Originally Posted by Grimnorth

Once we arrived it took quite a while to get used to it. Canada is deceptive, it is a G8 country and very close in culture to the UK but in many ways it is backward. Employment is a good one. Getting even a foot in the door can be very difficult so well done to your wife. We do not really notice in the UK but we are omnicompetent in many work areas and have obtained the qualifications or training to go with it. Many people here are in senior positions because of nepotism, not qualification. It makes it difficult in recruiting and in progressing. Roles which are done by one person in the UK are spread over a dozen here. Initially it is daunting but it has a benefit in that once you are in a position it does not take a lot of effort to shine.

Originally Posted by Siouxie

You don't have to use an agent to transport the dog TO Canada unless it's oversized... apart from on BA
https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Transporting_Pets-Canada
Many airlines don't have direct flights during the winter months -

Air Transat - their flights from the UK are currently suspended - but they offer a free change / refund if you book by April 30th.
They have limited direct flights in June to Calgary : https://bookings.airtransat.com/ts-n...&pos=TS-B2C-GB
Pets, fee: https://www.airtransat.com/en-GB/Tra...d-service-dogs (if it's small enough you can take it in the cabin!)

Air Canada have direct flights in May onwards but limited dates: https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/...ance/pets.html
You don't have to use an agent on flight TO Canada

Westjet have direct flights from May onwards.. https://www.westjet.com/en-ca/book-t...don-to-calgary but they don't accept pets from LGW
https://www.westjet.com/en-ca/travel-info/pets

British Airways require you to use their agent
.

Originally Posted by AJ_2021

Hi all, I need a bit of help!

We gained PR cards some time back but delayed a move once because of illness in the family and then covid hit. We have waited as long as possible but really needed to get a move on to ensure that PR would be retained with a healthy balance of days in country, so my wife started applying for roles.

She had been with her company for years and years. She was part of the furniture and well respected and knew the business inside out. She had risen up 'the ranks' and held her in high regard on a reasonable salary. She had reached a bit of a ceiling and and she hoped that Canada (Alberta) would allow her to further herself. We'd spent a lot of time over there over the past few years and felt like it would be a good opportunity. She had two offers for two very good roles in the same week (there isnt even two job like hers being advertised in 40 miles of where we currently live - let alone job offers). She bit the bullet and accepted one.

We got very excited and I put in for a career break with my government role as a safety blanket. Due to the position i'm in I have had to give 3 months notice, so my brave wife packed her bags and headed off to her new role she had selected as the most appropriate. She is now in a house she is renting and I am sorting out the house for rental over here and am on the remainder of my leave before my career break commences.

However, we have now hit a bit of a roadblock:
1.) MY JOB: My career break was authorised but is very restricted. I can work but on limited hours and can also complete education in a related field. If I go against any of the 'dont's' (ie. working more than 16 hours) I could find myself returning with the career break and find myself being dismissed. This is concerning both of us as Canada is not a cheap place to live in our standards - jobs are going to be hard for me to find. I have a responsible job and working in a casual role will not be for me and I feel that this very much puts a dampener on things. I could just jack in the the role, but this is a huge risk as it's quite a specialist field and the skills are no longer very transferrable (emergency services) in Canada - especially due to whats happened with the economy - I have already applied for similar roles to no joy in Canada which makes me worry.
2.) THE DOG: We have a dog and have had an updated quote to bring him with us. The quote is for an indirect flight and is more than £2600! This is more than double/ possibly triple what it was when we last quoted just prior to covid. We are really worried about the indirect flight also.
3.) HOUSING: We have a nice house over here in a very safe and quiet area, our mortgage is low. We are paying a higher price for a townhouse over in Canada and my wife hates it. It's noisy, big trucks are flying up and down the road Alberta style and she feels very homesick. It also doesnt help that spring has sprung in the UK, unlike in Alberta.
4.) HER ROLE: My wife is not particularly enjoying her role. She finds that it is no where near as good as her old role and she is constantly worrying about her being let go and the lack of job security.
5.) TENANTS: We have potential tenants lined up but they want to sign up to a 12 month lease. If I go over on the restricted career break and my wife continues to hate it, I can see a problem with coming back - not having two full incomes also puts pressure on us and our savings if we needed to fork out anything for the house here.

We are now really starting to struggle to see any positive of the move and we are now at a turning point. She either comes home, cap in hand and asks for her old job back while she still can as they have not yet recruited a replacement, I cancel my career break and we live a happy life knowing that it wasnt meant to me....Or we push ahead with plans, get tenants in and just go for it.

I have thought that her worries are likely because she is on her own and in a new country and in a new role, but we are taking such a risk here - its hard to seperate emotions from logic.

The grass is always greener, coming back I know she will feel humiliated, but it is the safest option. She regrets ever trying for it and covid has really messed up our plans and made everything a lot more complex.

Anyone else experience these problems when moving over? Did anyone push through and came out the other side? Or are the concerns rationale and should we just bin the whole idea whilst we still can?!