Ha ha ha ha ha ha.......

Try nine(9) written job offers in the last three months. At least seven were unsolicited, but I can't afford housing there with a big family. What are you on??

I agree with El Richo. Following such a long wait in the queue to get in and finally receiving our requests for medicals I don't think anything will dampen my spirits. The way I look at it is if I stay in the UK and pass up on my PR, I will be no better off financially. I have already been made redundant in the UK so what have I got to lose? Wherever we live the country is in the economic downturn and to be honest just living in the UK is depressing enough. I know this depends on where you live and what has happened to you as there are some great parts in the UK but for us I am not willing to miss out on this opportuntity we have waited so long for. Luckily we will have some money to fall back on when we get here and I am very sensible and aware of the pitfalls. i think as long as you do your research and do not expect everything to be perfect when you move you can make your life the way you want to.

We went to Van 11 years ago, cant believe its 11, during bad economic times. Have to say it was a great adventure. We only had 8k with us but managed to work within days of arriving. I understand the worries now cos it does seem to be much worse than 11 years ago. Ive been in Ireland for 8 months and havent worked a day yet. Still would rather be here than in England. There seems to be such an addiction to misery with regards to the media. No wonder everyone is searching for a better place. Good luck and i say DO IT!


{edit}

After reading audreyrose23 DONT DO IT!

Hi.
I'm a Nurse and hubby is a builder.
Construction workers are being layed offleft right and centre over there.
Plan is I will work, and we also have a pension from hubb's previous job(fireman)
Renting in canada and going to rent oour hose out.
We have our pr(its taken 3 years) and we have to get the landing doen before May 14th
So I think we have gotta go, scary though it is

You might not make any money but is that what its all about? As long as you got enough to live its a nice place to be. You'll certainly enjoy the summer in Van, its perfect.

Oh yeah the summer in Vancouver (well the ones i've seen) are fab. There's lots of events going on through the summer months and the weather's generally lovely. Nice beaches, walks, etc. Celebration of Light is something to be seen for sure.

I figure we'll have enough money to survive for a couple of years without working although that's worse case scenario. We're very lucky however as we have lots of friends out there as well as my wife's father who lives on 10 acres with a house of a size that allows private space for us in case we don't get work for a while. Rent free is a great price.

We'll be renting our London apartment out too so if all else fails, we'll have a roof over our heads in the UK.

Is it time to land yet????

In fact, thinking on the season side of things........

I wonder if landing in certain seasons make a difference? For example, if you land at the start of summer to lovely weather and a picturesque backdrop i'm sure it helps settle people in much easier than if they land in the cold & wet season with a hazy drizzle back drop and dark skies.

I know if i were emigrating without the support we'll have over there and the weather was miserable, it'd probably affect me.

Just thinking out loud really.

Anyway, lots of luck whatever your decision. As you've waited 3 years to get this far i personally would not even consider halting the move. But that's just me.

Defo. Went on a reccie to Halifax NS couple of summers ago. Every day it rained and was foggy and surprisingly cool. Put us right off. Sure if the sun had been splitting the pavement we'd of looked at it differently. Mind you we arrived in Van in April and it was pretty rainy til June. Then its was blistering that summer. Mind you the following winter it rained for something 80 days on the trot.

Yep i remember my first ever visit to Canada (Vancouver) years back and the entire time i was there it rained non stop. Seem to remember it came close to beating the record of continuous rainfall there. Anyway, i still had a great time although no doubt if i'd have moved there at that point it'd have been a different story. The rest of my visits have been a mixture but i have to say, when the sun's shining in BC it's a beautiful experience.

Dark, damp, rain, on top of emotions of being in another country without the support system you're used to must be tough.

Sunshine, warm weather, lots of social events surely must make the transition easier.

Again, just thinking out loud. One persons pleasure is another persons poison after all.

Well, stuff it!!
We are going to give it a go
We plan to land April/May to Kelowna/Okanagan region
Career break from work house rented out here, Bingo!!
Totally fed up with it here so may as well hey?
I took my Canadian Nursing Exam in Vancouver!!(scottish cultual center) of all places, bu we rented a suite on Davie st which was pretty cool, right next to a bakers, great for pan au chocolat in the am.
Keep in touch all.
Not long to go

Kelowna will be lovely at that time. We have friends living there and always enjoyed visiting.

Make sure you visit Summerhill Winery too. Fantastic views of the lake and the wine is gorgeous. Was free last time we went too.

http://www.summerhill.bc.ca/

I've been watching this for a few days, we have the same sentiments - I haven't worked since sept 08, the last sort of offer was work for 3 mths on basic wage before any final decission is made on employment, my place is going rental from the 28th, we fly the 29th..we waited 41 months, 6 days for our PR, we can't wait, its an adventure that my children will in later life say thank you dad..

Agreed. If you have no friends/family, no job, savings that are evaporating on a daily basis etc, and the weather is crappy, you will have a tough time, no matter where you are.

I never worked for the first year that i was in Vancouver and went through a very stressful experience where i was almost deported (very long story)! I had no money and it put a lot of strain on my marriage at the time. I came very close to saying sod it and go somewhere else. That was 16 years ago. I 'm glad i rode it out. I always cringe when i read on here that someone had been here a couple of months and they are ready to head back home.

Vancouver gets a bad rap for the rain. Rain is seasonal and we generally get the majority of the wet stuff between nov and april. Its really not as bad as its made out to be and summer more than makes up for it. Plus rain in the city is snow on the slopes.

We are months away from acheiving our PR Visa now, and are also having second (and third) thoughts. However, after waiting so long, and building our hopes for a better life, we have decided to hedge our bets and postphone moving for a while.

We intend to obtain the visa, land at the end of its validity (driven by the medical), then return to the UK. One of our friends in Kamloops will act as our Canadian Address for the PR Card and FEDEX it across to the UK when it arrives.

Using the two years in five, we can then remain in the UK for a further 3 years to see how the world economy turns, and then return to Canada to complete two years residency to retain the PR. Either way, we are going to rent our (mortgage free) UK home if we go to leave the door open behind us until we are firmly settled.

I still love Canada, in fact I'm over in Banff doing a 3-month 'Gap' ski instructor programme as I write this. However, it is a G8 Country and the quality of life here is not really much different to that of the nicer parts the UK. I certainly wouldn't burn my bridges and jump in with both feet at the moment.

Good luck whatever you decide. You attitude to risk, and adventure, will let you know what to do. If we had less to lose, and were much younger, we'd be out there asap... but we're a little older, and quite comfortable already, so a little more cautious.

My dad moved us to Canada in 1980. Construction in the UK was going belly up, and we came to Canada where it was still going strong - for other year!
He made great money in his first job - unbelievable by UK standards. His second job he made half of that. This job lasted a year. His third job he was making less than he made in the UK. Then he was unemployed for months. One Christmas we had a hamper delivered by the local food bank - unasked for, but kindly neighbours had requested it for us. It was the worst time for my parents.

They sold up, losing all their equity in the process, and moved to Toronto, where my dad got a new job, and they rented an apartment. It took five more years to get back to where they had been: renting, rent to own, small house, bigger house. My dad finally became the director of a decent sized construction company and did OK.

It was a rough time. Would it have been better in Manchester? They would never move back to England now and looking back are glad they came.

Is it ever the right time to come?