# General Advice...



## Kell_from_AUS (Jun 10, 2010)

Hi everyone!
I am 29 and married with 2 little girls (8 & 4) and for the last 6 years have wanted to relocate us all to Canada.
My husband is extremely reluctant due to many factors (i.e. Family being left behind, having to "start again" , the unknown, financial...)
So, at this point I am gathering as much relevant information as possible to try to "plead my case" 
Firstly, and probably the most important question is, How much money should we stock pile to survive over there until we are in a routine with work etc...?
We do not have offers of employment or anything as yet, (because this is only case building...) but, let's say we allowed ourselves 3 months to obtain work. 
We would need to fund housing (I am interested in Ottawa, a home or a 2-3 bedroom apartment.) 
No specific or exact part of Ottawa, so after doing some (well, HEAPS) of research I have estimated a rental amount of $1,400 CAD per month.
I guess my overall question (initially - I dare say that I will be asking many more in the coming months) is, after airfares, initial accommodation etc...how much $$$ would be enough to take as a lump sum amount to survive and start to get established for the first 3 months? 
And, a nice sticky question....HOW CAN I CONVINCE MY HUSBAND (also 29) TO BE A LITTLE MORE OPEN MINDED TO THIS IDEA?? We have been together for 14 years and I feel this will be such a great thing to inject some adventure into our lives! I mean, we have fun and are madly in love still....I just wanna GET UP AND GO!!
Any help about ANYTHING is welcome!!

Cheers - Kellylane:


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

Kell_from_AUS said:


> Hi everyone!
> I am 29 and married with 2 little girls (8 & 4) and for the last 6 years have wanted to relocate us all to Canada.
> My husband is extremely reluctant due to many factors (i.e. Family being left behind, having to "start again" , the unknown, financial...)
> So, at this point I am gathering as much relevant information as possible to try to "plead my case"
> ...


Hello Kell and welcome to the site,

I assume you know that entry into Canada, for the most part, is employment driven. One either must have an occupation on the LIST of 38 Canada deems essential for its well being or one must have pre-arranged employment. What does he/you do for a living?
Your husbands concerns are most valid. Leaving family 12,000 miles away can, for many, be heart-wrenching and is probably the main concern of ex-pats in Canada and I'm sure Oz also.
There is a schedule of amounts required for immigration and I believe for a family of 4 it is approximately Can $22k. This is estimated to be sufficient for settlement costs but, obviously, more would be better.
As far as convincing your husband I must ask why Canada. Are you both Australian born? While an expensive exercise I would recommend the two of you do what's called a reccie to see if it's for you. Your children, IMO,
are young enough to easily adapt to a new country so it's mainly the two of you that need convincing.


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## Kell_from_AUS (Jun 10, 2010)

Hi Auld,

Thank you for your reply! Since posting this question, my husband has advised me he is open to the idea, but needs to know all of the facts. The ins and outs etc...before making a decision.
If we were to go ahead with it, we would have to rely on pre-arranged employment over there. 
I've touched on a few things in relation to this, however, not a great deal due to it not being 100% decided. So, I am totally unaware of this process and would love any advice from anyone regarding obtaining employment over there (before we leave...if this is even possible.)
My husband is a qualified tradesman (Cabinetmaker) with over 10 years experience within this field, but is currently working as a maintenance facilitator (which he loves). I've been looking at some Canadian work sites, and there are a few similar roles for him available. I assume I would contact the employer directly for some insight? And, if this is the case I would be best to leave it until we are alomost set to leave...? Yes or No...? Arghhhh! An ordered schedule would help me in this planning I think. In what order do you arrange and organise all of this??? 
As far as ticking all the boxes for a full immigration upfront...I think we would be best applying for a 12 month working visa and then apply for full residency once we are there, living, working and having the kids in school.
I assume this would ease the burden of having to fulfill the immigration requirements (of which I am not fully aware of.)
Wow, I'm throwing out a heaps of things right now. I apologise for that!
When did you leave Scotland for Canada? Where in Canada are you located? What was the process for you moving there?

Thanks,

Kell


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## telcoman (Feb 11, 2010)

I was wondering why Ottawa? Most seem to be attracted to Toronto & Vancouver.


