Any advice
 

Hi all,

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My wife and I are expecting our first child in April of 2018. There is nothing quite so good at focusing your attention on what you want out of life than a whole new little life you have responsibility for.
With this in mind, I have spent the summer pondering a move out of this country. I won't get into the nitty-gritty of it but despite having good jobs we do not feel like we are getting by. We are under no illusions that we will have to work hard, but we are happy to do so. We are going to wait until our child is getting ready to start education(The education system here is an absolute joke, almost half of students fail to make decent progress.) so we can spend the first years of their life with our family with their support and guidance and leave just before/after they start British education. This gives us between 4-6 years.

Can anyone, therefore, offer any advice to us about things we should start considering now and the things we should be considered as the times get s closer?

Cheers

Mike

Re: Any advice
 

Hi, and welcome to BE.

Tbh, planning a move so far ahead there isn't much we can advise you on. The key thing will obviously be whether or not you're eligible for a visa, but as things are likely to change in immigration between now and then, there's not much point in worrying about that yet. You could apply for a visa relatively soon though, if you wanted to go in 5 years (as an example), then I'd get your visa sorted earlier if you are eligible, just in case things change and you become ineligible further down the line. Generally speaking, the older you are the harder it is to qualify for a visa due to losing points due to age, so you could apply and drag the process out. Once you've got PR, you've then got a few years before you absolutely have to move, so for a 5 year moving target, I'd look at visas about 3 years in advance and apply if eligible.

Make sure you save as much as poss, the cost of emigration is huge (this thread has some useful figures in, although it's a bit old now so just bump them up a bit - http://britishexpats.com/forum/canad...canada-735341/), you've got plenty of time to do that anyway.

You could also think about areas, as you've got plenty of time to do trips to check out various locations, although of course that is really only relevant if you're in the lucky position of not needing a job offer to get a visa, as if you do then you might not get much choice of where you go anyway.

The only other thing I'd recommend you think about now is whether or not you need to do anything to be able to work in your professions in Canada. Given how obsessed Canada is with paperwork and qualifications, you may find that takes a while - for example, if either of you were a nurse then you can expect a year or two before you'd be able to work there. So you might want to double check to see if you'd need to sit exams or get certified to work in Canada. If so, you could start that sooner.

And lastly, as somebody who has two children in the UK schooling system, I'd say don't knock it until you've tried it! My two are absolutely flying and in excellent schools. Here's a recent post from me about my experiences - http://britishexpats.com/forum/movin.../#post12302415. If that's your main reason for moving then a move within the UK would be a heck of a lot easier and cheaper, and there are lots of areas with excellent schools.

HTH, best of luck with it.

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Thank you for your reply, much appreciate you taking you time to give me some advice. It is a little early, though obviously not to start saving. There is more to it then just education though that makes up a part of it. There is lots more to consider and take account of, but i just feel we will have a better standard of life in Canada then we could achieve here in the UK.

Mike

Re: Any advice
 

If the objective is to get to Canada at all costs then learn to speak and write in French.

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Out of interest, have you ever visited Canada?

DBD's suggestion is a good one, depending on your age and education level those points may be useful (if the system is the same by the time you come to apply!). If you're young and highly educated, with quite a bit of skilled work experience, then those points won't be needed though, but otherwise that would be a good skill to top the points up and you have time to learn if you don't speak it already.

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Also, if one spikas da lingo, Quebec immigration streams become an option.

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Mais oui. :D

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Thank you both for more advice. This is part of the reason we have set the 'date' so far in the future. So we can prepare, visit and listen to and learn from others.

Learning French seems like a good idea, though I was horrible at it in school so I am not sure how I will get on with it now.
I have only been to Canada as a young child to visit family (though we all seem to have completely lost touch now). I have not visited Canada as an adult, with an adult attention to everything so this is something we would need to do in the coming future.

Re: Any advice
 

If the family is parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle or cousin they could also be useful for visa purposes, so maybe time to rebuild those bonds. :lol:

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:lol: Its a great aunt and uncle I think. It all seems so long ago now.

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I’m not trolling ... but that standard of life comment. What do you base that upon?

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Why not just move to an area with a better school?

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Hi, no problem. Its based somewhat on the fact that the rate of inflation, council tax, pension contributions, utility bills and rent are all going up faster than my annual salary. Early in the autumn the IFS basically cut the forecast for productivity, earnings and growth in every year until the 2020s. Now the government are going to allow a bigger increase in council tax bills next year. This is despite absolutely no real term growth in salaries for the last few years as it's been completely wiped out by inflation. We work both work hard but have very little to show for it.

Re: Any advice
 

Canadian income grew by average of 1.08% annually over the last ten years (Canadian median income growth sluggish over past 10 years, Statscan figures show | Financial Post), which means the only year in the last 5 it outpaced inflation was 2013 (https://www.statista.com/statistics/...ate-in-canada/).

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@YorkshireUK
It sounds like you may be somewhere that living costs, in particular those for housing, take too great a share of your income.
If you were aiming for Ontario or BC you may well find it the same, or even more so.

Do you have equity that might make it possible to have a low or no mortgage depending on where you might be willing to live in Canada, allowing for all the immigration technicalities being in place.

You can find house prices on Realtor.ca

Re: Any advice
 

I don't think income growth over the past ten years was important to the circumstances of people in Toronto, perhaps it matters elsewhere. In Toronto, during that period, the price of houses rose dramatically and that had a much greater impact on individuals; some lost hope of owning a house, some gained a valuable asset, some gained a huge property tax bill on a suddenly valuable asset.

