Moving to Canada

113

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 07 September 2014 - 14:32

Hello

We have plans to move to Canada in the coming 3 years and want to know more about the country i.e. all aspects of living there, schools. Our plan is to go to Toronto, Ontario but we are open and yes in acceptance to adapt and adjust to life in Canada after being 17 odd years in Dubai. Any suggestions in tems of housing, schools, lifestyle, places to live, view / opinions, any info or links you can provide, I shall truly be grateful. It's an overwhelming experience but am looking forward to this new milestone as a family. Thank you once again.
edited by NikitaD on 07/09/2014

NikitaD

113

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 08 October 2014 - 23:12

Judy and marycatherine has given quite an insight. I would just like to share my views. Initially i wasn't interested in shifting to Canada(due to personal preferences) and after making 3 trips in past 2 year now i am all ready to move to Canada. I have recently returned from there and after living for almost 4 months in mississauga ( toronto) i am missing it very much. People are so considerate there and nobody will look at you twice. i miss the laidback lifestyle there.here if you are crossing a road (without signal) cars will not stop at all! for the healthcare i initially felt weird as for each and everything i have to goto a different place and the appointments were under a long waiting time.you do get used to the ease here...but once you get the hang its fine. Whenever you are planning to shift start looking for a family doctor as you need to have one and they only accept patients if there is an opening. after nearly 2 months i found a good family doctor.

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Sanddy_Dogg

5499

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EW MASTER

Latest post on 24 September 2014 - 17:05

Judy, did you used to be a moderator? :) Nikita, have you started the PR process yet? We're moving to BC next June and I'm busy wading through the forms now.

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NikitaD

113

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 15 September 2014 - 13:09

Judy and Marycatherine, thank you both immensely for taking the time to share with me tips and info. It is indeed truly priceless and shall help us to plan things well. Surely I will have lots more queries as the time approaches for our big move. Thank you once again.

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Judy

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 10 September 2014 - 15:45

We also use TD (Toronto Dominion), they have a good branch network. If you want to be in a condo and a good school district, look up and down the Yonge St subway line, from Bloor Street to Finch Avenue. There are some excellent residential areas and some of Toronto's best schools. Stay away from downtown (south of Bloor) because the recent condo growth has put a lot of pressure on schools and they are overcrowded. Toronto has a very strong IT and real estate market (my son works in IT, I work in real estate), but for sure you'd find housing more affordable in a smaller city. Kitchener/Waterloo was an IT hub, but since the downfall of Blackberry, there must be a lot of competition for IT positions. Ottawa might be another option to consider.

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marycatherine

1759

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EW EXPERT

Latest post on 09 September 2014 - 13:07

Any one of the big 5 banks in Canada are very good. I prefer Toronto Dominion but the others are good too CIBC, Royal Bank, Scotiabank, Bank of Montreal. They will all have fairly convenient branches and hours across Canada. HSBC is there but they will only have one branch in several provinces (because they are required to do so as a retail bank operating in Canada)but only Toronto and Montreal and Vancouver will offer multiple branches - and then not nearly as many as the Canadian banks do. There are a couple of other banks that offer day to day retail banking/lending services - Tangerine being an online one and PC Bank which operates out of one of the larger supermarket chains. The big 5 all operate internationally and have a vast network of banks in other countries they do business with as well. They are all represented in major financial centres like Tokyo, Hong Kong, Mumbai, London, the USA etc., but usually on a corporate level not for day to day consumer banking but they do provide services like international transfers etc.

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Geordie expat

4393

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EW MASTER

Latest post on 09 September 2014 - 09:16

I wouldn't tar every branch of this bank with the same brush. They are fine in other countries.

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NikitaD

113

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 09 September 2014 - 07:57

Thank you, Marycatherine; I shall certainly note this down and share this with my DH. As for retail banking, any suggestions please? H*** is the only common one between here and Canada. Not a fan of this bank as they have messed up in the past for us here, so am vary. Wish you all a pleasant day.

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marycatherine

1759

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EW EXPERT

Latest post on 09 September 2014 - 07:29

For myself, Toronto would not be at the top of my list (neither would Vancouver or Montreal for different reasons). If your DH is in IT what about a University town? There are many top notch universities in smaller cities across Canada that would be more attractive for family life than the larger ones. Halifax, Saint John/Frederiction, Kitchener/Waterloo, Calgary, etc. Except for Calgary at this time, housing is reasonable in the other cities and for me, offer a higher quality of life for everyone in the family, and good schools providing you live in the right school district. In Toronto, one or both of you would probably have a lengthy commute to work if you are interested in a house rather than a condo/apartment.

