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How do you decide to move to Canada?

How do you decide to move to Canada?

Old Oct 30th 2017, 5:50 pm
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Default Re: How do you decide to move to Canada?

Originally Posted by amycakes
Thank you for sharing that, I wish that my attitude was more like this. I think 3-5 years ago it probably was, but I've developed too much of an 'over thinking' things reflex!
Best way to be. Don't over think it. What's the worst that can happen. We just figured if it did not work out, move back from whence we came. It worked out and we didn't. Had ups and downs and a few fun jobs on the way. Unfortunately the ones that were the most fun did not pay so well.

We make emotional decisions and logical ones. Immigration is a bit of both.
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Old Oct 30th 2017, 5:58 pm
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Default Re: How do you decide to move to Canada?

Originally Posted by dbd33
I think the factor to bear in mind about Toronto is that it's pleasant enough in the city and pleasant enough in the countryside but hell to get from one to the other.
When we were there in September, we tried to explore the area to see if we could get 'breaks' in green spaces, and it took us around 2.5 hours to drive to Collingwood with the traffic! So I don't think we would be getting a quick fix of green regularly because, as you say, of the difficulties in getting there. But . . . it was well worth the wait when we got there, beautiful place!!
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Old Oct 30th 2017, 7:15 pm
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Default Re: How do you decide to move to Canada?

Originally Posted by amycakes
When we were there in September, we tried to explore the area to see if we could get 'breaks' in green spaces, and it took us around 2.5 hours to drive to Collingwood with the traffic! So I don't think we would be getting a quick fix of green regularly because, as you say, of the difficulties in getting there. But . . . it was well worth the wait when we got there, beautiful place!!
Hi. There are lovely places closer than Collingwood to get a quick fix of countryside but living in the sticks and commuting daily would be a nightmare.

We came for much the same reasons as Aviator, OH was offered a job completely out of the blue, they were paying a very good relocation package, the kids were still young enough that we could give it three years and go back and still not mess too badly with their education. So we came because we could.

We lived in Oakville while the kids were growing up, as it was a good compromise with plenty of open spaces for the kids and easy commute downtown. We have since moved into a more rural area, about 75 mins drive from downtown (without traffic), neither of us works in the city anymore though.
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Old Oct 30th 2017, 8:22 pm
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Default Re: How do you decide to move to Canada?

Originally Posted by amycakes
When we were there in September, we tried to explore the area to see if we could get 'breaks' in green spaces, and it took us around 2.5 hours to drive to Collingwood with the traffic! So I don't think we would be getting a quick fix of green regularly because, as you say, of the difficulties in getting there. But . . . it was well worth the wait when we got there, beautiful place!!
I know I'm a broken record on this topic, but check out Bloor Village West and Roncesvalles. The High Park area.

In the city, access to downtown and access to green bits.
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Old Oct 30th 2017, 10:56 pm
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Default Re: How do you decide to move to Canada?

A lot of hating on Toronto in this thread. It genuinely surprises me as it's pretty much the only palatable place in Canada to live.

I made the move because I found it more relaxed than London and I liked the civilised table service in bars. I've stayed because I've never had a commute longer than 25 minutes in the last 7 years. I also find golf courses and snowboarding more accessible than when I lived in London.

Financially I would've been better off in London but not sure where I'd have been health and mental state wise.

Outside of London there is not much in the UK just like outside of Toronto with the exception of the Canadian rockies there is very little in Canada.
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Old Oct 30th 2017, 11:07 pm
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Default Re: How do you decide to move to Canada?

Originally Posted by JamesM
A lot of hating on Toronto in this thread. It genuinely surprises me as it's pretty much the only palatable place in Canada to live.

I made the move because I found it more relaxed than London and I liked the civilised table service in bars. I've stayed because I've never had a commute longer than 25 minutes in the last 7 years. I also find golf courses and snowboarding more accessible than when I lived in London.

Financially I would've been better off in London but not sure where I'd have been health and mental state wise.

Outside of London there is not much in the UK just like outside of Toronto with the exception of the Canadian rockies there is very little in Canada.
**** me, the bleakness and insularity of your urban view of the world must make life awfully depressing.
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Old Oct 31st 2017, 1:22 am
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Default Re: How do you decide to move to Canada?

Originally Posted by Atlantic Xpat
**** me, the bleakness and insularity of your urban view of the world must make life awfully depressing.
I don't even think there was any hating of Toronto. It's just a fact that there's rush "hour" seven days a week. I was content not to leave the 427/Lake/DVP/Bloor box for a couple of decades except to go to the airport and that was fine. Now I only go into the box for cheese and that works too. The phases of commuting were hellish so I'd avoid that if at all possible.

