I have spent more than my share of hours this last weekend on this site, and have found it to be very useful, good fun and amusing.

However, i have my own dilemma. First Canada, then Oz, now canada - again.
Vancouver Island really appeals and was originally looking at Victoria, though think the price range is a bit above budget at the mo. Would rather have cheaper accommodation and money in the pocket.

OH and myself are 41 this year, 2 girls approaching 3 and 6 years. Carpenter by trade but runs and operates own building co.

Where do we go? Have looked at Cowichan Bay? Cobble Hill (maybe too quite tho?)

Dont want to be huge distance from Victoria so can easily get to for days out etc and commuting. At the same time not too rural, but with good schools and plenty going to keep us busy at the weekends !

Also, weather? What are is best for sunnier days and less rain?

Dont want much do I !!!?

Any advise, tips, suggestions etc would be very much appreciated. Its so nice to hear peoples experiences and opinions and knowledge first hand!

Many thanks

First things first, have you refered to CIC and checked if you 'qualify' to come as a skilled worker (or whatever they are now calling it). If not are you sure you could get a TWP for the Island?

Secondly I presume you have scoured the old wiki? (hidden in the blue tool bar) If you have , if you havent its an excellent place to start.

Lot of the same questions and alot of the same issues ...

I've found the people on BE really helpful - if it helps bring you up to speed see the following thread http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=603715

Hi Lois1,

We live in Cobble Hill and it is around 40 minutes to Victoria and 50 minutes to Nanaimo so both easy to get to. It is a more rural area, part of the reason we chose it, but there are lots of people living here and good facilities around. Our kids go to different secondary schools by choice, one at Frances Kelsey school in Mill Bay (more drama/arts school) the other Cowichan school in Duncan (more sporty school). The Cowichan region runs from Mill Bay to Ladysmith and this website may give you more details and information http://www.cvrd.bc.ca/index.aspx?NID=260 Hope this helps.

Excuse my ignorance but what is TWP? As far as i am aware he would come under the skilled worker category. I am in the process of trying to speak with an agent to gain more insight. Always a little bit paranoid though! A friend of ours used an agent for oz (based in Amsterdam for some reason??) and 3 years later and £15K down he got his visa!

WHY pay someone all that money when the info is on this site and facebook

TWP stands for Temp work permit that you will need to work in the country, to get this you must get a job offer, the employer has to apply for LMO (labour market option) and if possable you collect your work permit up at the airport on the way in, unless you fall into another group, which you dont looking at your hubbys skills

Like many others have found on this site, you may fall for one area, but like the uk, canada is getting hit in all trades, carpentry is one that is getting hit as well, so unless a company has been advertising for 2 weeks plus and cant find anyone local to fill the job, outside workers are not looked at.

Look at the wiki above like butch advised, honestly there is loads of info there, i spoke with a building company today regarding jobs as houses are still being built and sold here, they advised although not really taking on, they are still looking for good guys........
If you can network, best form of getting a job

LB

Agree with everything my fine friend said.
Consultant=waste of money.
I doubt that your hubby will qualify as a skilled worker (one of the 32 occupations) and I doubt you will get a TWP to go to the Island BUT I could well be mistaken.

Might be too far up the island for you but there is plenty to do here http://www.nanaimoinformation.com/ Plus there is a fair choice of elementary schools (33, I think) http://www.sd68.bc.ca/
Cowichan & Cobble hill were too small for us but our kids were mid teens when we arrived & I didn't want to set us up to fail by picking somewhere too quiet. It's all relative though, if we'd have moved from somewhere smaller & quieter than Bristol, those places would have probably been great

I don't find the rain a problem, the seasons are very distinct here, more rain but less snow in the winter, wetish spring brings lush greenery so a trade-off I suppose lovely long summers/autumns IMHO

Victoria is 90 mins away so no problem for day trips but a pain in the butt every day ...... as my OH will tell you
Airport & 2 ferry terminals on the doorstep if you need them ~ handy when people visit.

FWIW my brother got the emmigrating 'bug' from us when we started looking ~ he now lives in Adelaide & absolutely loves it!! Different strokes for different folks etc etc ..........

