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Just Starting Out
Hi,
After 30 odd years in the UK my wife and I are planning the move to Canada. Quality of life and general lack of interest in the UK are the drivers. So, forgive the obvious question but where do I start? I’m currently in military IT and my wife works for DHL, what are the chances of being accepted into Canada and can anyone recommend a good job/housing agency? Regards, Neil and Danielle |
Re: Just Starting Out
Neil and Danielle
Start here, which will help determine your eligibility. http://www.cic.gc.ca./english/immigrate/index.html Try this URL for housing: http://www.mls.ca/mls/map.asp?gt=c&g...&T=RR&rType=HO^CO&RPM=0&RPX=99999999&RBEM=4&RBEX=5&RBAM=0&RBAX=5 0&RJOIN=AND&PV=10&map=1&sort=A Good luck. Colin Originally posted by NeilB Hi, After 30 odd years in the UK my wife and I are planning the move to Canada. Quality of life and general lack of interest in the UK are the drivers. So, forgive the obvious question but where do I start? I’m currently in military IT and my wife works for DHL, what are the chances of being accepted into Canada and can anyone recommend a good job/housing agency? Regards, Neil and Danielle |
Hi Colin,
Thanks for the speedy reply and the URL’s From a quick gander we both get 21 points from the NO Classification. I’ll start the ball rolling with the paperwork. Cheers, Neil |
Hi Neil,
You are making the right decision, we moved here this year for the same reasons. Words of advice- Be careful where you move to, this website helped me a lot, avoid the old favourites 'Toronto' for example, I have spoken to lots of canadians who have moved to where I am, there are lots of jobs where I am, posted in windows, papers etc, apprently in the likes of Toronto, Calgary, Ontario this is rare. Try to get a job before you come, even if its just one of you, I really struggled to find my first job(a menial one and I aint no thickie!)luckily my partner had a good one before we came, I have my second interview at a place today for an office job, fingers crossed!) Be prepared to spend money when you first arrive, its never ending, if you want to buy a house you will find it a lot easier if you have a good wedge behind you, we had to put down $20,000 dollars plus towards the mortgage and the bank is holding another $8000 as security for 6months to a year! Dont bring much with you, everything is cheaper, standard of living where I am is excellent, we are still in awe of how cheap it is, Britain is such a rip off! Oh, before I start babbling, dont EVER travel back to UK at xmas, its really expensive, we wont be doing it again! If you need any more info on where I am(its the best, 3 hours to the rockies, the largest mall in the world, hot summers, sun almost always shining...........I could go on!)dont hesitate to ask Good Luck! Pammy |
Excellent info, many thanks.
We are just starting out in this venture so any tips/pointers are greatly received. By the time I sell up we will not necessarily have a great wedge spare (but still no debts :) ) I guess we will go down the rental route until I can establish a credit rating there. As for location, yours sounds superb, I’ll see what the job market has to say. Cheers, Neil |
Originally posted by NeilB Excellent info, many thanks. We are just starting out in this venture so any tips/pointers are greatly received. By the time I sell up we will not necessarily have a great wedge spare (but still no debts :) ) I guess we will go down the rental route until I can establish a credit rating there. As for location, yours sounds superb, I’ll see what the job market has to say. Cheers, Neil I am in the same boat, applied but applied under Skilled Worker Cat. I hope to land next year summer. Have you visited Canada before? :) :) :) |
My top tip would be to stop thinking in Sterling. I don't mean the place!
Eventually your income will be in Canadian Dollars so you need to get used to that. Comparing is often a false economy and usually irrelevant as you won't be earning in pounds anymore. |
Hi Again,
We rented for our first 6 months with Midwest Property Management, the apprtment was fantastic, costs were $839 per month rent(this included parking & heating & water)the electricity bill was around $30 per month, I know a couple who rented throo the ads, the place looked nice enough but they had nothing but problems, oh, no-one takes cash over here, so first thing to do, open a bank account and get a cheque book! Hey Sibsie, I cant help comparing, my dad bought a new camcorder in UK a couple months ago, it cost him 1100 pounds, the same model here was $899! Its so cheap to eat out, my fiances mum & dad were really surprised, they thought we were exaggerating on the phone! :scared: |
Sounds like you had a great deal with the rent Pammy. My dad's from Edmonton, great place (though I'm moving to Toronto)
Would you generally recommend property management companies over private rental? I'm going to have to do the initial rental thing too. As for thinking in pounds, I can't think past Euros at the moment but I did that a lot when I first moved to Spain. |
yep, I would def go with a company, we got almost all our deposit back, I know a couple who rented privately and got nothing back, we had a problem with our heating, the guy came 40 mins after I called, a girl I work with has nothing but problems with her heating which the landlord has still not fixed!
