Living in Vancouver or Canada in General

[Teresa Pitman]

You can go to the Multiple Listing Service site (google on MLS real estate) to find some rental properties. Search on the map for the place you want, then put in a low figure (say $2,000) for the top value where it asks for the price you want for a house, and it will give you rental properties below that price.

My friend tells me that renting in Vancouver is actually much more reasonable than buying a place.

Ottawa is definitely colder in winter than some of the more southern parts of Ontario.

Teresa

 

[Scornelius]

I live in Pickering, which is the city directly east of Toronto. I've also lived in B.C, in Vancouver and on a tiny island called Gabriola. BC is absolutely beautiful, but Ontario is pretty great too. Warm summers, snowy winters, lakes and forests and huge cities and beautiful small towns. My husband is from the Windsor area, and I would agree with a previous poster about the smog issue. With all the trucks and industry there, the air quality can certainly suffer. But get half an hour out of the city, and it's fine.

One of the best things about the country, IMHO, is the health care. I know people will argue that the system is way over-stressed and wait times are obscene, but I believe they are kinda looking a gift horse in the mouth. When you see someone in the states who had to sell everything they own or declare bankruptcy to cover a hospital bill, you'll never bad-mouth our free healthcare ever again. You can supplement the provincial health care (OHIP in our case) with your employee health insurance, which should cover extras like prescriptions and dental and eye care.

I think, if possible, it would be best if you could finish your training here. There are a whole lot of really smart people in this country with PhDs and medical degrees who are driving a cab while they try to 'upgrade' (for lack of a better word) their skills.

Don't worry about the french. Though hubby and I both speak it fluently, we never seem to find a venue for it, unless we head to Quebec, or maybe some smaller towns on in the Maritimes. If you do make the decision to join us in the 'Land of the Frozen Chosen', I think you'll be quite happy here.
Good Luck!!

 

[angel659]

Hi

Thanks ever so much for your help. Dh and I sat down last night and agreed that Sept 08 we will be applying for a visa.

However, I am now looking into where we want to live I think Vancouver area or Ontario at the moment. I am starting to look at Universities and finding out more information on how I can train in Canada. What entry requirements the universities need, because my qualifications unfortunately will not be recognised. I have National Vocational Qualification in Health Level 2 and 3. Level 3 is equivalent to 2 Alevels in UK.

We saw a few nice properties in Canada. I need to find out roughly what the area is like. We will fingers crossed fly out to either Ottawa or Vancouver in May 08 when my children break up from school. I will also use this opportunity to visit schools and universities.

For a permenant residence visa it said 42 months to process and 6 weeks for student visas.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

If you come to Ontario, be sure to let us know and maybe we can get together!

Teresa

 

[angel659]

If you come to Ontario, be sure to let us know and maybe we can get together!

Teresa

I will keep that in mind. I will post here when we have booked our flights in the new year. It would be nice to meet someone who lives there.

 

[damo]

You should contact the universities and colleges directly to get the information you need. Here is a good link for you:

http://www.canadianrn.com/directory/educate.htm#ONTARIO

 

[FayeW]

I am originally from Nova Scotia, my husband is from Newfoundland, and we now live in Ottawa, so I can help you out with a few locations!

We moved here from Nova Scotia in 1997. My husband was in the military and we were devastated! We wanted to stay in Nova Scotia, however, it was only a few months before we decided that Ontario was the "land of milk and honey" and Ottawa was the Promised Land. We have made Ottawa our permanent home, and my husband retired from the military and took a government job a few months ago.

The climate is a little hard to get used to as we have extreme temperatures in both winter and summer. Yesterday it was something like 40 degrees with the humidity and it gets hotter than that. In winter, it can sometimes get to -50 with the windchill. However, the good news is that the nice weather comes early and stays late, so we usually only have about 3 months of the snowy, cold weather in winter. We can still be in shorts in October, and occasional days in November. We enjoy a very close proximity to the US border (we are about 1 hr away) and we actually drive over to New York state to fly to Orlando because domestic air travel in the US is very cheap (about 1/2 the cost of flying from Ottawa).

