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I hate it even before we moved there.

I hate it even before we moved there.

Old Feb 11th 2020, 7:39 pm
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Default I hate it even before we moved there.

I was ok up until now. I’m beginning to hate the idea of moving to Canada. Everything sounds so expensive. Landlords don’t even respond to us, employers don’t respond (inspite of having loads of RELEVANT experience and masters degrees). Houses are bigger but GTA is the biggest bubble in North America! I’m scared of buying. We are moving (to Waterloo area) to find local jobs and avoid the commute. We got a bit carried away by bigger houses too. Shouldn’t we be just moving to Leeds or Manchester? I don’t know. We’ve been planning this move for nearly 4 years. We sold our house and moved into a rented place last year. We told our landlord we are leaving. This house is already on the market. I am pulling my kids out of a top grammar school here. I don’t know what I’m doing really.

should I just abort this move?? That won’t solve the issues we currently have (long commutes and small house). I am posting here for some hand holding please.
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Old Feb 11th 2020, 9:27 pm
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Default Re: I hate it even before we moved there.

Originally Posted by Winterdiva
I was ok up until now. I’m beginning to hate the idea of moving to Canada. Everything sounds so expensive. Landlords don’t even respond to us, employers don’t respond (inspite of having loads of RELEVANT experience and masters degrees). Houses are bigger but GTA is the biggest bubble in North America! I’m scared of buying. We are moving (to Waterloo area) to find local jobs and avoid the commute. We got a bit carried away by bigger houses too. Shouldn’t we be just moving to Leeds or Manchester? I don’t know. We’ve been planning this move for nearly 4 years. We sold our house and moved into a rented place last year. We told our landlord we are leaving. This house is already on the market. I am pulling my kids out of a top grammar school here. I don’t know what I’m doing really.

should I just abort this move?? That won’t solve the issues we currently have (long commutes and small house). I am posting here for some hand holding please.
I’m sorry you seem so stressed out but it is normal. Moving is stressful. I consider the year I moved to Canada the worst year of my entire life, not because Canada is bad, but for exactly the reasons you mentioned. I had to sell my flat, get rid of all my belongings while still taking care of my then 2 year old and so many other things. It is normal to have doubts too specially when kids are involved. I didn’t move here thinking this is a great move but had to consider so many things for our family and make some sacrifices too.
You shouldn’t abort the move you planned for 4 years in my opinion. You will be fine. Of course moving is stressful, I think most people go through similar emotions, Stay positive. Just remember why you wanted to move to Canada in the first place. You can make it work.
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Old Feb 11th 2020, 10:36 pm
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Default Re: I hate it even before we moved there.

How long is it till you go WinterD?

I think you’d be a bit odd if you didn’t feel that way from time to time. There were a couple of times that I drove into country lanes stopped the car and swore and cried a bit...it made me feel better. It’s a terrifying move to make, because you have a lot riding on it, you feel you’ve got to make it all OK for your family and be the superwoman that they need, but the strain is immense some days.

It does however sound like you have planned this out well, certainly financially...it doesn’t sound like you just threw the kids and home in a van and said ‘let’s move to Canada’!

Can you think back to when you first started to think that this might be a good idea, and when you thought it might become a reality? That must have been fairly exciting? If you could try to recapture some of those thoughts it might help. Speak to your partner...they are probably having the same anxious thoughts.

Don’t abandon the plan at this stage, because you’ll probably kick yourself later. Personally, two days before giving birth I thought it was the most ghastly mistake...and I was never too sure I should get married either...and moving to Canada was never something on my bucket list! They ultimately worked out, with hiccups .

You are not going to be happy as in for a good while to come...you are going to be exhausted, frantic and very doubtful...but you have come this far...don’t get cold feet now (no pun intended!). You made the decision, as a family, for a reason...because you knew what was going to offer the best for you all long term. This is just another hurdle, and you’ll get over it. Bit by bit.

You’ve come this far...believe in your own earlier decisions.

Best of luck and warmest wishes


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Old Feb 12th 2020, 3:48 am
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Default Re: I hate it even before we moved there.