Apparently some landlords even fix the thermostats so you can only turn the heating up so high, our was tropical at all times! Our rental company even offered to let us rent month to month while we looked for a house, most private rentals want at least another 6 months guaranteed, your rental company will give you a reference if you need one, handy when you know no-one here! |
Hi don't know if you can help,
We are thinking of moving from Ontario to Alberta, do you know of any work websites for the Edmonton area - and is it really cold in the winter? The thought of living close to the rockies just blows our mind - we have been there once b4 and fell in love!! thanks Smiler Originally posted by Pammy Hi Neil, You are making the right decision, we moved here this year for the same reasons. Words of advice- Be careful where you move to, this website helped me a lot, avoid the old favourites 'Toronto' for example, I have spoken to lots of canadians who have moved to where I am, there are lots of jobs where I am, posted in windows, papers etc, apprently in the likes of Toronto, Calgary, Ontario this is rare. Try to get a job before you come, even if its just one of you, I really struggled to find my first job(a menial one and I aint no thickie!)luckily my partner had a good one before we came, I have my second interview at a place today for an office job, fingers crossed!) Be prepared to spend money when you first arrive, its never ending, if you want to buy a house you will find it a lot easier if you have a good wedge behind you, we had to put down $20,000 dollars plus towards the mortgage and the bank is holding another $8000 as security for 6months to a year! Dont bring much with you, everything is cheaper, standard of living where I am is excellent, we are still in awe of how cheap it is, Britain is such a rip off! Oh, before I start babbling, dont EVER travel back to UK at xmas, its really expensive, we wont be doing it again! If you need any more info on where I am(its the best, 3 hours to the rockies, the largest mall in the world, hot summers, sun almost always shining...........I could go on!)dont hesitate to ask Good Luck! Pammy |
Pam what references did the rental company want? I've been a home owner for 15 years so I wouldn't have any references from previous landlords.
Also is it like the US where they do credit checks as I'd be coming in with a zero credit rating like we all do. |
Hi SmilerJen
Try the Edmonton Journal website, its the one I mostly use along with the human rescources one- www.edmontonjournal.com & www.jobbank.gc.ca Its not really that bad, you know what they say 'its a dry cold!', no honestly I am such a cold tattie, I cannot stand the cold so if I can survive it anyone can! You can happily go outside in the snow and do things and because its a dry snow you dont get wet feet hence you dont feel the cold as much, only when it hits the -30 to -40 you do not want to venture out in it but that happens only a couple of times, I'm still walking dogs in my summer combats, the windchill at the moment is about -13 but its picking up again into the plus figures later in the week! The mall is amazing, I love taking any visitors we have there for the first time just to see the looks on their faces! The Rockies is amazing too isn't it, we fell in love with Jasper, I'd love to retire there, I have never seen scenery like it and all that wildlife too! Whats your main reason for moving from Ontario if you dont mind me asking? |
Hi Sibsie,
They didn't ask for anything other than evidence of employment,earnings and savings she understood we knew no-one in Canada, another couple got a reference from their employer, I guess its just your luck with the agent, if its a quiet time of year they may make exceptions if they have plenty of vacancies, they didn't do a credit check on us but the bank did when we tried to open an account and they charged us for a second one when we applied for a mortgage! The credit rating thing is a bugger, you have to start over again, my paychecks were held for a full week up until a month ago! I now have an overdraft limit of wowee $100 at an astounding rate of 21%!:scared: |
Hi Pammy,
thanks for the info, i will start looking. answer to your question, we are currently living in Windsor, which is a border town and VERY FLAT!!! It's not a bad place, but we love the outdoors, hiking, snowboarding, camping, just being outside and enjoying scenery as much as possible and I want to get back into Horseriding, and there really isn't any here!! - we are also looking at other places in Ontario, as I know there are some nice places, eg- near Algonquin Park, but it is just finding a good job. Edmonton just seems to be a great place as it is a city (for Jobs) but the outdoor life is not that far away aswell, I was just worried about the cold as I really am a sun person, except when I am snowboarding. thanks again, Smiler Originally posted by Pammy Hi SmilerJen Try the Edmonton Journal website, its the one I mostly use along with the human rescources one- www.edmontonjournal.com & www.jobbank.gc.ca Its not really that bad, you know what they say 'its a dry cold!', no honestly I am such a cold tattie, I cannot stand the cold so if I can survive it anyone can! You can happily go outside in the snow and do things and because its a dry snow you dont get wet feet hence you dont feel the cold as much, only when it hits the -30 to -40 you do not want to venture out in it but that happens only a couple of times, I'm still walking dogs in my summer combats, the windchill at the moment is about -13 but its picking up again into the plus figures later in the week! The mall is amazing, I love taking any visitors we have there for the first time just to see the looks on their faces! The Rockies is amazing too isn't it, we fell in love with Jasper, I'd love to retire there, I have never seen scenery like it and all that wildlife too! Whats your main reason for moving from Ontario if you dont mind me asking? |
Thanks Pammy. You're a star.
