hi, just a quickie for those lucky ones that arent going through the hell of immigration if anything what would u have done different in your immigration process/ move to Canada.
thanx all

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=475053

We would have done it ourselves instead of using immigration consultants (and we had cheap ones) and we would have brought more stuff.


Oh and we would have also applied as soon as we thought about and not waited a year....

We would have sold our UK property as soon as hubby got job offer so that we weren't separated for 6 months and me left to pack everything up

And we would have done it sooner

We would have done it sooner. Talked about it for years but luckily OH got an intercompany transfer so were here within six months of making the decision. Kids 12 and 8 so would liked to have moved here two years ago.

Again luckily for we bought a house here two years ago and then rented it out. House prices have gone through the roof in Canmore in the past few years.

Alro

Dito - not bothered with immigration lawyers and done it all from the start ourselves, which we ended up doing anyway.

We were over here on a one-year WP, but if I had known we were staying, or for all of you who are coming as PRs then please please don't forget to look back at your lives in the UK, rather than just forward to you new ones in Canada. There was a thread recently about people who have had their lives on hold waiting for PR. Life is so precious, you only get one so make the most of it, wherever you are and whatever your circumstances. It made me so sad reading about these people who didn't socialise with their friends anymore as they didn't feel any point as they wouldn't see them again once they moved to Canada, and they didn't go out as they were wanting to save money for their move (which is sensible) and were moaning that life was dull as it wasn't worth buying new clothes and new cars etc. but you can still have fun with friends cheaply.

So spend lots of time with friends. I would have gone to the north of Scotland, the west of Ireland. More of Europe and north Africa whilst they were on our doorsteps.

Brought bed linen from Argos and Tesco having checked measurements of Canadian beds.

live to ski - we are doing exactly this and tomorrow morning my OH and I and the two dogs are heading off to the North Coast (Co Antrim) to stay in a gorgeous stone cottage near the Giants Causeway. We are going to act like tourists in our own country and do all the sites, that disgracefully at 31 and 36 years old we have never been to

We have made some blunders as well such as putting our lives on hold and sitting on old furniture.. we also blew a grand on a fool in Vancouver who poses as an immigration lawyer.. what a waste of time and money. We applied through Trinidad and Tobago, this should have been quicker but they seem to have fallen behind London a little... it's a couple of months so what the hell... on a positive note we sold our house here and were able to buy a house in BC with no mortgage attached... open a Canadian bank account and pump the rent straight into it... if we had waited we couldn't do that now! we are still thinking about what to take over though...? any suggestions?

This thread.

Have a fab time being a tourist in the UK!

I grew up near London, and it embarresses me when asked what to do there on a holiday, as I never really did anything touristy.

That said, I probably know more about the tourist attractions in BC than most BC'ers.

Know exactly what you mean

When our cousins from Ontario were here in the Summer we all panicked at what they were going to do in NI for two weeks as this was their second time with us.

Every night when they came home they had done something different and sometimes they werent a million miles from our own front door either

They left proclaiming that they would stay longer the next time as they had so much still to see

Oh - I will have a fab few days, thanks.

Whilst out on a recce in February 06, I wish we'd bought a plot of land we saw at $125k, or a house we saw at $325. It would have meant re-mortgaging our UK home at the time - we had the collateral - we just didn't have the guts to do it ! D'oh ! I think we bought at the height of the market in May this year !! All seems very calm on the housing market here now ... for now ....

For sure, I was speaking to South African couple who had moved to the UK and said the best thing they did was live like a tourist for a bit before moving, helps the fond memories but it also means that everyone you meet and says I've been to where your from you actually know all the stuff they did when they visisted your home town city.

In anticipation of the move we did a summer trip to Glencoe, had never been and its only a few hours away, was brilliant and I would be going back next year if it wasn't for our move to BC in Jan.

We cycled across England 2 days after handing in our MSc thesis' and 10 days before moving to Vancouver. I had sat on my arse for 12 months studying, so it was a bit of a shock to the legs, but it meant we saw lots of different counties, and the variety of different countryside that we just don't get here.

It was a good good-bye to the UK for us.

few days before leaving ,i won't have assumed that there was' hardly anything left to do ' !!!i started relaxing and ended up the last night rushing around like a loony!(not good that especially when you are 6 month pregnant!)

i would also have taken more 'every day life' kind of pictures(children at school/clubs/local shop even just for them to have lots to look at about their life before the big move!!!

eaten more cottage cheese have not found a decent one yet!!!!
vee