Riskin' it all!
 

Hi guys, I thought I would pop on and let you know about a very important decision my husband and I have made. We are thinking of selling our house after Christmas and thought why not chance it and use some of the equity from our home to go and live in Canada for a few months under a visitors VISA. Whilst we’re there we’ll have a hunt around for work. If it works out, great but if it doesn’t, at least we have gotten a nice long holiday and we will return to the UK and look for work here. We figured we have nothing to lose. The house is worth quite a lot now and if some of the money can be used to try to fulfil our dream of a life in Canada, it’s now or never! Plus our son is still at an age where he adapts to life changes quite easily. Wish us luck!

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Good luck with that.

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Well good luck, just be prepared for anything that might be thrown at you. With my departure date getting nearer, the prospect of leaving is becoming more real by the minute and the nerves have really set in. I mow realise that saying goodbye is not as easy as I thought it would be. Also, go to the dentist now and make sure you have no problems, I am now looking at a nice bill when I get there (wisdom tooth is now causing problems).

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Good Luck - nothing ventured nothing gained:thumbsup: Hope all goes well for you :)

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Good Luck, and all the best for your adventure, hope it all works out for you
guys.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

I think you'll need more than luck. Have a nice holiday though.

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Precisely! :D Plus hubby is a restaurant manager and we have hardly spent any time together these past few years so it is the perfect opportunity to have some quality time as a family away from it all, though I have no doubt our adventure will be hard work for 99.9% of the time. Weplan on hitting Nova Scotia first so hopefully you will be out there already by then and we could all finally meet!

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Good for you guys.....Sounds like great time together and it will certainly be fun!!!

Not sure of your other posts...Have you applied for any immigration status for Canada? Would it be worth your while to do so before you leave?

Good luck with the adventure!!
Lisa

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Where in Scotland are you from?

Not sure about work in Nova Scotia.

Lots of work in Alberta for Civil Engineers though.

Good Luck and have fun:thumbup:

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Good for you - hope it works out.

Just a word of warning, even if you get job offers the likelyhood of getting a work permit processed in only a few months is pretty low. So be prepared to fund a longer stay or return to the UK for a while.....

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Nova Scotia is fab!

Have a look at the Community Identified Stream. Might be worth meeting up with someone from the RDA when you over there. Nova Scotia is definitely looking for immigrants.

Getting work, an LMO etc. can take a few months but if you prepared to put in the hard work you could probably do it! We did. What type of work are you looking for?

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Bonkers

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

That's not very encouraging now is it!? :rofl:

Good Luck, I say! And a Happy New Year! :thumbsup:

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

How old is your son? If he is of school age had are you planning to pay for schooling? Provincial medical won't cover you and if you demonstrate plans to stay in Canada, travel insurance may not either.

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Encourage someone to risk it all? Not me.

If they can do it without selling their home and using the equity as funds that would be different.

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

I say go for it, if you can afford it and still have a decent safety net of savings left by the end of your extended holiday! :thumbsup:

From reading your earlier posts, your child is still a baby so very portable :lol: and adaptable. Both yours and your husband's careers are extremely marketable.

If you don't have cold sweats at the idea of dropping off the property ladder and both taking career breaks at the same time (to be honest, that would be my biggest concern in this economic climate...if it all goes pear shaped in Canada, how hard would it be to find jobs on your return?) then why not give it a go...?

Good luck :fingerscrossed:

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

You can't just move to Canada and start working...

It takes years for people to be able to immigrate.

Sounds fun though, good luck!

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

i think it is a stupid idea. unles you have some sort of work visa its not worth it. why throw away good jobs and equity from your house just to go to Canada on a visitor visa....if do go and get to the airport,the customs people are very difficult to get around and if they catch wind of what you are upto or similiar they can and will decline you entry or even give u less than 6 months entrance...then what position would you be in?!

people have done what you want to do and yes some have got visa's and permanent residence and some havnt,some stay and some come back,some hate it some love it....

i just think its bit silly really especially with a small baby...

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Goodluck with your decision, but what about just applying for PR from the UK? The new system is very quick - it only took us 7 months.

Poppit

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Wow, 7 months! That was quick. How did you manage that? What route did you go down? What work do you do?

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Hi

We went through FSW Cat 1 - we are both College Instructors, however, I don't think it has anything to do with our job titles. The new process is much quicker and we were very fortunate that we applied just after the new system came into force. Having said that, people that applied earlier this year are being processed quickly (e.g 6 months+).

Poppit

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

oh yay, this is good news to me! :thumbsup:
:fingerscrossed: ours is quick too. we could do with some good luck ;)

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

I'll keep everything crossed for you but I'm sure you will be fine.

Goodluck.

Poppit

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

thanks.
wow i just noticed that you're landing on the 19th! only one week to go - you must be so excited. good luck with the move and settling in. i hope it goes very smoothly :0)

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Thank you - sooooo excited and really looking forward to Christmas in Canada.

Hope you don't have to wait too long now.


:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Poppit

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Not necessarily - I sold up in the UK and moved here as a tourist, purchased property, applied for a work permit and started a business. That took just 3 months in total. PR took another 3 years to be issued.

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

You're mad.

