l green

My husband I and our 4 young children made to move to Vancouver in August 2008. I can't say it was easy!! in fact very hard, extremly expensive and stressful. We bought the house we had been renting in as we could not cope with moving the kids all over again- and we had settled into this neigbourhood and made friends ect. Now we are skint all the time and we both have to wotk- me part time as a nurse doing mainly night shifts as the childcare is too expensive and we are still paying things off in the UK. I feel now we should have waiting longer to make the move from the UK! don't know if it was the rite thing to do- feeling a bit homesick and fustrated its going to cost over 5K to have a visit home and thats if we can fit it into my husbands leave from work for the yr- he only gets 3 weeks but never can take 2 weeks at a time!! his job is the pits- works all hrs god sends and does not get paid for working any extra hrs above his already full time hrs. he carries a pager which goes off all hrs of the night and he has to respond, he works bank holidays and weekends alot of the time... and we didn't plan on it but we found out the other week i am pregnant with baby number 5!!(which was a accident...) im missing the chinese crispy duck and peking sauce you can get from the UK with them pancakes and also the crispy seaweed- can't find it any were here- anyone no were we can get it?? I have to say i have alot of regret.. maybe i'll feel different given time.. i know if we went back to the UK i'd miss the lovely people and friends we've met and the great days out in the mountains (when we get chance!)

karl2010

Keep at it. I know it sounds difficult, but perhaps consider cutting non-essentials. Do you need a car? downgrade house for a while???

karl2010

edit- oops

Double post.

sparkling_gal

Hi - Sorry things are tough. Working nights must make it doubly hard with young children. But the good thing is, you know what you don't like, so you can change it.

Are there ways you can get round the childcare situation so you're not needing to work nights? As Karl said, maybe there is a way you can cut expenses. Can your husband look for a job with better conditions, or re-negotiate with his current employers? Being on call 24/7 is hard work.

I know how impossible it can seem when things aren't going to plan but knowing what things you want to change is half the battle to getting there.

Journeyman Electrician

What field of work is your husband engaged in?

On Call surely not 24/7 365 (there are employment rules here you know).

Vancouver as Calgary are not cheap places to live (unless you purchased your property prior to the big boom), on a single income with four children you need to be earning at least $120k and that level will not afford regular family trips back to the UK or annual holidays to Disney.

Anyone considering moving to the large western Canadian cities need understand the level of income they will need to support themselves and their families. In many ways the cost of living is close to parity with the UK (except gas for the moment).

Coffeepot

Sounds tough on all of you, congratulations on the baby though, im sure if OH can get a better paid job without all hours on call then things will seem so much brighter,
Are you there on WP ? if so can you apply for PR so you can choose where you work ? of course you can always look for work and re apply for another WP if that is the only way at the moment,
Without asking too many questions when will your debts be paid back here in UK ? is there any way of raising any cash ?
Like others have said can you cut your costs in any way ?
What about changing your mortgage to extend slightly ? sorry probably already thought of all this if your like me,
Hope you sort things out, good luck and take care

Dave+Jules

I hear you on the crispy aromatic duck and pancakes dish. I really miss this too. I am going to try and make it myself this year.

Emigration isnt easy and we experienced lots of wobbles through the first 2 years. I think we are just finally settling in after arriving in Nov 2005, this year seems easier already and we are really looking forward to the summer and have no plans to go back to the UK for the next 24 months (unless situations dictate we have to go back).

Once employed it is easier to get another job than starting from scratch. Keep focused on your new life and looking at how to improve your position to get over the emigration blues.

Good luck!


David

l green

Yes we have permanant residency and my husband has been looking for a different job although he hasn't had much look finding a job in IT that totally fits his skills. He is highly skilled and got lots of management experience, truth is i think he's worried he's going to make another mistake, been 'under the thumb' of a un appreciative, work all hrs job again. Its not all doom and gloom i soppose, i just wish for a bit of freedom from it all- a rest for a couple of weeks (doesn't everybody tho!)- looking forward to summer here tho if only we could get more time off together. Another big mistake was rushing into getting a car each when we first came here. We got a lease car each- now i seem to be tied in a really need to get rid of mine and manage with the one- this would free up loads of money as the insurance is over 2K per yr and the monthly lease over $300 a month- guna post the lease today and try and get rid- selling the lease is my only option unless i give the car back but then I will get a really bad credit rating, apparently so bad and as bad as a house repo! great!! fingers crossed it will all work out!