We have beautiful lakes and mountains here in Ontario, too. There is an area called Thousand Islands near Kingston/Gananoque that is absolutely beautiful. Lots of outdoor activities and beautiful campgrounds. Here in Ottawa we are literally minutes away from the Quebec border (cross a bridge over the Ottawa River). Many people live in Quebec and work in Ottawa, and vice versa. There are many museums, and wonderful family activities.

We love the school system in Ontario. You can choose English Public, English Catholic, French Public or French Catholic. If you are in the English school system your children will have "Core" French everyday to teach them the basics. My husband and I are both completely anglephone but French for some reason is the best subject for both of our children (however, they were in French immersion until grade 2).

The health services in Ottawa are fantastic. We have several great hospitals, including CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) which is world renowed. We rarely ever go to the hospital...I think the last time anyone in our family was there was about 2 years ago and that was because I was having an MRI. Usually we either go to our own doctor (who's office is attached to an xray/ultrasound clinic and has a blood lab literally down the hall) or we go to an urgent care clinic (5 mins away) where again they have xray, blood lab and pharmacy on site and they are open until 10 at night.

We love Ottawa and highly recommend the lifestyle we enjoy here!

 

[angel659]

I am originally from Nova Scotia, my husband is from Newfoundland, and we now live in Ottawa, so I can help you out with a few locations!

We moved here from Nova Scotia in 1997. My husband was in the military and we were devastated! We wanted to stay in Nova Scotia, however, it was only a few months before we decided that Ontario was the "land of milk and honey" and Ottawa was the Promised Land. We have made Ottawa our permanent home, and my husband retired from the military and took a government job a few months ago.

The climate is a little hard to get used to as we have extreme temperatures in both winter and summer. Yesterday it was something like 40 degrees with the humidity and it gets hotter than that. In winter, it can sometimes get to -50 with the windchill. However, the good news is that the nice weather comes early and stays late, so we usually only have about 3 months of the snowy, cold weather in winter. We can still be in shorts in October, and occasional days in November. We enjoy a very close proximity to the US border (we are about 1 hr away) and we actually drive over to New York state to fly to Orlando because domestic air travel in the US is very cheap (about 1/2 the cost of flying from Ottawa).

We have beautiful lakes and mountains here in Ontario, too. There is an area called Thousand Islands near Kingston/Gananoque that is absolutely beautiful. Lots of outdoor activities and beautiful campgrounds. Here in Ottawa we are literally minutes away from the Quebec border (cross a bridge over the Ottawa River). Many people live in Quebec and work in Ottawa, and vice versa. There are many museums, and wonderful family activities.

We love the school system in Ontario. You can choose English Public, English Catholic, French Public or French Catholic. If you are in the English school system your children will have "Core" French everyday to teach them the basics. My husband and I are both completely anglephone but French for some reason is the best subject for both of our children (however, they were in French immersion until grade 2).

The health services in Ottawa are fantastic. We have several great hospitals, including CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) which is world renowed. We rarely ever go to the hospital...I think the last time anyone in our family was there was about 2 years ago and that was because I was having an MRI. Usually we either go to our own doctor (who's office is attached to an xray/ultrasound clinic and has a blood lab literally down the hall) or we go to an urgent care clinic (5 mins away) where again they have xray, blood lab and pharmacy on site and they are open until 10 at night.

We love Ottawa and highly recommend the lifestyle we enjoy here!

Wow all that sounds so appealing. Especially the drive to NYstate. We loved NYC if we could drive or take a cheap internal flight then thats another bonus to me.

I have had some shocking news that my qualifications do not seem to be enough to get into a degree course, but it would over here So I have emailed the university of Otawa and Toronto to let me know what I can do to be eligable for entry. I think it will be upto my dh's entry of skilled worker.

By the sounds of the requirements and expertations your education system sounds great

 

[wannago2disney]

Another option for you is London Ontario Region... or even a little more southwest. London,ON is a "Medical Teaching" community to be sure...The University of Western Ontario is one of the best rated universities in Canada...and I feel lucky to have such access to excellent medical care and facilities within driving distance. (I am in Sarnia--a border city to Michigan).

