Moving to Canada from UK
Feb 2nd 2014 | 10:22 am
#16
Oscar nominated
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 55,309
From: Moncton, NB, CANADA
Re: Moving to Canada from UK
Personally, I have found that Sportsnet World is not really worth it...a year or so ago, they had more games available but now TSN/TSN2/Sportsnet various incarnations typically have 7 or 8 per weekend and Sportsnet World is left with games like Crystal Palace/Sunderland etc (no offense to fans of those teams).
Feb 2nd 2014 | 11:29 am
#17
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,348
Re: Moving to Canada from UK
OK now I have got some time and I can clarify few things I asked before 
Why I want to move to Canada or Why did I apply for PR back in 2008?
I have my sister living in Kitchener ON (CAN Citizen) and quite a few Uni friends in Missisauga/Toronto area. I don't know anyone in rest of Canada. In 2008 I had family pressure to apply for Canadian PR in case I decide to leave UK in future and move to Canada. So here I am trying to come to a decision..I am married no kids (yet!).
J-A-UK - Thank you Sir for your valuable information..When I asked about Salaries all I wanted to know that if a person is making £65K in UK (Equivalent to CAN$120K) .. will his take home money (after taxes etc.) be same if he makes say CAN$95k because I don't think I will get a job starting 120K in my first few years. I am not 100% sure how taxes work in Canada? i think you have Fed+State tax?
Regarding Car Insurance I have read/heard that Johnson actually considers UK NCD and give you 6 stars for a 8 year+ NCD in UK. They obviously need all papers from UK Insurance provider + from DVLA. Am I right?
You said "Cost of Living ? Higher in Canada" buy my friends who are living in Sauga and Ottawa say cost of living is less than England.
They say in ON Sales tax is 13% while VAT in UK is 18% so they are saving money on everything we in UK are paying more. How true is that?
Also, can you please tell me a bit more about your signature? seems like you had a terrible time there and still regret moving to Canada! I'd really like to hear why you say that so I can learn from your experience.
Note: Sorry I won't be able to call Football as Soccer..Hate that word! Also, no matter how hard I try I can never fall for Ice hockey! That's just me so no offence.
@RivingTonPike "Out of interest, why do you want to move to Canada? Has it been a long-term ambition? What is the attraction of Ontario over, say, Vancouver or Calgary, or any other region? I ask out of pure curiosity, as we decided on the west coast and against the east."
Like I said all my family & friends are in Ontario and also its cheaper than BC.
@Iancampbell9 - I did check some cable packages like Rogers and Shaw and seems like we are talking about at least $85/mo right?
@shirtback - You mentioned if you look back you'd be better in UK than in Canada? why did you say that? any harsh experiences?
Also, forgot to ask before, in Canada you only have 15 days holidays! Is that true? my holidays entitlement has gone up to 28 now in UK. If that 15 days is true then how do you guys manage whole year in just 15 days? (I struggle even in 25 here) ...do you guys have more Public holidays?
Thanks to everyone who is sharing their valuable experience/information.
Why I want to move to Canada or Why did I apply for PR back in 2008?
I have my sister living in Kitchener ON (CAN Citizen) and quite a few Uni friends in Missisauga/Toronto area. I don't know anyone in rest of Canada. In 2008 I had family pressure to apply for Canadian PR in case I decide to leave UK in future and move to Canada. So here I am trying to come to a decision..I am married no kids (yet!).
J-A-UK - Thank you Sir for your valuable information..When I asked about Salaries all I wanted to know that if a person is making £65K in UK (Equivalent to CAN$120K) .. will his take home money (after taxes etc.) be same if he makes say CAN$95k because I don't think I will get a job starting 120K in my first few years. I am not 100% sure how taxes work in Canada? i think you have Fed+State tax?
Regarding Car Insurance I have read/heard that Johnson actually considers UK NCD and give you 6 stars for a 8 year+ NCD in UK. They obviously need all papers from UK Insurance provider + from DVLA. Am I right?
You said "Cost of Living ? Higher in Canada" buy my friends who are living in Sauga and Ottawa say cost of living is less than England.
They say in ON Sales tax is 13% while VAT in UK is 18% so they are saving money on everything we in UK are paying more. How true is that?
