hh619

Hi,

I’ve got an opportunity to move to Canada and would like some help in making the right decision.

About me: 32 years old, working as an IT Contractor in the UK. Married with a 1-year old son. We’ve wanted to move to Canada for quite some time. My wife and I have been on numerous trips to BC and thoroughly enjoyed it. The reason for wanting to move is for a better quality of life. We totally understand that a holiday is not the same as doing the daily grind, but we feel the vastness and the beautiful outdoors will give us what we want out of life.

I’ve looked into PR previously, but after getting my High School education evaluated, I found out that it wasn’t the equivalent of a Canadian High School diploma. This obviously limited our options somewhat.

I decided to reach out to a company in Vancouver and after 2 successful interviews they’ve put forward a decent offer. The company looks amazing, they offer great benefits, work from home, flexible hours, etc. They have also hired international talent before and have an inhouse immigration lawyer. They have said they would apply under the BC tech pilot via the Skills Immigration stream.

The salary they are offering is $115k, with a $5k moving allowance. My UK salary is £110k, so I would be taking a pay cut. But after reading numerous threads, I see that’s quite normal. They offer bonus schemes, 15-20 days’ vacation, tons of discount programs... the list goes on.

A few questions:

1. With a family of 3 and within a commutable distance to downtown Vancouver, could we afford a 2-3 bed house on that salary? 40-50 mins max.

2. What is a salary matched RRSP and does it come out of your salary?

3. Does Extended medical, dental plan, life insurance, group MSP all come out of your salary? If so, what is the usual %?

4. BC PNP process will be the paper-based PR route. Is this still 18 months from start to finish?

5. They have given us around 3-4 months to our ducks in a row and move out. Does this sound feasible with a house to sell/rent, along with 2 cars to sell, etc.?

6. I’ve heard BC Car insurance is somewhat extortionate. If we can prove our no claims, what “finger in the air” price per month should we expect?

7. The company offer rental car and dealer discounts. How does leasing work in Canada? Do they offer short term leases? Is there a PCP equivalent?

8. We bank with HSBC and use their Premier account. They offer a "Credit history transfer" is this worth looking into?

Thanks for any feedback.

HH

christmasoompa

Hi, welcome to BE. I've edited your thread title, just so that those in Vancouver are more likely to see it and respond.

A quick forum search will bring up some relevant threads i.e. cost of car insurance in Vancouver etc, so worth doing that before those in BC wake up and can answer some of your other questions. Is the $5k moving allowance negotiable at all? That won't come close to covering your costs. And ditto the salary, not sure I'd want to take a salary cut if moving to Vancouver, although I guess it depends on where you live now i.e. if you live in central London then it's probably not going to be that different cost of living wise.

Those in the know will be along to help shortly I'm sure, best of luck to you.

hh619

Thanks! I will take a look now.

I wasn't expecting any allowance at all if i'm being honest. It was me who reached out to them afterall. It won't cover all of the costs, but it's better than nothing.

My current salary is likely to change in April 2020 due to new IR35 laws and would come down to circa £70-80k, so there wont be much in it.

We currently live in Birmingham so the cost of living is much cheaper than London.

dbd33

Would you move to a job in Camden Town for the money offered in Vancouver? Financially it makes no sense, you'd be moving to be poor, but people do it for the magic of the destination. My daughter in Vancouver loves it even though their $300/k household income gets them a small apartment, no car, and the kids are sick all the time from the relentless damp. Coming from the UK it would be an adventure and that might compensate for the lack of possessions and seeing the bus to the skiing go by and not being able to buy a ticket; not for me but, for romantic people, perhaps.

hh619

Way to piss on my parade! lol. I do appreciate honest replies though!

I wouldn't move to or near London, ever.

With the bonus (which has been given for the last 7 years), and supplemented by some rental income, that equates to circa $132k per year. The average household income in Vancouver is $72,665 according to google.

Rentals that i've seen zumper for 2/3 bed are around $2100 - $3000 in Tri-cities. According to various salary cals, monthly takehome without bonus and rental income would be $7,097. That leaves roughly $4,000. Surely that's enough? We don't live extravagent lives.

dbd33

Well, I'm not in Vancouver and everyone's needs and expectations are different, but I can't imagine a contract computer person here, southern Ontario, where rates are similar to those you quote, attempting to raise a child on one income. Granted though that here people tend to buy houses and there's a cost to that. I think that's less the case now in Vancouver.

Engineer_abroad

dbd33

I expect a jolly optimistic person will be along in a moment. In the meantime, think about this, Vancouver is a place lots of people find attractive; it's got ocean and mountains and a stoner mentality. Ontario is awash with computer people, whatever skill you need there's a plane load of them coming from Bangalore tomorrow and there are already hundreds who have used up all their H1B and TN time and are stuck in Canada. Why can't a firm in Vancouver attract someone who is already in the country?

hh619

Now thats sorted... thanks christmasoompa.