coffeepot;8471981]Sounds tough on all of you, congratulations on the baby though, im sure if OH can get a better paid job without all hours on call then things will seem so much brighter,
Are you there on WP ? if so can you apply for PR so you can choose where you work ? of course you can always look for work and re apply for another WP if that is the only way at the moment,
Without asking too many questions when will your debts be paid back here in UK ? is there any way of raising any cash ?
Like others have said can you cut your costs in any way ?
What about changing your mortgage to extend slightly ? sorry probably already thought of all this if your like me,
Hope you sort things out, good luck and take care [/QUOTE]

l green

Im going to try to sell my car lease (another mistake we made getting a lease car each) they tie u in so much! Thats about the only way we can cut costs. Just bought the house last yr so can't really sell and don't really want to as the value at the moment is always increasing. May re-mortgage in a few yrs if we make it that far! Then if i sell my lease maybe some part time childcare will be more affordable.Thanks for the suggestions tho. have thought about all that and now tring to do something about it. He's looking for a job but he's so selective as he doesn't wan to get caught up in another bad 'deal' of a job.
We should really have thought about the whole thing more before rushing out here. financillay we were a bit stupid. After loosing my dad in the UK very suddenly before we came out think part of it was running away from all the memories and pain of the loss plus we didn't want to come out here when my son was getting much older- he's 8 now and i know as children get older, house moves get harder!

Auld Yin

Try these people about breaking your lease.

http://www.leasebusters.com/

The4BellsLondon

Hey I Green - we moved to Van in Dec 2008 and I hear you and your probs - if you want a chat / coffee, there area few of us Brit ladies that get together - give me a pm

Coffeepot

[QUOTE=l green;8472114]Yes we have permanant residency and my husband has been looking for a different job although he hasn't had much look finding a job in IT that totally fits his skills. He is highly skilled and got lots of management experience, truth is i think he's worried he's going to make another mistake, been 'under the thumb' of a un appreciative, work all hrs job again. Its not all doom and gloom i soppose, i just wish for a bit of freedom from it all- a rest for a couple of weeks (doesn't everybody tho!)- looking forward to summer here tho if only we could get more time off together. Another big mistake was rushing into getting a car each when we first came here. We got a lease car each- now i seem to be tied in a really need to get rid of mine and manage with the one- this would free up loads of money as the insurance is over 2K per yr and the monthly lease over $300 a month- guna post the lease today and try and get rid- selling the lease is my only option unless i give the car back but then I will get a really bad credit rating, apparently so bad and as bad as a house repo! great!! fingers crossed it will all work out!

Have you seen the IT thread with links to jobs ? sorry don't know how to post it maybe he needs to do a little training himself to adapt to what jobs are there, my OH has done this to make himself more marketable in what has been a very hard work place ( during the recession )

He is IT and has been looking at jobs for a while, in Canada there are definately IT jobs out there and more coming with things picking up, same as here in the UK, OH gets jobs through daily which he hasn't for about 2 years.
I really hope your husband can get another job and soon, keep looking there is one there somewhere

Good idea to get rid of your car, have to look at what you will save monthly not what it has cost you ( sorry not trying to sound harsh or anything ) We have been there and its hard i know, also had a baby thrown into the equation plus a lot of other crap so i do know how you are feeling

It must have been hard loosing your dad, maybe you haven't grieved properly for him yet, i can here some possitive vibes in your post and hardship aside a baby is such a blessing

Stay strong and things will improve, get together with Carrie ( 4 bells ) she is a tonic at anytime

The4BellsLondon

Aww schucks cp

Caitilin

probably a stupid idea, as you'd have to check the regs and insurances and the like you'd need, but if you're already providing daycare for 4 (soon 5! - congrats!) then is it worth you setting up as an in house daycare? It'd provide your kids and some other kids with care and you'd save the childcare costs and be there with them all the time if you could use it to replace your job?

ExKiwilass

Caitlin has a good idea. I know lots of mums who have done that. If it's under a certain number of kids (I think 3, or maybe 4) you don't need to get licensed. And you could work during the day, instead of nights. Full time per kid you could be looking at 500-700 each (thereabouts).