We are just in the process of researching the idea of moving to Canada, a couple of our friends are moving out there and it sounds fantastic. We have a 14 month old little girl and by the sounds of it Canada is a really great place to bring up children. We could potentially get in through the skilled worker route and presume that this will give us flexibility in terms of where to live. We would prefer to steer clear of the extreme weather conditions and opt for a milder climate such as Vancouver.

We have discussed our friends experience so far but any tips on where to go from here would be really appreciated and anyone who has made the move it would be great to hear how you found the process, how long it took and what life is really like out there....the dream sounds wonderful but I know in reality it could be verydifferent.

Many thanks and hope to hear from you very soon
Kara

I moved this to the main lifestyle area.


Its really hard for others to pick an area for another person...we all end up where we are for a whole bunch of reasons, some generic, some very specific to ourselves.


I can understand the concern about the climate, but dont forget about 30 million Canadians get by outside of the west coast, and living in Vancouver carries a price premium, and involves dealing with the long overcast spells that the rest of us generally dont get.

Cant really offer any specifics, but keep an open mind. I was worried about dealing with the winter at first, but I actually really like the contrasting seasons and the clear blue winter skies.


If you havent already found it the wiki contains a lot of useful information on both the immigration options available, and general lifestyle stuff too. First thing is to determine how you qualify to enter Canada, and the second is usually to find a job and head there.
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Category:Canada

We are currently doing the sponsor a spouse application as my husband was born in Canada so a little different.

We too have a 16 month old daughter and both want a better life for her, we have decided to move to Vancouver Island. We have just come back from there for being there for three weeks and fell in love with the place.

Good luck with your plans, its always worth a try, if it works out you could find a whole new amazing life out there, if it doesn't work, at least you can say you tried.

Thanks for the replies and I will certainly check out the wiki as suggested. I'm just wondering how to start the process, should we be looking into jobs and potentially getting interviews lined up and getting ourselves out there before we start the visa process, just conscious it can take a long time to to go through the process and it's very expensive.

Becki - I think you're right i'm so keen to get the ball rolling, i'm very excited about the prospect of moving to such a wonderful country but I do have reservations about the climate although here in the UK our weather is generally pretty bad most of the time so it would be so nice to have seasons where we actually experience a summer and then have the opportunity to go skiing in the winter. Have you started the visa process? Tell me more about Vancouver, was it expensive?

Vancouver compared to Calgary, in my opinion, is just wonderful!!!! Yes it might be more expensive there but it's such a far better place so if I were you I'd stick to BC not AB!!!!

The Wiki will help you understand how to start the process. For most people though, unless your job is on the 'occupations in demand' list, then you'll need a job offer before you can do anything (if so, make sure you read the Job Hunting section of the Wiki).

And it doesn't take long or cost that much, a Skilled Worker visa only takes around 6-12 months, and a Temp Work Permit about the same. Visa costs won't be more than $2500 plus medicals for three of you, although the cost of actually moving is much more (costing us £25k for a family of four).

Hope that helps.