DO ALL your homework :0)
 

Hi
Its a while since I have been on here, thought I had the dream.
I moved to Nova Scotia in August WONDERFUL the people are lovely the houses fab! BUT :0(
Dont be fooled the cost of living here is ALOT, wages get taxed alot, then with medical insurance etc your wage will be a lot less than you think.
Food shopping is expensive aswell so are kids clothes cheap ones are cheap and fall apart :0)

I am not slagging off Nova at all I love it just make sure you really work out the figures.
When we finally sold our house in the Uk we lost over 40 thousand.
we are now (a bit late) trying to work out ours we might have to move back to the Uk because even if we sell our house here and move to a smaller place we will have to pay around $14,000 in costs to the real estate people and lawers that will be over half our deposit GONE :unsure:
If we move back to the Uk the wages are higher and the NHS can be a great thing :) I also have family to look after my son so i can go back to work.
With the exchange rate not being as good either you loose again.

PLEASE please dont think I am trying to put you off I am not I love it here I just wish we had taken a step back from the DREAM to work out the boring stuff so it dosnt turn into a living nightmare...

Good luck to you all...

Re: DO ALL your homework :0)
 

I am so sorry to hear things aren't turning out as you planned. Before you come back here, something for you to consider is the government here is bailing out all and sundry to the tune of many billions of pounds. The latest estimate is that every man, woman, and child (including newborn babies) will have a personal debt to the country of £33,000 which of course will be payable in much higher taxes over the coming years. I believe they are talking about 2 generations having to pay this debt.

Life here has got very very expensive too, granted there is NHS but if you are working prescriptions are now costing a fortune and a friend who is a senior pharmasist in the NHS says that more and more groups of people now have to pay for their prescriptions - even those that have never had to pay before such as HIV patients, basically she said that one group at a time is being targetted and are now having their free prescriptions reversed.

Sadly, I think the financial problems are worldwide.

I really hope you are able to find a way to make it work if that is what you want.

Masses of good luck.

Re: DO ALL your homework :0)
 

We are also sad to hear your miss fortunes. I am sure ppl will tell you that you should have donne this and that, stuff them! Whats done is done and I just hope that you and the family arent to down.
The very best of luck and we hope that you get it all worked out!

Re: DO ALL your homework :0)
 

I agree, whats done is done now - you have to move on from this.... I know easier said than done, but try turning the negative into a positive.:thumbup:

My hubby and I, keep looking at the finances and thinking we will never have enough money to keep us afloat, but we have to go with what we have and try to make it work, because I for one, do not want be sitting here in the UK when I am 70+ telling my Grandchildren, we nearly moved to Canada!

Whats meant to be, is meant to be - whether it be NS or the UK.

Best of luck to you, I truly hope things work out for you.

Sue x:)

Re: DO ALL your homework :0)
 

Thank you soooo much :0)
I really hope it all works out I love it here...

Just need to keep reminding my hubby why we left the Uk:rofl:

Re: DO ALL your homework :0)
 

the world back when we first applied for our PR visa was quite different to that of today.

a vacation to Vancouver allowed us to appreciate that it was never going to be 'sale of the century' out there, and now with the helter skelter exchange rates too, Canada is definitely not a cheap place for a Limey to move to!

but as said previously, the Canadian economy is not in or on the verge of the dire straits the UK seems to headed for. and it could be said that what once made Canada seem so affordable when compared to the UK, is about to swing completely into the opposite direction.

things in canada may not seem as 'wallet friendly' as hopes would have suggested, but when compared to the UK's future, I am pretty certain that it will be the less expensive.

this is pure opinion tho. i 'know' nothing.

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Hi little flower
sorry to hear you are having a tough time and hope things get better for you and your family.

We were coming to Canada last year but we decided to tun it down for the reasons you mentioned above , we realized that the wages oh was offered we would not be able survive on, we are a family of 4, and we didn't no how long it would take me to find a job, and starting out with not enough money to cover the basic costs forced us to make that decision

yes we regret turning the job down, had the money been a bit more we would have come, but that was our decision and we have to live with it, we make the right choice at the time, but as someone on here wisely mentioned you cannot live on scereny

So we will stay in the UK for now, here you do have a saftey net should you lose your jobs and free nhs, my oldest son has 2 knee operations in the past years.

