# Where to move in Vancouver with small kids?



## Trofi (Mar 29, 2011)

Hi everybody. My wife and I live in New York with our three kids, the oldest one is 9. We've had it with living in New York and we want to move somewhere with nice(r) schools and good healthcare system. We saved some money to buy a little house, maybe up to $300,000 and we were thinking of moving to one of Vanouver suburbs. I lived in Vancouver for a year about 10 years ago so we know we like it there. Now we just need to find a nice suburban area to move to. 
Does anybody know of a good website that provides ratings for schools and school districts? I couldn't find it on google. 
What is a good area to move to for a family? We're not party people, we just want some peace and quiet to raise our kids. 
I did my research online and so far North Vanvouver is on top of the list. Anybody from there?

Thank you so much everybody for your help. 

Srdjan


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

Trofi said:


> Hi everybody. My wife and I live in New York with our three kids, the oldest one is 9. We've had it with living in New York and we want to move somewhere with nice(r) schools and good healthcare system. We saved some money to buy a little house, maybe up to $300,000 and we were thinking of moving to one of Vanouver suburbs. I lived in Vancouver for a year about 10 years ago so we know we like it there. Now we just need to find a nice suburban area to move to.
> Does anybody know of a good website that provides ratings for schools and school districts? I couldn't find it on google.
> What is a good area to move to for a family? We're not party people, we just want some peace and quiet to raise our kids.
> I did my research online and so far North Vanvouver is on top of the list. Anybody from there?
> ...


What type of visa do/would you have? You just cannot cross the border and enter Canada.


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## Trofi (Mar 29, 2011)

I'm kind of caught off guard. We have US passports and we've visited Canada before so I didn't think it would be a problem to get immigrant visas later on. We're not coming from a Thirld World country and we're buying property in Canada. Or am I missing something here?
Thanks for your reply


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

Trofi said:


> I'm kind of caught off guard. We have US passports and we've visited Canada before so I didn't think it would be a problem to get immigrant visas later on. We're not coming from a Thirld World country and we're buying property in Canada. Or am I missing something here?
> Thanks for your reply


Just as in the USA immigrants must pass certain criteria before being permitted to immigrate to Canada. You need to have an occupation on the THE LIST of 28 which are in demand here or you must have pre-arranged employment. What do both of you do for a living and I will check THE LIST? Buying property or having visited before have no bearing on your ability to immigrate.


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## Guest (Mar 30, 2011)

Trofi said:


> I'm kind of caught off guard. We have US passports and we've visited Canada before so I didn't think it would be a problem to get immigrant visas later on. We're not coming from a Thirld World country and we're buying property in Canada. Or am I missing something here?
> Thanks for your reply


Having a US passport doesn't allow you to bypass the criteria for getting a visa in Canada, nor does it give you priority over people from "third world countries." As Auld Yin mentioned, you have to have a skill that is in demand in Canada - doesn't matter where your passport is from.


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## Trofi (Mar 29, 2011)

I'm sorry, after I read everything again I realized I sounded like an *******. I only mentioned third world countries because, as an immigrant from Eastern Europe, I know I had to jump through so many hoops to travel anywhere. I assumed that it might be easier to immigrate to Canada from the US, than, let's say former Yugoslavia where I'm from. My apologies if I offended anybody. 
Auld Yin, I'm a driver and my wife has a Masters in Forensic Psychology but has been working as a paralegal in law firms for the last 15 years. She was a social worker before that but now we're looking at early 90's. 
Thanks guys, I appreciate it.


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## Guest (Mar 30, 2011)

Trofi said:


> I'm sorry, after I read everything again I realized I sounded like an *******. I only mentioned third world countries because, as an immigrant from Eastern Europe, I know I had to jump through so many hoops to travel anywhere. I assumed that it might be easier to immigrate to Canada from the US, than, let's say former Yugoslavia where I'm from. My apologies if I offended anybody.
> Auld Yin, I'm a driver and my wife has a Masters in Forensic Psychology but has been working as a paralegal in law firms for the last 15 years. She was a social worker before that but now we're looking at early 90's.
> Thanks guys, I appreciate it.


LOL - no worries! Good luck, hope it works out for you!


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## gringotim (Jan 5, 2011)

Trofi said:


> Hi everybody. My wife and I live in New York with our three kids, the oldest one is 9. We've had it with living in New York and we want to move somewhere with nice(r) schools and good healthcare system. We saved some money to buy a little house, maybe up to $300,000 and we were thinking of moving to one of Vanouver suburbs. I lived in Vancouver for a year about 10 years ago so we know we like it there. Now we just need to find a nice suburban area to move to.
> Does anybody know of a good website that provides ratings for schools and school districts? I couldn't find it on google.
> What is a good area to move to for a family? We're not party people, we just want some peace and quiet to raise our kids.
> I did my research online and so far North Vanvouver is on top of the list. Anybody from there?
> ...


When you did your research online, did you check North Vancouver house prices?, because $300,000 will not buy you a house, expect to pay at least $600-$700k in North Vancouver, you may find something around $350k in Coquitlam or Pitt Meadows but it won't be much of a house.


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## Trofi (Mar 29, 2011)

You're right. Perhaps I should keep doing my homework and see if it's even possible for us to move to Canada. I took it for granted that we could.


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## telcoman (Feb 11, 2010)

You can move to Point Roberts, Washington which is more or less a Vancouver suburb, It is not connected by land to the US, but is to Canada. That gives you a chance to look around as US citizens can visit for up to 6 months at a time. In the meantime you are in the US, 40 min from downtown Vancouver & can check out all the paperwork and get a job lined up which would give you an advantage. You could also do much the same from Blaine, WA, but its not as pleasant.


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## Trofi (Mar 29, 2011)

That's beautiful, Telcoman. It's brilliant. Thank a lot. I might do just that.


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## Jayani (Jul 29, 2011)

Blaine has long wait times at the border unless you have a Nexus pass. I too suggest Point Roberts. 
And yes, very important, do your homework before.

cic.gc.ca/english/work/extend-stay.asp has some good info on this.

However, if you say you have kids, trust me, they will love it here in Vancouver. Lots and lots of activities and attractions for kids.
Try littletots.ca for that.


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