gertdog40

I wonder if those of you who have successfully made the leap to Canada can advise just how easy the whole process is and how expensive it is. Also how my husband can change his FPC and CeMAP qualifications to the Canadian equivalent. We are seriously considering a move and have a house here which we would like to keep and rent out (just in case we come home) but obviously when we get there we would need to put a roof over our heads and pay for food etc before we make enough on wages and well basically I’m so confused about the whole thing and am just looking for as much help and advice as possible and just know that it is do-able and we’re not crazy!!!

JonboyE

The answer, of course, is that it depends. A great place to start is here http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Category:Canada. First of all you need to work out if you are eligible for a visa of some sort.

I am not sure what FPC is but CeMAP is for a mortgage advisor? If so then no, he will have to re-qualify in Canada. Try Googling "become a mortgage broker + name of intended province."

As for cost, again that depends. We are all different and have different circumstances and priorities. Many say it will cost you £25,000 by the time you are sitting in your new rental home in Canada. It may cost less if you come on a temporary work permit rather than a permanent resident (but it is temporary), don't do a research trip and don't ship a lot of possessions over. However, for a regular family I don't think that £25,000 to too far wide of the mark.

Timeline? You guessed. It depends. Maybe sometime between six months and three years right now. The wiki articles have a lot more detail.

gertdog40

Thank you ever so much for that, clearly there is A LOT to organise and learn. May I ask how long you have been over there and are you glad you did it? We have 2 young children and from what I've read and heard from other Brits who have made the move, there is a lot more to offer in terms of opertunities and lifestyle. We are very out doorsy people and would love to make the most of what Canada has to offer. Its quite scary to think we would be leaving everything we know and everyone we love but our family are being very supportive (maybe they can't wait to see the back of us! ). I think a lot more research is required......

christmasoompa

And you've found the right place to do that! Welcome to BE.

I'd suggest you grab a large glass of wine and get reading - as Jonboy said, start with the Wiki and figure out the visa side of things, that needs to be your first step. If you find that you are eligible for a visa, then you can start to look at everything else, from whether you'd get jobs, to cars, houses, heathcare, schools, etc, etc.

A search of the forum will usually reveal info on whatever you're looking for, and I'd also suggest you read the Moving Back to the UK forum to see why people return from Canada.

For moving costs, there was a recent thread about that, and figures ranged from about £20k-40k I believe. For a family of four, you'd need to show approx $22k in cash for a PR visa, and then add in all your other costs (visa fees, medicals, flights, insurances, shipping, set up costs when you get to Canada i.e. rental deposits, buying a car etc), and you're probably looking at somewhere in the middle of that range.

Best of luck with it.

gertdog40

Thanks Christmasoompa. If you managed to get a job offer first, would that help to get a visa? or would they not offer you a job without one? I worked in the US years ago and moved there and then arranged a visa! Also if hubby were to get his financial qualifications changed could he do that here or retake them if and when we moved over? Argh I'm sorry people but I'm really dense when it comes to stuff like this (I'm not usually this thick) but there is so much to do isn't there. I'm still at the stage where I'm looking at fab houses for sale and imagining living in them and researching various towns and cities without comprehending the enormity of it. Still we are right at the beginning of the process and I'm sure it will get clearer with time

christmasoompa

It depends on the visa - there are some that don't require a job offer, and for others you would have to have a job offer and LMO (details of LMO's in the Wiki). If you are eligible for a visa without a job offer, then that's going to be your easiest route, but it will depend.

He'd need to do it in Canada, but how he'd do it I have no idea - a quick Google should reveal the answer as Jonboy suggested above.

STOP! Absolutely no point researching towns/cities just yet, that's putting the cart waaaaaay before the horse. If you do need a job offer to get a visa, then you'll just have to go wherever you can find a job offer from an employer prepared to go through the paperwork/hassle/wait of hiring you, and that may not be the nice scenic town you've picked in Ontario (for example), but may be in Outer Mudstick, YK! So really don't worry about location yet. Figure out the visa side first, maybe start with this Wiki article - http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Quick_...an_Immigration

gertdog40

Lol I guess I'm hoping for a nice lottery win to make it all that much easier. I'll take your advice however and read this website inside and out as I dont think my luck is that good We're quite prepared to start small and hopefully make our way up the job and property ladder just like we had to here. We know it will take time but hopefully in a few years we will be pretty much where we want to be

JonboyE

We moved in 1999 and I can honestly say I have not regretted it for a moment.