If you want to take some time out for a year, travel, explore. Great - knock yourselves out. If you're planning to come to Canada with all the pressure on yourselves to find a job to fulfil your dream, don't expect to have too much relaxing family time for a few months.

You need to be quite clear about the purpose of such an enterprise and what that will mean for your lifestyle during that period before you set out.

Just in case you are heading to the west coast, be aware that there are currently many people here looking for work. You will be competing with them. On the other hand, I suspect that business development would be warmly welcomed here if you have the cash to set one up and employ others!

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Aaaw, thanks for all your input guys - both positive and negative. I fully expected a mixed bag of opinions when I wrote this!

This isn't a decision we have taken lightly by no means. I bought this house as a student so the plan was never to stay in this house for long (she says, and then we ended up staying for 8 years!). I bought it for a very good price and it is worth more than double what I paid for it. Some people might think it isn't worth using some of the equity to drop everything and go abroad for a couple of months but this is precisely what we have been holding onto this property for, so the money we make out of it will help us shape our future. Whether we end up with jobs or it turns out to be a long holiday, it is the opportunity of a lifetime and we are thoroughly looking forward to it :)

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Could you rent out your house and see how it goes?

I'm all for adventure and think that taking time out to find some is a great idea - so good on you.

But in all seriousness, finding decent jobs in Canada, especially in NS I would imagine, can take time.

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Well it sounds like you have a plan. If you are willing to put some of YOUR money into this adventure then the best of luck. From what you have said, if it didnt work out and was just a long holiday, then you will still have some equity left.
If it does work out however, then wont you be the success story that we like to see:thumbsup:
Best wishes
Tina

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Engineer80,

Well I think if you look at your plan as an adventure and a long holiday, and if you get work then great, however dont come over to Canada and expect to get work, as at present it is VERY tough particualry in the manufacturing industry - which I assume you are in? I am am an engineering draughtsman and have been here in Canada for over 6months, have applied for numerous jobs with barely an acknowledgement let alone an interview and possible job!

I havent had the money to do anything here at present its been just an existence, infact i have done more in 2 week holidays here than what I have done in 6months of living here. This was due to changes in my personal circumstances not long after moving here, if Id have known what I do now, I would have saved a lot more money before moving here, but thats my situation. However youre not going to be in that situation - look at as a long holiday, and providing you have enough money to fund your planned lifestyle including renting a house funding a car and other plans etc then go for it. All I am saying is dont rely on getting work, I suppose the one thing on your side is that your stepping off the property ladder at the right time - I assume property prices in the UK are still dropping or staying low, so you havent got a lot to lose there, but also as Aviator says, look into some form of medical insurance for your stay.

I think you are very brave, but also have the right outlook in your approach to this move, in that your treating as a once in a life time long holiday, and the money you spend may turn out to be an investment, but equally may just be spent as if it were a long holiday and will get no return on it. If you expect nothing you wont be dissapointed, but will have lots of memories and an experience that some would say money cant buy but in your case it can!

Good luck!! oh and if you do get work - can you put a word in for me! LOL

All the best

Paul

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Well I am erring more in agreement with this post than the good luck statements. Although I did smile at 'good luck with that'

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Bring your snow shovel and dont forget to buy some boots that protect you down to -40c :D seriously be ready for the winter storms those Nor'easters that hit the maritimes throughout Jan and Feb can be a bit of a bugger.

But we still love them after 4 years. we picked NB over NS because of all the rain NS gets compared to NB (we get it as snow :rofl:)

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

I rather think the OP is travelling more in hope than expectation .... they've already stated they can afford the trip if it turns out to be one big adventure that comes to naught ..... It's their lives and their money after all .... why not wish them luck! :D

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

True.

Good luck and enjoy the holiday, Canada is a great place:thumbsup:

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

hey engineer80 ..and if you come out as far West as Manitoba.. stop by :) who knows what kinda job is at that time available here. You wish you a great time exploring!

Check out parklandimmigration.ca ..or google riding mountain national park.. just for the heck of it :) .. and if interested, to see where I am hanging out.

cheers Ilse

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Sorry but thats just stupid.

Sell posesssions and take out a loan but dont sell the house, not until your paper works sorted.

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

I would have if they hadn't called the thread 'risking it all'. It's too much of a risk and Canada isn't worth risking it all for.

If they had called the thread 'frittering it all away on an adventure cos you're only young once and we can easily make some more dosh' then fine. Good luck, have fun.

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Im sure they have done their sums and know what their limit is on what they can spend if nothing permanent comes from the "adventure", ie by saying they may just treat it as one long holiday, if nothing turns up, and having the financial reserves to return to their old life after the allocated cash has been spent. Im sure they wouldnt give up everthing on a whim and see themselves out on the street! Some people may see it as frittering money, others may see it as spending some of their house equity on an adventure? depends how you see life I suppose?

I think the thread title could have been just a bit of dramatic terminology. Thats just my take on it.

Paul

Re: Riskin' it all!
 

Looking for work is not really compatible with holidaying. IMO. Have a 6/12 vacation, they can spend their money on what they want but living in Canada is noot worth risking it all.

However if the OP wants to be a drama queen and call it risking it all when it isn't, well frankly I don't give a toss about them.