Some advice would be much appreciated
Aug 29th 2021, 10:56 am
#1
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Joined: Aug 2021
Location: Uk ipswich
Posts: 1
Some advice would be much appreciated
My family and I are looking at moving to alberta (cochrane or surrounding area)/calgary.
My background work wise,
mechanical engineer/manual machinist. couple of collage courses behind me and 10 plus years experience.
My wife will be doing a course to bring up her points for pr as well.
we will be looking at moving over In around 6 years, so i will be 40 ish and I know that age starts to become difficult to claim pr.
we have 3 children but the oldest will be 19 so will he have to apply as an adult separately?
costs of living, I'm not 100% sure on how things are over there. We plan on buying a three bed mobile home out right and just have the land rent to pay which is around $800 a month for a couple of years till we can put a bit more down on a house.
we will probably buy a couple of cars and have some spare money left around 20k
the 19 year old will either carry on with education plus a part time job or go into full time work.
what sort of money will I need to take home to pay all bills, food ect, and once every couple months take a few days out to go mountain climbing, skiing and a few other activities?
How do schools work out there, do we have to pay or are they free.
holiday entitlement, I am under the impression that canadians get a lot less holiday, is it common to bank holiday from overtime and claim it as holiday.
I'm sure I have many other questions that I cannot think of at this time, but any help would be much appreciated thanks
how much is car insurance per month.
also how much is health insurance for a family of 5.
is there an equivalent council tax also
My background work wise,
mechanical engineer/manual machinist. couple of collage courses behind me and 10 plus years experience.
My wife will be doing a course to bring up her points for pr as well.
we will be looking at moving over In around 6 years, so i will be 40 ish and I know that age starts to become difficult to claim pr.
we have 3 children but the oldest will be 19 so will he have to apply as an adult separately?
costs of living, I'm not 100% sure on how things are over there. We plan on buying a three bed mobile home out right and just have the land rent to pay which is around $800 a month for a couple of years till we can put a bit more down on a house.
we will probably buy a couple of cars and have some spare money left around 20k
the 19 year old will either carry on with education plus a part time job or go into full time work.
what sort of money will I need to take home to pay all bills, food ect, and once every couple months take a few days out to go mountain climbing, skiing and a few other activities?
How do schools work out there, do we have to pay or are they free.
holiday entitlement, I am under the impression that canadians get a lot less holiday, is it common to bank holiday from overtime and claim it as holiday.
I'm sure I have many other questions that I cannot think of at this time, but any help would be much appreciated thanks
how much is car insurance per month.
also how much is health insurance for a family of 5.
is there an equivalent council tax also
Last edited by Curlz1987; Aug 29th 2021 at 11:02 am. Reason: More questions
Aug 29th 2021, 11:25 am
#2
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Joined: Oct 2007
Location: In a darkened room somewhere.............
Posts: 34,029
Re: Some advice would be much appreciated
Hi, welcome to BE.
That's a lot of questions in one go, and a lot that you can find the answers to by searching the forums, so do grab a cuppa and use the search function for info.
Any particular reason you're waiting 6 years? You're right that your age will impact your points a lot if you'll be 40 or so by the time you apply, but who knows what the rules will be by then, there may be a completely different immigration system. So you can't really plan for it now, and I would suggest your wife doesn't do a course just to get her points up, as things may change between now and then.
Your eldest will go on your visa app, again unless things change between now and then (the age limit was recently increased to 21 for dependent children, possible it may go back down again). Note that he may not be able to work though depending on your visa.
I personally wouldn't want to live in a mobile home in the Calgary winters, but you may be braver than I!
Holiday entitlement, yes much less than the UK generally, you'll find lots of threads on this if you search the forum. There's a Wiki article too - https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Annual_Leave-Canada
Cost of living is about the same as in the UK as a rough guide, some things more expensive, some cheaper, so it tends to even out. https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Cost_of_Living_in_Canada
Schools are free, although you have to pay for more than in the UK as parents have to pay for things like supplies themselves so factor that in. The biggest expense we found was extra curricular activities, my kids went from a huge choice of free after school clubs in the UK, or other heavily subsidised clubs, to us having to pay a small fortune for their hobbies in Canada. Again, threads on this if you do a search. Car insurance a month - more than you'll pay in the UK generally! A forum search will give you some figures.
Cost of moving, this thread has some useful figures in, although it's quite old now so add a bit on - cost of moving to canada
Info in the Wiki on health cover and property tax. https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Medical_Insurance-Canada and https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Real_Estate_Taxes-Canada
HTH get you started, best of luck.
That's a lot of questions in one go, and a lot that you can find the answers to by searching the forums, so do grab a cuppa and use the search function for info.