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## Kell_from_AUS (Jun 10, 2010)

telcoman said:


> I was wondering why Ottawa? Most seem to be attracted to Toronto & Vancouver.


Hi,

I have no real answer for this, except that the rental prices seem cheaper in Ottawa.
My husband (now that he is open to the idea) told me last night that he would like to go to Vancouver, so i am going to do some research into housing and job availablity within that area today.
I am always open to any advice regarding this, so, please feel free to help me out!

Thank you,

Kell


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

Kell_from_AUS said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have no real answer for this, except that the rental prices seem cheaper in Ottawa.
> My husband (now that he is open to the idea) told me last night that he would like to go to Vancouver, so i am going to do some research into housing and job availablity within that area today.
> ...


Kell, Ive read countless posts from people who have come to Canada and who want to come and have come and gone back and I'm going to be brutally frank with you, so please forgive me.
Canada, like Oz, is a vast country with numerous variations from coast to coast. Some of the biggest complaints are the winter weather in most of the land, the cost of living and missing family and friends. You mention Vancouver as a place to live. Most desirable but one of the most expensive cities in the world. The cost of housing is extremely high. In its favour is the milder climate, although it does rain a great deal.
Getting work from where you are will be almost impossible. Canadian employers prefer to hire face to face.

I'm not sure what you mean by a 12 month working visa but you do mention children and I doubt such a visa is available in your situation. It may well be that you have plenty of money and what I'm saying is totally irrelevant.

If you're doing this for the adventure, be prepared for much expense and a rough ride. If you have a good life, a house, cars, good vacations and your children are happy then I must ask what's driving you to consider Canada. If, on the other hand, your life in Oz is crap then your motives have some meaning.


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## Kell_from_AUS (Jun 10, 2010)

Auld Yin said:


> Kell, Ive read countless posts from people who have come to Canada and who want to come and have come and gone back and I'm going to be brutally frank with you, so please forgive me.
> Canada, like Oz, is a vast country with numerous variations from coast to coast. Some of the biggest complaints are the winter weather in most of the land, the cost of living and missing family and friends. You mention Vancouver as a place to live. Most desirable but one of the most expensive cities in the world. The cost of housing is extremely high. In its favour is the milder climate, although it does rain a great deal.
> Getting work from where you are will be almost impossible. Canadian employers prefer to hire face to face.
> 
> ...


Hello again! 
OK, at this stage in our lives, we have jobs. My husband is happy in his, however, I am not enthralled with mine, and have no major qualifications. So, a change is inevitable for me anyway.
Our cost of living here is on par with many of the places in Canada I have researched (to the best of my ability) so I don't see a drastic "shock" waiting for us in this category. (Housing / Schooling / day-to-day living etc...)
We have a good life - one we have generated ourselves, so I am confident that we will be happy wherever we are, as long as we are together. 
We don't have a support network here when it comes to our children - so if we did move away, we would not have to readjust to having no baby-sitters, because we're already accustomed to it 
We don't have loads and loads of money, so your advice is very relevant - and always appreciated. We would be funding our move and initial set-up by sale of assets (not many, but enough to raise the funds necessary.)
My husband mentioned Vancouver - I had not researched this area due to the cost of living there, and since looking into it, agree with your advice completely! So thank you!!
Is there any particular area/s you would reccommend I look into? Ones that would accommodate our family well? (We are both 29 and we have 2 daughters who are 9 and 5 years old.) We would be relying on public transport initially, until we got cars of our own, so we have been looking at the obvious "built-up" areas to facilitate this small hurdle.
I am struggling to find the correct Visa access for us. David, although qualified, would not be eligible straight away for a skilled workers visa. And, as we would need to obtain work ASAP, we would need some sort of visa for us to legally work there, I'm assuming. Looking into all of this information (Visa's) is quite confusing to be honest.
From the information I have gathering thus far, if we were to come to Canada for a holiday, we would not require a Visa (being from Australia.) It's now just trying to obtain the right information in order to get the correct Visa for us to be able to work once we were there - therefore, making it easier to obtain permanent residency (if we wanted to) later down the track.
I really didn't expect that we would have been able to get a job before coming. Just, some of the things I've read has somewhat lead me to believe this could be a possibility. 
In saying this, would it be difficult to get work once there? I assume this would depend on what area we would be trying to land a job in.
Thank you once again for helping me - I really do appreciate it.

