sparkling_gal

Have agreed to take kids on two week reccy to make sure they would actually like living in Canada. Is it worth visiting more than one province?

After a lot of research, we really like the look of Vancouver. DD12 is convinced that Vancouver is the only place worth visiting, even though she keeps changing her mind about whether she actually wants to emigrate. But she like the sea and she is a huge Twilight fan - so they're probably her main motivators.

DS15 doesn't want to go to Canada and leave his girlfriend but he thinks we should look round more than one place. He asked if we could look round all the most popular areas but that would take forever, so we need to narrow it down.

He says he prefers lakes (but I have a feeling that is because his sister prefers the sea more than anything). And he wants to be somewhere with plenty skateboarding parks and a place to learn snowboarding in the winter. Also, we need to be somewhere with close access to rock concerts etc.

I don't know whether to try to fit in Toronto and Vancouver in one trip, or just concentrate on British Columbia and hope they will like it. Would two different places be too much in one trip? I will probably need to take them out of school so I'm trying to limit it to 2 to 2 and a half weeks.

And will a reccy trip really help to persuade reluctant kids, or will they just treat it as a holiday?

mandymoochops

Is Alberta / Calgary out of the question?

I'm not sure about skateboard parks but it crosses off everything else on your list - and is certainly within driving distance to pretty much everything a child would ever want to do.

And then its only next door to BC so not too much hassle for you guys either

linz3112

Have just googled it and there are 4 skate parks in Calgary alone and i'm sure Okotoks has one too.....

Lord Vader

Nova Scotia has both the sea and lakes and a skateboard teenage culture.

Almost Canadian

Calgary has the largest free skateboard park in North America - Shaw Millennium Skatepark

el_richo

I'd fly in to Vancouver and out of Calgary. Do some reccying from one to the other. The drive through the Rockies usually impresses somewhat.

dboy

Calgary and Vancouver certainly hit your wish list, more so in Vancouver as there is the sea and you would be very close to the north shore mountains.

It may come down to where you can afford and employment opportunities. A family of four will need a greater income than Calgary.

As I'm sure you're aware, housing costs in Metro Vancouver are very high. Vancouver's west side you'd be looking at well over a million for something decent and a decent detached in the burbs would be around 600,000 - 700,000 bucks.

tracys

We took our children on an RV trip through the rockies, flying in Calgary and out of Vancouver. We all fell in love with the place and it was a holiday not a recce.
We went in May didn't want to come home and by December had made up our minds to emigrate!

Two further trips, (proper recces this time) to Vancouver Island and Nova Scotia helped us to get a clearer picture of where we wanted to settle.

My advice, if you are only doing one trip before you land with PR do lots of research on the areas you have in mind and then concentrate on the one or two if possible, that you feel suits your family best.

Make appointments with local real estate agents to have a look at some property if you can, size of bedrooms swung it with my youngest Very easily pleased obviously!

Try to meet with relocation agents too if you can, for BC you could contact relocate2bc.com and for NS uk2novascotia.com both really helpful and I'm sure there are some for Alberta too.

Good luck, my children didn't take much convincing and 4 years down the line are as eager to emigrate a sever,

Tracy

Alan2005

If you are on a 'recce' the primary goal should be finding somewhere you will have an income.

Vancouver is great, but I wouldn't want to be here without a decent job. Family of four? You'll be wanting at least $100k to have a lifestyle that is worth emigrating for (imo, ymmv etc)

sparkling_gal

Hi Mandy - I like the sounds of Calgary. The only thing I'm worried about is the winter weather - it was freezing over here in the UK recently. But people do say it feels warmer cos the air is drier, so maybe we would cope.

Hi Dboy - I checked out the areas in North Burnaby you recommended and they were very nice. As you say, the house prices are v high - especially for someone coming from the North of England. But the rental prices seem ok and we don't plan to buy for a couple of years.

Are living costs really a lot more in Vancouver than Calgary. I know you pay the extra tax on stuff you buy but I checked the tax planner and the taxes on wages - up to a certain point, seems lower in BC. What other things, aside from wine would cost more in BC?

Hi Alan - OH is planning to go to college then join the police. I will probably work until I get a feel for the area, then start another business. So, I guess our income will be similar, whichever city we choose, after the first couple of years.

By the way - what is "ymmv"?

Alan2005

your mileage may vary

sparkling_gal

From the workings out I've done so far, your figure would probably be about right for us. Might have to start making my own wine though. Can you buy it cheaper if you go over to the wineries in places like Kelowna?

Alan2005

Possibly, but it's a nearly 500 mile round trip from Vancouver.

JonboyE

You are right - sales tax is higher in BC but income tax lower for all expect the people who don't have to worry too much about day to day living expenses. Also, you have health care premiums at a touch over $100 per month per family in BC but not in Alberta.

I have not lived in Calgary so I cant speak to the cost of living, although I doubt it is that much of a difference. A much better plan is to visit both cities and decide which one you like best (and which one you can get work in).


If you are renting $100,000 pa is plenty money in my opinion, but of course it all depends on what you want to spend you money on.

The Okanagan wineries are not any cheaper than the Liquor stores. I think (but am not sure) that the Liquor Board sets minimum retail prices across the province. It is still a lot of fun visiting the wineries. You can get very ... er ... relaxed after a days (mostly free) tastings.

dboy

I'm also from the north of england... Cost of living beyond owning his somewhat higher here, though I doubt it's that significant. Renting is a tad higher than calgary and no sales tax means lower prices on some purchases. End of the day, cost of living in Vancouver is not much different than living in rented digs in Manchester (and the views much nicer!)- it's owning property that's the killer here. Actually, compared to how expensive real estate is, renting is a bargain.

Beyond booze and car insurance, I doubt there's much of a difference in cost of living, although you do save a bit on some purchases due to less tax. Colder climate though likely means higher heating costs, so overall probably not that much more expensive in BC. It's housing that's the big one. Other than that, I am not aware of people going for cheaper cost of living in Alberta.

you can still get a decent bottle of plonk for around 10 bucks, so unless one tipples all the time, it's not a big deal as far as I'm concerned. Plus other things are cheaper, like eating out, so at least there's some balance. I used to find boozing was like central London prices, but now with the rate of exchange being what it is, it's probably a fair bit higher.

If your OH needs any tips on law enforcement, I can give him some tips.

good luck