Podders

Hello,

My husband and I are looking to move to Canada- from what my research suggests we would be ok for jobs (I am a nurse, he is a structural engineer). We have two small children age 5 and 3.

He is looking into the engineering side but my understanding is as a chartered engineer in the UK he could get a job and do the equivalent chartership while in Canada.

I need to start the process of the NNAS which I know can take up to a year and then decide which area I want to apply to to get recognised as a nurse and then apply for a job. My understanding is you only have a year when you have the NNAS to get a job before it expires so I don’t want to do this too early but appreciate it might take a while anyway.

Does anyone have any experience as a nurse or structural engineer how long these things generally take in practice? My background is sexual health and contraception- would this be considered and employable in Canada and would they be in community hospital type settings or generally practice equivalent?

We are looking for a new adventure, more outdoorsy lifestyle and better quality of life. I’d love to go to BC but I think Alberta seems better in terms of affordability and looks beautiful.

Really any advice from any nurses or engineers who have moved recently would be hugely appreciated!

Thanks

christmasoompa

Hi, welcome to BE.

I agree that you should be ok for jobs given your occupations, but you can double check that on the JobBank website to see where you may be best aiming for, it looks as though provinces other than Alberta may be better but check it here - https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketreport/jobs/22376/ca and https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketreport/jobs/993/ca

Your husband will need to be licensed as well I believe, as I think it's also a regulated profession in Canada. So unfortunately both of you will have quite a few hoops to jump through and extra costs. I've no idea how long it will take for him, but I know it can take years for nurses (example - UK Nurse trying to get to canada), so best to get cracking asap!

As your post isn't about visas I'll move it to the main forums, but if you have any questions about the visa side of things, head back to the immi section of the forum.

Best of luck to you.

Piff Poff

My questions to you would be:
Why do you think Canada would offer a more outdoorsy life?
If you move to a place with snow (Alberta can have snow on the ground from early October to late April) will you enjoy it?
How close are you to your family and friends - how much support do you get from them?
Is there somewhere in the UK that would offer what you think you want?

JamesM

Alberta is more affordable primarily because real estate is cheaper than BC.

I'm not sure you will have a higher quality of life and would encourage you to really explore salaries in Canada versus the UK in your professions. You'll want at least $2 for every pound that you earn. I'm back and forth to the UK all the time and in my opinion most household goods are cheaper in the UK with the exception of energy and fuel.

Canada isn't the place to move to that it used to be as the housing market has closed the gap with the UK (surpassed in some places and not others) and the British pound has weakened.

With regards to an Outdoorsy lifestyle the only difference here to the UK is access to snow sports more regularly. If you aren't outdoorsy now what will change?

CanadaJimmy

Alberta is a lot different than BC, much more conservative for one. CBC has published some articles about this difference:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...onto-1.6391712
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...kers-1.6554103

Both provinces do have incredible natural beauty but BC has a far better climate, particularly in the coastal areas, which means more time to do outdoorsy stuff each year.

While it is true housing affordability is an issue, we are seeing a correction taking place in housing costs across the country, so don't rule out BC. Also BC has taken drastic steps to protect it's nature and farmland, which is a big part of why housing is more and why you may have to "settle" for a rowhouse or apartment instead of the traditional "American Dream" of a detached house, because there is an effort to limit urban sprawl which means there is a movement towards denser housing. The advantage is some of the newer suburbs are very walkable and pedestrian friendly, such as Clayton in Surrey, BC and Willoughby in Langley, BC. However that highlights the biggest difference from the UK you will run into, many areas here are designed for cars first and pedestrians second, where as car-free life is much easier in the UK (as it is for most of Europe), so consider that in the quality of life assessment.

There's big opportunities for engineers here, as new infrastructure is being built all the time due to the rapid population growth (500k new immigrants projected for this year), and nurses in the medical system are very needed right now.

Good luck on your journey.