PS - I try not to be negative....I wouldn't say our life is crap, but there are definately some major "life" elements here for us that are. So, I believe my motives are justifiable...We are open minded, happy-go-lucky type people with a real sense of adventure. This may be drastic, or even a decision that is wrong for us, but, we don't want to live with regrets and the horrible mind-set of "I wonder how it would have worked out if we did that back then....?" 

Kell


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

I think she is thinking of the 12month youth work visa. Six months of work. Six of travel. I'm not sure this would work for a family.

Ottawa is mainly a government city. That keeps things stable but also imposes certain things. Most jobs are either directly or indirectly tied to the government. 

Toronto near the subway line is fairly easy without a car. More job choices then Ottawa. Better winters.


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## Kell_from_AUS (Jun 10, 2010)

Hi NickZ,

Thanks for that. I'm really unsure what Visa would apply to us. I need to look into it further.

I currently work for the Queensland Government (Private sector) although, I have no doubt it would be just as difficult to get a job in Government over there as here. It took me many months of interviews to secure my position here. 

I will definately have a look into Toronto now.

Thanks once again 

Kell


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## m field (Jan 27, 2010)

Hi Kel
We have a lot in common with you we are 31 have 3 kids 8,5 and 2 and have been together 14 years and want to emmigrate to Canada!! Have you looked at Kelowna in British Columbia - approx4 hrs drive from Vancouver. We went out there in May for a quick reccie andloved it. We are just in the process offiling for P.R. Summers are good andthe winters not to bad and they don't get as much rain as Vancouver. We have a good life in the U.K. We don't live in a bad area, kids school is good. We go on holiday have a car. My husband has run his own gas/plumbing business for over 10years but for the past 3years his work has slowed down. Our goverment put out a huge ad stating that there would be a huge shortage of plumbers in the next few years so well you can immagine everyone decided to be plumbers and have been doing these quick courses that qualify you in 3 months !!! It took my hubby 5 years!! So work has become a lot tougher.
Our reasons for emmigrating are better family life - in the U.K you rarely see families out on an evening for a meal its just adults on a pub crawl - which don't get me wrong sometimes is great but it would be nice to have more places to take your kids, more outdoors opportunities, many more sporting opp. for the kids. A much less populated country - i really don't know where else they can build in the U.K!! and hopefully better work opportunities as the place is still growing. In the U.K you get an idea and before you blink someone is doing it!! We really don't know for sure if were doing the right thing but we don't want to have regrets we can always come back. We to are happy, sociable people who just get onwith life really so i believe as long as your positive you can make things work.
Good Luck
Maria


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

Kell_from_AUS said:


> Hello again!
> OK, at this stage in our lives, we have jobs. My husband is happy in his, however, I am not enthralled with mine, and have no major qualifications. So, a change is inevitable for me anyway.
> Our cost of living here is on par with many of the places in Canada I have researched (to the best of my ability) so I don't see a drastic "shock" waiting for us in this category. (Housing / Schooling / day-to-day living etc...)
> We have a good life - one we have generated ourselves, so I am confident that we will be happy wherever we are, as long as we are together.
> ...


One area of Canada you may want to consider is what's known as the Maritimes, the east cost which comprises of the Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia amd Prince Edward Island. Many immigrants' reports I've read indicate a high level of satisfaction with the area where housing is considerably cheaper. Scenery is great and, of course, the ocean is on your doorstep.
The downsides for you might be that it's considerably further away from Oz and it does experience Canadian winters. If everything else was to go well for you the winter is the one thing you may find difficult to accept, particularly considering where you come from. Winters in Canada must be embraced or all is lost. There is much winter activity available so if people get out and use the facilities they most often enjoy the fun to be had. Skating, skiing (downhill and cross-country), snowshoeing,
ski-dooing, curling, etc, etc.