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For what it is worth, it took me just over a year to get PR, then I initiated it 10 months later and moved 35 months after that. It was about options and adventure, it ended up, eventually, being worth it. Very well paid, life has improved and I can save for that big house in uk when I retire. I hope I will be able to afford the council tax, when I left UK I was paying £2700 pa.

Re: Any advice
 

Thank you for taking the time to reply I know most people are busy this time of the year.

Other than saving we have very little assets. The speed at which housing prices have grown has seen us pretty much sidelined.

Yorkiechef thank you, it's useful to see an actual time frame, and gives us something to ponder. Council tax increased 4.99% last April and we are expecting another 5.99% increase in April 18. It's unlikely to slow down as local authorities are looking to fill the blackhole in their finances left by government funding cuts.
Do you think you would be paid as well in the UK and how has it improved your lives if you don't mind me asking ?

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A general observation is that Canada isn’t as cheap as it can first appear coming from the UK. There are endless threads on cost of living and comparisons so I would urge due diligence by carefully researching cost of living - houses, cars, property tax, insurance, food etc as well as what you might earn in your chosen profession/location and what you might be left with after tax and deductions.

The much vaunted lifestyle benefits of living in Canada are rather subjective and generally come down to space -for some, not all. Many will afford bigger houses here than in uk. Many will not be able to afford their dream house in either place.

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Costs of medical and dental are not cheap! My OH has to have some dental work at $15,000. Insurance will cover around 20% of it!

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Ouch! I was unaware of costs like this. Thank you for sharing, it's much appreciated.

It's not a definite yet that we will move but it is gettig more likely we will at least try. We figured we would begin using the time gathering as much info as possible. I have no doubt if we go ahead we would miss the UK, despite its faults it is our home.

Re: Any advice
 

I think the benefits for us were entirely financial. We gave up family, culture and climate and gained disposable income. That's not a bargain everyone would want to make but, in any case, it no longer works in the same way in the GTA.

In 1985, the last year I had a position as an employee, I made around $80,000. We had small children so my then wife didn't work outside the home. We bought a 1950s ranch bungalow in an old style suburb on a lot 80x140 for $140,000. Again, not a style of house or area everyone would want but not something we could have purchased in London.

If one had a similar job now and worked a similar amount of overtime I suppose one could make $110,000. The same house, if you can find one that hasn't been knocked down for McMansions, now costs a million and a half. Even if both partners work, if they start from nothing, as we did, they cannot make enough money to buy the same way of life. One may be in with a chance in the rest of Canada but not the GTA and not Vancouver.

I think there is a case that there's less hassle crime here. There are a lot more shootings and homeless drug users are ubiquitous but theft of keyless entry codes for cars isn't a thing, moped gangs aren't to be feared, one doesn't have to deal with crime day-to-day. I wouldn't move countries for that.

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Well I'm paid three times what I was paid in UK, but without the same level of job security. I have a bigger house, cars I prefer, my own car is a fj cruiser, I'm now travelling North America more frequently and I'm considered a bit of a celeb at work because I'm from the old country....funny eh! There are problems of course, lack of British culture and you have to travel far and wide to see something new, Calgary is remote.......but on balance, it's better right now. I won't retire here, too little to do in your dotage, particularly in winter. I've mentioned this to my colleagues and friends and their suggestions are curling and snow birding. I think I'll do the local village pub, a gamble on the footy and two weeks in Dubai in winter.

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What ever did you drive in the UK?

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[QUOTE=YorkshireUK;12404637]Hi, no problem. Its based somewhat on the fact that the rate of inflation, council tax, pension contributions, utility bills and rent are all going up faster than my annual salary. Early in the autumn the IFS basically cut the forecast for productivity, earnings and growth in every year until the 2020s . Now the government are going to allow a bigger increase in council tax bills next year. This is despite absolutely no real term growth in salaries for the last few years as it's been completely wiped out by inflation.

Welcome to the Tory's Brexit Britain. But without significant savings, you're stuck there.

Sorry.

May I ask how you voted in the referendum?

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Passat estate....dull.

2nd car was an SLK, her in doors claimed that as her run around.

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[QUOTE=Novocastrian;12404956]Totally irrelevant, with over 1 million more voting to leave than stay, their vote was irrelevant. Stop trolling!

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Thank you Yorkiechef, as i have already said, real boots on the ground advice is what we are looking for right now to form and shape our plans. There are no illusions that it will be easy, and we are aware it will be super difficult at times but we just feel like it might be worth a shot.

[QUOTE=Novocastrian;12404956]As pointed out, it is pretty irrelevant, the majority of the country wanted Brexit.
I voted remain for what its worth, without getting too political, despite strong misgiving about the direction europe is taking, I was unwilling to vote leave based on the fact the EU became a punchbag for the Tories to focus peoples attentions on.
I am however not a remoaner and think we just need to get on with it now and make sure we get the best deal for ALL parties involved. Europe needs a strong UK and the UK needs a strong relationship with Europe.

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What's an fj cruiser?

Council tax isn't cheap here either. We pay $2200 for a 1000 sq foot house in a village.

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Discontinued model from Toyota. Highest retained value model and highest gas consumption!

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Surely the Toyota 2000GT has a higher retained value. Pretty car, the 2000GT.

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Still made for the Middle East. Where the price of petrol is cheaper than water. � ����

FJ Cruiser


https://www.forbes.com/pictures/ehmk.../#747e71b248c4

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Not what I imagined at all.