A B

Hi Everyone,

I'm totally new to this ... so just to introduce myself (sure someone will tell me if I'm not doing this correctly ...).
My Much Beloved and I plus rickety old Labrador are hoping to move out to Calgary this year.
We have concerns in common with everyone who undertakes this sort of life-changing event, but we would rather give it a go rather than look back with regret at not having tried.
I look forward to sharing ideas (and, admittedly some concerns with others).
Many thanks,

christmasoompa

You've done it exactly right! Welcome to the forum, do head over to the Canada forum as well as there are loads of lovely members there who will be more than willing to help out (and some not so lovely members too, but hey we'll just gloss over that ) and answer any questions you have.

Best of luck with it all.

A B

Thanks so much for the welcome.

Jerseygirl

Hello there and welcome to BE.

This is the link to our Canada forums. Why don't you stop by and air your concerns...there's bound to be others in the same boat as yourself?

Good luck.

Kaye.

Welcome to BE

TheThornes

Hi there

We moved over to the Calgary area 16 months ago (plus kids, dog and cat!). We actually live in Cochrane which is about half an hour from Calgary.

I understand what you mean. We said life's too short; if we don't do it, we'll never know and we'll spend the rest of our lives wondering "what if".

Happy to report that we love it and have no regrets whatsover. There's quite a large UK population over here. Wasn't sure if I was going to like that aspect at first. Afterall, weren't we trying to get away from the UK? However, it's actually really nice. You can talk about things from back home or things you remember from childhood etc and have a laugh about these things which the Canadians wouldn't understand. Nothing against the Canadians - we've got lots of great Canadian friends too; you get the best of both worlds.

Like you, we were moving with a couple of older pets. Our three legged cat was around 9 or 10 at the time (we're not 100% sure how old she is) and our dog was 11 at the time. Moving our dog over was one of my biggest concerns because of her age and because I knew she'd be really nervous on the flight. They came across on the same flight as us and we picked them up about an hour or so after landing and they were absolutely fine; glad to see us but fine!

We used Airpets to move them across. We just took them to the airport the day before the flight and they then did all the necessaries with final vet checks etc and boarding them. We have friends over here that also brought their dog over. They didn't use a company like us but, instead, checked her in as excess bagage! When they landed, she was just sitting in her box all alone in a corner of arrivals next to the baggage carosel, whereas we had to go over to customs to collect our pets. The way we did it was more expensive but, personally, I felt happier about it that they were being looked after. At least moving over here there's no quarantine either. I don't think I could have put my dog though that, not at her age.

We stayed on our realator's farm for our first few weeks after landing until we bought our house which was great as she was happy for us to stay there with pets (and kids!). We've since got another dog now too (she's the only true Canadian in the family!).

Well, don't hesitate to get in touch if you want to speak to someone that's already made the move or about the stresses of bringing a dog over!

Best of luck.

A B

Hi, Thanks for the replies ..... much appreciated. We hope to fly out in the next few weeks for a 'recce', to see the lie of the land .... look at different areas to live, housing, etc. I'll be back soon asking lots of (probably fairly gormless) questions!
Bye for now .....

TheThornes

Definitely worth doing. We did a couple of research trips before coming over plus my husband came over for a third time on his own to do his job interview/testing etc.

Like I mentioned before, we live in Cochrane, just outside Calgary. If you're interested in staying in this neck of the woods, we have a two bedroom guest suite situated in our walk out basement that we rent out, usually on a weekly basis ($350 pw for up 2 people or $500 pw for up to 4), or can arrange for shorter or longer stays. Its completely self-contained, has it's own entrance, one double and one twin room, bathroom and open plan living room, dining room and kitchen. I can arrange to email you details and pictures if you think you might be interested.

Even if you're not interested and maybe just want to meet up or speak to someone when you're here that's been through the process, let me know. Having been through it, I know what it's like!

When we first came over, we stayed in the guest suite of another English family that had been here about two years at that time (now very good friends of ours) and it was great to have someone to ask loads of questions of; even silly things like can I buy Weetabix and Marmite here?

Anyway, good luck with everything; I'm sure you'll love it over here.

Crestfallen

Hi A B,

I've just joined as well, and am hoping to make the move to Alberta with the Hubby and our German Shorthaired Pointer.

I have to admit that i'm more worried about flying her out and how she'll adjust (if we get to that stage ) than I am about us!

You are so right about going for it, instead of regretting that you never tried, thats what swung it for us!

A B

Hi,
I'm assured by our 'Vet that Gibson will be fine to fly, despite having a steel implant holding his spine together and 3 pins following a broken leg (thinks.... maybe I should have re-named him 'Lucky'......).
What stage are you at with your potential move? We're flying out at the end of the month for a for a few days to look around, and Much Beloved has an interview.

Crestfallen

Hope everything goes well with the interview and that you enjoy your trip

We're currently waiting to get Hubby's qualifications evaluated by ICAS, have got all our docs together, then if they come back with a possitive response, our immigration consultants will be putting the application in to NS right after that. All very scary stuff!

Gibson seems like a really brave boy, Our Luna on the other hand is a bit of a sensitive soul (a wuss if I'm really honest with myself). She screams her head off before the Vet has even touched her whenever we need to take her there.

A B

Thanks for the welcome!

A B

Hi,
We're going out on 27th for a few days, so I'll let you know how we get on. We full of excitement/nerves/dread/am I toooooo old for this, etc., etc.,