jumomo

Four of us with our PR secured are undecided on where to move,Guelph ,Kingston or Stoney creek.we have enough money to buy a property with settlement funds set aside too.kids are boy 13 and girl 9.we are both chefs but we are trying to move away from restaurant life,the unsociable hours and all that....in your honest opinion good people of these three places especially,would you do it knowing that you might have to work on a minimum wage type jobs for a while?would two minimum wages be enough to cover the bills and food?
Thank you all

Castello

How did you manage to secure a PR without a job lined up?

I am new to this whole process, but from what I have been reading it is very difficult to get a PR visa without employment. Or am I completely wrong on this (like I said I am quite new to the process)?

jumomo

Hi Castello
The Skilled worker visa application, if your vocation is on the list of those in demand . You do not need to get a job offer .
Chefs, catering managers were on the list for a couple years or so when we applied. I believe the list has been reduced now and the cap on the number of applications per occupation reduced also.
Others on this forum will be able to give your more info on that, though you can find out quite easily on CIC website.
Best of luck !

christmasoompa

There are quite a few ways to get PR without needing a job offer - check the Wiki for info on all of them.

OP, I'll amend your thread title so that it's a bit more specific and those that live in the areas you're considering are more likely to look at it.

Good luck.

dbd33

Guelph and Stoney Creek are in an fairly densely populated area and so offer lots of employment opportunities. Kingston is not.

All about Guelph:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...ghlight=guelph

(the one with good places and where to avoid in the title)

Novocastrian

It's not at all clear how the OP came up with this particular shortlist, but FWIW, I'd rank them as...

1) Stoney Creek
2) Guelph
3) Kingston

HTH (although I can't imagine how it would).

jumomo

Thank you !

That confirms pretty much as we reasoned !

There are personal and practical reasons for these choices, but we prefer not to air the personal ones. This is why they probably seem odd places to list together !

bats

Never heard of Stoney Creek. Must go googling.

Steve_

Have to admit I've not been to Stoney Creek it might be lovely but I've been to Hamilton and the other two, I wasn't that impressed with Hamilton, too many plants spewing fumes and the one-way system in town was not fun.

Guelph is meh. Sort of middle-class drabness.

I like Kingston though. Although I can see why people would criticize the job market, the CF seemed to be the main employer in town.

dbd33

Lots of prisons. And a university. It's all very governmental so I suppose it might be a good place for someone in the ornamental garden business.

J-A-UK

Kingston here ......

Plenty of jobs I'd say - I'm always hiring and my daughter (aged 19) has switched and changed jobs to suit herself

Crime is low - Road system easy - 2hr to Toronto - 2hr to Ottawa

I find it perfectly ok

Novocastrian

How long ago? There aren't many fumes being spewed these days since the steel plant closed. The lack of one way systems in town is what makes Toronto ludicrously problematic for driving in.

I've never lived in Hamilton but I think it has a lot going for it. I'd move there far more willingly than either of the other two. (And, of course, than to where you live).

orly

Don't mind Stoney Creek. It's a nice enough place. Not really sure why it's still referred to as Stoney Creek. It's simply Hamilton...and has been for over a decade. Lots of Italians and Eastern Europeans around. Happened to be in the local Fortinos just this evening. Was funny watching a guy who could only speak Italian trying to order 20 chicken wings from their hot food counter.

Guelph is fine too. If you find yourself disliking Guelph you probably won't be happy anywhere or are just a nitpicker type. It's not really better or worse than any other number of cities you could name. I've found it particularly safe and generally pretty clean. It's big enough to have just about everything without becoming massive. The uni kids seem to keep the economy ticking over nicely and it feels like a "young" city as a result.

Only driven past Kingston so no idea what it's like.

Siouxie

It's no different than Dundas, Ancaster etc., retaining their names since the amalgamation. Think of it as subdivisions, lol. It was originally a City in it's own right.

flashman

Trouble is that you can't tell who goes where