Originally Posted by Winterdiva
I was ok up until now. I’m beginning to hate the idea of moving to Canada. Everything sounds so expensive. Landlords don’t even respond to us, employers don’t respond (inspite of having loads of RELEVANT experience and masters degrees). Houses are bigger but GTA is the biggest bubble in North America! I’m scared of buying. We are moving (to Waterloo area) to find local jobs and avoid the commute. We got a bit carried away by bigger houses too. Shouldn’t we be just moving to Leeds or Manchester? I don’t know. We’ve been planning this move for nearly 4 years. We sold our house and moved into a rented place last year. We told our landlord we are leaving. This house is already on the market. I am pulling my kids out of a top grammar school here. I don’t know what I’m doing really.

should I just abort this move?? That won’t solve the issues we currently have (long commutes and small house). I am posting here for some hand holding please.
Get a good real estate agent to find you a rental rather than trying to secure one whilst overseas - it won't cost you a penny.. You might not want to sign a 1 year agreement and send first and last months rent on a property you haven't seen - just an online advert - or haven't had a professional see. Renting via online adverts can be dodgy (there's a lot of scams out there) - and they may not respond to you because they have 10 other applicants who live locally. If you don't want to use a real estate agent you may be better securing an Airbnb or similar short term let through an agency for a month, while you look for a more permanent one. Read up on the renting laws for Ontario as well https://settlement.org/ontario/housi...ponsibilities/
You could also get a .ca email address - yahoo.ca for example - which might help with the response issue - a lot of websites block email addresses that are overseas due to scamming.

Employers often won't respond until you are in Canada - it's normal... I take it you have read the job hunting wiki - but once you are here you will likely have a more luck. Generally speaking, unless you are in a profession that is in demand you are unlikely to get any interest from Canadian employers until you are here.... your experience overseas often has no bearing on your employability here, you are an unknown quantity to employers.
Think about the reasons you want to come to Canada - if you made all these plans to come then you will hopefully still be drawn TO the country
Take a deep breath... you are bound to last minute nerves!
Good luck


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Old Feb 12th 2020, 3:48 am
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Default Re: I hate it even before we moved there.

Employers and landlords won't respond unless you are in Canada (or at least appear to be, with local address, phone number and .com/.ca email), for employers the issue is lots of people seek sponsorship from overseas. It's not uncommon for a job ad to receive resumes from China, India, etc. - the result is these resumes are binned before they are even looked at. Landlords also have other tenants lined up so won't hold the door for someone overseas when they can get someone to take a look at it within a few days.

Also when you do get here, spend some time formatting your CV to North American resume format if you haven't already.

You would have similar issues if you lived in Canada and were trying to do the reverse to the UK.

In regards to the housing bubble, I agree completely. It is a bubble waiting to burst - Vancouver's is already popping as we speak. Our family is renting at the moment watching the market for this exact reason.
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Old Feb 12th 2020, 9:46 am
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Default Re: I hate it even before we moved there.

Thanks a TON everyone. I feel a bit better today. My husband and I had a long chat last night. We went through all the reasons and the problems we are trying to solve with the move. It makes sense, but still there were lots of tears etc (from me). He is weirdly composed and cool about the whole thing (I DON'T GET IT !! ). He keeps saying its an adventure! I don't do adventures. He goes on every single ride at the theme park and I don't like theme parks. No wonder its affecting me so much.

Also, the weather has been very bad here lately, but the sun is out today. If you have ANY tips or anything to tell me about making our settling in easier there, please please share it. I'll be very grateful. Thanks again.
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Old Feb 12th 2020, 10:08 am
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Default Re: I hate it even before we moved there.

Originally Posted by Winterdiva
I was ok up until now. I’m beginning to hate the idea of moving to Canada. Everything sounds so expensive. Landlords don’t even respond to us, employers don’t respond (inspite of having loads of RELEVANT experience and masters degrees). Houses are bigger but GTA is the biggest bubble in North America! I’m scared of buying. We are moving (to Waterloo area) to find local jobs and avoid the commute. We got a bit carried away by bigger houses too. Shouldn’t we be just moving to Leeds or Manchester? I don’t know. We’ve been planning this move for nearly 4 years. We sold our house and moved into a rented place last year. We told our landlord we are leaving. This house is already on the market. I am pulling my kids out of a top grammar school here. I don’t know what I’m doing really.

should I just abort this move?? That won’t solve the issues we currently have (long commutes and small house). I am posting here for some hand holding please.
Good luck with your move. Main thing is not to get carried away with bigger houses and use common sense. A larger house eventually means even more costs and maintenance. Especially when prices are at their highest, don't rush into buying.
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Old Feb 12th 2020, 10:37 am
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Default Re: I hate it even before we moved there.