Any particular reason you're waiting 6 years? You're right that your age will impact your points a lot if you'll be 40 or so by the time you apply, but who knows what the rules will be by then, there may be a completely different immigration system. So you can't really plan for it now, and I would suggest your wife doesn't do a course just to get her points up, as things may change between now and then.
Your eldest will go on your visa app, again unless things change between now and then (the age limit was recently increased to 21 for dependent children, possible it may go back down again). Note that he may not be able to work though depending on your visa.
I personally wouldn't want to live in a mobile home in the Calgary winters, but you may be braver than I!
Holiday entitlement, yes much less than the UK generally, you'll find lots of threads on this if you search the forum. There's a Wiki article too - https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Annual_Leave-Canada
Cost of living is about the same as in the UK as a rough guide, some things more expensive, some cheaper, so it tends to even out. https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Cost_of_Living_in_Canada
Schools are free, although you have to pay for more than in the UK as parents have to pay for things like supplies themselves so factor that in. The biggest expense we found was extra curricular activities, my kids went from a huge choice of free after school clubs in the UK, or other heavily subsidised clubs, to us having to pay a small fortune for their hobbies in Canada. Again, threads on this if you do a search. Car insurance a month - more than you'll pay in the UK generally! A forum search will give you some figures.
Cost of moving, this thread has some useful figures in, although it's quite old now so add a bit on - cost of moving to canada
Info in the Wiki on health cover and property tax. https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Medical_Insurance-Canada and https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Real_Estate_Taxes-Canada
HTH get you started, best of luck.
Last edited by christmasoompa; Aug 29th 2021 at 11:29 am.
Aug 29th 2021, 3:21 pm
#3
Banned
Joined: Apr 2009
Location: SW Ontario
Posts: 19,879
Re: Some advice would be much appreciated
My family and I are looking at moving to alberta (cochrane or surrounding area)/calgary.
My background work wise,
mechanical engineer/manual machinist. couple of collage courses behind me and 10 plus years experience.
My wife will be doing a course to bring up her points for pr as well.
we will be looking at moving over In around 6 years, so i will be 40 ish and I know that age starts to become difficult to claim pr.
we have 3 children butthe oldest will be 19 so will he have to apply as an adult separately?
costs of living, I'm not 100% sure on how things are over there. We plan on buying a three bed mobile home out right and just have the land rent to pay which is around $800 a month for a couple of years till we can put a bit more down on a house.
we will probably buy a couple of cars and have some spare money left around 20k
the 19 year old will either carry on with education plus a part time job or go into full time work.
what sort of money will I need to take home to pay all bills, food ect, and once every couple months take a few days out to go mountain climbing, skiing and a few other activities?
How do schools work out there, do we have to pay or are they free.
holiday entitlement, I am under the impression that canadians get a lot less holiday, is it common to bank holiday from overtime and claim it as holiday.
I'm sure I have many other questions that I cannot think of at this time, but any help would be much appreciated thanks
how much is car insurance per month.
also how much is health insurance for a family of 5.
is there an equivalent council tax also
My background work wise,
mechanical engineer/manual machinist. couple of collage courses behind me and 10 plus years experience.
My wife will be doing a course to bring up her points for pr as well.
we will be looking at moving over In around 6 years, so i will be 40 ish and I know that age starts to become difficult to claim pr.
we have 3 children butthe oldest will be 19 so will he have to apply as an adult separately?
costs of living, I'm not 100% sure on how things are over there. We plan on buying a three bed mobile home out right and just have the land rent to pay which is around $800 a month for a couple of years till we can put a bit more down on a house.
we will probably buy a couple of cars and have some spare money left around 20k
the 19 year old will either carry on with education plus a part time job or go into full time work.
what sort of money will I need to take home to pay all bills, food ect, and once every couple months take a few days out to go mountain climbing, skiing and a few other activities?
How do schools work out there, do we have to pay or are they free.
holiday entitlement, I am under the impression that canadians get a lot less holiday, is it common to bank holiday from overtime and claim it as holiday.
I'm sure I have many other questions that I cannot think of at this time, but any help would be much appreciated thanks
how much is car insurance per month.
also how much is health insurance for a family of 5.
is there an equivalent council tax also
You may need certification to work, the term 'engineer' is protected here and is regulated. Do check that your job is called the same thing in Canada.. as 'Manual Machinist' is classed as a 'trade' that would give you another option for applying for Express Entry - with a lower point value required if you could get a job offer OR Provincial Certification (which is based on your proven work experience) - but that could change in the next 6 years!
Mechanical Engineer: https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketrepo...ements/2757/ca
https://www.apega.ca/apply/membership
Manual Machinist: https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketrepo...ents/295866/ca
https://tradesecrets.alberta.ca/expe...ience-program/
Last edited by Siouxie; Aug 29th 2021 at 3:23 pm.
