dinger24

Many thanks Poppy2 I will give that a wee try then!

chumley

dinger read my postsyou will be fine!!!

dinger24

Cheers - I will have a wee check of them the now - thanks!

amardan

Thanks Yogi I must admit I do feel alot better now! However, there are still some days where I feel that bit of a wobbler but then I go out and look at the view and the mountains and all the negativity just washes away. Yes my husband did pass his Red Seal and that was a sacrifice in itself. As we decided as a family that the only way we would be able to get into Canada is with him taking a job that came up on the oilsands and for me to stay in the UK with the children. Luckily, the job only became 8 weeks in the end not the 2 years that was initially offered. So he worked in Fort Mac and cocooned himself in his room and studied like crazy with the materials that he invested in and took with him. It definitely paid off as he passed and was offered a position in Calgary. I wish you all the luck and if you need any advice re the exam please feel free to pm me.

Take care

Rachel

jimmydean

mmm analysis of all the above comments lead me to believe that research is required on a cheese and chicken importation business when (if) I get to NS.....seems like there could be money to be made

dinger24

Yes I can see what your saying but surely it will be as exspensive to the buyer after covering your costs of importing. However if there is a gap in the market locally then you could be on a winner!

Yogi-Bear

Hi Rachael,

Wow! Fort Mac, I've heard some crazy stories about tough working conditons there - as in FREEZING!!!

Poor chap, but at least he's doing ok now by the sound of it. Well we're due in Calgary the middle of Jan 09, and needless to say we're excited as you can imagine.

Next time you're feeling down, we'll swap with you, I'm sure a day in the UK will refresh your memory of what you're missing!

A guy who sub-contracts to me sent in his paperwork for AAIT approval, they said they weren't happy due to the hours and experience, so they've asked him to fly to the AAIT in Calgary for an interview for the Red Seal.

He fly's out tomorrow and the interview is on Tuesday. I have filed my application and received approval for the test so I just need to let them know when we land. I then have 180 days to sit the test etc...

I'll have a think, and a look through my 2006 regs book and PM you if that's ok?

All the best,

Y

Yogi-Bear

I'll go in with you Jimmy, I'll import the Bud

dinger24

Ok this sounds more like a party in which case I ave some hats from last years crackers and a couple of the whiste blowing thingy majikys!

Yogi-Bear

Sounds good dinger. Let's do it, I can bring some cd's the "now hits compilation 624 edition"

Y

markw97

Well this thread has been entertaining to say the least. Having lived in NS for 18 months my experience of monthly income v expenditure is that it is virtually impossible to advice someone on "how much is enough".
All i know is that as a family of 4 we live on $3k a month with some left over for savings. Is that enough for others ,who can say depends what you eat, car you drive, ciggies you smoke etc.
On subject of food we are doing the tom and barbara thing having also lived this way for many years in the uk. We raise our own chicken, beef, pork, lamb and veggies as a lifestyle choice not to save money as the cost of feed makes profits small. to sum it up its down to individual choice my experience is that most people are extremely lazy when it comes to food. I can knock up home made pizza in 30 mins at minimal cost, most people i know in UK and here have never made a pizza prefering take aways or frozen crap from SM. When you extend this to all aspects of life it tends to boil down to the fact that people cant be arsed, its easier to buy than produce wood, food, wine, beer,apple juice etc etc.

BristolUK

We're four. To date we have managed comfortably on around $21k pa (mortgage free).

We don't do Tom and Barbara. What we do 'do' is targeted shopping with the aid of the flyers. Yesterday I bought Top Sirloin Grilling steak @ $3.22 a lb from Sobeys. I stocked up. On the way home (cycling) I called in at the Co-Op where I bought todays roast beef. Another one from the flyer, It cost $6. It will do the four of us and the leftovers will magically turn into a nice beef curry.

jimmydean

Its early on Sunday morning and was re reading some of threads I had looked at before.

I have just read this one through in full.......and realised this one deserves an award...
........I have sent it as a script to Jimmy Carr......he may be in touch with everyone re rights.

shelley748

if its any consolation- chickens expensive everywhere in my opinion- which is crazy.

We moved to Ottawa in 2002 from the UK- hubby was in High Tech and we moved right at the time the bubble burst. He was'nt able to find work in his field, I did a cashiering job for $10 an hour until I could get back into banking- we had no mtg at the time- he started a handyman business ( has a degree in Microelectronics and Computing). We then stuck it our for 4 years and got our CDN citizenship. Then we decided in 2007 to move to USA and buy business- right before global economic crunch!! Hubby says he has the kiss of death!!

Now we are back -( this time with a mtg)- from the USA and are trying once again to establish ourselves.

One thing about Brits- we keep a stiff upper lip and plod on...

Coming to Canada is NOT a breeze- getting a job is about WHO you know, not what you know...

If you do your research properly you should have no surprises- check out prices thoroughly for car insurance, hydro etc...

car insurance- we got ours via a broker- she sent our letters of experience from the UK to ING Insurance and they allowed us an extra 4 years on Canadian experience - you just have to shop around.