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## Kell_from_AUS (Jun 10, 2010)

m field said:


> Hi Kel
> We have a lot in common with you we are 31 have 3 kids 8,5 and 2 and have been together 14 years and want to emmigrate to Canada!! Have you looked at Kelowna in British Columbia - approx4 hrs drive from Vancouver. We went out there in May for a quick reccie andloved it. We are just in the process offiling for P.R. Summers are good andthe winters not to bad and they don't get as much rain as Vancouver. We have a good life in the U.K. We don't live in a bad area, kids school is good. We go on holiday have a car. My husband has run his own gas/plumbing business for over 10years but for the past 3years his work has slowed down. Our goverment put out a huge ad stating that there would be a huge shortage of plumbers in the next few years so well you can immagine everyone decided to be plumbers and have been doing these quick courses that qualify you in 3 months !!! It took my hubby 5 years!! So work has become a lot tougher.
> Our reasons for emmigrating are better family life - in the U.K you rarely see families out on an evening for a meal its just adults on a pub crawl - which don't get me wrong sometimes is great but it would be nice to have more places to take your kids, more outdoors opportunities, many more sporting opp. for the kids. A much less populated country - i really don't know where else they can build in the U.K!! and hopefully better work opportunities as the place is still growing. In the U.K you get an idea and before you blink someone is doing it!! We really don't know for sure if were doing the right thing but we don't want to have regrets we can always come back. We to are happy, sociable people who just get onwith life really so i believe as long as your positive you can make things work.
> Good Luck
> Maria



Hi Maria!
Thanks for your response! When are you guys thinking of going? I am so envious that you are both so keen. My husband is very hot and cold with the idea, and I discovered last night that his main concern is the cold in Canada. That is totally understandable, I mean, we live in Queensland right now - and have our whole lives. It's never cold here. He has never travelled outside of Australia, but I have so it's easier for me to want this and be excited about it I guess!
I have never been to Canada though, so it's a little odd that this is the only country I would want to go to. I have wanted this for many years...but never really expressed it until a couple of years ago.
It's hard to convince him  But, I feel he will come around in the end. This does frighten me though, because I would hate for us to do this (after I convinced him to do it...!) and he hates it, and may resent me for the drastic decision in the first place. But, I've just added that to the list of current "risks" in doing this!
So I assume (as your husband is a plumber) you guys would be going over on a skilled working visa? If not, what visa are you eligable for?
I have not checked out that area, so thank you once again for your suggestion. I will check it out now.
Keep in touch, let me know how your plans are coming along with this move, and who knows? Maybe we can hook our families up once we are living in Canada?? :clap2:

Kell


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## Jared (Jun 15, 2010)

Hey Kell,

Just a thought - you and your husband are both able to get the 24 month working holiday permit available to Australians under 31. You are able to work for the whole period, for any employer you choose, and want to stay longer, apply for another one when you're 30.5 and renew it just before you turn 31.

This would give you up to 4 years to get a taste of Canada and see whether your family wants to stay, without having to go through the immigration required when outside the country. 

I'm currently going through this process, and renewed my permit in April. We were going to stick around for another couple of years, but recently had twins, so will be heading home in the next year or two for family support 

The only thing I don't know about is your children, as they will not be here on permits, and will not be able to get SIN or become residents, unless you can find something on the government sites or contact the WHP folks in Sydney about it and clarify how they are affected.

My site in my signature below is all about helping folks get their Working Holiday Permit, so feel free to have a look at it and see whether it's right for you.

Best of luck!

J


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## m field (Jan 27, 2010)

Kell_from_AUS said:


> Hi Maria!
> Thanks for your response! When are you guys thinking of going? I am so envious that you are both so keen. My husband is very hot and cold with the idea, and I discovered last night that his main concern is the cold in Canada. That is totally understandable, I mean, we live in Queensland right now - and have our whole lives. It's never cold here. He has never travelled outside of Australia, but I have so it's easier for me to want this and be excited about it I guess!
> I have never been to Canada though, so it's a little odd that this is the only country I would want to go to. I have wanted this for many years...but never really expressed it until a couple of years ago.
> It's hard to convince him  But, I feel he will come around in the end. This does frighten me though, because I would hate for us to do this (after I convinced him to do it...!) and he hates it, and may resent me for the drastic decision in the first place. But, I've just added that to the list of current "risks" in doing this!
> ...


