louisemc

Hello,

I am a single, 39 year old female, no children.

I currently live in Switzerland and hate it! It's too expensive here. I have a 100 year mortgage on a tiny two bedroom apartment. If I sell my apartment I can come to Canada with 450,000 Canadian dollars.

I am planning on moving to either NS (Halifax) or BC (Nanaimo).

I have a degree in business studies and French. I also speak some German. I have postgraduate studies in management.

With that money I plan to buy a condo or a house. My question is if I have a low paid job but no mortgage, can I sill live well in Canada?

Thanks!

Former Lancastrian

Define low paid job and living well in your eyes as it will differ in others and there are too many variables.
The minimum wage across Canada is approx $10.25 per hour.

louisemc

My question is would it be easier to live better on a low paid job in BC or in NS?

Thank you,
Louise

Former Lancastrian

IMHO Halifax as Nanaimo is on Vancouver Island so separated from the rest of BC mainland.
Im sure others will be along soon to comment and I dare say telling you not to move to Canada as you are in Europe the greatest place in the world regardless of most countries in Europe being in financial crisis and suffering high unemployment rates. Europe has history and culture whereas Canada doesn't.
As you have no kids then you cant use the argument that you want to move for a better life for the kids.
Do your research then make a decision the 1st one being obviously which route will you be applying under to come to Canada?
Federal Skilled, Provincial Nominee etc.

louisemc

I already have the PR visa.

I want to leave Europe as my job is ending soon here (cutbacks and outsourcing). It is impossible to find work anywhere in Europe. I want a new experience for 2 or 3 years and then possibly return to Europe.

I need a job... that is my main priority right now...

Former Lancastrian

If you have the PR visa then you are free to go anywhere except Quebec?
Why those 2 places?
Most expats move to the larger centres where there are jobs be it Vancouver, Calgary the Greater Toronto Area. Even Saskatchewan and Manitoba see their fair share of new immigrants.

louisemc

Yes, I noticed that there is lots of work in Calgary. Thanks for your reply!

Atlantic Xpat

Really? What do you do for a living?

louisemc

Don't be so judgemental! Lots of people are out of work in Europe right now. I still have a job but I want to move on before it ends and go somewhere where I actually can find work. I went recently for an interview for a job. 250 people applied. I was lucky to have been called for interview but did not get it.

magnumpi

If you get a low or min wage job you won't have the time to enjoy life in Canada. You be working 24/7 just to pay the bills as $10 an hour takes it time to total up.

SchnookoLoly

Moving generally is never an easy thing to do, but if you're determined and you've done your research then you can go in with a clear picture and your head straight in terms of what's in store.

Have a think about which cities are best for the industry in which you want to work, if jobs is the main concern for you. Halifax is a reasonably-sized city, Nanaimo not so much. As has been said, Calgary is quite booming right now. Depending on the industry you're in, your best bet might be Toronto or Vancouver - it depends on what kind of job you're looking for, and where those jobs tend to be located.

In terms of general quality of life, you will get mixed opinions from people around here, and coming from a European background, some things definitely are going to change. A few thoughts from what I've come across (for context, I'm a Canadian, moved to the UK 5 years ago, married a Brit, and now working on moving back to Canada). Most of my perspective is in comparison with London specifically, so keep that in mind.

--Real estate is definitely better value, you can buy more house and lot for the same cost in the UK... and the houses are way nicer. They're newer, they're more open concept, they're larger... generally just a much nicer real estate experience. If you want to live more central (right downtown Toronto or something) it's more expensive but you can get a way nicer 1-bedroom apartment in Toronto than you can in central London.

--Yes, Europe has way more history. If you like history and seeing historic buildings, preserved state or manor houses, castles, palaces, forts, war ruins, etc etc etc, you aren't going to get that in Canada. It's simply not old enough. Canada became a country in 1867. Finding a church or something that's 150 years old is "old" for us - we didn't exist before that, at least not in the same way that Europe existed. You can find a lot of Native American history, but the kind of history you find in Europe simply doesn't exist in Canada. Up to you to decide if that's a deal breaker. For us, it's just a different kind of history.

--Travel is harder. Yes, this is true. But think about it. The land area of Europe is 10,180,000 km²; the land area of Canada is 9,984,670 km². That's about equal. You can just about fit all of Europe inside Canada. Canada borders ONE country: The USA. Any given European country borders more than one (okay, not Portugal, whatever), and has another one in way less of a distance than the distance Canada needs to find its second country (Mexico, Russia). So yeah, travelling to other countries isn't as easy. But there is lots of travel you can do within Canada, you just have to be willing to do the research into how to do it economically. There are places you can fly, and if you're smart about booking you can get good deals. Travel in Europe isn't always as rosy as everyone says either; I was just in Venice this weekend, but booked it 9 months ago because the flights are usually expensive. I just yesterday tried to book a trip to Inverness for later this month; flights were going to cost me £250. Don't tell me that's cheap; you just have to do the research to do it cheaply. Same thing for Canada.