Also, can you please tell me a bit more about your signature? seems like you had a terrible time there and still regret moving to Canada! I'd really like to hear why you say that so I can learn from your experience.
Note: Sorry I won't be able to call Football as Soccer..Hate that word! Also, no matter how hard I try I can never fall for Ice hockey! That's just me so no offence.
@RivingTonPike "Out of interest, why do you want to move to Canada? Has it been a long-term ambition? What is the attraction of Ontario over, say, Vancouver or Calgary, or any other region? I ask out of pure curiosity, as we decided on the west coast and against the east."
Like I said all my family & friends are in Ontario and also its cheaper than BC.
@Iancampbell9 - I did check some cable packages like Rogers and Shaw and seems like we are talking about at least $85/mo right?
@shirtback - You mentioned if you look back you'd be better in UK than in Canada? why did you say that? any harsh experiences?
Also, forgot to ask before, in Canada you only have 15 days holidays! Is that true? my holidays entitlement has gone up to 28 now in UK. If that 15 days is true then how do you guys manage whole year in just 15 days? (I struggle even in 25 here) ...do you guys have more Public holidays?
Thanks to everyone who is sharing their valuable experience/information.
Re: Car insurance. There are various companies who will take UK NCD into account. It's still insanely expensive even with that. Budget for at least $2000 for your first year, even with that. We've been here 9 years and still pay around $1700.
Re: Cost of Living. On the whole, it seems to be lower in the UK. Housing is more expensive there, fuel in your car is more expensive, but you'll be using less of it, both because cars seem to be more economical, and because distances between things are shorter. Food seems to be cheaper there, as is clothing. Particularly for anything of good quality, as far as I can work out, and hearing from people who have moved in either direction lately. Yes, VAT is higher in the UK, but actual products, on the whole, seem to be more here. When we first came, it was mostly the other way around, and the exchange rate also has a part to play in that. There will always be exceptions to these rules though, and to be honest, it's all really dependent on what you earn in each country too.
Re: Language. The word for football here is soccer. If you call it football, people will assume you are talking about football, as in American football. Yes, you may cause offense if you insist on using the wrong word, at the very least it could be frustrating for both sides in a conversation...
Re: Cable. Sounds about right. Probably more with sports etc. I don't have cable and haven't looked lately. You may also have to pay for rental of your cable box, as well as tax on top of all that. Not sure if there are any other added on charges.
Re: Vacation Days. Legally, your employer only has to give you 10 per year for your first 5 years. Depending when in the year you start, you might get less, and the first year might not count as one of those 5. My hubby started work in February when we moved here, and got 3 days for the rest of that year. Something to do with the company's financial year. For the next 5 years he had 10 days per year. It was really really hard. Now he has 15 days, which is still crap compared to England, but so much better than the beginning here (perspective and all of that), in a couple of years, it will go up to 20 days. Some companies will negotiate it, some won't. Pretty sure that statutory holidays are almost the same. Not different enough to worry about anyway.
Feb 2nd 2014 | 3:54 pm
#18
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 40
From: S. Ontario
Re: Moving to Canada from UK
Trust me when I say you will end up using the word soccer if you want to have any conversations about the beautiful game at all over here. I felt the same as you but needs must 
Feb 2nd 2014 | 4:29 pm
#19
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 12,830
Re: Moving to Canada from UK
Re: Vacation Days. Legally, your employer only has to give you 10 per year for your first 5 years. Depending when in the year you start, you might get less, and the first year might not count as one of those 5. My hubby started work in February when we moved here, and got 3 days for the rest of that year. Something to do with the company's financial year. For the next 5 years he had 10 days per year. It was really really hard. Now he has 15 days, which is still crap compared to England, but so much better than the beginning here (perspective and all of that), in a couple of years, it will go up to 20 days. Some companies will negotiate it, some won't. Pretty sure that statutory holidays are almost the same. Not different enough to worry about anyway.
Statutory holiday rules can vary with the industry, however an employee is not entitled to stats during the first 3 months of employment. Qualifying period for vacation works in arrears, so the first years vacation pay is used for the next years paid vacation.
Vacation time is not actually calculated in time, as a minimum it is 4% of pay for the first five years, then 6% thereafter. With a written request an employee can have their vacation paid out on each paycheque in the period it is earned. Of course when this is done you don't get paid time off.
