My husband and I are in the early stages of considering a move and I have lots of questions(!) so I'm just going to reel them off and if anyone can help with any of them I'd be very grateful.


[*]I'm currently a Head of Reigious Education in a Catholic secondary school in UK, am I being completely unrealistic in thinking I could get a job over there at a similar level?
[*]How do teaching wages compare over there. I'm on about 40k at the moment, would I be looking at a sizeable paycut?
[*]My husband is a Senior Housing Officer for the council of a London borough - would he have to look at a complete change of career or are there some similarities in the two systems???
[*]As residency applications take so long, is there a realistic chance (taking in to account our jobs) we could try and secure employment in our fields beforehand to speed things up?
[*]Would people recommend keeping your UK property and renting it out, and renting in Canada initially?
[*]Is there anywhere I can get a list of the jobs shortages in each province?
[*]My mother who is 67 would also be coming with us, anything we need to specifically consider there? I heard something about a reduction in her pension?
[*]What is the best area of Canada for hot summers but winters that aren't too unbearable. Toronto initially appealed to us but we keep hearing horror stories about the winters.



Well that's all I can think of at the moment. Sorry they are so random, but I'd be grateful for any input!

Thanks

Not a completely straightforward case I would have thought, you have your work cut out. However, you are in the right place to get good advice. The best thing would be to do the research on the links I have given you and on here, read through the WIKI (link on the blue tab at the top of the page) and use the search facility to get a overview. If you have specific questions after that post on the immigration forum where the experts hang out.

Anyway, welcome to BE and good luck with your plans.

hello and welcome - you should find all the stuff you need on here - - -some where!!

Yes, you are being completely unrealistic if you think you can get an equivalent position right away. But destinationnovascotia already has put you onto the Wiki article about Teaching in Canada, so you probably know that by now.

I assume the 40K you mentioned was in British pounds. I don't know about other Canadian cities but, if you were coming to Calgary, you could expect to earn a salary that was not far off your UK one (say, roughly, C$70K). But that would be after you'd spent time getting your foot in the door.

Whether or not there would be an equivalent position in Canada would depend on the municipality to which you moved.

Speaking for Calgary, there is nothing like the stock of publicly owned and maintained accommodation that there is in the UK. I don't believe your husband would be able to find an equivalent job in this city.

I very much doubt it. I say that because people in your occupations are not in short supply, as far as I know.

Members of this forum have taken a variety of approaches to their UK houses. Some members have sold them right away, and others initially have rented them out. There are pros and cons to each approach.

I certainly do recommend renting for a year or so when you first get to Canada, so you can get to know the neighbourhoods in your city, ascertain that you've chosen the right city, and so on.

See the Wiki article called Labour Shortages.

I very much doubt that you'll be able to bring your mother with you. When you apply to move to Canada, either on a temporary work permit or as a permanent resident, you may bring with you only your spouse or common-law partner and the dependent children of either or both of you. Please see page 18 of the Guide to Application for Permanent Residence. Once you're a permanent resident of Canada, you could sponsor your mother's application for permanent residence, but that process takes about five years. See the Wiki article called Retiring in Canada.

British pensions that are paid to Canada are not indexed to inflation, but I think this may be a moot point in your mother's case.

British Columbia's Okanagan Valley may appeal to you. The area has a true 4-season climate, with very hot summers and winters that, while they come with some snow, are milder than the winters in most areas of Canada.

If you like winters like those that the UK gets (but with more rain in winter), you might like the Lower Mainland around Vancouver. The southeast part of Vancouver Island has the same grey winters that Vancouver gets, but less actual rainfall than Vancouver.

I suggest you also read Quick Guide to Canadian Immigration and Quick Job Hunting Instructions.

Hope that helps.
x

Just wanted to say hi.

i think judy answered everything you need

Just wanted to pop on and say HI

Gill

Thanks for your responses. Looks like this is going to be a lot harder than we thought!!
With regard to my mother, if she went to Canada for a holiday and was permitted to stay up to 6 months, how soon after returning to UK would she be allowed back into Canada again. Just wondering if there were restrictions otherwise it wouldn't be too much of a problem as she'd probably hope to be back and forward between the two countries anyway.

Thanks

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question. You'd be better off asking it on the Immigration Forum.

One thing that I do know you'll have to consider is the cost of medical insurance while your mother is visiting in Canada. As a visitor she won't be eligible for provincial health care insurance. I'm not saying that's an insurmountable problem. I'm just saying you should be aware of it.
x