Hubeaaa

So we are UK family looking for a change - canada looks like a good option. Children are 13 and 15.

After recommendations for
1- location - we want walking access to watersports/city amenities but not necessary a massive city/good schools
2- NOT bonkers freezing in the winter
3- tax advice - my wife is self employed in the UK and works on line - I am currently employed but also trade the markets. I am looking at going full time trading. Any advice on tax arrangements - I would be trading CFDs - in the UK you only pay capital gains tax not clear how that works in Canada
4 - company to support the VISA application

cheers

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

What do you count as 'bonkers freezing'? If you don't want cold weather then coastal BC might be your only option, but depends on what you count as 'bonkers' really!

Just checking, but assume you have checked whether or not you can get a visa without needing a job offer? As if you did need sponsorship from an employer to get a visa, you may not get much choice in location anyway.

For question no. 4, most people don't need an immi consultant, so unless you have complicated circumstances (criminal record, medical issues etc), then I'd save your money and do it yourself.

Best of luck.

Hubeaaa

Thanks for the reply - I guess bonkers cold is below -10c day after day

Pulaski

You are going to need to research temperature patterns in different locations, and work out for yourself if you consider it to be "bonkers cold", based on daily lows, daily highs, averages, and typical weather patterns each winter. If your standard is that any period of -10°C lows for three consecutive days, is unacceptable, then you're going to eliminate most of Canada. .... There is a reason why literally 50% of Canadians live on the wedge of land that protrudes south between Michigan and Maine!

Personally, I also think you should consider what leaving the UK will do to your children's education and mental health, given their ages - not all settle well, they may suffer missing their friends or struggle with differences in school, etc. Personally I would sooner remove my right arm with a rusty hacksaw than move my 15 year old daughter between schools, never mind between countries with different education systems.

dbd33

BC or Niagara then. One too expensive, the other tackier than Blackpool.

glendem4

Niagara-on-the-Lake is like Kendal. Niagara falls is like Great Yarmouth . St Catharines is likes mid size English town, think of Ipswich or Poole. St catharines gets cold with daily temperature around 0c for most of January and February. Very rarely will it be below - 10c. Summers are warm with temperatures above 26c in July and August. Surrounded by vineyards, so climate is not as extreme as other parts of Canada.

I am I said

And although only 30 miles from the snowmageddon of Buffalo, NY, it gets a fraction of the snow. Even going up the escarpment to Welland can be a dramatic change in winter weather. [St C is where I was raised].

tdrinker

Don't just check the temperature, but the wind, snowfall and sunshine, e.g. a cold sunny day is a lot nicer than a cold overcast one.