dgjamison

Talking about houses with pools brought back some memories, we bought our first house I think it was 1979-1980, we paid $53,000 for a semi backspilt with inground pool, 4 bedrooms, finished rec room with bar and fireplace, in a little country town called "Oshawa"(i remembr my friends saying how far away it was from Toronto too far for them!!!). It was classed as the country then, and very much full of young families, first time buyers. I remember big wheels were a big thing then, my son left his on the front garden overnight and toys left on the lawn, and they were still there when we got up in the morning. many a time we went to bed and forgot to lock the doors. It was a lovely neighbourhood and FRIENDLY as well

dgjamison

reading all your posts maye I should haved moved to BC eh??? seems it is much friendlier there than the East Coast.

2008orbust

ALAN3005

"Filling in the forms for immigration to Canada wouldn't exactly make riveting TV."

I meant showing the process not the paperwork !

it would be a change from all the aussie stuff - still amazed how that program i watched mentioned none of it - as if its all about picking property and then you just move . . .

Martian75

We are going to Arnprior in Ontario.

dgjamison

I don't know where that is, but I think you are coming out in the right frame of mind, and you still have the security of your home back in the UK should it for some reason not work out for you. Good luck in your move, hope all goes well for you and your family and you settle, but is seems you have a good quality of life back home so you can in many ways view things with a clear mind and not be under the normal pressures

Auld Yin

Earlier in this thread you state you're living in Fort Erie. That is not the East Coast, being probably 1,000 miles from the coast.

G77

Probably in the same vane as Americans refer to themselves living on the "east coast" when they could be nowhere near the sea....

Daz IQ

Good life in Canada=

5/6 years, is about correct for rites of passage
for most immigrants.

*Decent paying job with benefits, for yourself and family
(dental and medical, gotta pay for those teeth)
god help you if you lose your job!!

*Must have a car, regardless of if want one or not(its a big place)

*2 weeks vaction @ 4% annual salary(after 12months service)
someone said 3 weeks...who are you Steven Harper..gotta do
5 years of service for that..(re:ESA)

*Be able to integrate and assimilate well..
Forget that British attitude "we're in britian, we speak english here"(that is too funny in itself)
This here is Canada, country of 2 spoken tongues and real multicuturalism,
high percentage your boss will be chinese..so get use to it..(well, in Vancouver)

*Pay higher taxes (also see HST & Tescos 2 for 1)...but if you work for a
government department, you and your bank manager will be able to see
the benefits from this. As bruce says ...good game! good game!

*Great landscape & enjoyable outdoor activities, but believe it or not,
that "ski in the morning and golf or sail in the afternoon" doesnt come free,
money is made from very hard work.long hours 5 days a week and for many
even 6+ days a week. There are some people who work 3 jobs just to make
ends meet ..$8 minimum wage..just so you know, I have a proffessional
qualification, but just not from canada (but thats another story)
To SOME of those "different way of life" arrivals, be prepared for anything
(oh damn!! forgot to pay that MSP bill...)

*retirement.....ummmmm I used to wonder, where are all the blue rinse brigade
(here in vancouver) but then realised, (like was said above) the majority are
still working..most cant afford lose their company health benefits.
Or the children ,gang up, sell the house and put them in a old folks home.
No meals on wheels here (ohh yes the joys....too funny)

its the same shyt different place..just remember the song
"where ever you lay your hat"

alexisatk

This isn't true. I'm Canadian and came to the UK on a Working Holiday Visa, my visa will expire in July. I have an employer who is willing and wants to sponser me but according to the Immigration Lawyer we went to talk about the only way I can stay in the UK is if I get married. This is because of politics, since the credit crunch the government has been focusing on "UK Jobs for UK Workers", and since they can't control immigration from within the EU they are enforcing and making it more difficult for any other country to come in. I even qualified for the HSMP until they increased the education requirement to a Masters degree last spring.

DigitalGhost

I feel for you, I honestly do. I have lived with my girlfriend for 18 months now but if we want to apply for a common law visa then it will take at least another 6 months of living together and an application fee of £565 and that's from in land.

I believe they will be pushing the BIA to reduce the requirement for a Masters degree over the course of the next few months though as we are currently the only major western nation which demands that as a pre-requisite and it is apparently pushing some needed skilled people to go elsewhere because they don't make the grade. The HSMP was too lax (and I saw a result of that myself where I used to work) but the current system is a little over-rigid.

dgjamison

This is said as a figure of speach!!!! Thought most people would realise exactly what I meant, meaning living in Eastern Canada??? What would you have me say to explain where i live?????

alexisatk

That is actually funny lol (from Nova Scotia)

el_richo

Eastern Canada?

dgjamison

FGS ok eastern canada, I find this a little like nit picking, but there each to their own.........

el_richo

Not really nit picking. ~500 miles from the coast is not exactly "Coastal"