Walsh Clan

For British expats

So it's Thursday, week 2 here in Barrie, we arrived on Sunday, June 26th and I'm sitting in the waiting room to sit my road test in Canada. It was one of the scariest things I did when I first started driving 15 years ago and I was sure I wouldnt being doing it again. Well I was wrong. Because we are not part of the Commonwealth, I needed to sit all exams again. Strangely enough, I think it's better to do it this way, probably because I have become a better driver ( I think) as I didn't realise I didn't know all of the road signs, or speed limits or blood alcohol levels, etc. I'm on standby so this note could be very long or very short, depending on how long I have to wait for a cancellation or a no-show.

So, we flew out on Sunday, 26th June, 10 days ago to be precise from Cork via Heathrow and it was a great day, a sad one in ways but a great day because eventually we were getting to live the dream we had talked and dreamed about forever. The flight to Heathrow was on time and went without a hitch so we landed and collected our bags and went to our next desk, the Air Transat flight desk. One of our bags were overweight, 23kgs, so we had to purchase extra kgs. Turns out tho' that even though they say 20 kgs, they actually allow 25kgs per person so after all that, we were under. Shoved all of our carry on stuff into the cases and in the midst of it all put my laptop in the middle of one of our hard cases, not my brightest moment. Flight was long, but you get what you pay for, think we won't be travelling with them again. When we got to Toronto, one bag was missing so we were a little despondent, especially since it was the one that had the laptop in it.

We had already landed in 2009 as permanent residents but explaining this to the customs guy was not so easy, he asked if we realised that we had to spend two of the five years in Canada to keep our status and that we would want to be mindful of this. I explained our story but he still was dubious, so he asked some questions and eventually we got " Welcome to Canada". We then went and collected our hire car and the lady on the desk was very helpful; she gave us an upgrade to a Hyundai Sonata, we had ordered the cheapest option, so we were delighted with that. She was an immigrant herself many years ago, and said that people were helpful to her, so she wanted to make our first weeks in Canada a pleasant one. It was a nice start. We were using this for two weeks.

We drove to Barrie and we are really lucky to have somewhere to stay, so we were welcomed with open arms, great way to begin our new lives. Monday 27th took off in a whirlwind, an interview for my OH for a position in September, which is a fantastic relief. I'm not sure who said it on this site but people's experience of moving is normally positive or negative depending on the work situation. This is so true.

We had organised a fantastic realtor to show us houses, she is an absolute pleasure and so so genuine, she organised viewings, 4 to be precise. The first 3 were not exactly what we were looking for, we now realise that even though we love the area, it would be too expensive for us. We re-evaluated what we would do, we would look at renting for a year, etc. But we had one more to look at, at 7pm on the other side of town. So we went there with little expectation and found the perfect home. Loved the area and the house and within walking distance of the school for our daughter, so what we would have discounted in Ireland, turned out to be right for us.

Tuesday and Wednesday were filled with social insurance numbers, OHIP (remember you need to have some proof of address, bank statement, etc, i didn't the first time) school registration, summer camp, and the our lost bag turned up, thankfully. They delivered it early in the morning, 12.30am but it was all intact, so we didn't mind how long it took. Thursday was looking for cars and trying to get credit card to build up credit rating, we got cell phones but had a pay a hefty deposit because we were newcomers to Canada with no previous history in the country.

People have been so kind to us wherever we go, we are overwhelmed by this kindness, which we didn't expect. Loads of bugs around and the Mosquitos loved me but they seemed to have quietened down again. I carry strong bug spray now with me, wherever I go, it's a good lesson to learn early on. We have had more BBQ's than we ever had before, the weather is glorious and Canada Day was great fun. I like Barrie. OH is allowed to sit his Industrial Electrician exam, so he'll take this in August, once he has his books shipped over.

The YMCA centre and the job centres have been so helpful, told us lots we didn't know, so we are booked in for some workshops and have learned to strip our cv's to pieces, making the job relevant, rather than including everything.

We are enjoying it here and here's to all those who are waiting to start their dreams.

chriskatie

Nice post, glad to hear its gone well so far for you.

We are hoping to move to Barrie whenever we finally get our visa's through. We already have a place in the South East of the city and spend a couple of months a year there and rent it out for the rest. We love the area, have loads of friends there and although Barrie isn't perfect we really like it and to be honest there isn't much that beats sitting by lake simcoe and looking out into Kempenfelt bay.

Good luck with it all.

Chris

Auld Yin

I'm pleased things are going so well for you and I wish you and family many years of peace, happiness and prosperity in your new home.