Any Canada experts?
Discussion
I'm looking for some advice on a potentail emmigration to Canada. We are a family of four, looking to relocate in the next 2-3 years. We are probably aiming for the Ottawa area. My personal situation is a little complicated as I will keep my current job, working overseas for half of the year. As I understand it I will be liable for tax regardless, as I will have a home and family based there.
Anyway, if anyone has made the move from the UK, or has any experience of how things work there if you have a minute to answer some of these I would appreciate it.
Do most people buy or rent in Canada?
Is the Canadian housing market as speculative as it is in the UK - i.e. do people see their houses as part of their pension?
Is there a decent real estate website like Rightmove/Zoopla for Canada? (i'm currently using realtor.ca)
Would I be better looking at the Ontario or Quebec side of Ottawa? Any pros or cons to either? Ideally we'd like to be on the way to Mont Tremblant.
Is it easy to find school places do the good ones tend to be oversubscribed?
Are private school fees comparable with the UK?
I have thousands more questions - are there any recommended books I should read which cover this stuff?
TIA
Anyway, if anyone has made the move from the UK, or has any experience of how things work there if you have a minute to answer some of these I would appreciate it.
Do most people buy or rent in Canada?
Is the Canadian housing market as speculative as it is in the UK - i.e. do people see their houses as part of their pension?
Is there a decent real estate website like Rightmove/Zoopla for Canada? (i'm currently using realtor.ca)
Would I be better looking at the Ontario or Quebec side of Ottawa? Any pros or cons to either? Ideally we'd like to be on the way to Mont Tremblant.
Is it easy to find school places do the good ones tend to be oversubscribed?
Are private school fees comparable with the UK?
I have thousands more questions - are there any recommended books I should read which cover this stuff?
TIA
I moved to Canada (Toronto) 7 years ago with 3 kids, a cat, dog, 2 containers (one containing a Chimaera) oh, and a wife. Came over on the skilled worker visa (work permit). Now have Permanent Residency. Bought a place... more cars, changed jobs!!
Drop me a line on my email and i’ll try and answer as much as possible. I’m in the UK this weekend and the following if you want to chat.
If you haven’t done it yet, get proof of insurance for as many years as possible as they’ll screw you for car insurance otherwise.
Drop me a line on my email and i’ll try and answer as much as possible. I’m in the UK this weekend and the following if you want to chat.
If you haven’t done it yet, get proof of insurance for as many years as possible as they’ll screw you for car insurance otherwise.
Edited by RossMac on Wednesday 19th September 19:06
I moved from the UK to Ottawa about 5 years ago (another PHer 'starf' is here too). Regarding the Ottawa questions: where to live depends on where you work to be honest. If you are tech sector then you will likely be working in the west end therefore the commute from the French side (gatineau) will be painful. If you work downtown then the commute is ok, though the bridges get pretty busy. Homes are cheaper on the Quebec side, but some taxes are higher. Getting to tremblant isn't a problem, 2 hours drive from downtown Ottawa on reasonable roads. I regularly do day trips in winter.
Hope that helps a bit, happy to answer more questions about Ottawa life.
Hope that helps a bit, happy to answer more questions about Ottawa life.
Rich_AR said:
How was the import process on the Chim? Any tips?
Pretty painless. So long as >15 years old they waive the safety reqs. like ABS and airbags. Just need to get the emission test done locally and registered in Canada. The TVR is cleaner than most of the cars driving around here (according to the garage). Insurance can be a pain to find. RossMac said:
I moved to Canada (Toronto) 7 years ago with 3 kids, a cat, dog, 2 containers (one containing a Chimaera) oh, and a wife. Came over on the skilled worker visa (work permit). Now have Permanent Residency. Bought a place... more cars, changed jobs!!
Drop me a line on my email and i’ll try and answer as much as possible. I’m in the UK this weekend and the following if you want to chat.
If you haven’t done it yet, get proof of insurance for as many years as possible as they’ll screw you for car insurance otherwise.
I'm moving to Toronto in mid-November with work subject to securing the work permit. Please could I pick your brains on a couple of items - your PH profile doesn't seem to permit emails.Drop me a line on my email and i’ll try and answer as much as possible. I’m in the UK this weekend and the following if you want to chat.
If you haven’t done it yet, get proof of insurance for as many years as possible as they’ll screw you for car insurance otherwise.
Edited by RossMac on Wednesday 19th September 19:06
You mention getting proof of insurance - does this need to be in a specific format for Canadian insurers or is the standard "certificate of no claims" that my UK insurer sends out each year sufficient?
Sadly I can't ship my cars over - a) too young and b) the company won't pay for it; however a Caterham doesn't seem best suited to the climate or roads. Google maps suggests not, but are there any good driving roads outside of Toronto?