A difference though between when I lived there (and Novo too) and now, is that, in Leslieville we had a house that cost about a year's income, in the Beach it was two and a half year's income. Two and a half times a year's income now is a little over $600,000 and that doesn't buy a flat in those areas. High Park/Roncesvalles is a similar area but in the west end while we were in the east. It actually seems absurd now that less than ten years ago my daughter bought a nice little house just off the Danforth on her savings from working a summer and a nurse's salary. Toronto is a lot less attractive if you're paying London prices to live in it.
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Old Oct 31st 2017, 1:43 am
  #23  
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Default Re: How do you decide to move to Canada?

Originally Posted by dbd33
I don't even think there was any hating of Toronto. It's just a fact that there's rush "hour" seven days a week. I was content not to leave the 427/Lake/DVP/Bloor box for a couple of decades except to go to the airport and that was fine. Now I only go into the box for cheese and that works too. The phases of commuting were hellish so I'd avoid that if at all possible.

A difference though between when I lived there (and Novo too) and now, is that, in Leslieville we had a house that cost about a year's income, in the Beach it was two and a half year's income. Two and a half times a year's income now is a little over $600,000 and that doesn't buy a flat in those areas. High Park/Roncesvalles is a similar area but in the west end while we were in the east. It actually seems absurd now that less than ten years ago my daughter bought a nice little house just off the Danforth on her savings from working a summer and a nurse's salary. Toronto is a lot less attractive if you're paying London prices to live in it.
I can't speak for AX but I think it was the crassness of the post which warranted his reasonable response- nothing outside of London in the UK or outside Toronto ( bar the Rockies to keep the lad happy on his snowboard) - talk about blinkered. Maybe he was just trolling...
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Old Oct 31st 2017, 1:56 am
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Default Re: How do you decide to move to Canada?

Originally Posted by Stinkypup
I can't speak for AX but I think it was the crassness of the post which warranted his reasonable response- nothing outside of London in the UK or outside Toronto ( bar the Rockies to keep the lad happy on his snowboard) - talk about blinkered. Maybe he was just trolling...
In this instance you are speaking for me just fine.
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Old Oct 31st 2017, 7:41 am
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Default Re: How do you decide to move to Canada?

Originally Posted by JamesM
Outside of London there is not much in the UK just like outside of Toronto with the exception of the Canadian rockies there is very little in Canada.
Huh??!!
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Old Oct 31st 2017, 9:53 am
  #26  
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Default Re: How do you decide to move to Canada?

Hi amycakes, I'm new here too, welcome!

I'd always had a dream to live in Canada, just from what I'd heard about its (more) stable economy, peaceful and positive attitude and culture, great people, stunning landscape and the promotion of a healthy work/life balance. My wife agreed as she has a brother who lives in Edmonton and her sisters have studied in Vancouver.

My wife and I have been married just over two years, however her job working for a big pharmacy chain was severely impacting her health (the company has been exposed in the national press for its working practices this year) and consequently our relationship. She has already registered to take her pharmacy exams for BC so she can eventually practice in Canada. The truth is that without her pharmacy skills our application would probably not have taken off.

I'm a recently qualified personal performance coach and by day a lab administration manager but was hitting a brick wall in terms of career advancement, and was ready for a fresh start (frankly from not just my job but also my family).

Additionally, we have honestly felt that no matter how hard we try the cheese gets moved further and further away - our mantra became 'we just want a fair reward for our efforts, and to enjoy our life together'.

My wife has family in Surrey BC and Edmonton, so psychologically there's the mental cushion of not feeling isolated, even though we won't be living with them. Originally we planned to move to Toronto, however the more we investigated, the more Vancouver became more appealing (I will happily and shamelessly cite the warmer climate as my personal deciding factor, all else being equal! )

We're pretty resilient and we were prepared for a daunting application process and (if successful) our settling-in period. The last 18 months since we made the decision to go for Canada has been challenging. It put pressure on us in terms of saving money for settlement funds v going on holidays, ditching any hopes of moving from our flat into a house, having a child... essentially we had to clear our slate for a possible two years with no guarantee at the end (we have got our permanent residency docs now).

However we hired a migration company to help us, and they have been a godsend in terms of bringing their expertise and professionalism to the table. And we knew we wanted this badly enough so got our heads right from the start.