Feb 2nd 2014 | 9:04 pm
#20
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,348
Re: Moving to Canada from UK
Maybe that was it. I know that it's done as a percentage of pay, but my hubby was definitely only allowed 3 days off in his first year. The company has been sold since, no idea what they do now. My guess is that he got paid the correct percentage, just wasn't able to take the days off. Like I say, he started at the end of February, and was only allowed to take 3 days for the rest of the year. I was talking about time, rather than pay, and hadn't thought to make the distinction between the two.
Feb 2nd 2014 | 9:23 pm
#21
Thread Starter
Just Joined
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 13
From: Basingstoke, UK
Re: Moving to Canada from UK
Maybe that was it. I know that it's done as a percentage of pay, but my hubby was definitely only allowed 3 days off in his first year. The company has been sold since, no idea what they do now. My guess is that he got paid the correct percentage, just wasn't able to take the days off. Like I say, he started at the end of February, and was only allowed to take 3 days for the rest of the year. I was talking about time, rather than pay, and hadn't thought to make the distinction between the two.
That is ludicrous!! 3 days holidays whole year? how did you guys manage? hats off!
Feb 2nd 2014 | 9:26 pm
#22
Thread Starter
Just Joined
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 13
From: Basingstoke, UK
Feb 2nd 2014 | 11:04 pm
#23
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,348
Re: Moving to Canada from UK
We didn't cope terribly well. Both of his parents visited that year, and both expected him to use the days for them. We would have expected it to be a pro rata amount of days, which would have been enough of a shock in itself. Oh, and they were working 6 days a week at that point too. Even once it went up though, it was still hard. Some visitors have expectations that you can take time off for them, or people expect you to take time to go back to the uk. It was a while before he was able to take time for himself without getting flack from them. We were expecting to encounter a 'work hard, play hard' culture, but to be honest, there wasn't much left after that much work. At least we were just renting an apartment so had very little house type stuff to do.
Last edited by Dashie; Feb 2nd 2014 at 11:05 pm. Reason: Early morning spelling ;)
Feb 3rd 2014 | 3:15 am
#24
Oscar nominated
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 55,309
From: Moncton, NB, CANADA
Re: Moving to Canada from UK
But at each stage of the Champions League the three Sportsnet channels show three matches on the Tuesday and Wednesday.
Given that two EPL clubs play each day (until someone is knocked out) it's nice to have the choice of seeing one.
Similar thing with the Europa. Most Sunday games are on 'World' too, quite often both. It seems odd not having footie to watch Sunday!!
'World' also increases the choice on a Saturday too.
Just my view but while "World" is a little more for fewer games, the extra for the choice is worth it when you consider the total cost of all the football isn't really that much.
Of course, it's all subject to change. Champs League is on Sportsnet this season, previously it was on TSN and it's also been on both.
Feb 3rd 2014 | 3:21 am
#25
Thread Starter
Just Joined
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 13
From: Basingstoke, UK
Re: Moving to Canada from UK
If you look at the number of games available on TSN and Sportsnet One and the main Sportsnet (the time zone ones) channels and compare the cost of adding those to the basic package, Sportsnet World doesn't look much of a good deal in comparison.
But at each stage of the Champions League the three Sportsnet channels show three matches on the Tuesday and Wednesday.
Given that two EPL clubs play each day (until someone is knocked out) it's nice to have the choice of seeing one.
Similar thing with the Europa. Most Sunday games are on 'World' too, quite often both. It seems odd not having footie to watch Sunday!!
'World' also increases the choice on a Saturday too.
Just my view but while "World" is a little more for fewer games, the extra for the choice is worth it when you consider the total cost of all the football isn't really that much.
Of course, it's all subject to change. Champs League is on Sportsnet this season, previously it was on TSN and it's also been on both.
But at each stage of the Champions League the three Sportsnet channels show three matches on the Tuesday and Wednesday.
Given that two EPL clubs play each day (until someone is knocked out) it's nice to have the choice of seeing one.
Similar thing with the Europa. Most Sunday games are on 'World' too, quite often both. It seems odd not having footie to watch Sunday!!
'World' also increases the choice on a Saturday too.
Just my view but while "World" is a little more for fewer games, the extra for the choice is worth it when you consider the total cost of all the football isn't really that much.