Any other tips or pointers you can provide would be massively appreciated and repaid in beers when I arrive!
RossMac said:
Pretty painless. So long as >15 years old they waive the safety reqs. like ABS and airbags. Just need to get the emission test done locally and registered in Canada. The TVR is cleaner than most of the cars driving around here (according to the garage). Insurance can be a pain to find.
Sent you an email. 
Thought I'd bump on this thread as someone's just started talking to me about a role in Montreal. It's a dream job but anything but a dream time as I have two kids in schools. One will finish this summer and they seem happy that I wouldn't start until then but the other still has a few years to go. My concern is that I would move and then the job wouldn't be great. Could I look for another job in Canada or would I be put on the first plane home?
fttm said:
It all depends on what type of visa/work permit you arrive with , you can obtain permanent residency before coming over therefore you wont be tied to one specific employer . Each province has slightly different quirks regards immigration , I'm not familiar with QB requirements .
Thanks for the reply - good to know it's at least possible to stay. Off to dig a little more before coming back with some more questions.zbc said:
Thanks for the reply - good to know it's at least possible to stay. Off to dig a little more before coming back with some more questions.
My girlfriend is from Montreal. I briefly looked at relocating there, the Quebec visa requirements are pretty weird - the aim is to preserve the culture of the province. Having little to no French speaking will probably count against you. The whole French vs Anglo dynamic there seems very odd to me, make sure you’re aware of all of that, I certainly wasn’t. I sound negative because she is also very negative about the place, but I’ve heard it’s a beautiful city and a good place to live. The winter is BRUTAL though. Im in Philadelphia and thought it was bad here but it’s nothing by comparison. They’ve already been down to -15C there and had several feet of snow and it’ll go on like this until March. It could be very hard on your kids as you pretty much can’t go outside for 3 months.
TimLambert7 said:
zbc said:
Thanks for the reply - good to know it's at least possible to stay. Off to dig a little more before coming back with some more questions.
My girlfriend is from Montreal. I briefly looked at relocating there, the Quebec visa requirements are pretty weird - the aim is to preserve the culture of the province. Having little to no French speaking will probably count against you. The whole French vs Anglo dynamic there seems very odd to me, make sure you’re aware of all of that, I certainly wasn’t. I sound negative because she is also very negative about the place, but I’ve heard it’s a beautiful city and a good place to live. The winter is BRUTAL though. Im in Philadelphia and thought it was bad here but it’s nothing by comparison. They’ve already been down to -15C there and had several feet of snow and it’ll go on like this until March. It could be very hard on your kids as you pretty much can’t go outside for 3 months.
TimLambert7 said:
zbc said:
Thanks for the reply - good to know it's at least possible to stay. Off to dig a little more before coming back with some more questions.
My girlfriend is from Montreal. I briefly looked at relocating there, the Quebec visa requirements are pretty weird - the aim is to preserve the culture of the province. Having little to no French speaking will probably count against you. The whole French vs Anglo dynamic there seems very odd to me, make sure you’re aware of all of that, I certainly wasn’t. I sound negative because she is also very negative about the place, but I’ve heard it’s a beautiful city and a good place to live. The winter is BRUTAL though. Im in Philadelphia and thought it was bad here but it’s nothing by comparison. They’ve already been down to -15C there and had several feet of snow and it’ll go on like this until March. It could be very hard on your kids as you pretty much can’t go outside for 3 months.
zbc said:
Thanks for this. The job is indeed in Montreal so very relevant. Fortunately the French side isn't a problem. I've lived in France for the past 12 years. I hear the accent can be a bit of a struggle though. I presume this is one of the reasons why they've approached me. I was reading the visa requirements and weird is definitely right.
She speaks both languages and says it’s equivalent to US English and British English. Largely understandable but some words and phrases are just completely different. Nothing insurmountable and by the sounds of it you’re a strong French speaker so it shouldn’t be too hard to adjust. TimLambert7 said:
zbc said:
Thanks for the reply - good to know it's at least possible to stay. Off to dig a little more before coming back with some more questions.
My girlfriend is from Montreal. I briefly looked at relocating there, the Quebec visa requirements are pretty weird - the aim is to preserve the culture of the province. Having little to no French speaking will probably count against you. The whole French vs Anglo dynamic there seems very odd to me, make sure you’re aware of all of that, I certainly wasn’t. I sound negative because she is also very negative about the place, but I’ve heard it’s a beautiful city and a good place to live. The winter is BRUTAL though. Im in Philadelphia and thought it was bad here but it’s nothing by comparison. They’ve already been down to -15C there and had several feet of snow and it’ll go on like this until March. It could be very hard on your kids as you pretty much can’t go outside for 3 months.
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