would appreciate opinions and answers if possible.


1. Can you open an hsbc bank account in the uk and then transfer it to canada?
2. if i still recieve payment form my business in the uk, who do i pay taxes to?
3. Rent or buy? and for how long should you rent before you commit to buying?
4. i have daughter of 16 (just finished GCSE) and son of 14. what types of school do they need to go to. ie. Grammer, comprehensive tech college......?
5. As we hope to settle in Calgary which areas would be able to provide us a relative safe neighbourhood with plenty of things to do in the evenings and weekends. looking into Okotoks at the moment but will look at others also if someone can give us an insight.
6. when i arrive will someone please take me out and buy me drink LOL


Enjoy your day

1. Yes, but they are expensive to maintain once you are here using them, and branches are not widespread in some parts of the country.
2. Either, probably best to report it as worldwide income once in Canada and pay tax on it here. They cant make you pay tax on it twice...don't worry. Seek professional tax advice though, especially if its a large sum.
3. Some people buy right away, but I would say rent for at least 6 months until you are sure you are familiar with the local areas you are considering buying in. In high inflation areas you might be OK to buy immediately, but remember, real estate commissions here are high (>5%) so you are unlikely to not lose money if you buy the wrong house in the wrong place.
4. Both would go into the local school board schools, probably both at "high school" level. Kids here are in school until grade 12 (18 years old), like it or not.
5&6...Hopefully someone local can help you out. I doubt that even the worst part of Calgary is all that bad.

Yes.
Sorry, I don't know.
I might rent for 6 - 12 months. You don't have to rush to buy, as would have been the case in Calgary until a year ago, when the real estate market was going up and up and up. Since about August 2007 or thereabouts, it has softened. It probably would be a good idea to buy in the summer of 2009, so as not to disrupt your kids' schooling. The school is determined by a geographic catchment area. If a child has to change schools, it's better to change when they in any case have to switch from one grade to the next.
Your daughter of 16 would go to senior high school (usually called, simply, high school). Your son of 14 might go into grade 9, which is the last grade of junior high school.

But this is a more complex topic than I can address here.

Please read the following Wiki articles:

Calgary Schooling

Canadian Schooling - a whole series of articles

I recommend the Wiki article called Calgary Residential Areas.

Sorry, I might be gone by the time you get here. But all the best with your move.
x

Just want to add something about HSBC. There are considerably fewer branches of HSBC in Calgary than there are of other banks.

A Google search told me that Bank of Montreal (BMO) was another bank that allowed people to open an account before they arrived in Canada. BMO is a regular high street bank. There are far more BMO branches in Calgary than there are HSBC branches.

Some members of this forum also have used foreign exchange specialists to transfer their money from the UK to Canada, e.g., Moneycorp, HiFX, XE, Custom House, etc.

See the Wiki article called Transferring Money from UK to Canada.

At this stage of the process, you probably would get lots of value from the Wiki articles in the Moving Logistics section of the Wiki.

Hope that helps.
x

Go on then, we'll buy you a pint or you're welcome to come down to Okotoks for a beer or two on the deck!

Seems most of your questions are being answered but like the others, we don't think there is any harm in renting for a few months to give yourselves a chance to figure out where's good for you and yours and what you want from your house.

Eamonn & Janet

If I get there first I will buy you drink, otherwise I will be hunting you down.

Hi Hopefully Wanted...same offer to you and yours...feel free to pop on over for a beer. You have our details.

Eamonn & Janet.

Hi Mikey,
When we first decided on Calgary in 2006, we had a good look around at the usual suspects, Cochrane (www.cochrane.ca), Airdrie (www.airdrie.ca) and Okotoks (www.okotoks.ca).
They are all nice commuter towns but for us we choose Okotoks. We just liked the feel of the town and were impressed by the communities and the retail areas which give you lots of choice.
The recreation centre is fantastic and so are the various sports teams in the town. Our children are younger than yours, we have two boys who are 4 years and 7 years of age. They both enjoy playing baseball and soccer. My eldest hopes to swim competitively next season and my youngest wants to start playing hockey (which will suit his personality perfectly).
The school system in Okotoks has an excellent reputation.
The Junior High School is Okotoks Junior High
The High School is Foothills Composite
If you decide on the Catholic system, the Junior High is John Paul 2
The High School is Holy Trinity Academy
Here are the links to the various schools.
http://www.okotoks.ca/enjoy/schools.asp
Hope this helps a little
Julie & Eddie

1. There is such a problem with banks. I had a GBP account at the HSBC in Calgary. To the best of my knowledge the HSBC are different in different countries. The HSBC in the UK did not recognise the account here, so I would hesitate to say that the HSBC here will recognise your account there, but I cannot be certain. Probably the biggest difference in banking is that you have to PAY to keep an account going here as opposed to the UK where they are still free (or were as of September 2007 when I moved back to CDA). There are a few accounts that are notionally free here if you keep your balance above a certain amount and don't use it frequently in a month - mine is with CIBC here... I cannot abide by banks charging you to keep your money.

2. To be safe, I would file taxes in both countries. I had to file tax returns in both countries when I lived there. Better to play it safe in my opinion considering tax evasion is considered a serious no no.

3. Rental rates are like London at the mo. Housing prices are slowly coming down as of the last few months. Depends on your pocketbook, but I would rent for a while until you learn where you would feel comfortable living, then make the commitment.

4. Your daughter will be thrilled to realise that she is in school for another couple of years in what is called "High School" - she'll be there until she's 18 where she will graduate from what we call Grade 12. Your son will be in "Junior High".

5. Safe neighborhoods? I would stay away from the North and South East parts of Calgary, but there are nice bits as well. Just use your spidey sense and look about.

6. If it is a pub you are after that might make you feel at home, I would suggest the Ship and Anchor on 17th Ave. It's comfortable and you can watch the footie there with the other addicts.

You don't give enough information for a specific answer.

If you are tax resident in Canada you must file a Canadian tax return and pay tax to the Canadian government. See the wiki on tax residency here.

Whether or not you are liable to taxes in the UK depends on your tax status there, the nature of your income, how the business is organized in the UK and, to some extent, the amount.

If the income is subject to personal income tax in the UK you can an equivalent tax credit against any Canadian tax owing on the same income.

[QUOTE=mikey9863;6531509]would appreciate opinions and answers if possible.


5. As we hope to settle in Calgary which areas would be able to provide us a relative safe neighbourhood with plenty of things to do in the evenings and weekends. looking into Okotoks at the moment but will look at others also if someone can give us an insight.


We lived in Okotoks until 3 weeks ago but found there was not a great deal of places to go out evenings and weekends, plus, if you wanted a night out in Calgary it was a real pain, and either required an extortionately expensive cab ride, or a night in a hotel.

Also we found we were having to drive closer to Calgary to get a better choice of retail stores.

We have since moved closer to Calgary to a development in the SW called Evergreen. It has good access to public transit (which Okotoks doesn't have!), plus is a very safe neighbourhood, and much closer to a number of shopping outlets and malls. Overall, it is alot more convenient, with much more choice of things to do. It also means that we can survive with just one car, which is alot more economical!!