(I'm starting to rant.)

--Outdoors activities - lots in both countries, honestly. Lots of trail walks, coastal walks, national parks, etc etc. Slightly easier to explore more of it in the UK because the rail network is better connected, but going back to the size of the UK, Canada is literally 40x bigger than the UK (UK land area 243,610 km²), so one would expect that Canada is generally not as well-connected. Again, depends how you feel about that. For me, my parents found lots to do around Toronto that was within a 3-4 hour drive, and I never felt like as a kid like I wasn't getting around. A 3-4 hour drive from London gets you not only well around the UK, but also well into France.

-Media is more expensive - TV, phone, internet, etc - this is nothing new. I can kind of understand mobile usage being more expensive - so much more land area to cover in Canada as compared to Europe, but it really is a big difference. That being said, if you are willing to do the research into the smaller suppliers, you can find more affordable options.

I could keep going but as I said, I'm generally ranting. There are differences, and it's worth you doing the research to understand them and deciding how you feel about them. It's not all roses and peaches - you aren't going to come to Canada and life is going to be amazing. Life will simply be different, and if you value those differences and if you think that those differences will be good for you in terms of your overall goals, then go for it. But do it with your eyes open.

(For me, I can't wait to move back home. My husband and I talk about it often - I know what's in it for me, but he's got a bit more of an objective view. From what he's told me, his thoughts:
-Real estate is definitely better. We can buy a great house to raise kids in, and it is certainly better than what we can buy in the UK, both quality and price.
-Holiday time is not standard at 5 weeks, but most big companies will give 4 for more senior positions - close enough, this will do for us. We have made a choice not to accept a job only offering 2 or 3 weeks of holiday.
-We are okay with having our travel with kids be more local to to what we can drive to in a shorter period of time - onc eyou have kids you don't want to be loading them on and off planes anyway, and there are places we can visit in the car.
-Schooling is rated more highly in Canada, or at least in the GTA where we are looking. Only just, though.
-Salaries are lower in Toronto as compared to London - but generally speaking, cost of living is lower.
-... Cost of living is mostly lower. It sort of depends what you're looking at. Gas costs less, but cars cost more. Cars tend not to last quite as long because you put more miles on them in a shorter period of time. Packages goods are cheaper, but produce and fresh is mostly more expensive - things that can be grown locally (apples, corn, tomatoes etc) are mostly cheaper, but things that have to be imported (pineapples, oranges, etc) will cost more - they also have to travel longer distances as compared to where that stuff is grown and imported in Europe. Clothes are definitely cheaper. Electronics are definitely cheaper. Amazon.co.uk has the far superior selection, though. Etc etc etc.

Just food for thought, hopefully that hasn't confused you more! Sorry I ranted.

louisemc

Thanks so much Loly. You can me a very good, long reply. I will take everything that you said into consideration.

christmasoompa

To be fair, you did say 'it's impossible to find work in Europe', which is a bit of a sweeping statement and not true of a lot of industries.

Bear in mind that finding a job in Canada without the all important 'Canadian experience' is likely to be tougher than finding one in Europe, but it will depend on what you do, which may well have been why AX was asking what you did.

Atlantic Xpat

If that's aimed at me, I'm not being judgemental, other than observing that a sweeping statement of "it's impossible to find work in Europe right now" is patently absurd. It might be impossible for you, in the location you are right now and if so, changing the location to find work is probably a good idea. That doesn't neccessarily have to mean moving as far as Canada.

Understanding more about you and what you want/are qualified to do, would help posters here give meaningful advice. If your plan is simply to move to Canada, use your equity to pay for a house & work minimum wage then I'd suggest you are going to be disappointed. Even without a mortgage payment the costs of living here are still signficant. E.g. property tax, internet/phone, heating, insurance, groceries etc. Thats before you consider car ownership of course. What is likely is that you would consume your equity to help fund your day to day expenses which is clearly not a good strategy.

dbd33

I think this is a much bigger hassle than it first appears. Canada's pretty much homogenous, there's no significant cultural difference between, say, Mississauga and Calgary. Tract housing, chain restaurants, drive through dining; it's all a chilly version of Milton Keynes. It takes days to drive from one town to another or an arm and a leg to fly so, if there's a need to visit another city in Canada (outside Quebec) it takes a great investment of time and/or money to do so and, when you get there, it's just the same as where you were.

Granted this is not an immediate problem for new immigrants; they're not likely to have reason to visit another town within Canada nor time off work to do so. Long term though, visiting Canadian cities makes one scream for the cultural diversity of America, nevermind Europe.