sar1234

Hi all,

Please accept my apologies if this is the wrong place to post this, but it doesn't really fit any category (appart from maybe immigration, but I am looking for advice from people already in NZ).

My husband and I have spent three years waiting for our Canadian visa and expect to be called for final assessment soon. But..we are thinking of abandoning the process and putting in an application to NZ.

I have spent a year living in both Vancouver and in NZ (Wellington, Christchurch), but one was as a student and the other doing casual work (which was pretty easy to get), so I don't feel either gives me a fair reflection of permanent residency.

The reasons for considering pulling out of Canada are concerns around the exchance rate (very different to 3 years ago!), house prices (we want to live in Vancouver, v pricey) and how difficult it is to get work. I am worried we will end up with no jobs and unable to get onto the property ladder. However, having read some peoples experiences on here, the same issues seem to be cropping up and I am now loosing my nerve a bit!

If anyone has any pearls of wisdom, or also had to choose, any thoughts would be much appreciated as I am driving myself crazy with indecision!

Many thanks.

Woodlea

Send a PM to CAN2NZ he has lived in Canada (BC I think) and will tell you his thoughts, he now live in Canterbury.
Also Kiwilass lives in BC I think.
Good luck.

sar1234

Many thanks for your suggestion - much appreciated. Apparently it seems you are not able to PM until posted at least 3 messages, so I guess I will need to post something else first!

Charismatic

Well it’s easy to find employment here but very difficult to find well paid work which, if you don’t have a lot in savings can make living here a challenge. Insist on getting a very lucrative job offer before you move (if you only follow one bit of advice on this thread make it that). House prices are a ridiculous multiple of income so while cheap to purchase they are probably comparatively expensive.

Generally: It’s not sunny all of the time here but for about 4 months of the year it’s damn near perfect. “Work hard, play hard” is a myth because most people are too busy trying to make ends meet. The distance on a map does not indicate the time it takes to drive between two places because infrastructure is still in development (at a glacial pace). The Kiwis are a shy people so you may really need to use all you charm to make new friends .

Seriously: Have you considered Australia? Apparently they help new buyers a lot with grants etc. and their economy is taking off again.

sar1234

Thanks for the advice - we will def try to find a job before coming out.

Austrailia is an option, although to be honest (and I appreciate this is the opposite of most people!) I am not keen on living somewhere too warm. I love a proper winter, although a winter with no Christmas would take some gettings used to!

I think whichever way we go, it sounds like getting well paid work is going to be a real challenge. The one thing that is slightly in our favour for NZ is that we spent a year working there on a working holiday visa, so have a tiny bit of experience over there. That won't help us to get a well paid job though!

Hmm...this isn't an easy decision, I need a crystal ball!

londonescapee

Hello, welcome and it's not an easy decision to make. Seems such a shame to abandon the Canadian dream after 3 years if you are so close to it? We are moving to NZ for at least a couple of years primarily because husband has homesickness after 11 years here and we just need to give it a go! but I would have loved to try for Canada/Vancouver for a few years. We may still do in fact if NZ isn't quite what we are looking for, who knows!

Out of interest what are your fields of work? Good luck with whatever you decide

sar1234

Thanks Londonescapee (which is what I soon hope to be too!). Hope you enjoy your move to NZ!

My husband works in accountancy & I am in the charity sector. Whilst non profit roles seem to be pretty thin on the ground in both places, the one advantage I have is that I can offer myself as a volunteer initially (if they'll take me!) to get a bit of experience.

I think we may end up putting in a NZ application and leaving it up to fate to see which comes through first. We'll also keep an eye out for jobs we can apply for from here, as that would resolve our biggest worry, which is getting work!

Even though we have been waiting for 3 years for Canada, we fall under their old immigration system and there seem to be a lot of hold ups with visas from this system at the moment - we are basically in a big backlog. (If you do decide to give Canada a go at some point, you wouldn't have to wait as long, as new system much quicker).

ExKiwilass

I love NZ and Wellington in particular, it is my home.

However.

I would go for Vancouver, hands down. Better standard of living, weather is good ( I think so - it does rain a lot in winter but the summers are gorgeous) and more opportunities. Charismatic kind of outlined some of the downsides to NZ. "Working to make ends meet" is a fair call. Honestly, the standard of living in north america is higher than either Oz or NZ (in my opinion, having lived in all 3 countries).


And I hope Crap Coffee's not upset with me again

londonescapee

What in the voluntary sector is it you do? I'm a fundraiser and found a good job in a very short space of time - but I guess if you are on the operations side it is a bit harder Any transferable skills to the private or health sector? I think doing as you do and leaving it in the lap of the gods is quite exciting and the way to go If it doesn't work out you can always move again!

Thank you for your good wishes, can't believe it has come around so fast for us. On the positive side, my brother and sis in law moved out with no jobs 3 years ago and love it and have a very good quality of life. They find things so much better in NZ than here. But of course that's not very helpful on the Canadian side of things is it I would move to C because of the snowboarding being virtually on your doorstep in Vancover - of course we could do that in NZ but we are dictated by where we can get work (so Taupo would be our nearest bet now!).

sar1234

Thanks for the advice! Really usefull to hear it from someone who has lived in both!

sar1234

[QUOTE=londonescapee;8804086]What in the voluntary sector is it you do? I'm a fundraiser and found a good job in a very short space of time - but I guess if you are on the operations side it is a bit harder Any transferable skills to the private or health sector? QUOTE]

I am also a fundraiser! Really good to hear that you managed to find a job quite quickly. This is one of my concerns - I have been keeping an eye out for vacancies (only in Vancouver, haven't been looking at NZ til now) but a lot of charities have their head office in Toronto. The roles that have come up are also pretty different from what I do, as I am in corp partnerships there doesn't seem to be as much in the way of corporate fundraisng. I guess the skills are transferable to other areas, but I don't fit any of the specs in terms of experience!

I would be really interested to hear how you find the voluntary section in NZ and the differences from the UK once you are settled.

ExKiwilass

[QUOTE=sar1234;8805801]
Well, at the end of the day, it's about where you can get a job, isn't it?

IF NZ is easier than Vancouver (Don't know, don't work in your industry) then...that's where I'd go.

crap coffee

All make perfect sense. could not agree with you more. personally think the weather (Vancouver) is much better than Welly.. and yes, the standard of living in north america is higher than either Oz or NZ - sadly its true. Kiwilass, you are very lucky. I wouldn't live in NZ if I could find a job in Van/could obtain Canadian PR (easily).

and, no, never upset with you.