Couple from Liverpool, looking for new life in Burlington, Ontario
 

Hi there,

My name is Rich, I'm 34 and currently reside in Stockport while working in Macclesfield.

My partner Genna and I have long dreamed of moving to Canada and we are thinking that next year could be the time to make this dream a reality.

We've looked in to Burlington and fell in love with the place. The idea is to visit end of the year and see if it is good in reality as it is on paper. Also we want to go when it is "bad" weather so we see it at its "worst". We both love snow though so that''s relative.

It looks like Genna may qualify for express entry and I could tag along, however as I say we are both willing to wait.

She was an Assistant Relationship Manager and I am currently working for the council but would be looking to revert back to my complaints handling background.


Thanks in advance for all the help you will be giving.

When people ask me how serious I am about starting our new life I tell them simply this I'm going to have to sell my Liverpool season ticket. Yeah, that's how serious I am. :lol:

Re: Couple from Liverpool, looking for new life in Burlington, Ontario
 

Hi, and welcome to BE.

Is Genna scoring enough on the CRS to get PR without a job offer? Only reason I ask is that if she does need a job offer from a sponsoring employer, you might not want to set your heart on Burlington, in case she ends up finding a job somewhere else completely! Also, don't forget that with every birthday that passes, she'll lose points for age, so if you're sure Canada is the place for you then you might want to apply sooner rather than later.

Do pop over to the Canada forum where you'll find loads of good info (a search for threads about Burlington should be helpful), and I'll see you there.

Good luck with it.

Re: Couple from Liverpool, looking for new life in Burlington, Ontario
 

Thanks for the reply. She did when we did an example preliminary test.

With banking being our industry, I would have thought our best chance for employment would be Toronto?

I understand what you are saying though andthanks for the advice

Re: Couple from Liverpool, looking for new life in Burlington, Ontario
 

Make sure she checks her score using only the official site, there are some out there that still have out of date scoring info on - Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) tool: skilled immigrants (Express Entry)

Not a clue as I know nothing about the banking industry, it may be that if Toronto is the place to be for it then an employer would struggle to prove that they can't find anybody else to do the job as there are lots of others with those skills there, so could work both ways. But if she is scoring enough on the CRS and doesn't need a job offer then it doesn't matter anyway, I just didn't want you to set your heart on somewhere if a job offer/LMIA is needed to get a visa, as you may not get much choice in where to live then!

Best of luck with it.

Re: Couple from Liverpool, looking for new life in Burlington, Ontario
 

I moved to Burlington over 20 years ago from the UK, and love the place. It has great communication links by road and rail to Toronto. I commuted by train to Toronto daily.

In a Canadian survey of cities it was listed as 2nd best place in Canada to live.
Canada's Best Places to Live 2016: Full Ranking

The first issue is the visa. good luck with that.

Re: Couple from Liverpool, looking for new life in Burlington, Ontario
 

My nephew's wife (he is Canadian; she is an American) works in the banking industry. They lived in Toronto and she was able to get employment there in the banking industry. However, she immigrated on a spousal visa; not an employment visa. Good luck to you.

BTW many people find summers in Canada are the worse. I know it is hot, humid, big black flies that bite and in many areas you have tornadoes (had one when I was visiting my husband when he lived just outside of Ottawa).

Re: Couple from Liverpool, looking for new life in Burlington, Ontario
 

Good Luck with your Burlington ambition. It's a really nice area. We moved to Hamilton summer 2014. The snobbish attitude you sometimes get in relation to Hamilton from those outside is a bit like saying you live in Bootle!
Haven't got much to add on the moving / job hunting side of things - just it costs a LOT of money - A LOT. I remember someone telling us when we first moved over 'oh it feels like you're always paying out left, right and centre for stuff when you move - but it slows down'. Still waiting nearly 3yrs on. Of course every families circumstance is different - but there are hidden costs everywhere. We are not better of money wise - but better off living wise - we love it.
Good luck.

Re: Couple from Liverpool, looking for new life in Burlington, Ontario
 

Hey, I like Bootle!!

Re: Couple from Liverpool, looking for new life in Burlington, Ontario
 

Toronto might be the banking Mecca but there are a lot of big banking call centers in the other provincial capitals too.

Burlington is very nice but it is true that Hamilton isn't that much further and you get a lot more house for your money there.

Re: Couple from Liverpool, looking for new life in Burlington, Ontario
 

I gotta say that I'm a bit baffled by this sudden love for Burlington. It's alright but it's a just another piece of suburban sprawl, cheaper than Oakville but even farther from everything. I've never thought to deliberately go there in thirty years of living nearby, so the idea that someone could look at a map of the world and focus their dreams on Burlington strikes me as quite odd.

If work is in Toronto, why not aim to live in Toronto?

Re: Couple from Liverpool, looking for new life in Burlington, Ontario
 

I met a lady from Oakville yesterday in Charlottetown, she was on holiday and when I asked if she was enjoying PEI she said looked around very disdainfully and said "Well...its certainly no Oakville. I wouldn't even say it was Burlington, not EVEN Hamilton. I suppose I'm just not used to places like this." With a dramatic eye roll and sigh.

I have absolutely no idea what she meant, or why she was being snobby, and when I told her that I was a bit baffled she glared, huffed a bit and when whinged about the lack of facilities and nice food in grocery stores in Charlottetown :confused: .

I think Ch'town has great facilities, and her weird snobbiness might have been a bit less bemusing if she wasn't in the (ridiculously long) queue in Dollarama with a basket of cheap shower gels and deodorant.

Sorry OP, I don't think that's helpful but maybe its a cryptic message which will make more sense to Ontario dwellers!

Re: Couple from Liverpool, looking for new life in Burlington, Ontario
 

:rofl::rofl:

Re: Couple from Liverpool, looking for new life in Burlington, Ontario
 

It's the traditional message from people who live in Oakville, a ranking of the world relative to Oakville with nowhere else quite measuring up. And, fair enough, if you limit "the world" to places in Ontario, south of the QEW, Oakville is likely the most expensive one; if you can walk to your berth at the OYS then you likely do have older money than other people in "the world".

Re: Couple from Liverpool, looking for new life in Burlington, Ontario
 

Confirming about as many Oakville stereotypes as is possible in such a short post - well done! ;)

Re: Couple from Liverpool, looking for new life in Burlington, Ontario
 

The useful point there being that snobbery is as much part of life in Canada as anywhere else. That reminds me that some time ago our office manager, who lived in Toronto, went on a date with someone who lived in Burlington. It didn't go well.

"I have a cottage on some_famously_impressive_Lake"

"For what you need a cottage, already you live out in Burlington?"