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Currently in the process of emigrating to Canada from the UK - have got past the "do you have enough points" stage and onto the "get all your poo poo together and send it to us" stage, so all going well by the end of April we will have permanent residency on the Express Entry program, which means myself and my wife can move there with no prerequisite of getting a job first or having to stay in a particular job/industry etc. once we get there. We haven't absolutely decided 100% that we're moving, but all going well, if we can find work etc. then it's likely we will. I'm probably going to have lots more questions for this thread but as a starter: Where's a good place to live? Our criteria are: Nowhere too tiny or out of the way. At the moment we live in a town of 200k people which has basically all of the amenities we'd need (large shopping centre, cinemas, bowling, restaurants), and London is about an hour's travel away if we want to go see big concerts and stuff. I'd probably be fine living in a town with like 10k+ pop if it has the amenities, but ideally there'd be somewhere big-ish within like an hour or 3 - close enough that it's not too crazy if we want to go somewhere bigger for the weekend or just generally clothes shopping or something like that which we do rarely. Alternatively living actually in a large/largeish city or on the outskirts of one would probably be fine so long as we could find somewhere nice enough and relatively affordable for housing. Also ideally there'd be an international airport within like 2-3 hours, and it'd be great if there were somewhere big international bands played at nearish - I'm guessing this limits us to near Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal? That one isn't an absolute must but it'd be nice. Looking randomly at the map maybe somewhere like Chilliwack would fit the bill but I have no idea what it's like living there, it's just that it's near to Vancouver, likely big enough to have the facilities I'd like and maybe it's far enough from Van itself that housing isn't nuts? Totally guessing and probably wrong though which is why I'm asking this. If there's skiing near (couple of hours drive?), then it'd be a bonus. Nowhere French speaking would be an absolute requirement. Nightlife not much of a requirement. We don't really go out to clubs or bars and stuff but restaurants, cinemas, (indoor) climbing centres and things like that are a plus. Not really into watching sports so sports teams etc. not a requirement. Somewhere there's work for a civil/environmental engineer / sustainable building consultant (my wife) and where I could also find a job - I currently work in woodworking doing design and systems stuff, but I could move into something building industry related or I'm thinking about just retraining entirely e.g. as a programmer.
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Mar 7, 2018 17:50
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| # ¿ May 5, 2024 21:32 |
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Spadoink posted:I work in immigration law (currently on maternity leave so I can't give any advice) and am able to provide anyone who needs it with the name/names of good firms who can do complimentary consultations on Canadian immigration matters. In about 7 mos I will also be able to answer questions again I'm guessing, from my experience/research, that Brazolot migration group is not one you'd recommend.
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Mar 7, 2018 18:02
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Well in the UK we were looking at something like £350k for our next house. Where we live now that would get us something like a 4 bed semi-detached house with a garage (built into the house rather than a separate building), with a very small garden and only 1200sqft area. Chilliwack was a total guess and just an example for proximity to Vancouver. Van and outskirts are under consideration but so are other places like Toronto. WhatEvil fucked around with this message at 18:16 on Mar 7, 2018 |
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Mar 7, 2018 18:13
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Robot Mil posted:If you're in the process of submitting your PR application now it takes 6 months after submission to get PR? So you're looking at September at the earliest, if nothing goes wrong. Oh yeah right. We'll be done with this part of the application by the end of April anyway. We just did the medicals a few weeks ago. Still have to tie up the last of our work history letters and such, and get proof of funds but that's it. We actually easily had enough points for Express Entry because of my wife's engineering masters and work experience. WhatEvil fucked around with this message at 09:34 on Mar 8, 2018 |
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Mar 8, 2018 09:13
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So a couple of people mentioned Ottawa and I thought I'd take a look at houses: https://www.point2homes.com/CA/Home-For-Sale/ON/Ottawa/Riverside-South/724-Bowercrest-Crescent/54415818.html This looks great for the money. In my area this would be something like $950k CAD. Does the area/location seem OK? Where I live ~50 miles Northish of London, this sort of money ($430k CAD) would get you about a 2 bed flat/apartment with about 800sq ft of space, with a single garage but no garden. We were looking at about £350k GBP for our next home (like $600-700K CAD) and that would've got us something like this: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-64221160.html Nice area, but weird layout, 1200sq ft total, small unusable bedrooms, on a cramped plot in a cramped housing estate, and with no character. Alternatively it'd get you a 3-bed semi-detached house in a lovely area which needs completely gutting and redoing everything internally. So yeah, Ottawa on first look seems nice and also relatively affordable but you might be about to tell me that'd be a lovely area to live in or something. WhatEvil fucked around with this message at 11:04 on Mar 9, 2018 |
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Mar 9, 2018 10:21
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Also is it the case that Hamilton is a "dirty steel city" by Canadian standards but still really nice compared to a lot of cities in the rest of the developed world? Cause you know, judging from Vancouver, Canadian cities are really nice compared to most places in the UK.
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Mar 9, 2018 12:26
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Yeah suburbs are fine. There seem to be comparable places on the west side of downtown (Like Kanata area?) but to get to the same price point you have to go a bit further out (so 25 mins drive instead of 15 mins drive on the East) but that'd be fine. I just can't get over how much house you get for the money there: https://www.point2homes.com/CA/Home-For-Sale/ON/Ottawa/Kanata-Goulbourn/Glen-Cairn/127-Romina-Street/53702647.html That 4 bed house is about the same cost as what I'm hoping to get selling my tiny 2-bed flat here in the UK, and I'm not in a big city or anything.
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Mar 9, 2018 14:16
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| # ¿ May 5, 2024 21:32 |
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codo27 posted:E&E is very good, Sweet Newfie Kitchen (I fuckin hate that name) copied their chicken fingers and they are pretty close. Chicken shaggers they call em. This means something very different in the UK.
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Mar 27, 2018 14:51
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