all those living in canada..

O

oliviacharley

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Hey,
I just wanted to ask a random question...I couldnt find Tia's details to ask directly....sorry...
I was just wondering what it is like living over there...
Although I have no immediate plans to move over there, and I know there is a waiting list etc...but I just wondered how expensive property is, where you look for property and what it is like with your horses...?
Tia, did you ship any of your horses out there from the uk....? Are you happier over there then here etc...?
Im training to be a social worker and my hubby is a teacher so I was also wondering if canada would except these jobs or not...We are also interested in New Zealand but again we cant do anything until I qualify and we also need some time to build up the courage to even think possibly about taking the leap as we will be leaving family behind....:0(..Thats another question....how do you cope with family being far away..?
I have loads of questions to ask but I just wondered if you would mind letting me know how you guys get on over there...?
thanks :0)
 
Enfys would be another good person to ask.

Or me.:) I lived there 40 years until I recently moved here, alternately in B.C. and Ontario and am, in fact, Canadian. I'm not sure how much actual help I can be but might be able to direct you a bit.

Your questions are a bit general and might be better answered by researching the job market on line etc. rather than relying on individual experiences but still, good to get some eyewitness reports.

There are lots of Canadian horsey bulletin boards which might yield anwers in that area. My home turf: http://www.equiman.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi but there are lots more in different regions.

Remember Canada is HUGE. Living one place is not really like living in another, even with regards to laws, economy etc. Do you have any particular area in mind?
 
I just had a look at that forum, and
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at this thread http://www.equiman.com/cgi-bin/ubb/Forum8/HTML/026450.html
 
thanks peeps for the info
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Im not too sure where to look really...I just wanted to find out more about how to get there and what is needed really. Also finding out about personal reasons why people left to live there and what they like about the place is always an interest to me :0)
Thanks for the info so far...its great xx
 
The official website: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.asp

I can't comment on people's reasons for immigrating of course, but most of the Europeans I know there came for the space and relatively lower cost of living. It's a bit of a false impression, though, as if you don't factor in the exchange rate and are making Canadian money it's not RELATIVELY that much cheaper. Living in Toronto is perhaps slightly cheaper than living in London but not by a whole lot. And there are a few "hidden" costs I find people here don't consider, like the fact that you NEED a car if you want to get out of the city - there is nothing close to the transport system in the UK.

I'm totally not putting you off - it's a lovely country and I have not ruled out returing sometime in the future - but I find people from here think it's all very "rural". There are some areas that are, some that aren't. Relatively more open land than in England by a long shot but the same issue of having to go where the work is.

You should go for a visit. I've met many Europeans who have and fallen in love with the country at first sight but some others are dissapointed Personal preference.

But then asking the natives is often the worst plan. We're all jaded by the scenery, the low crime rate, and the high standard of living.
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thanks cruiser......I love canada, I did work in virginia for 5 months when I was 19 too with quarter horses on a ranch which was lovely and I didnt want to come home...although the USA is different from canada...
Its a funny thing to say but I just dont feel at home in the country...where in canada and USA I was quite at ease and loved the space....
Rural yes please!!!
I would be looking for a place that is like New England if poss and near to a city for work...Ideally a smallholding with about 4 acres.
As I said it would not be for a while, but I just wondered how you go about getting into the country...? I know canada are looking for certain types of people and also there is a wait...how long did you have to wait and do you know whether with my career and my hubby's if we would be favoured...? Also did you ship your horse of there and how did you go about it...?
Do you prefer it to england..?
 
Hi Herringbone.
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Well lots of questions here and I can only answer how it was for me - everyone who immigrates is in a unique situation so my experience will not be the same for others.

First thing you need to know is that the waiting list right now to be processed for Canada is running at about 4 years wait. It took us 23 months from start to finish however I entered Canada much earlier, before we were given Permanent Residence, on some permits which allowed temporary residency for up to 3 years. Mind you, we paid highly for this "privilege".

Anyway, with regards to Canada - well it's huge! BC is nothing like Ontario which is nothing like other Provinces in Canada. We spent 10 months in total in BC and we absolutely loved it out there!
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However we couldn't find the right property therefore we started looking elsewhere, and that was how we ended up in Ontario. The differences between those two Provinces are massive - they are like two completely different countries. So if you were to decide upon immigrating to Canada then you would have to do your own personal research.

Properties in general are far cheaper than in the UK, however this is only relevant if you are bringing in £'s. The minute you start to earn $'s then you are really no better off in Canada - the cost of living is very similar to the UK.

I live about an hour and a half's drive from Toronto however I'm only 2 minutes from a reasonable sized town and within half an hours drive from two cities, so pretty well situated for our lifestyle. We are about an hour and a halfs drive from the US border which does have its merits.
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Particularly as nowadays I tend to buy most farm things from the States as these things are sooooo much cheaper than in Canada.

Yes I shipped one mare here - had no problems whatsoever with it. She settled in here perfectly. My experience of horses over here compared to UK horses is that generally they are far better behaved, LOL!!

I am as happy here as I was in the UK. I adored living in Hampshire and I don't mind living here. I used to miss my lifestyle; you know, the lovely bistros, fantastic restaurants, fabulous shopping very close by....that isn't really available here where I live - everything here is "okay". The bistros are okay, the shopping is okay, the restaurants are okay.

