Helena81

My husband and I will be moving to Toronto from Cyprus. He was born there but left when we was a child. I do not think he would need to apply as an immigrant if he holds a Canadian passport. He would need to sponsor me as his wife (British born) so I was wondering if anyone could tell me how long this process takes? I would need to find work as soon as possible as we will only have enough money to cover the bills for the first three months. That's not including the $30,000 we have set aside for a downpayment towards our own place if we decide to stay. We have relatives spread out around Toronto so he will have a place to stay until he finds work and accomodation. I would then fly over to join him with our two dogs. He is a computer technician with ten years experience maintaining pc's and setting up networks for small offices. If there are any computer techncians in Canada reading this, could you please let us know the right certifications he would need to get a job? I hear CompTIA A+ is a must and MSCA or MSCE is considered an advantage. Which is the best of the two for his line of work?

I would probably look into retail, or perhaps an office job. I don't have any qualifications, so my husband would need to be the bread winner. I have admin experience, and am currently working as a receptionist for a Veterinary Clinic. I wouldn't even mind working at Pet Smart, if it helps cover the bills to begin with.

Now onto my other concern - the cost of living! I will write a list of the monthly bills/services, and would appreciate if someone could fill in the blanks for me.

Hydro $
Electricity/Water/Sewer/Garbage $
Land Line $
Internet $
Two Cell Phones $
Rent for a small two bedroom home in the GTA $
Car Insurance for someone with a very good European driving record (Not sure that means much in Canada) $
Petrol per month $
Groceries and toiletries for two people $
Pet Food $

Please let me know if there are any other expenses I left out!

Let's assume my husband will be earning $12 per hour ($1920 per month) and I'm earning $9 per hour ($1440) per month. How much will we be left with after we have deducted the taxes? Would this be enough to get by - by covering the above mentioned living expenses? These are just estimates - I didn't want to aim too high! I am hoping my husband could earn atleast $15 per hour in his profession!

Lastly, which areas in Ontario would you recommend where we could find jobs and live comfortably? I have heard about Barrie, St. Catharine's, Peterborough, etc. St. Catharine's sounds appealing to me - and houses seem affordable. Think we could find jobs there? I was thinking that maybe my husband could send his resume to companies within the areas we like, so we don't end up living somewhere we don't like. Think that could work? We want to choose the best place for us and do everything right to succeed in Canada. I would imagine location is important in this respect - so please advise!

Thanking you..

Helena81

Sorry - the title of this thread should actually say moving to 'Ontario' not GTA. :-)

dbd33

It took about three years for me to sponsor my partner. She was here but could not work and so went back to school to fill in the time.

The following are monthly numbers for our house. I have no idea if they're typical.

Hydro- I assume you mean water, "Hydro" is what Canadians call electricity.
$0 as we have a well

Electricity $200

/Water/Sewer Don't have either.

Garbage. Where there's garbage pick up it's included in property taxes/rent.

Land Line $60

Internet $130

Two Cell Phones $300

Rent for a small two bedroom home in the GTA $1750 in Toronto, less farther out.

Car Insurance for someone with a very good European driving record (Not sure that means much in Canada) $100

Petrol per month $750 but we drive quite a lot

Groceries and toiletries for two people. Dunno, not much compared with the costs related to the cars.

Pet Food $60 for the horses and donkey, $15 for the chickens, $30 for the dog, an unconsciencable amount for the cats.

Assume 1/3 of income goes in taxes and deductions.

You must know that these costs all depend on individual circumstance. I think your estimates for income are too low but finding a job may be a challenge for your husband. Have a look at old posts by Madmac.

dazzlerdaz

WOW........your not joking !

dbd33

It's not outrageous for here. The VW, new in Feb 2007 has 50,000 miles on it. All the cars I leased for my ex were only used for shopping and child ferrying and consistently had 35,000 km/yr on them. It's a big country.

Helena81

Thanks for your response, dbd33. Why do you think it will be a challenge? Are IT jobs hard to come by in the areas I mentioned? Which certifications will be most helpful? We're not going until March - so my husband has some time to earn the necessary certifications before we make the move. He's going to look for work in the papers, and online job sites like workopolis, monster, career etc. He is going alone so he can spend a couple of months job hunting. Surely he could find something with A+ and MSCA during that time? Or am I just being too hopeful?

clynnog

[QUOTE=dbd33;6655022]

Electricity $200

Land Line $60

Internet $130

Two Cell Phones $300

Car Insurance for someone with a very good European driving record (Not sure that means much in Canada) $100

Petrol per month $750 but we drive quite a lot


/QUOTE]

dbd your electricity costs seem a bit high for our situation....I think we pay about $250-$260 every two months and we have central air.....it depends on the size of house and amount of insulation,appliances,laundry loads

Your land line cost of $60 is high...we pay about $38/month and we have quite a few features. As well, the internet of $130 month and 2 cell phones of $300/month are high....we pay about $42 and $85 month for high speed internet and 2 cell phones.

dbd33

Because other posters with similar qualifications have reported it to be so. Madmac is an example.

dbd33

[QUOTE=clynnog;6655205] The fixed cost portion of the bill is $160. Only $40 is for electricity consumed so I don't think it matters if we run the dryer all day and all night, Elenor Kaplin's sails would still account for more of the bill than electricity usage.

I think of the cell phone bill as a bargain, it used to run about two grand when I used the phone. Now I email everyone. The internet cost is because we live semi-rurally and need a satellite, it's less in town.

Helena81

Thanks! I didn't think it would take that long for my husband to sponsor me. Would it help speed up the process if my husband is Canadian?

More advice is welcome :-)

dbd33

I am Canadian.

YYZlover

Is your husband a Canadian or is he a Cypriot?

His certificates a MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) and MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator) means nothing in Canada for immigration purposes. It's university degrees that count so he won't get any extra points for those certificates.

It might help for getting a job.

Start reading the wiki up the top.

dazzlerdaz

I`ll give you $5 worth if you add a few more miles by picking us up from the airport

dbd33

In the Beetle? I hope you're thin with no luggage.

Helena81

He was born in Canada to Cypriot parents, therefore he won't have to apply as an immigrant. He has a Canadian passport. I called the Canadian embassy in Cyprus and they told me to call the embassy in Syria for immigration queries. The first lady I spoke to didn't sound very knowledgable, or helpful for that matter. She did not explain that he would have to sponsor me so I could work legally in Canada. All she said was that we could both work. I called again today and was informed that it should take around 4-6 months max for the sponsor process. This conflicts with the information dbd33 kindly provided me. 3 years is a long wait!

The MSCE certification is purely for landing him a job.