sas-lou

(Apologies if i've submitted this in the wrong place, please feel free to move to its correct location)

Hi Guys.

Seriously i must have some hedonistic tendencies going on at present.

Well some of you will of known my story. Married a canuck, moved to Ottawa, moved back to the UK when marriage broke down, picked myself and kids up, started saving again and present day .. I'm in Toronto ..
Only for the week, i return to the UK on Sunday evening.

For the last year i've been telling myself i can do this. I've done it once so whats a second time, lol. Granted i have no husband this time just me and 2 teenagers and some savings but i'm sitting in this room listening to the trams going by my window, not paying attention to the humidity, trying to make up my mind what i'm going to do when i get back as i need to let the children know one way or another what the next step is.

So .. I decided i am not going back to Ottawa. I do not have any contact with the ex husband and he has shown he's not supportive With the kids on half term in the UK they are staying with family so i could come out to Toronto to experience this city alone and make some enquires as to if i/we could at some point call this home.

Some woman at Gatwick on Sunday told me that without a degree, you'd be referred to as a Macky/Mc'y (unsure how to spell it) when i asked her to go into more detail she said that without a degree you will work in McDonalds only. Great start, utterly deflated and i hadn't even boarded the plane. Yeah, i don't have a degree, just work experience in Retail, Banking and my current role is working in the community by assisting people to gain the skills necessary to get back into employment. To mention, i do have a lot of qualifications but not the holy grail.

So i've been here 2 full days and my observations so far .. Well i went to Randstad with my resume and although i don't speak french nor have a degree, she said i do have many transferrable skills so would be looking at $15-$16hr. I think that is positive news. I only want canadian work experience so would consider anything to start with.

I have a bank a/c set up. Another positive.

And lastly, eveyone has told me that Toronto is expensive. Now maybe it's because i am a cheap bastard but i haven't found that to be the case (yet).

The kids here are so darn innocent. i was walking behind a group of young (12-14 yrs) school children in China Town this afternoon and well They didn't have the latest look, label wise. They spoke politely and they didn't seem in a rush to grow up. How sweet.

This city although is rather large does not faze me in the slightest. I've been walking everywhere. Thank gosh i took the advice and didn't get a hire car.

Now the not so positives ..

The people are quirky, bordering on slightly crazy, not all of them of course. The snobbery is evidently clear which i don't quite understand as the people here are/seem very diverse.

I've been told it is hard to find a place to rent. I put an ad on Kijiji as soon as i got here asking about apt's/basements in mid Sept. No replies yet and within several hours my ad's being bumped to page 15. I keep posting in the hope ...

I am so worried about screwing up my kids lives by moving them here and failing thus returning to the UK. However i know i will regret this if i don't do it. All that time/sweat/money acquiring those visa's in the first place must not of been in vain. Or is this narrow thinking??

When i see the kids on Monday they are going to want to know what Toronto was like and my decision .. I don't have a clue what i'm going to tell them.

oh, and to top it off. I'm staying in a pack packers hostel (told you i'm cheap, lol) and last night a lovely chap from Ireland shared the room and we got talking for 6 hours (as you do). He lived in Vancouver for a year (carpenter by trade) and told me to head over that way as it's a lovely place to live or to consider Calgary. When i was looking at flights to come over here it was either Calgary or Toronto and i picked the latter (obviously, lol).

I now feel that with more options being thrown at me, i'm lost as to which step is the appropriate one to take forward.

Just a snippet of my life in the UK - I'm in a private rented house for which i could get a mortgage and pay the same amount (not that i could get a mortgage). On Friday i was told my job is at risk and 16 of us will have to reapply for the 9 jobs going which will require extra responsibilities. My eldest is finishing his GCSE's next week and applied to go to College (although he'd rather go out and work) but was not successful in the course he wanted so they've decided to put him on another course. My 14 year old is going off the rails and doesn't want to move to Canada but in 2 years wants to move to Australia with his girlfriend (sigh). The job front is crap (to put it mildly) so if made redundant, lol, i'm screwed.

I know ultimately i have to make this decision but i am looking for advice/suggestion etc as maybe i am missing something as i am too focused.

I've gone from living day to day to becoming so focused on the future yet i am aware things may not turn out as planned but maybe for the better.
I'm sitting on the fence here but a decison needs to be made by Feb 2012 the latest as i need the 2 years in canada to meet PR criteria.

Please ask any questions.

Thank you in advance.

The4BellsLondon

Bloody hell - hello you!!

Well I am no use to man nor beast - but I would prob steer clear of Van to start with as its bloody expensive

bettyboo67

Jeez. Where to start, well I would second what 4Bells said and avoid Vancouver, $15-16 an hour will go nowhere here with 2 teenagers in tow,Calgary would be a better option for a cheap bastard . In all honesty I think you're better off staying where you are, teenagers are notoriously difficult to move with and I know people whose teenagers moved back to the UK first chance they got.
However, I know that having 'the dream' and never having seen it through may leave you with regrets. I know I wouldn't have listened to anyone who told me to stay in the UK. Is there any way you could come for a year or so and leave options to return home if it doesn't work out? I

cheeky_monkey

i totally agree with the degree bollox..seems you need a degree to sweep the floors over here..my wife was a comnpany director having worked her way up with no degree or even A levels..but would stand little chance doing a senior role as they all require a degree qualification to get past HR.

However my little rant probaly doesnt help your situation.

dbd33

I have little formal education certainly no degree. I've been able to find work.

cheeky_monkey

Depends what you do?

dbd33

I'll sweep floors if you'll pay my rate.

Gremmie

Me too, and am looking into buying the company I work for, still early doors yet tho
Oh and take that loser for an ex to court to get alimony.

canbritdenise

Just wanted to come on and give you a big virtual hug. I know thats no help, but just to let you know someones thinking of ya.
My two pennies worth is, stay in the UK if you have family help, no fun bringing teenagers up on your on, then maybe when their off your hands abit, think about coming then...

ExKiwilass

There are cheaper parts of Vancouver, and rent isn't so bad. It's buying that's hard. You could join a housing co-op - rents tend to be very very reasonable for larger places (i.e. 2/3 bedrooms plus) and you could live in a much nicer area than you could otherwise afford. If you're interested, I could send you a link. It's an option we looked into quite seriously at one time. Also for people on a lower income there are rental subsidies etc.

Gremmie

Whats with the Plug Vancouver posts, she's looking into Toronto, so give her Toronto leads, failing that Winnipeg is booming and cheaper

DigitalGhost

I think with a decent employment history and a good attitude, you can find work almost anywhere.

I certainly found that when I moved here. I never finished uni either but I have done OK so far in Canada.

britishvixen21

Hi There,

First of all VIRTUAL HUG it must be a hard decision. I am also in Toronto and came here 8 years ago on a whim and a dream with no formal education and ive done alright.

To me its p*ss easy renting in the city not hard at all.

However $15 - $16 an hour isnt going to cut the mustard, I earn $22 plus a yearly bonus and im just scraping by and i dont have 2 kids to feed, clothe etc.

The banking sector is a good place to start looking as i think they pay fairly well.

Good luck on whatever you decide.

PS: am i assuming you have citizenship and can just hop back over?

Oink

If you want advice here's mine take or leave it. For christ-sake you've got kids to worry about, don't be wishy-washy, want to live here there or anywhere, you're not 19 anymore. They need stability and certainty. Go back the UK, get a home-base, a job and stay put for the sake of your children and stop chasing an illusive dream.

Gremmie

Boy am I glad I didn't write that... Thought it tho Got a royal roasting last year when her life went "Tits" up for telling her 'To grow a pair"