Hi 
Well we are hoping to go out in approx 18 months. Really need to get there before my daughter starts high school and would love her to settle in a primary school for a while first. Apparently the skilled visas are taking as little as 6-9 months but because the exchange rate is so bad we need to save as much as we can, and hope the rates improve dramatically. I really don't know much else about other visa's although we did look at going on a temp.work visa but we figured if were gonna go for it go for the P.R. Think we may have better chances with work.
We visited oz last year for 4 wks and spent 10 days in Brisbane with friends who live in forest lake. They emigrated about 3 years ago and love it. Thats why we went out to see if it was for us. But my hubby always fancied Canada. I thought it was just freezing all year and wasn't interested but since researching and our trip there i loved it. We loved Oz too particularly Perth,Brisbane and Sydney - but its so expensive. And there was'nt many Gas jobs available for my husband mainly plumbing so he was unsure. And of course the 24hr journey put us off slightly too!! Vancouver is a 9hr flight from the U.K so its fine. Although we did find a lot of similarities with oz just add snow topped mountains and lakes everywhere !!. Thats probably why we like it so much. 
Well i hope your other half comes round tell him to just think of it as an adventure and if it doesn't work out at least you have some thing to tell the grandkids lol!!
Type in Kelowna on the internet search and you can play a DVD that may sway him. I was worried about the winters but in Kelowna there not as cold they don't get loads of snow but yet if you want it the ski resorts are only30 mins away!!
Good Luck - you never know we may be neighbours one day!!!
Maria


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## Kell_from_AUS (Jun 10, 2010)

Jared said:


> Hey Kell,
> 
> Just a thought - you and your husband are both able to get the 24 month working holiday permit available to Australians under 31. You are able to work for the whole period, for any employer you choose, and want to stay longer, apply for another one when you're 30.5 and renew it just before you turn 31.
> 
> ...


Hi Jared,

Thanks for writing. How hard was it to obtain this visa? I have looked into this further, and it seems as though this would be right for us, and the kids would need to have student visa's. So far ths vsa stuff has been the most tme consuming thing to work through!!!
But, slowly I am cracking the code - yay 

Thanks also for the link - good info there for us. Good luck with the move back home (soonish...) and congrats on the twins - no wonder you desire family support 

Kell


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## Kell_from_AUS (Jun 10, 2010)

Auld Yin said:


> One area of Canada you may want to consider is what's known as the Maritimes, the east cost which comprises of the Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia amd Prince Edward Island. Many immigrants' reports I've read indicate a high level of satisfaction with the area where housing is considerably cheaper. Scenery is great and, of course, the ocean is on your doorstep.
> The downsides for you might be that it's considerably further away from Oz and it does experience Canadian winters. If everything else was to go well for you the winter is the one thing you may find difficult to accept, particularly considering where you come from. Winters in Canada must be embraced or all is lost. There is much winter activity available so if people get out and use the facilities they most often enjoy the fun to be had. Skating, skiing (downhill and cross-country), snowshoeing,
> ski-dooing, curling, etc, etc.


Hi again,
Thanks for the tip, I will look into it, however, I still think I would be safer going for an area that doesn't experience such extreme winters. I mean, we are not naive, we know that anywhere over there is going to have winters that are extreme in comparison to ours! But something a little more mild.
I was told to have a look at Kelowna. Their winter does not seem as harsh. Have you been there, or do you know what the winter is like there? Let me know your thoughts if you have. I'm very interested.
I'm not sure how easy it would be to find work in Kelowna, compared to the bigger cities though. This definately needs to be taken into consideration.

Thanks again!