They've tried to fill the role for 6-7 months to no avail.

hh619

Thanks Engineer. Food for thought.

I will definitately ask about the moving allowance.

CanadaJimmy

1. With a family of 3 and within a commutable distance to downtown Vancouver, could we afford a 2-3 bed house on that salary? 40-50 mins max.
How much is your downpayment on the house? $115k will likely be able to get you around $600-$700k mortgage, enough to get your most of the way to a house in Surrey or Langley which are around $800k-$1.2mil+.

2. What is a salary matched RRSP and does it come out of your salary?
This is when the employer contributes to a retirement savings account (RRSP) for you, usually a % of your salary up to a maximum cap. The advantage is there is no additional income tax to pay at the end of the year for this benefit - the extra income from the company is nullified by the RRSP contribution amount. (e.g. Earn $1000, pay $200 to RRSP, at tax time you only pay income tax on $800). Downside is you pay taxes when you withdraw from the RRSP, as it is tax deferment.

3. Does Extended medical, dental plan, life insurance, group MSP all come out of your salary? If so, what is the usual %?
Really depends on the company. My company just pays it with no deductions. Other companies charge you over $100/mo. It really varies, you will have to find this out from them.

4. BC PNP process will be the paper-based PR route. Is this still 18 months from start to finish?
PR is usually about that long, but obviously processing times vary.

5. They have given us around 3-4 months to our ducks in a row and move out. Does this sound feasible with a house to sell/rent, along with 2 cars to sell, etc.?
Right now we're getting towards Christmas, so you need to get your home listed asap otherwise you will be looking at next year for selling it. Also depends on the housing market in your area, if it's moving along, then should be doable if you do a 30-50 day close on your house, and take your cars to a dealership instead of private sale, though you will likely get less money for your cars this way.

6. I’ve heard BC Car insurance is somewhat extortionate. If we can prove our no claims, what “finger in the air” price per month should we expect?
You will need to import your insurance history. You're looking at probably $100-$200 a month for basic insurance from ICBC, plus comprehensive which can be from ICBC or a third party, usually around another $50-$100 a month. So expect around $200 a month total per vehicle depending on your experience level.

7. The company offer rental car and dealer discounts. How does leasing work in Canada? Do they offer short term leases? Is there a PCP equivalent?
Vehicle leases are typically 5 years with a limit on the number of KMs you can drive per year.

8. We bank with HSBC and use their Premier account. They offer a "Credit history transfer" is this worth looking into?
I think there have been a few threads on this on the forum, so you might want to try searching the forums for that.

CanadaJimmy

Because there is a skill shortage, particularly in difficult IT work. What I have seen is that many born Canadians get work in easier tech areas, like Sales Force and Sharepoint where you earn developer salaries without so much time consuming hard work.

scilly

I wouldn't like to move to Vancouver as a family of 3 on a $115,000 income.

Yes, you might find houses that you can afford outside Vancouver itself, but people are having to move further and further out to find affordable housing that allows them to have some sort of life ................. and transit times of 1-2 hours are not unusual, always assuming that there are no traffic hold-ups.

Last Friday for example, 2 of the bridges over the Fraser River south from Vancouver to Richmond and suburbs south were both blocked by accidents at more or less the same time. It was 8 pm before traffic started moving smoothly again. People were taking 3 hours to get home ............... and every road north->south and east-> west in the area just north of the bridges was blocked as rat runners tried to get an advantage.

We live blocks away from those bridges, and I have not seen the streets round my house literally blocked with non-moving traffic in the 45+ years we've lived here.

Transit is not as good as you know it in the UK, although it is better than in many (if not most) North American cities, so you are likely to need 2 cars if you move out of the immediate Metro area, and then you might still be limited by the times that Skytrain or buses run.


Vancouver is a lovely place, and we have loved living here, would not move ............ BUT we bought our house a long time ago, and we now have only ourselves to support.

It's an unfortunate tale of the times, and due almost entirely to the geographical situation of Vancouver that it has now become so expensive.


BTW .............. it IS wet here, but by no means as wet as dbd indicates!!!

Snowy560

I think you should go for it and try it out. Otherwise, you will always be thinking "what if ...?"
Try to leave things in such a way so you could return if you didn't settle.

dbd33

otoh, and not specific to Vancouver, consider your friends and whether or not they matter to you. Some people are sociable, some don't care. Where did those friends come from? If it was the block where you grew up or some place you went to get educated, you won't be doing that again, so you won't meet replacement friends. If one of you works and one doesn't and the one who doesn't has a small child to tend to, that person might find it difficult to never know anyone socially again. And it'll be raining.