Clydey

Hi guys,

Im looking for some advice

Myself and my wife have applied for PR and by my reckoning are about 1 year away from hopefully making the move.

We are heading out to Toronto at the end of August for a "scouting mission" to gather as much information and investigate all the local areas - Obviously I know there are a few folks on here who are in or have been in a similar situation and just wondering if they could give us any advice on the sort of things they concentrated on and some of the things they maybe wished they had looked into more.

Obviously this isn't just specific to Toronto - I guess anyone who has gone or is going through the process of moving from the UK to Canada can help us out here.

We want to make the most of our 17 days there and felt the best place to seek advice was from those who had been through it before.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

R2D2

The main thing is to take your holiday head off, and try to look deeper. Easier said than done. Make contact with a Realtor who would be willing to help you from the UK is neccessary. It may come in handy to have a contact.
Set up a bank account. Hub opened one with RBC whilst on his reccee trip and didn't even have to deposit any dollars.

I'm sure there is tons more stuff to suggest but I best go make my 2 yr olds dinner or there will be the screaming ab-dabs

Alberta_Rose

Yep the realtor idea is good.... they can take you around houses in a few different areas to get a feel for what's available and what you get for your money. The bank account would be useful too.

If you can, stay at somewhere self-catering so you can check out what shopping for a living is like. If you haven't already got jobs lined up, use the trip to network network network. You can contact people and tell them you are coming and please could you meet for a "chat" .... make some good contacts that way and may even result in a job offer!

If you have any kids (you don't mention any) then check out possible schools. If you have a dog then see what areas have "off-leash" walk places nearby!

ummm ..... I'm sure there's other stuff (you may even fit in some touristy things too ... all work and no play etc )

Grendel

We've just come back from a research trip to Ontario that we found very informative.

Although we knew how far apart things could be in such a vast country, it was worthwhile to drive on Canadian roads and realise that - due to their relatively low speed limit and the high number of junctions and traffic lights - driving anywhere can take much longer than you might expect.

We made sure that we went to a supermarket and pretended to buy the equivalent of our normal weekly food shopping; it worked out roughly the same, but it taught us that we need to be prepared to pay slightly higher prices for fruit and veg, and have much larger cupboards than back home because packets and portions are huge.

We were lucky enough to find an ex-pat realtor covering Oakville and Burlington (our hoped-for destination) who was more than happy to take us on viewings even though we weren't in a position to buy. This was probably the highlight of the trip for us. Seeing a home for real is so much better than just looking at a pic on mls.ca, and it would have been nice for us to be able to set aside more time for viewings.

I also took my CV with me, going round to some of the area's major employers in my field, and hopefully something will come of this.

By the way, if there is one thing to avoid, it's public transport. We experienced driving through rush hour traffic like a local, which was generally OK, but the bus network is very trying. There are so many stops that journeys take forever and there are relatively few services if you are off the beaten track. Practically everybody drives everywhere in Canada, and now we know why.

Alberta_Rose

That's so people can get on! It's actually a good thing. Who wants to walk twenty minutes to the nearest bus stop in -35 degrees???

The buses here (Calgary) are so accurately timed that people arrive at the stop with a minute to spare and KNOW that they are only going to wait a minute! (well it works until a bus freezes! ) You can also call a number for a particular stop and it'll tell you exactly when the next bus will be there!

Almost Canadian

Bloody hell

Can we get whoever runs the network over here to sort out our trains

Wookie Wayne

I'd say sink a few one evening down an expat pub and get chatting to the locals, you'd be amazed by how helpful people can be and what contacts can be made. People have helped me out and gives community a whole new meaning.

If you have an open mind you'll be half way there!

Good luck and enjoy.