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NikitaD

113

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 08 September 2014 - 08:08

Dear Singarosa and Judy, Good morning.... I thank you both immensely for your valuable feedback. Since almost 2009, I have been a member of expat woman (a reader more); feel kind of strange if I do not read forum topics on a daily basis. As for the winters in Canada, I am hoping that I would be able to embrace easier as I have lived in Switzerland for quite some years. My major concerns are: (i) school for our DS who would be in Grade 7 by then, am I correct in undersatding that the school he gets admission into all depends on the place / area we live in. First we plan to rent a condo till such time we get settled in our day to day lives, jobs and school and feel a sense of belonging. As I mentioned before, we are in a state of understadning that life shall not be easy at the start but, we shall surpass this phase and look forward to settling in. We shall be heading there on a PR status and would like to call Canada our home. (ii) as for jobs, I am hoping that DH and I would be able to get one soon as hubby is in IT and myself have Hotel degree + a Real Estate. Judy, thank you for the links too and I shall certainly go through these. Our DS is all too excited about our move and that makes us feel nicer and happier as he is willing to adapt to a new country, make more and new friends, he is learning ice skating and wants to learn skiing now.... I am sure to ask more and more queries and I hope that you all can assist me. Thank you once again Judy and Singarosa. This is indeed getting me all very excited but nervous too. It's kinda over whelming for me. Wish you all a fab day. :)

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Judy

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 07 September 2014 - 17:04

It's been a looong time since I posted on this forum, but someone drew my attention to your question and asked if I would reply. I was born in the UK but made Toronto my home 35 years ago. I lived in Dubai for 7 years (left in 2009) and ran coffee mornings for EW at Mercato for a while (hello anyone who remembers me). Yes, the winters are very cold, but just as Dubai is built for hot weather, so is Toronto built for the cold. You go from heated home to heated car to heated office and heated mall. When I return to the UK to visit family I'm far colder than I ever am here :) The winters have lots of sunshine and all you have to do to keep warm is wear the right clothes when you go outside. Inside you can still wear Tshirts. Private schools are available, but most people send their children to public (state funded) schools. Each school has an area they serve, so if you want to go to a particular one, you must live in that area. The school system is very similar to the American one. Children start in junior kindergarten the year they turn 4. Here are 2 websites which rank schools http://www.compareschoolrankings.org/ and http://www.eqao.com/ Healthcare is paid for by a government run health insurance scheme. It's slightly different in each province, but covers you for the entire country. In Ontario it's called OHIP. If you come here as a permanent resident or on a work visa, you are covered after a 3 month wait period. You do not have to be a citizen. It includes all doctors visits, all hospital visits and stays, but does not cover medication, dental or eye care. Toronto is like Dubai in that it's a very multicultural city. Almost 50% of the population weren't born here. The one thing that's different is that everyone mixes much more than they do in Dubai and nobody will ask you what is your passport! :) Canadians are friendly and very tolerant of diversity. I would suggest that if you move here you should rent for a year until you know your way around the city and feel settled in your jobs. Almost 50% of Torontonians rent and prices are reasonable compared with Dubai. Yes, living downtown is expensive, but may be worth it, if you work downtown, rather than commute. Like everywhere, where you work determines where you live. Right now interest rates are as low as they have been for many years, less than 3% for a mortgage, but you will need a steady income and may have to have lived here for a while before you can qualify. Yes, having a job first will make life easier, but it's very hard to get a job from outside the country. You cannot just move here first and start looking for work, you need the appropriate visas. You can find a lot of information on these 2 websites (including how to avoid fraudulent agents) http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/ and http://www.settlement.org/ I'm happy to answer any of your question. edited by Judy on 08/09/2014

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Singarosa73917

776

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EW GURU

Latest post on 07 September 2014 - 15:29

Canada is a beautiful country and you will love it, however you will hate the winter and it wil need a lot of time getting used to the painful cold. you will miss the UAE summer badly. if you go to a public school it's for free as well as health. School is not a problem like the UAE, you don't have to worry about that. Toronto is beautiful but will be quite pricey to buy a villa there, people usually tend to buy houses just outside toronto like newmarket and the likes. it will be impossible to buy a house without a loan, and the interests are insane, unless you don't plan to live there forever then rent is doable if you get a good job. DO NOT MOVE to Canada if you don't have a job, it is quite pricey and you need income. plan it from now, fix up your CVs and start applying to jobs. it's never too late to start now. our backup plan is to go live in Canada, just came back from there and i miss it already, we go summer and i miss it more and more each day. good luck and start planning :) ETA: Ofcourse health will be free if you have a canadian Citzenship edited by Singarosa on 07/09/2014

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