Of course, it's all subject to change. Champs League is on Sportsnet this season, previously it was on TSN and it's also been on both.
Feb 3rd 2014 | 4:16 am
#26
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,009
Re: Moving to Canada from UK
The cost of rent in the Kitchener area will be lower than in Mississauga or Milton but I am not sure how the job situation would go in KW (Kitchener-Waterloo) as the University of Waterloo is there (Wilfrid Laurier University is also three blocks down the street from UW) and it is one of the best computer schools in the world so there are plenty of IT graduates in town. And, although there is a big IT sector there, they also have a lot of people losing jobs at RIM/BlackBerry who already live there and who will be looking for work. You would be competing with them and the majority of them will have degrees, particularly from local universities.
As for the cost of living, in my experience it is lower here than in Britain but everyone's personal circumstances (lifestyle, expenditures, etc.) come into play and can affect the cost of living.
As for the cost of living, in my experience it is lower here than in Britain but everyone's personal circumstances (lifestyle, expenditures, etc.) come into play and can affect the cost of living.
Feb 3rd 2014 | 4:39 am
#27
Thread Starter
Just Joined
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 13
From: Basingstoke, UK
Re: Moving to Canada from UK
The cost of rent in the Kitchener area will be lower than in Mississauga or Milton but I am not sure how the job situation would go in KW (Kitchener-Waterloo) as the University of Waterloo is there (Wilfrid Laurier University is also three blocks down the street from UW) and it is one of the best computer schools in the world so there are plenty of IT graduates in town. And, although there is a big IT sector there, they also have a lot of people losing jobs at RIM/BlackBerry who already live there and who will be looking for work. You would be competing with them and the majority of them will have degrees, particularly from local universities.
As for the cost of living, in my experience it is lower here than in Britain but everyone's personal circumstances (lifestyle, expenditures, etc.) come into play and can affect the cost of living.
As for the cost of living, in my experience it is lower here than in Britain but everyone's personal circumstances (lifestyle, expenditures, etc.) come into play and can affect the cost of living.
Feb 3rd 2014 | 5:55 am
#28
Just Joined
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 4
Re: Moving to Canada from UK
Ok ,so on the vacation allocation, lots of people complain about how little vacation Canadians and Americans alike get. It all comes down to the way of calculating time off.
Minimum legal vacation is 10 days (2 weeks) in all CAN provinces, but on top of that there is 10-12 public holidays as well. For most companies, the default is 3 weeks to start and in most instances, you can negotiate that in your first year.
I talk with people in the UK and they are not getting much more than my 27-30 days time off a year.
Minimum legal vacation is 10 days (2 weeks) in all CAN provinces, but on top of that there is 10-12 public holidays as well. For most companies, the default is 3 weeks to start and in most instances, you can negotiate that in your first year.
I talk with people in the UK and they are not getting much more than my 27-30 days time off a year.
Feb 3rd 2014 | 6:04 am
#29
Assimilated Pauper
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 40,070
From: Ontario
Re: Moving to Canada from UK
The key difference is that to take holidays here is frowned upon, it's usual to be left with most of them at the end of the year, whereas people in the UK can take even a fortnight off without harming their position at work.
Feb 3rd 2014 | 6:06 am
#30
Thread Starter
Just Joined
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 13
From: Basingstoke, UK
Re: Moving to Canada from UK
Ok ,so on the vacation allocation, lots of people complain about how little vacation Canadians and Americans alike get. It all comes down to the way of calculating time off.
Minimum legal vacation is 10 days (2 weeks) in all CAN provinces, but on top of that there is 10-12 public holidays as well. For most companies, the default is 3 weeks to start and in most instances, you can negotiate that in your first year.
I talk with people in the UK and they are not getting much more than my 27-30 days time off a year.
Minimum legal vacation is 10 days (2 weeks) in all CAN provinces, but on top of that there is 10-12 public holidays as well. For most companies, the default is 3 weeks to start and in most instances, you can negotiate that in your first year.
I talk with people in the UK and they are not getting much more than my 27-30 days time off a year.
UK has about 8 Public Holidays on the top of 25 days which makes it 33 days per year. People like me who have worked for 4+years for an employer now have 28 days + Public Holidays which will make it 36 Holidays in total.
Also, I have not heard to date someone in Canada enjoying 27 days Holidays..You sure about that?
