on par...

My limited experiance was sub par for Canada, kids now doing much better in the UK

Consider that a bubble you need to burst

Eddmac

I'm really confused here.
You're a family assessment officer with social services and a nutritional therapist and your husband is a project manager and a train driver. Those are a lot of very wide and varied skills / jobs. In another post, you throw in about opening a cafe too!

What jobs would you actually be looking to do in Canada?

angeljaye

Hi Bekes, if you're anything like I was your head must be in a spin with all the research, questions and the unknown :-) We are similar ages to you and have two kids 13 & 7 and are just coming up to our 6 month anniversary in Canada. We lived in Essex & made the move to opposite end of where you're thinking of and now live in Quebec. My husband was offered a job, pretty much out of the blue and we decided it was time for an adventure, even though we had never been to Canada before.... 8 weeks after the job offer my husband moved and I travelled with the kids & dog the month after. Life in Canada is certainly different to Essex & after the worst winter in decades I'm certainly ready to experience canadian summer! I have lived in my snow boots for the last 5 months and it's only just thawed in the last couple of weeks. But I have to say my youngest has never spent as much time playing out in winter , (even in -20 odd temps) as ever before at home. The kids just don't seem to feel it and love being out in the snow which is brilliant to see. The work/family life balance is spot on here. My husband didn't get home till 9pm after usually working late then commuting home from London, he's now home at 6.30 and makes such a difference to family life. Education, so far is great but much harder than the uk curriculum. The kids were put back a year as they start school later here and we've still had to get tutors for them to get up to canadian level. My 13 year old has found it more difficult but I think mainly cause it's just that "funny" age and she really misses all her friends back home. From what I've seen of Canada in general so far, I really like it. I loved Essex too but everything here just seems brighter, cleaner, and much more open. Of course leaving my family & friends was dreadful & I miss them all every day but I'm still looking forward to seeing & experiencing what's to come!
Good luck with everything & please feel free to message me if you have any more questions.

yogiBC

hey bekes
me and my family live in Vancouver BC,,,life here is very very different to the UK.
We have been in Canada now for over 4 years and still trying to make the adjustment.
what I will say is you need to know the truth, it is realy realy hard to leave everything behind and start again.
The whole adventure sounds great but in reality its not so good.
why do I say this well none of your credentials mean anything here,you have to start again and go back to school and then sit the apporopiate tests.
The NHS here is not free,,for a family of 5 we pay $138 a month and then you really need private medical cover to ccover dental and prescriptions.
Car insurance is super high around $1500 a year but if you offset it against UK fuel pieces etc then kinda breaks even.
if you need to call an ambulance there is a cost of $150
And if you fail in looking after yourself there is no safety net your on the street.
You may get people telling you how wonderfull it all is but its very different coming to Canada now than 30 years ago when house prices where cheaper and those people manages to actually make a decent living..
But on the upside your kids will have a better life and the opportunity to do whatever they like.
BC is one of the most expensive provinces so it may be better in one of the others.
But as ime constantly told BC is the best place to live...
But all expats here say that BC stands for BRING CASH and lots of it..
happy to answer anymore questions you may have if you want the real truth.

burks

Enjoying BC and Canada then!

I always thought that the NHS was paid for by taxpayers, and so wasn't actually free. You just pay for it in a different way here. As I have said in a previous threat, a lot of employers offer extended benefits which can cover the majority of costs associated with opticians/dental/prescriptions. As for the ambulance cost, that isn't usually something that one would be needing to budget for too often now is it?

I am not sure what you mean by no safety net? .. It is usually an individuals responsibility to set aside an emergency fund or whatnot, just as it would be in the UK. Welfare really should be a last resort. There is EI (Employment Insurance) in Canada which would provide a small income depending on how many insurable hours you have worked etc. http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sc/ei/index.shtml

Yes BC can be known to be expensive, especially real estate in GVRD, but there are other more affordable places to live in BC. Just as there are expensive cities in the UK and not so expensive cities in the UK.

Oh, and there is no "real truth" when emigrating. It is very much dependent on the individuals involved, how they cope with the move and how they react to their new environments. There will always be people who have better experiences than others, but that by no way means that one 'truth' is any more real than the other.