Thinking of moving to Canada

[Fishcop]

Hi Guys

My wife and I are in our mid 30's with no kids and are thinking of looking for some new challenges.

I have tertiary qualifications in environmental and fisheries management along with 20 odd years of maritime and land based law enforcement. Looking at the Canadian Government website, it would appear I have suitable qualifications to meet your immigration requirements.

Obviously I wouldn't even be typing here unless I wasn't a complete Porsche nutter...

But my questions to you are; what's the pros and cons of living and owning a 911 in Canada?

What are housing prices like? eg. 3-4 brm, 2 bathrm, BIG garage

And a loaded question... Where's the best place to live in Canada

I've never been to Canada and naturally if we decide to run with the idea we'd definitely head over for a holiday etc... Also neither my wife or I speak French, is that generally a problem?

Obviously we have a lot of thinking to do, not to mention the application process... But I thought it might be good to ask the locals

Thanks for any information shared

Cheers

[Bob Benson]

Get the heck on over, we need people like you. Funny thing, I played ice hockey in Australia in 1985 and seriously thought of staying there.

Not speaking French is not a problem, unless you are looking to work at a high level for our federal government. I'm in BC and we have a moderate climate with potential year round Porsche driving, at least around Vancouver. This has been jugded to be the best place to live in Canada but real estate has gone wonkers here, bring equity or money.

BTW, there are probably a couple of thousand of Aussies living and working in Whistler, which is just north of here.

Hope to see you here.

Bob

[old man neri]

Con to owning a 911 in Canada: Salt! Most people put their older 911s away for the winter to avoid the corrosion/rust that plagues all cars here that are driven in the winter. At least in the part of the country where I live. The pro is it is a lot easier to get parts from the States here than in Australia I would imagine.

As for where to live, well if you are into fisheries the plains might not be the best place for employment I am guessing. Every area seems to have a different attitude, pick what you like I guess. It's a very hard question to answer in my mind.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

[CanuckRS]

As much as I hate to say it, based on your qualifications and being a driving enthusist, I would think that British Columbia would be a good place for you...The weather is temperate for the most part, fishery and environment is big there and on the driving side, you are close enough to Portland and Seattle and Mission for some track days...

Come for a visit, it's a beautiful part of the country...If you come during the May long weekend (3rd week of May), come out to Kelowna for the Know Mountain hillclimb which is the 2nd longest running hillclimb in North America...It will be the 51st running of the hillclimb and I along with a few other Porsches will be running...The valley is also full of festivals and lots of lakes...A great summer playground...

BTW, I'm next door in Alberta...

[Komenda Fan]

Good news for you, as I am sure you are already aware, is that cars - new, used, and classic - are much cheaper to purchase here. I had a buddy from Victoria over here on exchange for the past year, just went back at Christmas time. He was amazed at the difference in vehicle pricing. It seemed every week he planned on buying something else, since its vastly cheaper here. The downside, as was previously mentioned, is that we can't drive our classics year round, in general. Both Australia and Canada are fine countries, each with its own benefits and disadvantages, but if you are looking for a new challenge, I encourage you to come out and explore. I'd offer to put you up here in the Toronto area, but unfortunately right now my wife and I are temporarily living in a small apartment inadequate for just the two of us!

[dvkk]

The reason the cars in Ontario are a lot cheaper is because they are all ROTTEN.

Fishcop, We constantly get people from eastern Canada moving out west. Nobody goes the other way. That should tell you something.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by dvkk

Fishcop, We constantly get people from eastern Canada moving out west. Nobody goes the other way. That should tell you something.

Hay now

They all run back once they've made their money. That tells you something too

[Brian 162]

Fishcop, We constantly get people from eastern Canada moving out west. Nobody goes the other way. That should tell you something.

My friend and her husband moved to Vancouver in 97. They had a great spot on Granville Island overlooking the marina.They returned to Ontario after one year.

[upwardr]

Southern Ontario is a good place for the fisheries. Here in Hamilton we have a large government fisheries facility that does research in the Great lakes. Lots to do here but we get snow about 3 months a year. lots of traffic but close enough to wilderness to get away. Centre fo Inland Waters.

2 bedroom home probably 225.000 in our area, modest home in the city. Slightly more in the suburbs. Lots more the closer you get to Toronto.

[vancity944]

Hey Rob, did you happen to play with or know Barry Skrudland, older brother of Brian from the Habs, Panthers, Flames etc.
We all grew up together on the same shinny playing street in Saskatoon

[Jim2]

John, pelican member Tim Polzin would likely be able to give you insight on your line of work within Alberta. PM him.

Lots of environmental activity here due to oil and gas exploration, production, tar sands, mining etc.

Housing:

www.mls.ca

[Bob Benson]

Originally Posted by vancity944

Hey Rob, did you happen to play with or know Barry Skrudland, older brother of Brian from the Habs, Panthers, Flames etc.
We all grew up together on the same shinny playing street in Saskatoon

I grew up playing with Curt Fraser, Smyl, Beck and many others in the Vancouver area. My draft year was '78 but never got drafted. I met Brian a couple of times though, nice guy. You prairie guys were tough.

Bob

[Fishcop]

Hey thanks very much guys. There is a lot of things to consider; not to mention the non-refundable $1500CAN administration fee...