London does get snow...if you look more towards Windsor there tends to be less snow and warmer temps.

My cousin is in the accounting business and I have been told that there are lots of opportunities for that career in London and area, as for Nursing, it is probably more advisable and economical to train in Canada...I have several friends who have trained in the US for nursing and are not able to work in Canada with the degree they received there. I would definitely do more research regarding that before you start/complete your training in UK. It would ''suck" (for lack of a better word) to complete your taining there just to find out you had to do it all over again.

I know your decision will be difficult...it certainly can't be easy to move from a place you have know your whole life to a new country....but we aren't that different over here...as for your concern about the french language issues, Unless you are planning on Quebec and some parts of New Brunswick there won't be any problems!

Good Luck!

 

[Northstar]

I have had some shocking news that my qualifications do not seem to be enough to get into a degree course, but it would over here So I have emailed the university of Otawa and Toronto to let me know what I can do to be eligable for entry. I

You might want to look into a "foreign credentials evaluation" service recognized by universities. I think it's $$$ but worth investigating. Here's a link from York University... I put this link just because I think you can trust the services they recommend to be legitimate and recognized:

http://www.yorku.ca/web/futurestudents/aces.html


Come on over! Look at it this way, you can get to Disney from here without flying over an ocean!

 

[angel659]

You might want to look into a "foreign credentials evaluation" service recognized by universities. I think it's $$$ but worth investigating. Here's a link from York University... I put this link just because I think you can trust the services they recommend to be legitimate and recognized:

http://www.yorku.ca/web/futurestudents/aces.html

Come on over! Look at it this way, you can get to Disney from here without flying over an ocean!

I am already on that plane lol.

Having to organise so much waiting for a perm skilled worker visa. I think dh said it can be done in 9 months, but his accounting course does not finish until Sep 08. I hope we can get our visa request ready to move in either Sep 08 or Jan 09. I am having to approach it gently to dh. I dont think he see's it happening. I dont know he just takes things in his stride He has been looking today, which I feel is a huge step for him.

 

[angel659]

You might want to look into a "foreign credentials evaluation" service recognized by universities. I think it's $$$ but worth investigating. Here's a link from York University... I put this link just because I think you can trust the services they recommend to be legitimate and recognized:

http://www.yorku.ca/web/futurestudents/aces.html


Come on over! Look at it this way, you can get to Disney from here without flying over an ocean!

Excellent website. Thanks ever so much I will be contacting them to get them to look at my level 3 NVQ. Problem is because I have trained within my local hospital they are not the quickest to sign off my portfolio. My assessor told me yesterday it will be signed off at Christmas. I still have 5 units to complete. Fingers crossed if I work harder it will be done quicker.

I am determined to get this all sorted out. I will get a statement from my examing body regarding level 2 and will get them to assess that one.

 

[angel659]

Hi

Dh has just heard back from online assessment form he filled in. They reacon Bruce would be able to get a permanent visa.

Here is the company we used

www.canadavisa.com

They help us the application and to advise us how to get more points.

As dh pointed out that his final AAT studies do not finish until Sep 08. Do we need to wait before then to apply to can we apply now. We cant move to Canada until Sep 08 the absoloute earliest. Its so exciting.

 

[drag n' fly]

Good Luck!

Here is where you want to go to start checking out properties and prices!

http://www.mls.ca//index.aspx

 

[squirrel]

Hi,

I have lived on the north shore (North Vancouver) most of my live. There are lots of things to do in Vancouver and on the north shore. Prices of houses are quite high-half a million. It depends where you are of course, but I wanted you to have an idea.

I moved to Chilliwack just over 2 years ago. I moved so that I could afford to start my own daycare centre. I was able to sell my 2 bdrm condo and a buy a house in Chilliwack (just over 1hr away from Vancouver) and still have some money to start the daycare. I really like living in a smaller town-there is always something happening around here. We have some rivers near by and I am so close to town I can go look in the shops without taking the car. It is also so close to other things like Harrison Hot Springs. The weather out here is similar to Vancouver only I would say it gets warmer in the summer as you don't get the ocean breeze.