What I will say though, is this; I adore living at my farm. If it wasn't for this farm then we would likely have moved onto another Province, possibly BC or parts of Alberta. Ontario doesn't really rock my boat I'm afraid; it's pretty enough but has nothing really truly amazing about it....certainly not compared to BC.

What you will find in rural Ontario is very genuine people. They will become good friends who will do absolutely anything to help you. This is something I'm not sure you would really see in a more built-up area? Emma69 would be the best one to ask that as she lives just outside Toronto.

You don't really get smallholdings of only 4 acres. 4 acres is a garden over here. Mostly what you are thinking of as smallholdings would be no less than about 20 acres. Properties with this small amount of acreage are fairly difficult to find around my area; it either tends to be a house with 7 or 8 acres (which you would not be allowed to keep horses on as deemed too small) or 100+ acres farms.

Larger acreages are much cheaper here.

As social worker and teacher - both are sought after over here, however you would both have to retrain and you would likely need to qualify for a licence; everything appears to need a licence over here. You would have to research this for up to the minute information.

Family being far away doesn't really bother me; although I am very close to my family, I still talk to them frequently and they visit us once a year so not an issue for me.

On the whole, I like living here mainly because of the farm and the people. I can't honestly say I prefer anywhere though - both have plus points and both have negative aspects, so they are both evened out in the end.

When we applied for Immigration, we were told within a couple of weeks of applying that we would have to wait about 2 years for our PR. That was fine by me. If I had been told 4 years, then there is no way we would have waited that length of time and we would have looked at alternatives. NZ was an option for us whatwith having family out there; I totally discounted NZ because I felt it was just too far from the UK. The States was where we really wanted to be but that was just too risky and expensive for us to go there - I wasn't prepared to move Continents on the whim of some ever-changing Visa, therefore we could only consider full immigration with PR at the end of it. Where the States were concerned, the only way to do this was to invest a significant amount of money and there were many clauses which had to be fulfilled; we were not totally at ease with this, so Canada it was.
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thanks Tia, Ive been waiting for you ;0)
Brill info thanks..I didnt realise we may have to retrain but this is why I wanted to ask really....your right NZ is pretty far away and most of my family are in the UK...I just feel a little squeezed in the uk really...
Ill have a read up about it all but thanks everyone for all the great information...knew I could count on you :0)
cheers
 
Aww thanks; that's kind of you to say.

Following on from my comment about re-training; I don't think you have to do years and years of training - I have always been given the impression that it only takes a few months to convert your UK qualifications into a licence of some description over here. Just thought I'd mention it as don't want you having a heartattack LOL!!
 
Hi,

I am sorry that I haven't had time to reply, having an utterly horrible, horrible day and am in no fit state to write what I would like to sensibly.

Just to add to Tia's comment about re-training, in my husbands case (Mechanic) he went on a one week familiarisation course (technical terms are different here of course) and took an exam at the end of it to get his Canadian (for Ontario, different Provinces have different requirements) Certification and License.
His 25 years of experience (with Qualifications and every driving license under the sun) in the UK counted for naught without a Canadian License to practise.

If you contacted the Canadian Embassy or any Immigration firm (we used www.willisbrazolot.com) they will be able to help you with reference to your particular qualifications.

Also, everybody's case is different, but we are here on 3 year Work and Study Permits, the company did everything for us and are contracted to continue to do so until we attain Residency. We applied in March and landed in Toronto at the end of September 2006. Our applications for Residency are well underway.

Like Tia, Ontario doesn't rock our boat either, but it suits us well enough to be here for now. Our first choice would be BC, but that can wait a while.

Just out of interest, a friend of mine in Alberta has had her first snow today!
 
Hi

I have just found this thread by accident.

We moved to New Brunswick Canada 6 months ago.
We were attracted by the space, the pace of life and property prices.
We cam to NB because we could qualify for their Provinvial Nominee Programme, Business class.
It took us 2 years of processing from start to finish.
New Brunswick is a growing province that needs people which is why it has a programme to pick some of its own immigrants.
There is not a lot of money to made here. Not many high flying jobs.
Property is very cheap here.

Atlantic Canada where we are is fairly pretty and we are close to the ocean which is nice.

We have wanted to move into the country and have animals for a long time and in England this simply wasn't an option.
Our 30 acre farm, complete with a barn with enough space for 10 horses and 5 acres of woods cost us $252000 Cad.
At the time equivilent to 112000 punds sterling.
I had worked with horses in the past but was very rusty when I arrived.
I bought myself 2 young shetland (propper british Shetlands) mares to get used to it again.
I am loving having them around and have just started lunging my three yr old and will back her shortly before she is turned away until next year.
since then I have aquired a couple of liveries. Both quarter horse crosses.
As Tia says they are generaly much better behaved than English horses. Although one is only a 2 year old and has had no training, so she still has to learn some manners.

all in all I love it here.
I did feel really homesick for a while, but I couldn't tell you what it was I was hoemsick for.
Feel much better now though.
It really is a very friendly place and people by and large are very genuine.

Any way thats my tale.

Penny
 
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