Moving Back to Canada Questions

Scootter
CanuckAbroad Regular



Joined: 06 Jun 2006
Posts: 57
Location: Sawtry (Nr Peterborough)

Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 7:26 am

 

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I am happy to see other ex-pats moving back home. I have lived in the UK for the past 6 years (well and spent loads of time in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Thailand but.), and my wife (who is English) surprised me by telling me she would like us to emigrate to Canada in 2-3 years.

Mainly because we don't see the UK as a place to raise a family, especially with the recent reports about the UK having the worst teens in the EU.

Ironically enough, I just got my unlimited LTR, and can get a passport next year, so I will have dual citizenship just in time to move back.

I grew up in Winnipeg, but my wife is keen on us settling in the GTA, and I am not too bother about this idea (aside from the anti-TO sentiments embedded in me as a Westerner) and I would be keen to get any advice of what to look out for as far as bad or nice areas of TO.

I will be looking for work in IT, and more than likely still have to travel some, but I don't want to look at somewhere on the web and then find out it is the new crack house hotspots. Any TO natives out there?

Cheers,

Scootter

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tavcanada
CanuckAbroad Regular


Laura

Joined: 30 Jun 2006
Posts: 33
Location: Oxfordshire

Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 12:15 pm

 

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Hi Scootter, glad to hear you're thinking of moving back home! My DH is also a Westerner and I'm from Ottawa so we both were less than thrilled with moving to the "big city".hehe. We are looking in south Ajax right now (please no cracks about the Pickering cooling towers everybody )as some of Tim's future colleagues live there and have sent us lots of pics of the area and it looks really nice. I've been impressed so far with the Durham school board as well and finding good schools is very important for us as we have a special needs child. Tim is going over to TO in two weeks time to meet his new team and do some house/school recce for us, I'd be happy to let you know what he thinks if you'd like?

In terms of the tax questions, we found out that it was better for us to exercise stock options that we were given while living in Belgium and pay the tax here than wait until we got back to Canada as we would get double-whammy'ed! In Belgium you have to pay the tax upfront (not when you exercise) on the value of the stocks.grrrrr.and since there is no agreement between Canada and Belgium we would have to pay tax again on the value of the stock as well as any capital gains tax. I'm not kidding. Sigh. So we're getting a crap deal overall (since we paid tax on stock that was worth $100/share and is now about $25) but we'll take what we can get and put it into and RRSP when we get home.

Good luck to all who are contemplating a move to the best country in the world!

Laura
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Diana Elisa
New Member



Joined: 11 Feb 2008
Posts: 8

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:10 am

 

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I'm planning to move to Canada in the following 2 months. I was born out of Canada but went once a year from the Brazilian summer to WINTERpeg Christmas. Two years ago I went with my husband for him to get to know the family and place of my winters - and he loved every second of it, from the fenceless homes to the amazingly warm fellows. on August 07 we got held-up with a gun and decided it was enough here, and this last Christmas we decided we would only come back to Brazil to get ready to move and return only for vacations.

Anyways, I'm scared to death - leaving everything behing and starting from zero - and although I have family there I am not very confident of going to Winnipeg. I guess I just don't know where to start in a completely different environment. I will leave in April and my husband will follow in Spetember. Could anyone tell me more or less how much does it cost for a couple to live in Winnipeg - including grocery, light and gas bills, and rent?

I just found out that pets are no longer allowed in the cabin in Air Canada flights - so remember this when you guys decide to take pets traveling.

Thanks in advance!

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Steven
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 1662
Location: Calgary

Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 12:09 am

 

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If you like snow (or rain in Vancouver) and higher taxes.



No. You are taxed on your global income based on where you reside. As a result it's a good idea to move on January 1st if you possibly can, it means you only have to fill in one tax return for the year of your move.



And US banks aren't? Their interest rates are criminal. Can't see a point unless you buy everything in the US, but now is not the time to do it because the Canadian dollar is so strong. Whether you get a W-9 or a T5 is irrelevant, you still have to declare it to the relevant tax authority, you cannot legally hide income.



If they've lived in Vegas all their lives I'd say so. "Honey, what are those green leafy things called? What is this wet stuff falling out of the sky?"



Often when I talk to Americans they talk in glowing terms about how wonderful Canadian healthcare is. It's not that great IMO. It's very inefficient and consumes 60% of provincial tax revenues. And you still have to pay for optometry and dentistry, and many common prescription medicines and other supplies are not covered. I have five things on prescription and Blue Cross only covers one.
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Steve.

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Steven
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 1662
Location: Calgary

Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 12:18 am

 

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Winnipeg or TO?

I have to say whenever I turn on the Weather Network I'm always glad I live in Calgary. Calgary has 330 days of sunshine on average every year.

During the winter I always look at the forecast and I go: "Aaagh, it's going to be cold!"

Then I watch the national forecast and lower BC is just one big blue blob, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are even colder and have snowstorms, ditto for Québec, and Ontario is under a ton of lake effect snow. And the Maritimes just have storm after storm from the ocean.

Alberta is colder than southern Ontario and BC but other than that it's the place to be in Canada. Cost of living is quite low (not as low as it was but lower than Ottawa, TO, and Vancouver). Taxes are also the lowest in Canada outside of the Territories.

Easy to get a job.

The only major problem is that everyone is moving here and the infrastructure is stretched to breaking point at the moment. Healthcare, schools, roads, etc.

I did think about moving to Kelowna, but there's no point: Kelowna moved here.
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Steve.

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tavcanada
CanuckAbroad Regular


Laura

Joined: 30 Jun 2006
Posts: 33
Location: Oxfordshire

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:21 am

 

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Just thought I'd post an update to this thread for anyone considering a move to TO or the GTA. We did end up in the GTA in the Durham region and moved in on Labour Day 2007. We are loving it here and can't say enough about the fantastic schools in our town and the convenience of the area. As much as it pains me to say it, being an Ottawa native, Toronto has turned into quite a fantastic city and we enjoy outings there from time to time. My hubby is commuting when he needs to and the 407 is a great option to get into the city but actually driving in TO is another story.they don't call it the "Don Valley Parking Lot" for nothing. I guess it's no different in any major city though. We have a child with special educational needs and the support in the Durham District School Board has been great so far and I hope the level of support will remain high as he heads off to high school next year.

Oh and we've been enjoying a good old fashioned Canadian winter here this year and we've been loving it after the dismal, grey winters in the U.K. I hope it's not a fluke so I can look forward to using the new snowblower again next year, hehe. Funny how -20 doesn't seem so bad when the SUN is shining off the sparkling snow.

Just some thoughts on our "big move" and how we are settling in.
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acrossthewall
Junior Member



Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Posts: 19
Location: New York, USA

Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 4:48 pm

 

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I totally agree! I'm a B.C. native, but in recent years I've divided my time between upstate New York and Scotland; the only easy winters I've had have been in freezing-cold NY!

B.C. and the UK are both really temperate in the winters, but it's so incessantly grey and wet and miserable in both places until at least March or April. Not to mention both are far enough north for the days to feel really uncomfortably short in December and January (especially up here at 56º N). Not that I don't love both B.C. and Scotland, but to my surprise, I'm actually looking forward to spending next winter back in NY due to the considerably higher amount of sunlight relative to my other two places! You can really tell here why seasonal affective disorder is so much more prevalent at higher latitudes, and the perpetual overcastness doesn't help.

Glad the move to Toronto is working out so well!

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Steven
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 1662
Location: Calgary

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 5:30 pm

 

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In Edinburgh perhaps, further south it gets warmer but you do get a fair amount of rain. Not as much as BC though.
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Steve.

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