My husband has been offered a 1 year job in Vancouver. My husband, myself and my 4 year old will be moving for the year.
This is our first time in Canada.

1. I would be grateful if someone can suggest a nice area to rent a house/flat please. The place needs to be close to Vancouver General Hospital and University of British Columbia hospital.

2. Would be nice to have a school close by for my son. Not sure how the school system works in BC. Will my son get a place in a government run school as we are moving end of December and would like him to start school from January? Will this be mid-term and hence we would have missed the admission deadlines?

3. If we land end of December and register for health care plan, our understanding is from 1st Mar we will be eligible for state health care. Is this correct? Is this like NHS or do we pay monthly insurance. The job does not offer any health care benefits.

Sorry for so many questions and thank you in advance.

Anywhere between the two hospitals. This is an established residential area and considered very desirable. Not cheap though. Try Kitsilano (Kits).

Schools in this area are good. Your son will be eligible to enroll in the local government run school. Confusingly, they are called public schools here. If the local school is full the School Board will find a place at the nearest school with space. Most schools operate on a semester system and the second semester starts in the middle of January.

Oops - missed the bit about him being only 4. He will be able to enrol in kindergarden next September.

The MSP premium is $133 a month for a family. The coverage is broadly equivalent to the NHS except it does not cover prescription drugs, paramedic care or dentistry. If your husband's job does not offer extended health benefits you can buy private insurance to cover these. Not usually worth it IMO.

Hi and welcome to BE!

I am sure you will get lots of replies but in the meantime, you can have a quick read over these websites:

1) Have a look on padmapper as well as people's recommendations - they have maps and pictures of the area - you could also look on google earth
2) Your son will not start school until he is a rising 5 in BC http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/early_learning/fdk/ and http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/early_learning/fdk/qa.htm#q7
3) I would be reluctant to take a job that doesn't offer some form of health care benefits. Health care in Canada covers things like seeing the doctor and admission / care in hospitals; it doesn't cover medication, glasses, dentistry. You can read about BC Healthcare here: http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/insurance/bcresidents.html

I am not sure I would go that far. If they are only here for a year they can get their UK dentist to fix everything before they get here. A 6 month clean and checkup will cost them $150 - $200 each.

If they have an ongoing need for prescription drugs this might be an issue. UK doctors seem to be reluctant to prescribe more that 3 months supply. In this case they should find out what the drugs will cost here. Otherwise, if they are generally healthy, this might be a risk well worth taking.

Sorry if we pay MSP premium from when we arrive, are we covered immediately or will the cover start only after 2 full months of our stay in Canada? So do we need to arrange some other health insurance for the first 2 months?

Thank you very much for the reply. I was looking for some playschool/nursery for my son.

Yeah not taking the job is not an option and as you mentioned it is only for a year and we will be back to UK. No dental or medical problems so may be able to get away with the prescription bit. Just expecting a second baby in March end, but hopefully the health insurance will cover it isn't it?

You are covered after the balance of the month you arrive+2 succeeding months. Arrive (and register for MSP) December, covered from March 1. You get billed for each month as soon as you register.

MSP will cover you pregnancy from March 1, up to then you would have to pay for any treatment yourself, so if it comes early, it is on your dime, or private insurer if you can get coverage.

Furnished rental accommodation is hard to find and expensive. Try putting "vacation rental vancouver' in google and follow the links.

I agree about not signing a 12 month contract without seeing a place in the flesh. Some landlords have remarkable imaginations.

There are childcare and pre-school options. They are all private. Montesorri schools spring to mind but this is not something I know much about.

preschool will be easier to get than childcare. Good childcare is hard to find and hard to get into.

All that effort for a 1 year job sounds kind of crazy, uprooting your whole family for that doesn't make sense to me. Vancouver is an expensive place and you may spend a lot of money getting adjusted and settled, and this could leave you in a bad situation financially. Not having benefits with a family can cost a lot of money as well. If you decide to continue to stay here with another contract that might make it a bit more worthwhile.

The biggest thing is going to be your budget. If you plan to rent a home, take a look on craigslist to get an idea on how much this will cost. Furnished is rare, but you can get a lot of cheap furniture at ikea and on craigslist as well.

I've heard stories of employers in Vancouver offering similar things to people from other cities in Canada, and when people weigh in the additional costs involved, many turn it down, so it makes sense they're now looking overseas. I would definitely advise caution and fully costing out everything before you make the decision.

Or you could just treat it as an adventure and experience living a different way of life for a year and enjoying exciting new perspectives.

Thank you for your helpful reply.

Thank you so much for all your replies. I did look up a few preschools and montesorri after seeing your post near 'kits'. Most of them have a waiting list already. However my son can stay at home with me for first few weeks and hopefully once we are there I can personally go see a few close to where we live.

Thank you. Yes looking for pre schools.