Kell


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## Kell_from_AUS (Jun 10, 2010)

m field said:


> Hi
> Well we are hoping to go out in approx 18 months. Really need to get there before my daughter starts high school and would love her to settle in a primary school for a while first. Apparently the skilled visas are taking as little as 6-9 months but because the exchange rate is so bad we need to save as much as we can, and hope the rates improve dramatically. I really don't know much else about other visa's although we did look at going on a temp.work visa but we figured if were gonna go for it go for the P.R. Think we may have better chances with work.
> We visited oz last year for 4 wks and spent 10 days in Brisbane with friends who live in forest lake. They emigrated about 3 years ago and love it. Thats why we went out to see if it was for us. But my hubby always fancied Canada. I thought it was just freezing all year and wasn't interested but since researching and our trip there i loved it. We loved Oz too particularly Perth,Brisbane and Sydney - but its so expensive. And there was'nt many Gas jobs available for my husband mainly plumbing so he was unsure. And of course the 24hr journey put us off slightly too!! Vancouver is a 9hr flight from the U.K so its fine. Although we did find a lot of similarities with oz just add snow topped mountains and lakes everywhere !!. Thats probably why we like it so much.
> Well i hope your other half comes round tell him to just think of it as an adventure and if it doesn't work out at least you have some thing to tell the grandkids lol!!
> ...


Ha-ha!
Hi, and thanks again! Well, I have some very exciting news...David is now very open to the idea...All because of your fantastic suggestion of KELOWNA!! He was happy to see that not all areas of Canada had to endure massive, terrible winters. So....MASSIVE THANKS TO YOU MARIA 
Researching is now our focus. The visa thing is SO ANNOYING!! David actually does qualify for a skilled working visa, so that would be the best thing for us. The processing time is in our favour, because it's not like we are going in 3 months or anything. And, of course this visa is more expensive initially in comparison to other temp visas. 
So - YAY - I'm going 100 miles an hour gathering as much information as possible.
A lot of people are suggesting that moving over there with enough funds to cover everything for 3 months would be sufficient....I was planning on being able to live comfortably for 6 months, just incase finding work does not come as easily as we had hoped....so I'm trying to be as prepared financially as possible. 
What's your thoughts on this? 3 months is a good length of time to find work in my mind (because this would be our main focus after finding a home etc...) and we would have plenty of time on our hands to look for a job.
ANYONE OVER IN CANADA WANTING A BRILLIANT CABINET MAKER TO WORK FOR THEM....PLEASE LET ME KNOW!! ha-ha. Gotta put it out there I guess 

Awww, I'm glad you liked OZ. It is a gorgeous and fun place. We will miss a lot of things about it. But, with all of our family and life long friends here, we will be back to visit often. You're right though - being 25 odd hours away is a fair distance, not only emotionally, but financially. We are excited about it all though!!
It is pretty expensive here, I agree with you on that note. Just general expenses are getting more and more out of control.
We are aware that this is the case in most countries, but OZ is just going over the top now. And, in comparison to Canada, OZ is on average 40% higher all round, just to live etc...

So, Kelowna seems to be the place to explore first for our family - our time frame to get over there is approx. 12 months. So keep in touch, and we will hook up for a drink when we are both there hopefully - not like in the pubs in the UK though, a family drink  (My mum is from Scotland, I have been there before, so I know what you mean about most places there not being family orientated...!)

Good to hear from you again.

Kell


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## telcoman (Feb 11, 2010)

Kelowna is gorgeous in the summer. winters can be chilly there, but because it is semi arid, it has little snow. Beautiful lake. Kelowna is fairly large, so finding work is easier than in some cities outside of Vancouver. There are also 2 other sizable towns on the same lake, Penticton & Vernon.


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## m field (Jan 27, 2010)

Hi Kell
Well thats great news!! As soon as i saw the place on the internet i felt it seemsed right for us - strange i know when i had never visited, but because of the winter issues i felt i could cope with it. And after visiting in May we loved it even more. It really does have a similar feel to Oz so hopefully you won't feel to homesick. We are just going to save as much as we can but the job situation here is pretty bad at the minute my husband is very quiet just hope things pick up. I have'nt really thought exactly about how much money we will need at first. My husband is going to try and apply for jobs from the U.K first - the nearer we get to P.R. status. We have a great contact over there too who has said they will help us out nearer the time. - a lovely family who we met up with they have lived there 10 years so know the place well.
Anyway bye for now and keep in touch.
Maria


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## m field (Jan 27, 2010)

Kell forgot to say someone gave me this forum to look at Okanagan Forum - Access Okanagan Services. Its a small forum with details of all the towns in the Okanagan region such as Kelowna and also some smaller towns. We have found it very usefull and recieved lots of helpfull tips 
Maria


