not2old

maybe you need to return to the UK?

a reason not to return to the UK

Tirytory

James.....in the nicest possible way- you NEED to move to the US for a bit!!

jerry brewer

Hi
we moved here 2006, sold everything up in uk, no job,
agency work for a few months, then worked up thro' three permanent jobs to where i am now.
cheers
jerry

Roberto1980

Not a negative / disaster story in sight! ( not that I want to hear any really lol)


To all those who have responded who took the risk of going over with no job / wage packet lined up.. Did you have children? If not, do you think you would have done the same if you had? (theoretical I know..)


Did you have any contingency plans in place i.e. Career break from UK employer, rent out your home, emergency funds..?

dormy

Moved 9 years ago in 2006, just me and my wife at the time, with no job not much cash and a suitcase each. Landed in Halifax, rented a dorm room at the university for a week or two. I was working a minimum wage night shift job within 2 days. I had to start my career in the same field completely from scratch, as the Nova Scotian employers did not think that UK experience could be counted, so essentially 20 years experience was down the drain. Within a year I had worked my way up the ladder a little, but it took 5 years, and moving Province to get back to a similar level that I was at in the UK; now 9 years in I am finally ahead of where I was in the UK and have a much better quality of life.

It took a huge amount of work, a huge amount of discomfort, upset and disappointment but I got back on my feet eventually, and would not change what I have now for the world. If anyone thinks they can just move and get what they dream of straight away, they will be very disappointed. If they are prepared to sacrifice the comforts and realise it take time and dedication they will succeed and be happy.

beckiwoo

Moved out last year on IEC (temp work permit). Got a job in a café within 3 days of arriving in Vancouver (September 1st) Landed a career related job in October after interviewing middle of September. Just got my current job full time last week after being a casual alongside the other job. Now I can apply for PR

So even without PR status it is possible to get a job.

not2old

no kids, no house or mortgage to worry about when we did it.

When we emigrated it was cold turkey, no fall back position, not thinking about giving it 12, 24, 36 mths, etc. It was a clean break & to be honest, the last thought was leaving the relatives behind in the UK.

Our life come hell or high water

Of course the option is always there to return back

My sister went to OZ on the £10 scheme back in 1970 & has been back only three times as of this year

On doing it with children, just over 13 years after we landed in Canada we emigrated from Canada to Australia then later to NZ with one child.

After we came back to Canada adding one more child we sort of emigrated again spending long periods in the US, renting of course, then my work took me & sometimes my family to some really strange places.

Its been a terrific experience & I would recommend emigrating to anyone that has the gumption to do it. Think of it as 2-years out of your life that might turn into a lifetime event. The old National service 101 only as an immigrant

Its not for everyone, some can, some do, some think about it or dream about it, iffy if they can & question 'the over there' [opportunities] are they better then where they're at.

Then there are folks on this thread who have done it, stayed a while, moved around a lot, stayed a lifetime then return back to the UK.

Anyone [you out there] won't know it till you do it for yourself & I believe asking 'should I, should I not' will not give one the answer.

.

JamesM

With children you will obviously need more savings as you will have more mouths to feed and require bigger accommodation.

Personally I would make sure I had savings for a good 3 or 4 months and be prepared to compromise whilst getting your foot in the door of the workforce here.

But really most people immigrate with out a job. You just need to get on with it once your mind is made.

Life with out risk is not much of a life at all.

caleo

We came over without jobs. 3 children. It took Mr C 4 months to find a job (in IT) - it took me much longer, but that I think was down to me being a nurse and not being able to work as one. No one seemed to want to look at my transferable skills. We took a huge risk because we did not know what type of work I would be able to do here, and what sort of income.

One thing we found frustrating about the employment culture here is that the recruitment wheels move very slowly, especially when you are struggling to survive on your savings!

As long as you have enough put by for at least 4-6 months - having a look at rent, essential living costs and food - insurance costs if you are going to have a car/cars. Also looking at what sort of income you can survive on if only one of you is working etc.

Tax Take Home Pay Calculator for 2015.xls
is a good calculator to work out take home pay for when you do get work.

Danny B

We sold everything we owned in the UK and moved to Canada with 2 children (11 & 3 at the time) in July 2007. The exchange rate was 2.15 then so we did OK and put a down payment on a house, bought two used cars and had a 3 month slush fund whilst I looked for work.

Well so much for my time off, I started work in August 2007 and have worked for the same place ever since.

Never doing that again, so much could have gone wrong. I consider myself very lucky and put it down to being at the right place at the right time.

I have read peoples horror stories of moving to smaller towns, spending all their hard earned savings and going back to the UK broke as they couldn't find a job.

In 2015 I would not recommend coming over without a job unless you have a very sought after profession. I work in IT, thankfully IT people don't want to live in Kamloops so I was lucky. Vancouver on the other hand, lots of competition from the locals and not some immigrant with no CDN experience fresh off of the boat.

jerry brewer

Hi
Two kids in tow, they didnt like the move but after four months my daughter said ' its a dream come true, promise me we womt go back to england' my son loves it here to, neither would move back
Would i do the same again yes, even thou i ended up getting divorced here, btw the law is more equal in canada
for me life is way better than in the UK, less stress, more pay, even thou back to the job I did when i was 20

no back up plan, it was vancouver or bust, sold the uk house, we just set a threshold money level for a return to UK, if it all failed.
the big thing was if we stayed in the uk we would always be thinking what if ...
to sum up, yes it was one of the best gambles i took i life moving here
cheers jerry

Shirtback

Moved myself, children (3 & 4 yrs old) and cats, lock stock & barrel in 1996 with no job lined up & minimal savings to fall back on. No solid contingency plans.

We made good. Got the first job I applied for after a self-imposed settling-in period. Had a good & remunerative career (although I changed direction & jobs a couple of times) until 2012 when I moved back to the UK at short notice & temporarily to care for an ailing parent. Back in Canada now I'm having difficulties re-integrating the workforce; methinks age may have something to do with that. I now get by freelancing & temping.

My at-the-time Canadian husband had a hard time finding work, and ended up working off-shore for years.

The offspring never looked back .

Howefamily

Moved to NS in 2011. Got my first job within three weeks (had started networking from the UK and had made contact with this company whilst there just to meet them) as an Accountant.

Husband took longer - he was in the police in the UK. We has no intention of spending $22k for him to requalify here and maybe get a job with the city police and he didnt want to join RCMP and likely have to move again. He's now a sheriff but it took 2 years to achieve that.

SarahBC

Prior to the 2008 immigration reform, it was possible to obtain PR (Skilled Worker) with no LMO/job offer.

The system has become increasingly linked to pre-qualified job offers in specific employment areas.

I don't how you'd torn up without a job unless you had a working holiday visa (for people under 30) or had citizenship.

I notice most of the replies here come from people who obtained PR under the old pre-2008 system.

I came on a Work Permit (1 year) in 2005. Limited to one job/one (remote) location/no guarantee of renewal.

Still, after some of my friends experiences who turned up with no job, it was much better than just hoping for the best job-wise.

Also, there isn't the equivalent social safety-net in Canada as the UK has. Analyze the risk - but also realize that Canada has tailored the system to obtain the workers they want.

Hope this helps,

Sarah

Howefamily

We came under community identified scheme, no job required.