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Location
As a single, no kids bloke I really love the 'buzz' of Toronto, but I am a little put off by alot of posts suggesting cost of living is high and jobs difficult to come by.
Any suggestions on somewhere else I should consider that offers plenty to do but better job prospects maybe. I'm prepared to consider anywhere and do anything to get me started. |
I'm a singly no kids as well John (though I'm a girl)
Personally speaking Toronto is ideal for me. It's near a lot of my friends over the border, great for my industry (TV) and if push comes to shove and I hate it then I'll skip over to my #2 and 3 choices of Montreal and Vancouver. |
U'v restored my faith in 'Tronno'!
If u need a PA when u get over there let me know! :0) |
When are you making the move to Tonto John? I have a lovely Canadian passport that's just waiting for the house here to sell, so I can finally use the bugger.
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My applications been with CHC for a whole 2 weeks!!! So yonks yet, but I can guarantee the second I get my visa I'm off!!!!!
Sounds like you'll be all established by the time I get there. :0) for u :0( for me! |
Well good luck with it and keep in touch. I'll be heading for Yorkville or High Park.
What are you going to do workwise? |
I'm a bank manager at the moment but really fancy a change to something completely different (though not sure what at the mo) I think the move gives me a real opportunity to change career so I'm in the process of reading some 'career change books' to help me decide.
I'm gonna bring enough cash to keep me going for 18mths and just take my time I think. If push comes to shove I'll do anything to make it work over there until I can sort out something that really appeals. I'll be chuffed to bits just to be giving it a go in my faves country!!! |
Ontario has great further education and a lot of people take night classes, especially in winter when it's freezing.
I'm going to take some classes, though I don't know in what yet. Maybe you'll get a career move that way. In the meantime, if you know anyone who wants to buy a place in Spain, click on me sig! |
Will do sibs.
Keep me posted on how u get on and I'll do likewise. C u in a night class some day! :0) |
Wow what a tremendous post this has been, we are really excited our application is going in next week, when my Hubbie finally gets his letter of reference from his current employer, talk about being difficult! :mad:
We are visiting Calgary & Edmonton next June for a fact finding trip : areas, schools, jobs etc The kids cant wait as well, Ice hockey in the winter. Baseball in the summer, what more can a child want? :D Roll on the 12 months it takes for the visa's to come thru (I hope it about that anyway) Anyway good luck to all who have got that terrible wait. Remember don't wait for your ship to come in! swim out to meet the bloody thing! :) |
Thanks for all the excellent info this post has generated.
We are off for a couple of single malts and planning a course of action for tomorrow. Once again, thanks for all those who have provided “on the ground “ info. Cheers, Neil & Danielle |
Hi pammy,
Sounds like you're well settled in Edmonton. Myself and partner moved over to Windsor in January and we're now looking at Edmonton as one of the potentials for our next stage of re-location. Is there anything you can tell me about the place, which you think would be of benefit??? Typical salaries, typical employment opportunities and how great it is to be 3 hours from the Rockies!!! Congratulations for making a good & friutful life for yourself... you hear a lot of contrasted opinions on this forum, and it's always nice to feel the joy. |
Ooooops....
Apologies for duplicated request.... I am the alternate voice of Smiler Jen (otherwise known as her bloke!!!). She told me there was a funky Edmonton lass on the forum... didn't realise it was you! Laters |
Originally posted by sibsie Ontario has great further education and a lot of people take night classes, especially in winter when it's freezing. I'm going to take some classes, though I don't know in what yet. Maybe you'll get a career move that way. In the meantime, if you know anyone who wants to buy a place in Spain, click on me sig! I think both these websites allow you to post a CV so you never know! ;) P.S. For your house have you tried placing a message on the 'moving to Europe' part of this forum? Someone may be interested on there. Daisy :) |
Thanks for the links Daisy. I'll be looking at those closely. I definately want to go back to freelancing so I get more time to travel.
I've got someone coming for a second viewing today so fingers crossed! |
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