I think that if you move here because you want to live here it generally works well. Others move because they want to get away from perceived failings in the UK economy or society, because of family commitments, or because they can earn more. Their experience seems to be less satisfactory.

gertdog40

I dont think we would be better off financially, although property seems to be cheaper for bigger houses with a bit of land (I want horses). We live in Devon at the moment so property is far from cheap although we are very lucky to be so close to the beaches, moors and countryside. Obviously the wages there are dependant on the job you have, like anywhere, but I'm guessing the cost of living reflects this. A job is a job at the end of the day, unless youre lucky enough to do a job you love its just a means to an end, its the things we can do when we're not working that I would love to find out about. Exploring the outdoors, the coast be it lake or sea, meeting new people, a new way of life, the seasons and SNOW (my kids would love it). Its not the reason we want to go but lets face it, it cant be any worse than here!

JonboyE

Remember this is a huge and varied country. In some parts you can buy enough land to keep horses for less than the price of a family car. In others land just sufficient to build a house with no yard/garden will cost millions. Whilst it is certainly a generalization, you can often equate the price of land with the availability of well paid jobs.

Happy researching.

Aviator

I'd agree with Jonboy, if you move for a sense of adventure as the primary motivator it can be quite a ride. If trying to get away from something or think the grass must be greener it is often a disappointment. What at first may seem exciting, quickly becomes the norm or worse with a added distance from family. One of my favorite sayings, same shit different bucket.

Cost of real estate for a horse prperty around Vancouver is going to be 7 figures, move out into the Fraser Valley and upper 6 figures. Go to northern SK and you might buy half the province for about the same.

A cheaper one in the Southlands area of Vancouver. http://jaybanks.ca/vancouver-real-es...ls-V919815.php

Her's a few more http://www.bcfarmandranch.com/index....5-63ff94620bbd

Wages around Vancouver don't really reflect the cost of living. Vancouver has recently been named as one of the most expensive places to live in the world when compared to cost of living/wages.

One really has to look for a new career or lifestyle change or go to where the jobs match your profession. I've done both a few times. I had a blast on the lifestyle front, but it did not pay the bills for long. We did stuff we never would have got away with in Europe. Then back to the real world for a while until retirement. I commuted from Abbotsford to Vancouver for quite a while, then retired further out in the Fraser Valley. Still close enough to the US border and Vancouver should I feel the urge to go, which I rarely do.

Where in Devon are you? Spent lots of time out that way, when I was in the service.

gertdog40

WOW Aviator, those properties although stunning, are a 'little' out of our price range at the moment! I was thinking of around 5 acres and a couple of steeds for my family although it is a dream of mine to own a stud/livery yard someday We live just outside of Plymouth so its really easy access to the city, and beaches etc as I mentioned before. My kids love being outside in any weather so I think they'd love a semi rural location, I know I would Hubby is happy to commute an hour or so each way for work and we would ideally like to be around the south east border, some where between London and Halifax maybe, depending on the job availability of course.

R I C H

To my mind, emigrating is about finding somewhere that meets as many expectations as possible - why go to the time and expense otherwise? If it means compromising and not living somewhere you really want to, what's the point? I went through a process of elimination, and if I'd not been able to move to where I wanted due to work constraints I wouldn't have decided to go somewhere second best.


I've experience of this dream - purchased 32 acres here and boarded 40+ horses. If you dream of working 18 hour days, 7 day working weeks and like the company of bitchy women, fly at it

dbd33

I, otoh, lived on 7 acres, kept a couple of horses for riding, a donkey as a guard animal, some chickens, and despite following the hunt, met no bitchy women I didn't know before moving from a Canadian city to the country.

scimdarren

Hi
We emigrated from Cornwall in '05, we yearned for a bit of land that we would never have a hope in hell of affording in Cornwall. The only drawback in Canada is that work tends to be in the big cities so if you want land you have to be prepared to commute (not that much of a problem but worth mentioning).
For us we 'got ahead' in Canada by enjoying a better exchange rate and lower house prices here. Not so much of the case now.
We had a small 3 bed bungalow in St Austell and now have a house 3 times larger on 5 acres!
Owning a little bit of land is neat but it is also a lot of work, you definitely need to be practical, with a pioneering spirit. Hobby farming is popular but again- work, and not quite so romantic in the middle of winter!!
Depending where you live, winters can be long (not long enough if you Snowmobile).

PS...hopefully, Argyle can get themselves out of trouble by the end of the season!