bigtj

Hey all, I've been a long time lurker on this forum and I've always wanted to go to Canada so I thought why not move there for 2 years?

I've only been looking and reading into this kinda heavily for the past two weeks or so.
I'm 21 and looking to move to either Richmond or Surrery, BC, Vancouver and currently a web developer here in the UK, my company is more than happy to keep me on even when I'm in Canada so I guess I wouldn't need a job there (is that a good or bad thing?)
I've got my passport which is valid for way over them two years but I'm just wondering if anyone could point me into the right direction and maybe some kind of checklist?

I do believe I'd need to provide biometrics (and maybe a criminal record check?). I also know you need at least 2,500 CAD and health/travel insurance for the full 2 years you're out there. I know there's a lot more to go with it all too but a lot of things I've read haven't always been clear.

I'd be going alone so I'm also wondering about actually finding a small place to rent for them 2 years I'm there, I'd imagine I'll have to stay in a hotel or something for a few weeks while trying to look for somewhere to rent.

If anyone could provide any tips, recommendations or anything else that'll be much appreicated!

scilly

Why Richmond or Surrey?

Rental costs are still high in those areas in Metro Vancouver. Richmond would give you a good insight into Chinese culture, and Surrey similar into South-east Asian culture.

Transit to Richmond is pretty good, though some areas are poorly served, and transit access to Surrey is getting better.

bigtj

I've just felt more drawn to them areas, I was also thinking about Toronto or Ottawa but I haven't decided so I'm open to ideas

rivingtonpike

Do you already have your IEC Visa in hand?

bigtj

I do not, the only thing I basically have ready right now is 2,500 CAD and a passport.
but that's fine for now, I'm not planning to go straight away and I know getting the visa can be long

hg42

Well, most normal mortals, all else being equal, will be drawn to wherever they can find work I suppose. If you're working remotely this is of course less of an issue. (Though - how stable an employment situation are you really talking? Best to take a long and cautious look at it - "sure, we'll keep you on" can easily turn into "gosh, we haven't seen you for ages, not sure this is working out for us..." - plan for the worst!) So:

- Drawn by what? Presumably not grandiose architecture, long and meaningful history, deep and profound cultural expressions etc. Are you after 'suburbia, but I can drive to a ski hill'? Big plot of impenetrable woods in the middle of nowhere that you can use to collect implausible numbers of broken cars? (This one's popular in BC once you get out of the cities). A particular climate? Some sort of activity that you can't do in the UK?

- You of course don't need a reason and you definitely don't need a good one. Lord knows mine essentially began and ended at 'Sod this Brexit bollocks, I'm outta here' and while the move has worked out well I've had a number of lucky breaks absent which I could have had some major problems. (I also almost went to Winnipeg, which...well, why worry about it, I suppose).

- As far as finances go, $2500 is the official number but is really far too low unless you're going straight into a job that's housing you and not requiring you to commute, like bumming around a ski resort etc - I think it's still calibrated around prices from about 1995. If you're solo and carrying everything you own on your back, going somewhere with public transport then $5-6000 would be the absolute bare minimum I'd do it with, add at least a couple of thousand to that if you'll be needing a car. Remember that you're not just planning for the cost of settling down somewhere, you're also necessarily covering the 'What if I get bird flu on the flight over and can't work for a month' contingency - long way from home, no local support network etc.

christmasoompa

It doesn't take long at all, only approx 6-8 weeks. Once you've got it, you have a year to enter Canada, so if you plan to go in the next year or so, I'd apply now personally.

Agree with the above, $2500 is ludicrously low so best to budget quite a bit more.

Good luck.

Engineer_abroad