Apologies for the long winded message, if there's anything in it which can be of help to you then I'm really glad
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Old Oct 31st 2017, 5:56 pm
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Default Re: How do you decide to move to Canada?

We’re still in the process of trying to move to Canada. We won’t move without a guaranteed job - my OH is very specialised and it’s hard for him to get work so not worth the risk of moving without a job already secured.

We have our doubts. We live just outside London and would be moving to just outside Toronto. It’s a little bit of ‘same shit, different field’ but we feel it’s worth the risk. We’ve researched loads, have friends and family who have already made the move so spoken to them. We’ve visited a couple of times. I have my doubts, there’s things I don’t like and it’s hard to tell how much our quality of life will be affected.

However, we have made the decision that if the job offer comes then we will go. We’ll never know if it’s right for us if we don’t try it !
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Old Oct 31st 2017, 10:57 pm
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Default Re: How do you decide to move to Canada?

Originally Posted by Dave_Pardew
Hi amycakes, I'm new here too, welcome!

I'd always had a dream to live in Canada, just from what I'd heard about its (more) stable economy, peaceful and positive attitude and culture, great people, stunning landscape and the promotion of a healthy work/life balance. My wife agreed as she has a brother who lives in Edmonton and her sisters have studied in Vancouver.

My wife and I have been married just over two years, however her job working for a big pharmacy chain was severely impacting her health (the company has been exposed in the national press for its working practices this year) and consequently our relationship. She has already registered to take her pharmacy exams for BC so she can eventually practice in Canada. The truth is that without her pharmacy skills our application would probably not have taken off.

I'm a recently qualified personal performance coach and by day a lab administration manager but was hitting a brick wall in terms of career advancement, and was ready for a fresh start (frankly from not just my job but also my family).

Additionally, we have honestly felt that no matter how hard we try the cheese gets moved further and further away - our mantra became 'we just want a fair reward for our efforts, and to enjoy our life together'.

My wife has family in Surrey BC and Edmonton, so psychologically there's the mental cushion of not feeling isolated, even though we won't be living with them. Originally we planned to move to Toronto, however the more we investigated, the more Vancouver became more appealing (I will happily and shamelessly cite the warmer climate as my personal deciding factor, all else being equal! )

We're pretty resilient and we were prepared for a daunting application process and (if successful) our settling-in period. The last 18 months since we made the decision to go for Canada has been challenging. It put pressure on us in terms of saving money for settlement funds v going on holidays, ditching any hopes of moving from our flat into a house, having a child... essentially we had to clear our slate for a possible two years with no guarantee at the end (we have got our permanent residency docs now).

However we hired a migration company to help us, and they have been a godsend in terms of bringing their expertise and professionalism to the table. And we knew we wanted this badly enough so got our heads right from the start.

Apologies for the long winded message, if there's anything in it which can be of help to you then I'm really glad
Hi Dave,

Thank you so much for telling your story, and congratulations on receiving your permanent residence!

Some of your experiences resonate with me, especially your comment about the goal posts constantly moving. It’s the same for us, my husband’s job is so specialised that we keep chasing the perfect qualification, or perfect number of hours on the job, but it’s never enough. There’s a job waiting for him in Toronto, we just need to decide if we want to put ourselves through this, the immigration process, putting family plans on hold and selling our home, all for a job and hopes of a better life. Such a tough decision.
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Old Oct 31st 2017, 11:01 pm
  #29  
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Default Re: How do you decide to move to Canada?

Originally Posted by ScotinCanada

However, we have made the decision that if the job offer comes then we will go. We’ll never know if it’s right for us if we don’t try it !
Thank you for this, it’s reassuring to hear that you’ve managed to come to a decision, and I hope we can too. I really want to come down on your side, because I fear I will regret passing on this opportunity. We have decided to take our IELTS and get our qualifications checked, just to get a better picture of our eligibility and points score. Maybe this will help us make a decision!
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Old Nov 1st 2017, 3:54 pm
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Default Re: How do you decide to move to Canada?

Originally Posted by amycakes
Thank you for this, it’s reassuring to hear that you’ve managed to come to a decision, and I hope we can too. I really want to come down on your side, because I fear I will regret passing on this opportunity. We have decided to take our IELTS and get our qualifications checked, just to get a better picture of our eligibility and points score. Maybe this will help us make a decision!
Well I know it's a bit of a cliche but I'd rather regret something I did, than something I didn't do - I'd hate to be sitting here in 10, 20 years time thinking 'what if'... At least if you give it a go, you'll know. Loads of people go for a few years and then come back - not the end of the world and at least you'll have had an amazing life experience!
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