all the best
Alex

Re: DO ALL your homework :0)
 

paolosmythe

Canada is losing many more job than the UK i.e 2.7 times that of the UK. I lived in Canada and experienced large layoffs in the late 1990's in Aberta when oil dropped to US$11/barrel. Our brand new house we purchased lost 20% in value in 6 months. When living in Eastern Ontario I was interviewing many Dot.com engineers in early 2000's. when the bubble burst in IT /electronic business. Unemployment went from 5% to 10% in the Ottawa area in less than 12 months.
I am still in contact with some of my Canadian friends who are really concerned about a recession in Canada and large job losses.
I read in a previous post on BE you have to experience a Canadian recession to see how bad a recession can be.
I hope that for my friends in Canada it fairs better than the UK, but from my previous experiences its economy lags behind the UK, so see where its in 6 months time and compare it to where the UK is today.
As with cost of living we found it similar to the UK i.e total monthly outgoings. The only difference for us being back in the UK is that I have a much higher salary than I made in Canada.
There nothing wrong in moving to Canada, but I really recommend that look into aspects of living in Canada such as job security, salary, living costs, health care, education, location/jobs etc. If you have a good standard of living/job in the UK, really make sure that you will have as good or if not better life in Canada.
Also consider costs of immigration, potential of relocation across Canada to get better jobs, exchange rates, loss of savings, potentially lower incomes, real estate fees, replacement of cars, house hold effects etc. This is something my wife and I really did not consider would affect us when we moved to Calgary, then onto Ottawa area and finally back to the UK.

8 years in Canada cost us £250K+ which you need to figure into any equation when looking to emigrate as a more than half those who emigrate from the UK return with 10 years.

I would not say not move to Canada, but be realistic about any affect it could have on your family life and financial position.

regards

Hudd

Re: DO ALL your homework :0)
 

Its very true that Canada's economy is lagging behind the rest of the world. It's often said here that we are at least 2 years behind the US. Also our housing has really only just started to crash. Jobs are being lost by the truck load (35,000 in jan in BC). There was literally a thousand people lining up for 200 jobs as bus drivers (well paid here at around 30 plus dollars an hour). I personally feel that its going to get a lot worse here before it gets better. We need to realize this is a global mess.

Funnily enough I left the UK at the height of the last recession in the late eighties. I can tell you that 90 p an hour did n't cut it. I think Canada is appearing a lot more expensive due the state of the pound and loss of equity on the real estate market. I don't find it anymore expensive here than the UK. As far as pay goes, it will always vary from profession to profession so yes do your homework, also loss of seniority may result in a reduced level of earnings. I earn a lot more here than i would in the UK so it's is very case specific.

If you have a solid job in the UK and are relatively happy, i think there is some value in waiting a while to see where we end up. But be under no illusion though, that there's no guarantee you won't find a job in the uk; however, you have a social/family net in the uk that you would n't have here.

The world seemed a much more settled place 12 months ago. Did n't it?

Re: DO ALL your homework :0)
 

I'll let you see my canadian prescription cost if you like! I'm pretty healthy but use meds for blood pressure and asthma, am self employed which makes health insurance hugely expensive. Still at least some of it is tax deductable!

Re: DO ALL your homework :0)
 

I read on another post of someone who is paying over $400 a month for heart medication.

Are prescriptions generally covered by health insurance or is this an 'add-on'?

Thanks
JTM

Re: DO ALL your homework :0)
 

It depends on your insurance we pay 20% and the insurance pays 80%. but you have to pay for it all upfront. My husband got an infection on his finger it cost $130 for a cream :(

Re: DO ALL your homework :0)
 

lot's of views on this and quite telling, and I particularly appreciate hudd's comments on how it is easy to throw so much away by making the wrong decision at the wrong time

what amazes me from my experience of this and a few other forums is how many people "dream" of this new life in Canada, stick in their PR applications and yet never bother to go visit to see what it's like

me, OK i've only visited Canada on about five occasions in the past few years, but I have relatives and former colleagues who are there, constantly feeding my insatiable thirst for knowledge because i do not want to make the same mistakes as the quoted 50%

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I think thats the the reason the op made her post. Lots of folks do get caught up in the dream. Maybe they are not in the lucky position of having lots of canadian contacts to provide answers for them.
Hopefully these fora help people find out about the potential negative points of their new life. Lots of posts tend to be a bit self congratulatory or painting a distinctly rosey glow of life , rather than focussing on the things that are not immediately apparent but can bite you on the bum and spoil your day.
ss

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Any half decent employer pays insurance costs such as Blue Cross. It varies from company to company. I get my perscriptions covered 100 percent and don't have to pay up front i just hand over my card. I also get excellent dental coverage. The coverage also extends to kids and spouses. My employer also pays my BC medical. I've been here 16 years and have always been covered through work.

Self employed or under employed workers may want to consider some sort of supplemental insurance.

Also with respect to wages, while there will always be variance from various professions, average wages appear to be higher in Canada and cost of living lower:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_household_income

I was reading in the Vancouver Sun yesterday that the average wage for BC was $22.43 per hour. I couldn;t find any average wages for the UK by region.

However, loss of position and having to start over, no relatives to ease child care issues, and loss of equity on top of relocation costs are factors that need to be seriously considered.