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## FidgeFodge (Jun 22, 2010)

Kell_from_AUS said:


> Hi Maria!
> Thanks for your response! When are you guys thinking of going? I am so envious that you are both so keen. My husband is very hot and cold with the idea, and I discovered last night that his main concern is the cold in Canada. That is totally understandable, I mean, we live in Queensland right now - and have our whole lives. It's never cold here. He has never travelled outside of Australia, but I have so it's easier for me to want this and be excited about it I guess!
> I have never been to Canada though, so it's a little odd that this is the only country I would want to go to. I have wanted this for many years...but never really expressed it until a couple of years ago.
> It's hard to convince him  But, I feel he will come around in the end. This does frighten me though, because I would hate for us to do this (after I convinced him to do it...!) and he hates it, and may resent me for the drastic decision in the first place. But, I've just added that to the list of current "risks" in doing this!
> ...


Hello Kell,

As others have mentioned, if you're looking for a milder winter B.C. would be the best bet, but yes it would be quite expensive. Many of my friends live in Whistler and have a tough time as it is extremely expensive to live ($400 for just a room) because it's such a tourist centric city. 

For jobs, I'd say Alberta and Toronto have the most of them (try jobbank dot gc dot ca) 

As for convincing your husband to the cold winters, why not come visit here during a colder month to see if you could handle it? East coast winters are brutal I hear. Toronto is not too bad, and actually the last couple of years have seemed milder. If you wear layers it's pretty easy.

And it'd be a lot of fun for your kids to enjoy the snow! (making snowmen, throwing snowballs, skiing, ice skating etc.)


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## marghux (May 2, 2010)

Hi, Im an Aussie and have been a permanent resident in BC in Canada for almost 2 years. I was extremely lucky to have a career desirable by Canada so was granted permanent residency basically before i even arrived here. Im a registered nurse. Have u considered doing some training while still in Australia to make u more desirable to Canada immigration? Having said that I also have some Aussie friends of a similar age to u, with 3 young children who found someone who wanted to employ the husband......guaranteed employment. He is a plumber and also owned his own business when he was in Australia. He was actually my plumber back home  ANyways he had been over here on 2 other occassions and had proved himself to be very skilled at his trade so the employer here in Canada was very eager to have him come and take a position. He guaranteed him a job. This couple had a home which was still being paid off in Australia so rented it out...just in case things didnt work out for them in Canada...they still have equity back home...they didnt burn all their bridges. Here in Canada it originally was quite tough going for them with very meagre finances but they have made a fantastic go of it and are happily living in Jasper AL. They are renting a home and they did all the garage sales and thrift stores to get set up originally. I did much the same as far as economically setting up. Its very expensive to ship your own furnishing over here from Australia...in the long run its more viable to begin again here.
I have travelled extensively thru Canada and have decided I love the west, where I am the most. I live in the East Kootenays, only about a 4 hr drive from Calgary but still in BC.The cost of living for me , here seems very similar to back home. The suggestion of Kelowna in the Okanagan is an excellent thought, for all the reason he mentioned. It is a growing area, always lots of new homes shooting up all around that area. It would be a superb place to bring up your children with lots of healthy activities to be involved in..Kelowna seems to have almost everything available on its doorstep. You would need to purchase a family vehicle for your own sanity fairly quickly. I landed in Vancouver and on the 3rd day purchased my car. I used a intermediary sort of broker to help me find a good second hand vehicle of my liking. When and if the time comes for u I will pass on my contact to u. I then picked up some essentals for living while in Vancouver and then made a trip/adventure of my trip to the town where i now live...Cranbrook. I had nowhere to live so stayed in a motel for a week until I found a place to rent. I did have a job to go to at the local hospital so I was very fortunate in that sense. The immigration hurdle will be your biggest headache its totally rigid and trying to get physical verbal assistance is almost impossible. This forum will be a saviour for u. I love your adventurous spirit and I understand what u are saying. Just dont expect miracles in 6 months because u will need to be prepared to wait a couple of years to get this all up and running..it really is a slow process. Think seriously about getting some training and certification in a career that is desirable and portable while u are waiting. xo


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