I'm sure you will find a place that is right for you. A lot of areas are looking for nurses and doctors-especially the smaller towns/cities outside of Vancouver.

I didn't read all of the pp's but your children may move up a grade level when they start school out here as the children start Kindergarten when they are 5 or almost 5 (Dec.31). I had a parent who moved from UK and it was hard for her to wait for her son to start Kindergarten as he turned 5 in Jan. (he was also her second child).

HTH

 

[nelljay1973]

As an Australian that immigrated to Canada I can say that for me the immigration process was easy. There is no need to use an immigration agent, you can easily complete the paperwork yourself.

Check out this link for the government's immigration department.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/

 

[candizfan]

I live in Windsor. My family has been here for 38 years now (I was two when we moved). As a family, we have lived all over Canada - my dad was in the army.

I was born outside of Vancouver and my mom talks about how much it rained out there.

We do have smog here in Windsor but it is not as bad as the big cities. We are not a huge city like Vancouver or Toronto. If you live in a big city, you will get smog on very hot humid days.

We have a shortage of nurses here in Windsor so you would be very employable once you finish your schooling.

The housing market in Windsor is very affordable. For a 3 bedroom home with a garage, you can spend less the $200,000 and get a nice home in a nice neighbourhood.

We also have the advantage of being very near a big city. Detroit is right across the river (only a half mile wide) and you can take advantage of the museums and galliers and the major sports teams and theaters.

Detroit airport is only 40 minutes from my house so we often fly out of Detroit for vacations as it is much easier for us. We drive across the border and we can fly out of Detroit Metro airport.

We have quiet a lot of people from England living in Windsor. My DD's grade six teacher was from England and I work with 3 men from England. Plus I have four friends that were from England before moving here.

It is a very big decision and you are smart to do a lot of research before you move.

Good luck to you and your family.

 

[angel659]

Thank you for all of your advice. I will certainly look into applying on our own backs. I am worried that we will get it wrong somehow and then they say no.

Does all of Ontario have smog? We have seen a few cottages in Niagra on the lakes. We may stay here and travel around Canada in May. I know its not a great location. I am having a few problems trying to find a cottage central in Ontario, so we can visit Niagra, Toronto, Oshuawa etc

 

[angel659]

I live in Windsor. My family has been here for 38 years now (I was two when we moved). As a family, we have lived all over Canada - my dad was in the army.

I was born outside of Vancouver and my mom talks about how much it rained out there.

We do have smog here in Windsor but it is not as bad as the big cities. We are not a huge city like Vancouver or Toronto. If you live in a big city, you will get smog on very hot humid days.

We have a shortage of nurses here in Windsor so you would be very employable once you finish your schooling.

The housing market in Windsor is very affordable. For a 3 bedroom home with a garage, you can spend less the $200,000 and get a nice home in a nice neighbourhood.

We also have the advantage of being very near a big city. Detroit is right across the river (only a half mile wide) and you can take advantage of the museums and galliers and the major sports teams and theaters.

Detroit airport is only 40 minutes from my house so we often fly out of Detroit for vacations as it is much easier for us. We drive across the border and we can fly out of Detroit Metro airport.

We have quiet a lot of people from England living in Windsor. My DD's grade six teacher was from England and I work with 3 men from England. Plus I have four friends that were from England before moving here.

It is a very big decision and you are smart to do a lot of research before you move.

Good luck to you and your family.

Thank you for your advice. It really has helped. I am looking at nursing universities at the moment. I am trying to look at locations near to them. We do not want to live in Toronto City, but dh will probably commute to work in the city. I would love to live in a quaint neighbourhood. Something quieter, prettier and friendly.

 

[candizfan]

Check into Mississauga if you want to be in the Toronto area but don't want to live in Toronto.

But Mississauga will get smog because it is really close to Toronto (suburb of Toronto). But the neighbourhoods are pretty nice and the housing is cheaper than Toronto.

Windsor has a University and we are a city of about 200,000 people compared to 5 million in the Greater Toronto area.

My brother lives in Mississauga and commutes to Toronto every day.

You could check into London Ontario as well. It is about 2 hours driving time from Windsor and Toronto. It is a very nice area as well.

Jo-Anne