The good thing is the Aussie dollar is only worth a few cents less than yours and it would appear that the cost of living is about the same (with the apparent advantage of cheaper Porsches!).

Cheers

[911Rob]

Ron and Pam Fokkens of Chestermere, Alberta, Canada are two really good friends of mine. They both were born in Australia and immigrated to Canada. They know both sides of the coin; you may feel free to call them and introduce yourself as referred by me. They are both wonderful people and their insight may be helpful.

Otherwise, Canada is one large Country. I have lived all across it and there is no one 'best' spot. It depends what you are looking for? The East coast offers some real beauty with very affordable housing opportunities. Our major Cities are all beautiful; you can pick anyone of them and be happy. Just before I got married I had a choice to live in any City I wanted to; I chose Calgary for many personal reasons. My kids were all born there and we really enjoyed our time in that City.

Now life is more laid back and I'm enjoying living in the interior of BC. Truly Gods Country here, but its very similar in Ontario too. Our Country is owned and operated by the East, but I was born in BC and its in my blood; I love it here.

You'll need to structure a plan to visit; feel free to look me up and we'll give you the Cooks tour of our Region.

the www.mls.ca website is a full Canadian real estate website that will give you hours if not days of research work to complete. Have fun and good luck.

[unclebilly]

Where to live in Canada? Depends on if you want to retire someday... Alberta is the place to be to make money provided you are willing to work.

Some provinces use salt in the winter time, others have started to put down fertillizer instead which should be less corrosive and have good environmental effects.

The cost of living in B.C. is higher but there are more governemnt jobs there if that is what you are looking for. The taxation rate there is also amoung the highest in the country.

Alberta is also the province that houses Banff and Jasper national parks, and Kananaskis provincial park (where the G8 - or was it G7 summit was held a few years ago). You would have to get used to - 20°C days in the winter tho.

BTW - my house in Calgary is currently for sale and it has a 26 X 30 garage with in floor heating and 10' ceilings. $410,000, centrally located in Calgary's SW.

[stealthn]

Dudes,

What are you talking about? There is nothing East of Alberta, and nothing over the mountains to the West

Seriously John, come over for a month and travel the country, a lot of people recommend British Columbia, but I think you would be better suited (based on what you said) for the East coast; Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and maybe parts of Quebec.

You should be able to get a job easily if you don't mind smakin around the yanks stealin our fish

Anyway, take Rob's offer up and contact his friends (didn't leave a number Rob) and then come visit.

This IS God's country (with beer)

[Fishcop]

Originally Posted by stealthn

This IS God's country (with beer)

You had me at "smackin' around Yanks", But the last line has me hooked

[Christien]

I think everyone is spot-on here. It's a HUGE country with many different available lifestyles. The big cities are expensive though Montreal is still reasonable in most places and is my favourite place I've ever lived.

Larry posted some nice pics of our city of Hamilton, about 45 min. outside Toronto. When my wife and I bought a house we were living in Toronto. We wanted to stay nearby but also wanted a fair size house. Just to give an idea, we bought our place here in Hamilton in 2004 for $230K, 50x150 lot, fully detached, 2 story, 1.5 car garage, 3 bedrooms, unfinished basement, showed poorly because it needed lots of cosmetic work. We've put about $20K into the house (including finishing the basement and adding 3 rooms) and it would now sell for closer to $300K, partially helped by an increasing housing market. For perspective, our house anywhere near central Toronto (where we wanted to live) would be at least 2 million.

There are tons of Porsche guys in the greater Toronto area and our local PCA chapter (upper Canada region) is very active with socials and track days. Autocross doesn't seem to be very popular among the Porsche crowd though.

[Long Nose]

"Also neither my wife or I speak French, is that generally a problem?"

That's OK - neither do we!!!!!

[dvkk]

Originally Posted by notfarnow

Hay now

They all run back once they've made their money. That tells you something too

That out west is where the big bux is???


John, since you come from the land of perpetual summer, you should consider the weather when you pick a destination.

The west coast is famous for rain. We are in the middle of the rainy season, which extends from Nov to Apr-May. However, what goes along with this is the mildest temps in the country. The city of Victoria holds the distinction of the least cold place in Canada. The city does not own snow removal equipment. Summers here are also mild, with temps rarely exceeding 30ºC near the coast. Humidity is non-existant. It is extremely common to see new cars here without AC. Motorcyclists and bicycles are seen year round.

If you can't deal with rain or cloudy days, Calgary is known for sunny winter days. If you like sunshine, the cold isn't as hard to take. Wild temperature swings happen all the time. In the winter it can be -20ºC in the morning, then +10º that afternoon.

If you like gazing at the mountains, Saskatchewan is not the place to be. Housing is still affordable, but rising quickly.

Ontario is a great place...... to be from (jk) Winters are colder, and summers are hotter than the west. Humidity is disgusting. Plenty of air advisory days. I'm sure others will add to this description.

If you want to be fully bilingual, Quebec is forced immersion. Even though it is still part of Canada, you will be surprised at the cultural differences.

If you want to experience lots of snow, eastern Canada will fulfill your dreams, and then some.

As a new Canadian, you will be obligated to learn the fundamentals of Hockey. You must be able to converse with fans even if you hate the game. The first thing you need to know is that the Leafs suck.