Nictur

how do I find schools and estate agents that are willing to talk to us whilst we are still in the UK?

Is it possible to find a house via estate agent to rent- before you get to Canada?

What documents would they need?


Any places in Winnipeg and surrounding towns to avoid please? Moving with small children- where is NOT so family friendly?

Thank you x

christmasoompa

Welcome to BE.

Can I suggest a read through the Wiki and a search of the forum? You'll find loads of relevant info on this and your other questions.

HTH, good luck with it.

dormy

In relation to schools you will need to know which area you are moving to before you can speak with schools directly, each school has its own catchment area.

In regards to estate agents, or Realtors as they are known here,a gain you will need some basic geographical target. They are all self employed and generally dont get involved with rentals. Check out Realtor.ca, this will give you some idea of the kind of housing you can afford and the areas you can afford. For rentals try Kijiji.ca, houses are generally rented privately and will be more open to talking to you from overseas, apartments are generally run by companies and are less likely to take you seriously. There is a shortage of affordable rental units at the moment so they dont stay on the market very long

In regards to no go zones, try to stay south of the Assiniboine River, or if north of it stay close to it. The North end and East central are pretty sketchy, there are pockets of nice areas in these but in general stay away.

Outside of Winnipeg the smaller towns are all fine, just make sure you have a reliable vehicle as the winters can cause a few worrying moments.

Hope this helps in someway, pm me if you need any other advice. I know how stressful it is.