no good name

Does anyone do this?

Does anyone have a career (either independantly or with an employer) where they are able to work in both countries?

Or has anyone came here with a spouse/partner, one of them couldn't settle, so decided to try a long distance 'relationship'?.....

HGerchikov

I would think the cost of maintaining two households plus constant travel to see each other (or at least the kids) would be even more of a drain on your resources than purchasing a house in Oakville.

seascape

Looking to do this over time. Most of time in U.K., bought property in NS to use more and more over time, couple months initially, then building up to eg May - Sept then back in U.K. downsides seem to be you can’t have a dog, not sure how driving license would work (90 days max driving in NS on UK license) plus probably more stuff we haven’t thought of yet.

Pulaski

People have tried this, and do do it, between numerous country pairs, notably the UK and Spain and Canada and the US, in both cases typically retirees spending winter further south enjoying milder weather.

Assuming that you have the visa/ citizenship angle taken care of*, the biggest single issue is going to be taxes, and to avoid creating a massive tax headache you really need to decide which country you intend to be primarily tax resident in, and then make absolutely certain that you don't spend anywhere near enough time in "the other country" to trigger being considered a tax resident there too - typically this would mean splitting your time roughly 7 mths & 5 months each year, which should give you enough wiggle room in the even of disruption to north Atlantic air travel, barring of course a global pandemic that shuts down air travel almost entirely. It will also be essential to keep rigorous records of your coming and going, to support your tax returns.

* Bear in mind that if you continue to spend a large part of the year outside a country (any country) that you "live in" for part of the year, then you may never be able to qualify for citizenship, and this is especially true if you spend less than half the year there (a country you are not a citizen of) and therefore may not be tax resident.

Siouxie

I strongly suggest that you hang fire and get your Canadian Citizenship before considering relocating for part of the year, it would be too easy to lose your PR status by not spending sufficient time in Canada to retain it. One thing to bear in mind is that if you have significant ties to Canada - i.e. spouse / kids / property then you may well be classed as resident for tax purposes regardless. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...cy-status.html

dbd33

Closely followed by healthcare. My neighbours decamp to Texas for the winter, horses and all. They're always in a panic to get back at six months less a day, not for tax reasons but to keep OHIP alive.

no good name

Well, I would be maintaining one.. my wife would be "happily" renting hers lol..
And the amount of money spent on a flight or two per year until kids are no longer 'kids'.. is probably still lower than what is paid in daft 'condo' fees..
$240 per month over a 25 year mortgage?! (And that is on the low end of what can be paid) Outragous

Pulaski

Whether you're paying rent or a mortgage, you'll be paying for two homes whereas if you lived with your wife, and you both stayed in one place, you'd only need one home. Surely that alone has to be worth £1,000/$1,500/mth or more?

Siouxie

Don't forget you will have to pay child support if you separate ... and that could mean paying spousal support too, depending on her income and the ages of the children https://www.cleo.on.ca/en/publicatio...nts-calculated - you can guestimate the child support by using this calculator https://www.mysupportcalculator.ca/

What is it about Oakville/ GTA proper that your Mrs is so enthralled with? Does she go into TO a lot - is her social/work life based there - or is there something she likes to do that is only available there? What are her reasons for not wishing to move outside the GTA - even to somewhere like Burlington / Hamilton / Brantford / Oshawa or further afield? There's a good transit system from Burlington to TO etc., it's a nice town on the water with an extensive Brit presence (I can give you links to Brit expat groups in the area ) some good pubs and restaurants, parks, plenty of activities plenty of activities and festivals galore (ribfest / music festivals - all free entry) There are areas you probably could afford relatively comfortably - just not Oakville / Mississauga

no good name

I actully meant my first comment to be a bit tongue in cheeck. But, if two people (married) were to try living on other sides of the world, then something obviously would need to be worked out financially.. However unconventional it may seem..

If they were unfortunately divorced, then each individual would be responsible for their own roofs over their heads surely? (Hence my comment on myself paying a mortgage and wife paying her rent) I'm naive and ignorant to all the messy details of this obviously.
I acknowledge both parents will always, always have a responsiblity to support the children

no good name

This isnt meant to be argumentitive towards yourself.. hope it doesnt come across like that

HGerchikov

Where did you live in the UK. I have to assume that it wasn't anywhere near London? The issue is that you have moved to one of the most expensive areas of Canada. Its Canada's equivalent of London (Toronto is the financial centre, a lot of jobs are in the GTA and it's a top choice for new immigrants). In comparison though it's a lot cheaper than London. A relative sold a terrace house in Fulham (approximately 1200 sq ft - enough yard for a small table and no parking) for the same number in £ as we got in $ for our 3000 sq ft house in SE Oakville on a 100 x160 ft lot, 2 car garage parking for 6 in the driveway. Just as there is much cheaper housing in the UK than London, there is much cheaper housing in Ontario than Oakville.

Siouxie

Not at all
I wasn't suggesting that a Rib fest was the b all and end all (I've never actually been to it - I have no interest) - just pointing out that Burlington has a lot going on that your family may have enjoyed, as to schools there are good schools everywhere and if your children are young they will adapt very quickly if they move to another area - 'school' is rarely a reason to live somewhere in particular here, unlike the UK.

As to the comment about 'you have seen the areas you can afford.... etc..' I live in a place you could afford easily - Hamilton - which is a good City often dismissed by people who don't know it. Dundas is also nice.. (although you probably wouldn't be able to afford anything more than a townhouse there) - Guelph, Paris, Georgetown, Orangeville.... I could name a dozen that I personally would far rather live in than Oakville or Mississauga and would likely be cheaper to buy in. Is it better to be struggling to pay a mortgage when the interest rates go up or one of you lose your employment - or live in an area that you can afford?

I'm getting the impression that it wasn't your idea to come to Canada and you have little interest in spending any more time trying to make it work.. I suppose all you can do is decide if spending these formative years with your children is more important than satisfying your personal preferences.

Hard decisions to make from the sound of it, but whatever you decide I wish you well!

sharkus

I think this is where maintenance / alimony / spousal support comes into play. From what I know, from my own experience, typically the person with a higher income would provide support to the other person. In my situation my ex-wife was earning more than me, and so she would have had to to provide me with spousal support. I think it worked out that it would be something like $50 a month. I decided not to pursue it, as it was an amicable split, and we both had a good laugh about the support side of things.

Even if it had been thousands of dollars that I could have received in support, I'm not sure I'd have taken it. If I hadn't been working, then maybe, and then when I had a job, we could agree to cease the support.

Slightly of tack, but if the persons in question haven't gone to marriage counselling then I'd suggest to them that they certainly do that, and also perhaps see someone on an individual basis. We had one marriage counselling session, but it was too late by that time. I then had a few sessions with a psychatrist to help me deal with things, and it did indeed help. I'd also suggest, should it come to it, getting a separation agreement, especially if kids are involved. This can be a requirement when trying to do various things, for example purchasing / refinancing property, or changing / removing names from things such as title deeds for property or cars, etc... Ours covered assets and debts, and detailed what would happen to the house (sold, mortgage paid off, and remainder split between us).

dbd33

Paying support to someone living in another country is potentially problematic. The agreement will stipulate some currency, if the exchange rate shifts someone will win or lose, who should that be? There will be bank charges, who will pay those? The tax position of the payer and payee depend on legislation that is unlikely to consider the situation. The way we do it is that I have a joint account with my ex, I pay into it, she withdraws from it and I don't know that she left the country; that depends though on having a workably amicable relationship..