thinking of applying to move to toronto
 

Hi,

I am new to this site but when I found it i thought great!! maybe i can get some answers...... insight.... advice even!

Me and my family are seriously thinking about beginning the process to move to toronto. We came there on holiday for 3 week 2 years ago and loved it... I have cousins and uncles there that have moved from UK. Our reason are basically to try to create a better quality of life for our kids... I have 1 duaghter 16 months old and one on the way!

the things I want to know from people that have experienced UK and canada....

IS it better?

I'm a youth worker, Do they have youth work is canada?

what are childminders/play workers called in CAnada? is it the same as here?

Are UK qualification recongnised there?

What age to children start nursery there? is it free like here in UK? and is it free for immigratant or would we have to pay?

what happens to our UK pension?

I know this is a long thread... but if anyone can speak to me about htere experiences or point me int he right direction I would really appreciate it.

Thank you
NIna

Re: thinking of applying to move to toronto
 

Hi
Can't answer all your questions and I am by no means an expert (been here only 2.5weeks myself !!!!) however...............

the other day I met a lady in the park (great place for making friends) she was a child minder and landed from the UK 7yrs ago, she was commenting that Canada recognised her NNEB so she continued her child minding here.

Children start school later here, my youngest is 4yrs (5 in Sept) and will only be eligable for part time senior kindergarten this Sept so she will be almost 6yrs when she goes full time. It is free for her as we have permenant residance visas. You can pay for care as in the UK and they could go full time.

As for pensions, I wrote to my private pension company before I left and it can be transfered to an approved private pension plane here, or I can leave it and claim it when I reach the appropriate age. As for the UK state pension I havent a clue.
Thanks
Riddle89

Re: thinking of applying to move to toronto
 

The best place for you to start is by reading the Wiki, then read it again. The search function is your friend and there is wonderful info and insight to be gleaned from past threads.
You might also want to introduce yourself in the Meet and Greet area of the forum.

Good luck with your research, and welcome to BE.
Rob ;)

Re: thinking of applying to move to toronto
 

thank you so much for replying!!

Re: thinking of applying to move to toronto
 

Hello, Nina, and welcome to the BE forum.I've never lived in the UK, so I cannot pass an opinion.

Yes. A youth worker may fall under Code #4212 - Community and Social Service Workers on the National Occupational Classification. On the other hand, depending on what your qualifications are, I'm wondering if you would fall under NOC Code #4153 - Family, Marriage and Other Related Counsellors.

I'm not in that field myself. One of our forum members, dingbat, is. See these previous discussion threads in which she provided information:
Officially, they fall under the umbrella of NOC Code #4214 - Early Childhood Educators and Assistants. In real life, people in these jobs may have titles like day-care worker or child-care worker.

Although I've never lived in the UK, I gather there are some similarities and some differences. There are enough similarities that a few of this forum's members have obtained jobs as child-care providers, nannies and the like in Canada.

In some cases they are and in other cases they are not. Things differ from one province to the next.

For more information about this occupation, see the Wiki article called Nursery Nurse-Canada.

I've known children as young as six weeks to start daycare.

No.

It's not free for Canadians, and it isn't free for immigrants either.

I gather you can still get it. But if you migrate to Canada (unlike Australia and several other countries), your pension will not be indexed to inflation.
x

Re: thinking of applying to move to toronto
 

Me and my husband recently emigrated to Toronto. I had lived here as a student for a year and I really loved the place back then. My husband saw the place on holiday for 2 weeks and liked it, too - so we decided to up and move here.

Personally, we have found that life is not better in Toronto than in the UK (London). We have had many struggles - some being typical immigrant struggles and others being rather unfortunate events that probably are down to bad luck. The problem is, though, that you cannot really go by anyone's experiences and make decisions based on that. You need to just collate as much information as possible and make your own choice.

When we were dreaming about coming here, we never listened to the "nay" sayers. We did not want to hear it. We only listened to success stories. But then we realised that the chances of success or failure depend so much on who you are, what your background and qualifications are, etc.

One thing I would caution about is that you only saw the place on holiday - and a holiday puts a really different gloss on things. You are relaxed while on holiday - but when you get here and then face the realities of life such as job hunting, paying bills, etc. - rose-tinted glasses can come off pretty quickly.

The other thing I would say to you, in particular as you have children - do not move to Toronto without securing employment first unless you have some significant funds behind you. And by significant funds I do not mean what the Canadian High Commission suggests as settlement funds. You need way more than that.

You do have a distinct advantage over us, as you have family out here that can help you along in the beginning.