Angela.Mark

Hi everybody - due to land in Canada on 24th May so thought I should start having a look at the expat site. Yep it has took us four years to get to this stage. Lots of things happened along the way ie 2 kids, a refusal, an appeal and then finally yes we will let you in!!! I think the moral of the story is "never give up".

Have been looking through the site tonight for people in the Chilliwack area, we will be staying with my sister in Abbotsford when we land but want to settle in Chilliwack. Did find a few people who live in Chilliwack but because I am new apparently I have got to post a few threads first so here I am.

Do have a few questions;

does anybody know of a good Elementary in Sardis - was told by a friend that Unsworth Elementary is quite good have noted that they also have an on site speech therapist my son has a speech delay and whilst he is doing great in reception in the UK at the moment and loves it I think the initial slower pace of Kindergarten (ie part time for first year) is going to do him the world of good.

also what is there to do for pre-schoolers. My daughter is 19 months old and we are inundated in the UK with play groups etc have searched the net and can't really find much to do for stay at home mums with preschool children - any suggestions,

because of the crap exchange rate we were thinking of sticking our money in the bank and renting for a year first - anyone got any views on this - came over last April for a visit and houses do not seem to have increased much at all since then - we are looking at a down turn in the UK - is it slowing down in BC?

To be honest absolutely sh.t scared about the move at the moment - keep taking deep breaths - a good friend who has lived in BC for about 7 years said something to me which I think was really appropriate "just get your arse over hear and the rest will fall into place" I think thats gonna be my mantra from now on.

Looking forward to any advice and encouragement you can give me.

(11 weeks to go and counting!!!!)

Ang

Ps. Have also been practicing striking up conversations with complete strangers hope this is gonna help me on arrival (sad I know)

mandymoochops

Hey guys congratulations, it just goes to show that perseverance pays off!

Welcome to BE btw

dingbat

Unsworth are over capacity, and there is a big boundary fuss at the moment, so unless you are on the doorstep, you may not get in. They are intending to bus kids to Cultus Lake, which is way under capacity, and no, CL is not a very good school. Hence the fuss. The speech therapist is not tied to any school, she gets X number of hours allocated based on assessment of the child, and is on site accordingly. You will likely have to get your son reassessed, before your child gets any hours allocated.

The next nearest schools to Unsworth are Tyson Elem or Watson. Both are about equal in terms of academic standings. Sardis Elementary by Sardis Park is probably the best, and has a pre-school attached. Promontory is up on the hill - should be where mine go, but after a taster of what they didn't do, I opted for semi-private. Schools are registering now, so if you want to get into a better one, I'd do it now.

There are loads of playgroups in Sardis, again you can choose how much or how little you want to participate and select accordingly. Look on the Chilliwack Community Services website - or get a copy of the Parent Resource Directory they offer. There is a significant amount of "stuff" run through churches up here, it being the bible belt. Those groups are not usually on my "must-attend" list. I have always worked, and even when on brief Mat leaves went stir crazy, so can't help you much with what stay at home Mom's do all day here. Most who aren't in compulsory groups seem to hang about the small Mall and have coffee, but I am really sure that there must be other more stimulating activities for the SAHM. Welcome to The Wack.

startwin

Congratulations, good luck to you. Chilliwack is great, I'm sure it will really suit you and kids. Don't know about schools unfortunately. Just drove back (to Maple Ridge) from Sardis, the weather today is fabulous so the scenery was breathtaking. Mount Baker seems to just hang in the sky!

Surrey Expat

Some parts of Sardis/Promontory/Marble Hill are in the East Chiliwack Elementary catchment. ECE is one of the best in the area. If you have a preference of school and are out of catchment you can apply for an out of catchment place if there is room in the school.

I always feel it is best to rent, whatever the circumstances, until you get a feel for the area and find which bits you prefer.

There is an expat group that meet 2nd Friday of the month in Chilliwack. Details are in the calender area.

Oh and unless you have already come across this, it it pronounced 'Chill-a-wack', not 'Chilly-wack'

Angela.Mark

Thanks everyone for the info and best wishes. Will get weaving regarding getting in touch with schools. My sister did mention the fact that they were shipping some of the junior high kids out because of over capacity which is one of the reasons that she chose Abbotsford - two pricey for us though.

Take on board what you say about the speech therapy thats gonna be one of the first things I try and sort out when I arrive.

To be honest the help he is getting over here is practically non-existent - its only the fact that he has a brilliant teacher and the teaching assistants are first class also that he has made the progress that he has since starting school - that and the fact that he is with 26 kids all day!!!!

When we first visited Chilliwack in 2002 we looked at every town between Vancouver out to Chilliwack and Chilliwack (in particular Sardis) was by far our favorite place so still think it is a good place to start just a few wrinkles to sort out I thinks!

Any advice on how to go about renting would be appreciated - again cannot find much on the net ie ads etc.

Ang