Originally Posted by Moses2013
Good luck with your move. Main thing is not to get carried away with bigger houses and use common sense. A larger house eventually means even more costs and maintenance. Especially when prices are at their highest, don't rush into buying.
Absolutely with you on this. Although we get very tempted at times, we quickly come back to our senses. Renting is the way to go for a few years now.
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Old Feb 12th 2020, 1:37 pm
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Default Re: I hate it even before we moved there.

im going to go against the grain here and say go with your gut,,if it doesn't feel right dont do it
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Old Feb 12th 2020, 2:07 pm
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Default Re: I hate it even before we moved there.

Originally Posted by cheeky_monkey
im going to go against the grain here and say go with your gut,,if it doesn't feel right dont do it
It's mind against heart thing. It feels absolutely right sometimes. Sometimes, I just want to stay.
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Old Feb 12th 2020, 2:48 pm
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Default Re: I hate it even before we moved there.

You're a computer person. Do you want a .net contract convenient to Waterloo to get you started? Crap money but, whaddya want, it's .net It does offer that fabled "Canadian Experience".
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Old Feb 12th 2020, 5:27 pm
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Default Re: I hate it even before we moved there.

Originally Posted by Winterdiva
Also, the weather has been very bad here lately, but the sun is out today. If you have ANY tips or anything to tell me about making our settling in easier there, please please share it. I'll be very grateful. Thanks again.
Not sure when you're moving over but if there is still snow around take note of what people do with it to free up their driveways and steps and use that information for working out how to manage snow clearance when looking for somewhere to live.
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Old Feb 12th 2020, 7:10 pm
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Default Re: I hate it even before we moved there.

Not sure what house prices are doing in Waterloo, but as it is that much closer to Toronto, I would expect they get a slight 'ripple out' effect, but not 'bubble' status. I am in London (further out again) and property prices are going up 10% plus per annum with no sign of stopping. Here you can get a nice 3 bed above grade house with finished basement in a decent area for $550,000ish.
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Old Feb 12th 2020, 11:49 pm
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Default Re: I hate it even before we moved there.

Hi, we moved with two pre-teens to Waterloo a couple of years ago. It takes time to settle and I wouldn’t say we are completely settled but so far the benefits outweigh the negatives. We were in London and the quality of life in Waterloo is better. the biggest thing is missing family and friends as it takes a while to build your social circle but it has brought us closer as a family as we have had to rely on each other far more than we would have done in the UK. We found a house to rent when we got here at the time there was not much rental stock but we still managed to find something within a month of arriving. With a move this disruptive especially with kids, mindset is everything......come with an open mind, don’t compare with the UK and accept it takes time to adapt.
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Old Feb 13th 2020, 12:06 am
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Default Re: I hate it even before we moved there.

Originally Posted by Winterdiva
I was ok up until now. I’m beginning to hate the idea of moving to Canada. Everything sounds so expensive. Landlords don’t even respond to us, employers don’t respond (inspite of having loads of RELEVANT experience and masters degrees). Houses are bigger but GTA is the biggest bubble in North America! I’m scared of buying. We are moving (to Waterloo area) to find local jobs and avoid the commute. We got a bit carried away by bigger houses too. Shouldn’t we be just moving to Leeds or Manchester? I don’t know. We’ve been planning this move for nearly 4 years. We sold our house and moved into a rented place last year. We told our landlord we are leaving. This house is already on the market. I am pulling my kids out of a top grammar school here. I don’t know what I’m doing really.

should I just abort this move?? That won’t solve the issues we currently have (long commutes and small house). I am posting here for some hand holding please.
If you're dreading the move that much I wouldn't do it.

Canada is a change of scenery and in some aspects can be a change of lifestyle but I wouldn't hope it was necessarily a solution to any problem.

The Golden Horseshoe is over heated in much the same way the South East of England is.
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