260904

Hi, I have only just found this forum, me and my partner are looking to move to Canada in the coming years and are just looking into applying for a visa etc, but before we start applying and jumping the gun we want to decide roughly where abouts we would live so we can determine what we can afford and the life we would have in that area etc. We have hunted up and down for information online and although we have found a few spots that fit what we are looking for we would really appreciate any advice from someone with a greater insight.

We are looking for a relatively cheap detached house say around $300,000 - $400,000 CAN, standard 3 bedroom upwards with amazing scenic views with around an acre of land (or more), so we want to be on the outskirts with private land on our own but still be able to travel in (say a 1 hour drive) to the main city (whichever is the main city in the area for jobs) to ensure we can both find work effectively and were not too far away from some shops if needs be. We did like the area Mont Tremblant - the only thing that puts us off is according to what I've read online the population mainly speak french and I can see us both struggling to learn that language especially fluently.

Any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

R I C H

Canada's 9,093,507 sq kms in size. You might want to narrow things down more specifically in order to get useful advice.

Silverdragon102

As mentioned you do need to narrow down to where you want to live. A lot will also depend on job availability and your occupation

260904

Hi, thank you for your reply, either British Columbia, Quebec or Ontario...I hope this helps...

260904

In terms of job occupation I will be working as a legal secretary, my partner will be working in either the legal field or as a mortgage broker.

lmartin999

Which province and towns, cities or areas did you most like when you visited?

Alberta_Rose

Hi, might I suggest you start by trolling through the wiki pages on this site, found on the blue bar above, or click here http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Category:Canada

The realtors website www.mls.ca allows you to look at properties for sale all over Canada for price comparisons etc .... , but I'd really suggest your first steps should be to look into how or whether you have a real chance of being accepted into the country, ie what type of visa etc.

Aviator

You also might want to use Google and do some research, then ask some specific questions. House prices now may have no bearing on the 'coming years' areas develop and change, even regress due to main industry closures.

ON, QC & BC is a bit vague taking into account the 3 provinces together are closer to the size of Europe.

VCox

Hi, as others have said, Canada is such a vast country that it's hard to recommend an area that might be suitable without more info on what you're looking for. Even within a province, there is a vast difference between the different areas.

Have a think about the sort of climate you want to be in, what your interests and leisure activities are (or what you'd like them to be), whether you want to be closer to the UK in terms of length of flight etc. If learning french is a problem, you can rule out the whole of Quebec as a destination. They have their own requirements for obtaining a visa to live there, and you would need an acceptable standard of french.

Do you want mountains? Very hot summers? Milder winters? Cultural diversity? To live on the coast? Have a think about things like this, which will help narrow it down a bit. Then do some research on the provinces that interest you and the towns/cities within that province. Do you want a large city? Small town? Eventually you will have more of an idea of what areas appeal and you can then do a visit to check it out further.

MLS is a good source of info for house prices as Rose said, once you've come up with a few places that interest you.

We intended on living in Calgary, which we picked because of good job opportunities and proximity to the Rockies. As it happens I didn't like Calgary when I visited on our recce trip and we chose Kelowna instead, which we'd visited on the drive through from Vancouver and probably wouldn't have considered otherwise.

I'm always fascinated to hear how/why people chose where they're living. At first it seems a daunting decision but when you start to look into it a little more closely and do your own research it's amazing how quickly you realise where you wouldn't like to be, which makes deciding a little bit easier.

Hope that helps !

Aviator

But then if you're planning on moving years down the road, the whole climate could have changed by then and mountainside now may be waterfront then.

piedpiper

The above advice from VCox is good. More details will help us narrow down which areas of the country you should be looking into.

You did mention that you liked Mont Tremblant, so I'll assume by "scenic", you like mountains. With that, the most mountainous geography (Rocky Mountains) is in the west of the country.

If you're looking for some private land close to a larger city, I would look at the areas west of Calgary (population 1 million). Cochrane, Alberta might suit you, which is about 45 mins away from Calgary. You could have a nice view of the mountains from there. This area is dry and sunny, but gets cold in the winter (lows of -20).

Otherwise, I would recommend the lower mainland area of British Columbia (area east of Vancouver). Land is a bit more expensive, and the area is a bit more populated/congested, but the mountains are close by, and the temperatures in the winter are much more moderate (although a lot of rain).

Do your research on wikipedia and citystats.ca, and come back here if you have any other questions!

260904

Hi, thanks for all your import, in response to some of your questions in terms of weather we are after mild summers and cold winters with some snow but not all the time say a few weeks a year, we would like cold winters but nothing ridiculous, as I heard some places get as low as -40c...thats too cold.

We are not overly fussed with quicker flights to the UK it is a bonus if the area we like is closer but not crucial.

We do not want to live on the coast at all. Our favourite scenic veiws is loads of trees and wildlife, I have seen pictures of houses for sale with there own land and deers walking around that is amazing. I would love a house with a few acres of land (but the more the better) with loads of trees and nature so we can take our dogs for walk on our land - that would be fantastic, we love the thought of having our own privacy, this is crucial to us. So we are not fussed whether it is a big town or a small town as long as we get our own land and some privacy we do not mind, however, we need to be no longer than around 1 hours drive from a larger town for job opportunities as I will be working in the legal sector and my partner in mortgage broking, plus this also allows us to travel in so we can still go to a restaurant or go out shopping. Hopefully we will be getting in to canda through a skilled worker visa so we need to be able to get to job opportunities still if we lived in a small town.

In terms of leisure activities the key is we love walking the dogs around nice areas so that really is a must, biking and hiking are also possibilities. We would love to go dog sledding but not as a regular thing so that is not crucial. Climbing possibly.

I hope this helps narrow the list down,

We really love this home with the views of the trees (see link below - it is first home shown) and if all that land was included it would be amazing, it does have a lake beside it, which is a nice extra but not crucial its the views of the trees and potential for walking through them that we love.

http://www.monttremblantrealestate.c...ntryhomes.html

Thank you for all your help

ann m

Welcome to BE.

If you need to work - then working out where your jobs are in demand and whether you need any equivalency exams is important. After that, start looking for mountains

What does "in the legal field" mean? That might make a huge difference too.

Search on Almost Canadian and shelley748's posts.

I like Cochrane but a house with land for $300-$400k is not a reality.

Keith

If you choose to live inland and close to nature -40 goes with it in most of Canada. Also you will most likely see snow on the ground from Dec to March.

christmasoompa

In which case, you need to forget worrying about where to live at this stage - as I'm sure you're aware, neither of your jobs are on 'the list' of occupations in demand for SW visas, so you'll need a job offer approved by HRSDC to qualify for a SW visa.

So, find the job first and then go wherever it is! Unfortunately, because you need a job to get a visa, you won't have the freedom to decide where to live - you would be best keeping your search nationwide so that you stand the most chance of finding a job and an employer that is prepared to do the extra paperwork involved in hiring you.

Best of luck.