Hi guys

Looking for some islanders (& indeed anyone who has moved Uk to CA) for some help

Myself, my wife and our 2 year old Daughter have gotten our PR visa's and are heading to PE at the end of May - NO recce, No contacts no nothing - just grabbing our bags & going.

We been in touch with the very helpful immigration dept. and they have pointed us in the right direction but obviously there is only so much they can do.

Our big tool has been the net but again there is only so much information you can garner from pages & forums.

We are currently trying to get sorted for accomodation & have been put in touch with some letting agents etc. but feel that some of the prices are a bit out of our budget for what we are looking for - The summer season and the games are not helping matters

We have tried the likes of BSTPEI & Kijiji but with very little success from this side of the pond

Ideally we're looking for something close to Ch'town with 2+ bedrooms, furnished with all amenities included (unless anyone can guide us through establishing contracts for amenities while renting on a short to medium term basis). short/medium/yearly leases have/will be considered.

Also if anyone has a job, car, furniture, place on a football(soccer) team they wish to give/loan/sell us all will be gratefully recieved

I guess we are just making that step into the unknown like many of you guys have done and are just looking for folks to share their experiences. We've got so many questions about housing, banking, bills, utilities, healthcare, Insurance etc. etc. that we are going crossed eyed just thinking about it

Thanks

Andy

You could try contacting the PEI Newcomers Association, (www.peianc.com) they are very helpful and could help answer some of your questions re: healthcare etc. May even be able to help put you on the right track to finding employment although not 100% sure on that one.

Also don't know if you know about it already, but you will have to visit your nearest Access PEI once you arrive to sort out your healthcard, driving licence etc. www.gov.pe.ca/accesspei/index.php3

Good luck with everything Unfortunately a lot of the things you are asking about will have to be sorted once you get here.

Hi Andy,

I remember the feeling well, arriving in a strange country with no keys in my pocket and no clue as to where to start...

There is lots of prep that you can do before you get here, although purplemoose is right saying that most will have to be done when you arrive.

Our landing went pretty smoothly, so I hope this info will help :-

Rentals : You can email realtors in your search for a rental. Specify you need heat included. They may not respond ( I emailed about 10 and got 1 response, which was enough I suppose!)

Sites to check out are:

http://pe.rentershotline.ca/rent/house

and don't ignore the local rag classified ads:

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/

The Newcomers Association will also be able to help you with this - contact them before you arrive.

www.peianc.com

They are full of lots of useful information.

If you are planning on city living then you will find Charlottetown pricey - but we live in the country (Canoe Cove) and it only takes me 20 minutes to get to Charlottetown, so check out anywhere within a 20km radius.

Used cars are easy to find as long as you have ready cash - remember you will have no credit status when you arrive.

When we got here we rented a car from Discount Motors who were pretty reasonable. You'll find you will need a credit card - not that I am suggesting that you don't cancel your credit card until you are established here...

Don't forget your proof of no claims!

Don't forget to request a copy of your medical records from your GP - you may need them over here.

Have your resume ready (don't call it a CV!) and your references.

When you do get here :-

1. Set up a PO Box
2. Set up a bank account
3. Register for your PR card online (up to 4 weeks)
4. Register for your health card online (up to 6 weeks)
5. Register at Service Canada for your SIN (Social Insurance Number) - remember to do this for both of you - even if you're wife is not planning on working.
6. Surrender your driving licence for a Canadian one at Access PEI (your insurer will insist on this)

Hope this helps

PS There's plenty of Soccer teams over here - you'll be spoilt for choice...

Selling up and moving with no job? What area of work were you in?

I forgot to mention the site www.realtor.ca which is the old mls...not as user friendly as it once was, but hopefully useful.

not that I am suggesting that you don't cancel your credit card until you are established here...

I have seen another post on this site which stated that when the UK credit card company was given an offshore (Canada) change of address the credit card was immediately cancelled. Perhaps you should change address to a UK relative for onward forwarding to you, at least until you get settled and obtain a Canadian bank issued card.

That hasn't been my experience, but that's just my experience.

Probably depends on the issuer, my Barclaycard still works but my Access was cancelled after about ten years (and my failure to pay the renewal fee).

Thanks for all the responses

Geeebeeee you've made my day I thought I was gonna have to learn to skate
Lot of great information there

Thanks purplemoose - we've contacted the PEIANC and are making arrangements to pop in when we arrive to go over everything with them.

We've spent a lot of time getting everything sorted over this side of the pond that we've neglected what we have to do for PEI a little.

Bodger - Im currently working a Design Engineer in a building services consultancy firm enjoy the work but not the 11-12 hour days that come with it.

You're welcome... btw...if you are bringing beds over with you, do yourself a favour and go and buy lots of new bedding - the beds over here are not the same size and the linen is too big!

Just a thought!

Hi Clydey. I deleted my earlier post as I'd asked GB to have a look at it & she knows a lot more about these things than I do. However I looked at this firm because it has it's own website & they have a 2 bed apartment available,

http://www.hamblys.ca/rent_properties_det.asp?id=45

The rent seems reasonable & it is unfurnished. You can hire furniture here or, alternatively, there is secondhand stuff.

You will find the "newcomers" very helpful but, be warned, you can't just "pop in" anywhere here. Very friendly people who want to know all about you. Cultivate patience & laid back in the next few weeks before you arrive.

Incidentally, how are you getting from Halifax to the island?

Cheers Valerie

Hi All,

Were looking to be in PEI end of May and while reading the PEI Guardian online came accross the article I have attached to this posting.

Does anyone have any further info on this?

Also after gaining PNP sponsorship don't our PR applications go back to London and not Ottawa or am I missing something.

Cheers Dave

Sorry for the poor quality of the document but I captured it in Chunks from the online smart edition.

Hi Dave

The article is concerned with the PNP immigrant investment programme which ceased on the orders of the Federal government last year. In the run up to it's cessation, the province accepted over 2000 applicants for processing, mainly wealthy Chinese, and was the subject of an investigation by the provincial auditor. It remains a local scandal at the moment.

It does not apply to the PNP skilled worker programme or TWP.

Cheers Valerie

Thanks Valerie for the reply....panic over.

I know there was some issues with the investor programme and some protests recently about these investors not getting their money back after the 1yr period, just wish the article would have been a bit clearer and have stated that, or did I miss that bit while in PANIC reading mode.. (apart from the last 2 words..LOL)

Thanks Dave

Nothing is clear & we don't have the likes of Jeremy Paxton or John Humphries here. They have been charged legal fees of $140K. Local politicians or their spouses have been given investment money but we don't know who apart from 3 that were named this week. The money has already been taken from applicants & if they are not approved, what amount do they get returned to them?

Snouts in trough or what?