30 months in...
 

And loving it more every day.... :)

We were from the Maidstone/Medway are of Kent, England and were very disillusioned with life in the UK, so decided to go for it...... It took about 800 job applications but we got there in the end.

The wife and I moved out to Dryden, Ontario on temporary work permits under the Provincial Nomination Program back on the 23rd Jan 2009.

We landed in Toronto, flew onto Winnipeg and spent the night there waiting for our dog to arrive. One she was all picked up, we set off to Dryden which is the smallest city on Ontario and 4hrs east of Winnipeg and 4hrs west of Thunder Bay.

We'd never been to Dryden before and never been to Canada in winter before - so this was somewhat of an adventure for us.
We arrived and in the first 2 weeks, got a car, found a house to rent and started getting paperwork in place(driving licenses, bank stuff etc).
I started work the second week there (the job was offered to me while I was in the UK) and I still work for the same company now.

Fast forward to now, and we've just become permanent residents after crossing the border at Fort Frances to land officially.
We moved into our new house a couple of weeks ago and can now start to put down some roots.

For those who don't know the area, Dryden is known as the Wilderness City and is nestled among several thousand lakes - most of which are great for fishing.
I'm currently writing this from Musselwhite mine, about a 7hr drive north of Dryden - so pretty remote. But I've seen bear, moose, deer, bald eagles, otters, beavers and martins in the last 2 days - and I love seeing the wildlife. It always makes me smile.
Sometimes when I'm travelling for work, I have to pinch myself that we've been so lucky to have ended up in such a great place.

My wife soon found work for the city as an administrator and is now finance manager for a retail chain.

Most of our paperwork was taken care of by an agent we employed specifically for this purpose. It wasn't cheap but we feel it lessened the burden during a very busy time. They have helped us from before we left the UK right up to present day.

As you may tell, we're happy.

If you haven ay questions, feel free to fire away.
Rob

Re: 30 months in...
 

Great to hear it's all working out.

My question is; what would the expected running costs of a Fairline 40 Targa be, including moorage fees in the False Creek area of Vancouver?

Re: 30 months in...
 

Great post!:thumbsup:

Re: 30 months in...
 

Thank you :o

Re: 30 months in...
 

That all depends on your negotiating skills. I once almost sold my wife to a Moroccan for 2 camels and a goat - so there are some good deals out there.;)

Re: 30 months in...
 

Not you, you numpty, the OP.:rolleyes: Yours was funny though;)

Re: 30 months in...
 

Congratulations, so glad you're happy and settled; we'll have done 11 months on Saturday, so will do a Canniversary next month.

Goodluck for the future, I hope you continue to enjoy your life in Canada.

Poppit

Re: 30 months in...
 

Based on c 100hrs running time in a season:

Insurance $1,000
Legs service $1,500
Engines service $1,500
Replacement anodes and other servicing $500
Fuel $4,000 leaving her fully topped up for the winter.
Lift scrub and block off for winter service $500
Antifoul $500

Every 200 hrs you should service tappets approx $500

Therefore about $8,000 in total

Burrard Marina in False Creek is $11.16 per foot per month moorage, so $446 p/mth. Electrical hook up is $27.10 per month.

Land storage for a vessel of that size is $3,090 per year.

Hope that helps. Happy boat shopping :thumbup: ;)

Re: 30 months in...
 

The slips across the water from our place are going for $550k to $750k which is a little too steep for my wife to agree. There's one including a SeaRay 360 with it but they're asking way too much :thumbdown:

When i buy one, i'll spread the word for a limited, invite only, BBBBQ :thumbup:

Re: 30 months in...
 

Is that anything like a BBBJ?

Re: 30 months in...
 

My husband has been offered a job in Thunderbay. I understand that you are not far from Thunderbay. I have googled it and it looks pretty remote tho the package my husband will receive is very good. We also have 3 kids, 12, 10 and 4 so am naturally concerned about them and their prospects. Have you any advice to help us make the biggest decision of our lives! Many thanks, haven't found anyone yet who has actually been to thunderbay let alone lives there!

Re: 30 months in...
 

Which of the previous posters is not far from Thunder Bay? Not any of the names I recognize. Here are some distances which might put things in perspective for you.

Calgary - 2050km
Charlottetown - 2878km
Edmonton - 2071km
Fredericton - 2527km
Halifax - 3011km
Montreal - 1693km
Ottawa - 1503km
Quebec - 1963km
Regina - 1286km
St. John's - 4141km
Saskatoon - 1543km
Toronto - 1384km
Vancouver - 3108km
Victoria - 3174km
Whitehorse - 4157km
Winnipeg - 715km
Yellowknife - 3582km

As you can see the closest large city is Winnipeg at 715 km. Not good for a day trip. This is your opportunity to enter Canada. You may not get another one. Life is a crap shoot. You either gamble or you don't.

Re: 30 months in...
 

That'll be me.... Dryden to Thunder Bay - approx 350km, so about 4 hrs on a steady run. Just down the road....
A 4hr journey in the UK is probably seen as a daunting affair - but here, it's just a way of life. Plus I can pretty much say within 10 minutes what time I'll arrive as the traffic is so sparse.

The desision ultimately comed down to your lifestyle and what you want to get out of life here.
NW Ontario is the forgotten part of Ontario - which is nice in some respects and a pain in others. Personally we love the way of life, fewer people, plenty of recreation opportunities etc to be found in these parts.
We used to live 25 mins from Bluewater shopping center and though nothing of nipping there in the evening if we were bored. Now though, to do any decent shopping, we travel 4hrs to Winnipeg or Thunder Bay. So we're actually saving money by not spending it on non-essentials.

