We arrived in Toronto 1st Sept 2008 on a TWP - spent the night there and got Via Rail to Windsor.

The first few weeks maybe even months had that honeymoon period feeling, very exciting as we found our way around and settled in.

As time went on - I felt more and more nervous about being on a TWP, something that did not occur to me before moving. I was constantly having thoughts of "what if".... I cannot stress enough how unsettling this is. Fortunately we got PR in July 2010 (yes nearly 2 years after arriving) - just before I was going to have to renew our TWP (had already sent off the paperwork!).

On the whole, I have no regrets about Canada in general and Windsor as a location. I love having the benefits of living near a major US city for shopping, events and holidays etc without having to actually live there. The winters are mild here in comparison to a lot of places elsewhere in Canada and the summers are spectacular.

What next? We still have our house in the UK (couldn't sell it before leaving), so I will think about selling that and then buying something here. We will probably remain around Windsor, but will move out of the city proper and into one of the surrounding burbs or towns. Long term I think we will remain here unless something drastic happens - I wouldn't rule out a move to the US once we have citizenship if an opportunity presented itself.

In summary - love it here and think it was the right move for us. The only downside I can think of really is missing family - but that is to be expected of an immigration adventure!

Glad its working out. Got to be careful about the temptation to move to the US, as a NAFTA visa cant lead to a permanent stay there anyway, its another temporary work permit of sorts again.

Good luck!

There is that - my employer would go through the green card process if I did decide to move to the US. I don't know if it will happen - but I feel like career progression is restricted in Canada, especially when working for a US company like I do....

I do however like 4 weeks holiday and a *slightly* less ruthless approach to hiring and firing! Some of my 'merican colleagues only get 2 weeks holiday

Congrats on 2 years. Very best of luck for the future!

Not sure there is a process to go from a nafta visa to a green card though, its clearly not a "dual intent" thing, so being canadian doesnt help if a green card is the aim is my understanding. Could be talking out my arse though..it happens! There are other reasons to get citizenship though when the time comes.

Congratulations and best wishes for many more happy years.

Windosr was my first choice for all the reasons you gave..but work was scarce so ended up elsewhere..i spent 2 weeks there in May 2007 it was and is a bit more me than Edmonton.

My thinking was more around making sure I can come back here whenever I want to. At this point I have no intention of returning to the UK that's for sure!

Thanks for the good wishes everyone.

Congrats and glad to hear everything is going well for you now

Just found your post, we have moved to Windsor, arrived almost 3 weeks ago the same way you did, on VIA rail from Toronto.
We have rented a house in Lasalle and seem to like the area, we are still job hunting and the kids will be starting school in the New Year.
Glad you are settled and hope we will be too.

CONGRATS!

Congratulations G77 great to hear it's working out so well for you, all the best for 2011