gemmy1203

JamesM

What type of work do you do and need and how long commute can you put up with? That is how I would choose my area. The challenge with Canada is the cheaper property areas tend to have less work around.

gemmy1203

dbd33

Find one job. Move near it. I would think plumber/gas engineer is great in that they're needed everywhere. Maybe it takes a while to find a job in a less expensive place but it's not like being a banker, a job that means commuting into central Toronto.

scilly

Many people on here would recommend the following sequence, no matter where in Canada you are planning to live ...........

1. Find the job for one of you ........... your OH sounds as though he would find it easier, and probably better paid.

2. Find a place to RENT within reasonable driving time, summer and winter, from the job. Winter driving can be hard, but equally summer driving can be long and frustrating if you are in a touristy area! We live in Vancouver, BC ....... not bad in the winter as long as you stay within the city, it doesn't snow hard, and you don't try the mountain roads, but summer can be very bad with all those darned tourists :nod"

3. Get the children settled in the school(s) that serve your area ......... there is not the huge difference in schools here that you find in the UK.

4. Settle in, and then start looking for a place to buy once you have determined whether you really like the area where you are renting or whether another area would better serve you. Take up to 1 year for this, or longer if necessary. Most rentals will be a 1 year lease, then possibly month by month after that.

dbd33

Usually this post boils my balls because I know that, at least in Toronto, there are huge differences in schools and people go to great lengths to get their children in to the better ones. Measures I know to be routinely taken include buying a house on one side of the road and not the other (at massively higher cost because of the school district), lying about the address of the children, lying about the cultural background of the parents. lying about the religion of the parents. It's ferociously competitive but perhaps that's justifiable, it's the prospects of a lifetime that are at stake.

Today, I'd like to go at this another way. It's suggested that there are huge differences in schools in the UK and, no doubt, there are across the country. Do we know though that there's a bad school in Hampstead? Is it a fact that some children educated in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea will go to a poor school? I suspect not. I imagine that, just as in Canada, if you can send your children to school in a rich place, they'll be alright even if they go to the lesser school in the district.

I suggest that this comparison of schools doesn't stand at either end.

scilly

And I know that there is a difference of opinion between you and others on this site re this.

Note that I did say "MANY on here ............. that left a clear opening for the difference of opinion.

You have your experience and opinion.

I have a different experience and opinion

We are both allowed to express those on this site.

We are allowed to express those opinions, but should NEVER be told to stop saying it or that our opinion is wrong

Partially discharged

I'd say that this obsession about 'good schools' in Canada would be limited to areas in the central areas of the biggest cities in Canada. Most people send their kids to the closest school and if they have the choice of public or catholic school they make that decision.

Our kids in Ottawa (now finished school) went to the 'local' catchment area school until the end of grade 8. Our daughter continued at the local high school and our son was in a different high school that had a 'gifted' program.

Maybe it is just the world I'm in but I don't find the same level of deviousness into getting little 'Henry' and little 'Francesca' into a good school away from the chavs and critters here in the majority of Canada versus the UK. I have relatives in some of the leafy areas within the North Circular and the levels they go to in order to get their child into the desired school is unbelievable.

I doubt there is much difference in Grimsby or Port Elgin between individual schools.

This is an interesting article about grade inflation. Our son went to the school that was the 4th least grade inflated. Maybe Grimsby SS may not be the best place to go to if you want to attend the University of Waterloo.

https://globalnews.ca/news/4405495/w...nflation-list/

dbd33

The difference between that and the competition for the places in Vancouver's better day cares is only that, in Vancouver, the children are now called Banksy and Charley.

scrubbedexpat133

As above getting a job and a your feet on the ground is the way to go.

You might want to look around Brantford and area, Paris for example. It has most of what you would need /want day to day. Houses are a bit more reasonable and it is easy to commute/go to either Hamilton or Kitchener Cambridge Waterloo if necessary.

You mentioned snow. You might want to look up lake effect snow as Niagara region can get it from both sides.

Good luck

Siouxie

Grimsby doesn't have a lot to offer, unless you are both drivers you may struggle. "Public Transit" isn't like the UK unless you are living in one of the Cities such as Hamilton or Toronto. At best you may have a local bus service to the nearest large mall but more likely a 'GO transit' link to othe nearest major City, at least until they build a station for the GO Train from Niagara to Toronto which has limited trains per day and wouldn't be very suitable for commuting, for instance.

I agree with the majority - find a job first, then pick where you would like to buy in a year or so. Your husband won't be recognised as an Engineer unless he has a degree and the commensurate experience.. Engineer is a protected title. If he has several years of experience as a plumber and gas fitter then he can challenge the Provincial Certificate of Qualification. ( https://www.collegeoftrades.ca/wp-co...pr-23-2019.pdf opens in new tab, no download)

Hamilton used to be a cheaper option but prices are increasing as more Toronto people move here, being priced out of Toronto, there are still bargains to be had, but other areas may suit you more.

My nephew lives in the St. Catherines area, has found housing to be reasonably priced and services to be good. He can be in Hamilton in under an hour... there's also the GO bus that travels from there.

Brantford is a reasonable place to buy, a mid size town; Paris is nice, though small... you could also consider Hagersville / Caledonia (smaller towns, again).. it really depends what you are looking for! What do you like to do outside of working time... do you like big cities, small towns, do you like beaches or hill walks?

gemmy1203

dbd33

Standard post when the Fraser Institute is mentioned. The Fraser Institute is not an educational body, not an equivalent to Ofsted, it is a political lobby group using slanted statistics to promote specific schools. One might consider the Fraser Institute to be the Canadian equivalent of a Brexit Party think tank but less thinky.

scilly

bats

If your husband is a gas or oil heating technician then he needs to get certification from TSSA. You can challenge the exam if you have enough hours etc but it's rare to pass it without studying at an Ontario college.