My regional branch for work is situated in Thunder Bay, so I've been there a few times - but only staying in hotels and working in the industrial areas. It's like any town or city. It has good and bad areas so research would need to be done. You can be on the big lake in a matter of minutes or head out of the city to one of the 1000's of other lakes. Fishing and hunting are huge here.

If you have the opportunity, grab it with both hands - and if you don't like T-Bay, you can always move on when paperwork etc allows. That was our plan but we love it here and don't want to move on.

Re: 30 months in...
 

It does sound fab, think I am trying to get someone else to make the decision cos its so huge. Then again, don't think there would ever be a right time and it is a very good offer. I also think the quality of life would be better than it is here, if a bit colder! The thought both terrifies me and excites me. Think it is fear of the unknown, my husband is very laidback about things and says if we don't like it just to come back to uk but would hate to keep uprooting the childen. Oh to be 21 again with no responsibilities! Thanks for the info, it is so useful to us.

Re: 30 months in...
 

Don't let the weather put you off.....
I much prefer -20 here to -2 back in the UK. It's very dry so as long as you wrap up well, it won't seep in and chill you to the bone like in the UK.
Admitedly, -30 and below are a bit chilly but thats what nights in with friends and a roaring fire are about.
Think of all the new possibilities the winter weather will allow. Skidoo-ing, ice fishing, ice hockey, curling, dog sledding, clearing the drive......
OK, the last one can get a bit monotonous but you get the idea. ;)
Last winter was a very heavy one for snow but it never stopped us getting around or doing what we needed to.

Re: 30 months in...
 

It does all sound very tempting. How long have you been out there now? Have you a partner and/or kids. Have they settled to the life? I think we are prob going to go for it. My husbands company has said they will fly both of us out there to look at property/schools etc and get more of a feel for the place. No contracts have to be signed until after that visit so I suppose we are in a very good position. So disollusioned with the UK .......

Re: 30 months in...
 

If you have the chance to come out and have a look around, it's worth doing.

You do need to be aware that if you're from a big city or town in the UK, Thunder Bay will seem small by comparison.
T-Bay population - 110,000. A big city by Canadian standards but an average sized town/area in the UK. It's completely self sufficient but if you like the big city night life, you might find it a bit underwhelming....

As for us, it's just me, the wife and the dog. We're both mid/late 30s and have been over here since Jan 2009. We lived about 40 miles out of London but neither of us were city people and rarely went up there.
The change in life style is quite dramatic but I'd say for us has been a positive change. One of the things I notice most is the work ethic. Work hard, save hard, play hard, retire early - play some more.

You sound similar to us. We left the UK so we would have a more stable environment to possibly start a family as we were fed up with life in the UK.
According to a lot of people on here, you shouldn't come to Canada to escape the UK - you should do it for the love of Canada.
I feel we did it to escape the UK and have now fallen in love with Canada.

Re: 30 months in...
 

We are early 40's, and live in Derby, so not a huge city. Obviously nightlife is not of much interest now we have the kids. Really appreciate your advice, its a difficult decision to make but to be honest think we are going to go for it, at least visit, we have nothing to lose. Bit disappointed when looking at property as not as nice as imagined but I suppose we have pre-conceived ideas that we could afford something much bigger than we have now and a lot of the houses seem to have wood panelling (I presume for extra warmth!). Hoewever, money and property isn't our main reason for making the dramatic change. Only live this life once and may regret it when we are 80 and look back if we didn't take the risk. If only we had crystal balls! I will keep you updated, will be travelling out to visit in August and if in agreement will relocate in October so quite quick! God knows what the parents are going to say - I can feel emotional blackmail kicking in already! Thanks you so much for your info - I can honestly say its invaluable. The more info we have the more informed we can be in our decision making. Will keep you informed if we go for it ! :confused:

Re: 30 months in...
 

We're in North Bay, so about 5 hours east of Thunder Bay (I think). North Bay is about half the size of TB (population 55,000) and we are loving it.
Weather here is hot and sunny - actually very hot. Quite humid at the moment, but not unpleasant.
We have four children (14, 12, 9 and 7) and they have settled very well. We have just got on with their normal routines, enrolled them in appropriate clubs and summer camps, and they are making friends left, right and centre.
I have not been to Thunder Bay, and can't comment on it, but I can comment on making the move to 'small-town Ontario', and settling the children - and I'd say go for it. The lifestyle here is much more laid back, much more relaxed, and there is so much more to do. Our children totally love it here, and would not go back even though they miss friends.
Pick somewhere beautiful, where you are reminded all the time of how lucky you are. I drive everywhere with a huge grin on my face. :lol:
Good luck.

Re: 30 months in...
 

Its so nice to hear that your four kids are settling in and loving it! That is one of my biggest concerns, particularly with my 13 year old but am trying to sell it as a big adventure! Have decided we are just going to go for it, if we don't like it we will just come back to the uk as we are not going to sell our house here just in case. It does sound like a much better quality of life - thanks so much for letting me know about you and your family:D

Re: 30 months in...
 

Downtown Dryden Ontario! What a change must be for yourself. I am a born and bred Canadian raised in THunder Bay and just stumbled across this by chance. Living in Kenora right now so not much further west of Dryden. How are you finding Dryden?

Also about the North Bay being 5 hours east of Tbay you are a wee bit off. Its more around 12 hours east and south of Tbay.