And the 5-8k that you would spend on a consultant, why not spend on a good recci trip and meet the employers face to face
We did that and OH walked out with 6 job offers, ok that was last year, but you know what, even though i would never have looked alberta it has worked out brilliant for us.............

Yeah the winter are BAD, but dont hide away and you will be fine, i left behind loads of rain in the uk and swopped it for snow, but the locals around here are brilliant and i wouldnt be anywhere else
If at first you dont get the area of your dreams, try something different

Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades is on "The List" so the OP's OH might qualify as a skilled worker.

Yeah checked yesterday and he does appear to be on the list, which is a start i guess!

Did anyone use an agent ? I work part time nights and with 2 young kids thought it may make my life easier, though as mentioned it may be better to save the pennies and spend it on a visit instead.

Also, one more thing, when/if the visa is issued how long is it valid for?

Thanks

Hi Lois.

You really need to read the Wiki (on blue bar at top of page) to understand the visa process a bit better.

If your husband qualifies as a Skilled Worker (i.e. has a job on 'the list' plus minimum 67 points, no criminal record, proof of funds, passes the medical etc) then you would all get Permanent Resident visas. Meaning they are permanent as long as you keep up your residency requirements (2 year out of every 5 in Canada as a minimum). And you'd have all the rights of a PR - much better than going on a TWP if you can.

And few people on here use a consultant for a straightforward application - why don't you download the forms and guide from the CIC website so you can see exactly what you'd have to do? Then you can make a decision as to whether it's worth it or not. One thing to bear in mind is that although a consultant would fill in the forms for you, that is only a tiny part of the work - all of the document gathering (i.e. job proof, qualifications, etc) you'd have to do yourself anyway. And lastly, if you do decide to use somebody to help you with it then make sure they are a CSIC registered consultant.

Hope that helps a bit.

Thanks for that, have had a quick look at the site for Nanaimoin, it seem vast in comparison to Cowichan Bay?! What area do you live in and why did you choose that particular area?

Any recommendations for a particular area with younger children, ideally not too far from a mall and water !

On first glance think it may suit us more than the quieter Cowichan bay, only think that puts me off is the distance to victoria if OH did have to commute


Thanks

Hi Lois1

I know I'm repeating myself here but if you do decide to do a recce here don't make decisions based on the drive up the old island highway, otherwise you may just think 'ugh, ugly little mill town' (as I did ) & not see the better bits!!

Not too vast for us, approx 80,000 at the mo, it was mid 70's when we arrived 3 & half years ago. There were about 500,000 in Brizzle & to be honest, this place still feels small to me

IMHO there is quite a north/south divide in Nanaimo, the south has more 'heritage' type, older homes .... seems pretty community spirited but wasn't for us . We live in the north part of the Jinglepot area which is an area we did no research on, partly coz I didn't want to live somewhere with such a silly name!! It's 4k to the Woodgrove centre http://woodgrove.shopping.ca/cambrid...jsp?mallid=woo which is at the very north end of Nanaimo ..... also it's 5 mins (in the car) to the beach & close enough that we walk our mutt there, or on the Parkway trail, daily .

Being from the city, when we got here we wanted to live in the Hammond Bay area & see the ocean but we rented for 4 months in Jinglepot & totally changed our minds ..... this was the best thing we could have done because it gave us time to really get to know where we wanted to be ~ it's pretty rural here although we are on a sub-division, but 5 mins from everything ~ I like the fact that we can watch the seasons change almost weekly as we are surrounded by trees & Mt Benson ....... less greenery nearer the ocean so as not to obstruct the lovely views

There are many elementary schools here (I've worked in most of them!) & people don't seem to flock to an area for the school as they can do in the UK, we had 2 schools in mind when we arrived & the kids made the final decision (with us) based on the subjects offered & the 'feel' of the place

Driving to Victoria is a pain for my OH but he's hoping to eventually find a decent job closer to home but within VIHA (the health authority)

The commute, the settling in, the 'people' sickness etc has been really tough & although I don't absolutely love it here I'm beginning to find myself 'in like' with it

Good luck, whatever you decide.