pheonix

Hi all,

I need advice from anyone willing to give it or who has experienced anything similar.

I have been offered a dream job in Vancouver, the only thing stopping us going is;
1. stress of moving mid pregnancy
2. the fear of having a baby 3 months after arriving
(our 2 year old son had a difficult birth)
3. getting settled with our 2 year old son in a new environment

Please see my pros and cons list below and tell me if you’d go?

Many thanks

P


Pros
Fantastic Salary
Great Bonuses
Good Relocation package
Good Benefits (stocks, health, dental, pension .etc)
Great Job Prospects
Job Satisfaction
Great Place to work and live
High quality of life
Great standard of education and health care
Slow pace of life
Outdoor lifestyle, scenery
Positive attitude
Meet new people
Exciting adventure
Similar culture to UK/Ireland
Family & Friends will come for a holiday, 1st year at least
Can go for 18/24 months and come back
My 2 year old son is young enough to go
Can pay off all debts in UK in first year
Once in a life time opportunity to live in Canada
One off opportunity to excel in my career
Will have salary to fund wife's teacher training
Get away from dome and gloom of UK economy and constant rising prices
Safe place to bring up kids
Can afford to put son in day care full time while wife settles and prepares for birth
Can shop in US (2.5 hour drive to Seattle, 40 mins to US border)


Cons
Daunting massive move, starting again
Stress of moving with a baby and mid pregnancy
A lot of sort our before we move
No family or support
Only one friend in Vancouver
Long and expensive flights home
Expensive cost of living (10% more than UK)
Expensive property market rent of a 3 bed house = $2.5-3k per month
Fear of having a baby abroad with no help
If we don't like it we cannot come home for 12 months or have to pay back relocation
Stress of renting home in UK while in Canada
Missing home comforts, home sick
Few visitors
Little knowledge of different areas of Vancouver
Getting home only once a year

dbd33

How can you do the job if you're pregnant and then have two small children?

pheonix

I'm the husband with the job offer! :-)

P

dbd33

Ah! That moves the prospect from "impossible, surely?" to "scary, difficult, but have to go for it".

pheonix

thanks

I’m trying to put my wife first, I will be fine,
It’s her I worry about - making friends, settling etc.
I've been warned that the key reason moves to Canada don’t work out is because the stay at home spouse is unhappy

it's a big move and I must make the right choice for all of us
relocation is 100% paid for and we get a relocation officer to help us sort everything including temporary accommodation, car rental .etc

DandNHill

If your wife is up for it why not? As you say the pressures are all on her really. 12 months is a very short time and what an experience!!

Would you have your old job in the UK to go back to if you chose to?

misplacedheidi

I'd go for it.
You are actually ideally positioned to make loads of friends through baby groups etc.

You can pay off UK debts and have a dream job. Try it, if it doesn't work out you can always go back.

Your wife will be busy with 2 little ones so there isn't the boredom factor there either.

I went out of UK (mainland Europe) with kids aged 4,3 and it was fine - busy with playgroups etc.

Just my opinion.
Heidi

jessamin

i say go for it, this is your dream job, and if your other half is happy to go then go every birth is different just because the first was diffuicult does not mean the second will be plus after one you kind of go in feeling more relaxed as you know whats coming this time round.

i am looking at moving with three kids 10years old, 8 years old and 6 month old i feel i am being mean to the older to dragging them away from friends they have known for years and family the older they get the harder it is to want to move and more and more complications are thrown at you. i say if you have this job offer of your dream job you should go for it. if you dont try you may never know and never get there

Geordie Lass

I would say go for it.

Where are you at with the job? have you just been offered it and then they have to go through the LMO process?

If so my husband got offered a job at the very end of August... the file wasn't ready and received until Nov 6th... it's still in process and we are in the final stages of it being positive or negative.

So even if you have the job offer it might be a while until you can get over there... it might be after your wife has has the baby anyway? that would make your life a lot easier/less scary?

And even if you don't like it and want to come home - I would give it a bit longer than 12 months anyway to make such a huge decision to come back???

iaink

How resentful of your family commitments will you be if you dont give it a go? How supportive is your wife of the opportunity, and is she just going along with the idea while secretly harbouring doubts. Unsettled spouses are not to be taken lighty, quite often when people post here of being unhappy in Canada its becasue they came to support their partner. DOnt kid yourself that raising two small kids without family and close friends around wont have its challenging times, it will.


Bare in mind thought that in a parallel universe you could have been without wife and kids and had the offer happen, and then after taking it and moving here you end up with all that family stuff happening anyway (as it did for me). You still have to deal with the issues, and find a way to get by....

You only live once, only you can decide how the two sides of the opportunity might balance out.


On a practical front, do you know if you are legally able to take the job? Do you qualify for PR, or is it likely that a TWP would be issued? Without sorting that out you are placing the cart in front of the horse anyway.

pheonix

thanks,

wouldn't have the old job to go back to

pheonix

thanks, much appreciated

pheonix

sound advice, thanks

pheonix

have contract, start date is March, wife is due end of June
thanks for the heads up on possible delays with Work Permits/Visa's

agree will give it more than 12 months

many thanks

christmasoompa

Have they already applied for the LMO though, or is this a company transfer? If they've yet to apply for the LMO, then you may have a bit of a conflict - starting in March is unlikely, later and your wife will be too pregnant to fly.

Just something to think about unless the LMO is well underway, or has already been granted (or it's a transfer and therefore not required).

Personally, I'd go for it, I know money isn't everything but if you can go just for a year or two and be in a good financial position to return to the UK if you hate it, then why not?

Best of luck.