Moses2013

I'd agree with the outdoorsy bit, it's all down to the location and the individuals. An outdoor lifestyle can be anything from a garden, loop walk, beach/promenade, lake etc.
The outdoor lifestyle people think about is often not what it is and those who live in a large city but aren't willing to drive 1 hour for a hike in the UK will rarely do that elsewhere (especially with kids).
Living rurally doesn't always mean you have better access to the outdoors either and even here in Ireland that can sometimes mean no pavements and a lot of private land, so a car is essential and more extreme in Canada. These days I've also been dreaming about life on Bere Island and sometimes wonder if I would have quicker access to the outdoors on a smaller island, but it would have a lot of other downsides.

rivingtonpike

Although we live in a beautiful part of BC (vancouver Island), and we're on the coast, I wouldn't say it's any easier to hike and do outdoorsy things here than it was in the UK. There are no bridle paths, medieval trackways, National Trust walks and paths. There are trails it is true, but they're pretty one dimensional in my mind. Also, stray off them to any degree and you could be well and truly lost!

btar

Nor indeed the wonderful Ordnance Survey maps to guide you.

I am I said

Per the other comments, it is certainly can be a different outdoorsy life in Canada, but it may not be that accessible from where you choose to live. If you can set out what kind of outdoor interests you have today, I can try to help with a comparison. For example, are you 'walk around a National Trust property' or 'down the local park' or more a 'Scottish winter mountaineering'?

glendem4

The uk has alot going for it. Canada is vast, but lacks public right of way. We have 3 dogs and very rarely have them off leash. Back in Dorset, we could take our dogs on long country walks in anytime of the year. From now until March the weather can restrict outdoor activity. Something to consider.

I am I said

And from May to August, the insects do the same!

Looks like we might have scared off the OP?

From the narrow perspective of my experience and off the top of my head, the differences:

UK - as others have said, footpaths, bridleways and cutting down all the trees centuries ago make it much easier to get around. The relative small size of the country means it is at least theoretically possible to go to the Highlands from London for weekends. Nothing in the wild that will kill you and the weather conditions are mostly manageable, no matter the season. On the other hand, one is rarely far away from other people or roads and it took me many years of living here to get my head around the ability of a significant traffic jam to form anywhere anytime. This summer saw newspaper coverage of queues to get up Snowdon.

For Canada [to me], the outdoors one might want can be a long drive/flight away. The weather and the bugs are a critical factor in the ability to enjoy [or even survive] it all. It is possible to get places where one can believe no one has ever been before [well, until the old piece of survey tape is spotted...]. Last month, three of us canoed in Northern Ontario for nine days. In that time, we saw one other person, about a kilometre away. That is not possible in the UK. However... a couple of us were coming from the UK and it took three flights and a three hour drive to get to our launch point! There does seem to be a lot of rules [I am looking at you, Algonquin Park], including the aforementioned dog lead point.

dbd33

I learned something about Alberta today, it may be relevant.

A colleague is going to a barn on the weekend. The barn will be full of artfully arranged hay and straw bales. She’s taking her hounds as the event is a rat hunting competition. Dogs take turns in hunting for rats placed in the bales with the fastest ones being deemed to have won. Animal cruelty being unacceptable in some sports these days, the rats are in plastic tubes with breathing holes. There are penalties for dogs, and people, who shake the rat tubes excessively.

I had some trouble getting my head around this but then the explanation took a leap to the surreal “Alberta is a rat free Province” the colleague explained “so they use gerbills”.

Almost Canadian

Me thinks that there has been some miscommunication here. This sounds like a scent detection trial. We have them at our place. Small metal boxes (about the size of a classic school boy eraser) have scent placed into them. The dogs are given the scent and are then tasked with finding another one hidden within the bales.

If any form of live bait is used they are placed in a container that the dogs are not able to access, and they are switched out regularly.

dbd33

It's these: https://www.barnhunt.com/index.html

The dog has to find four live rats in four tubes in the barn as quickly as possible. The tubes are resistant to biting.

Googling "barn hunt gerbils" suggests that the use of gerbils is more widespread than just Alberta. I don't know the relative merits of rats vs. gerbils, neither do I know if other animals may be substituted. I do know that the colleague has her dogs hunt rats in tubes, I'm promised video of past hunts tomorrow!

Almost Canadian

Yes, barn hunts.

The dogs are trained to "indicate" that they have found the scent, the same way that a narcotics dog would at an airport. While I don't doubt that some idiots would allow their dogs to scare the living shit out of the scent, in the same way that some horse owners beat the living shit out of their horses, that is not how it should be done.

I trust that, if she shows you a video of her dogs doing anything inappropriate to any animal, you obtain the video, put it onto social media, identifying her, and let society ruin her life.