Moving Back to Canada Questions

I've been living in the USA for 20 years now and am thinking of moving back to Canada. Is that a bad idea or good idea?

Will I be taxed on 20 yrs of income in the States (I have had zero financial ties to Canada during the 20 yrs)?

Should I keep my money in a US account? (Revenue Canada was legendary in the 80's for ripping people off).

Will I have culture shock? Will my US Wife and our daughter be culture shocked?

I grew up in Vancouver, but moved to the US in the late 80's and am concerned about a bunch of stuff. Any insight is appreciated.

Thx.

Move home!

I lived in the states for 9 years (age 18-27). I didn't realize until I moved back home just how much I missed it and how influenced I had been by the American agenda.

It was difficult moving home as I had no credit history and few contacts, although it was easier for me as a single person than I imagine it would be for a family.

I left money in my US account for a year (though it wasn't much!) and after a year and a half had cut off all those types of ties in the states.

Curious why you picked such a terrible place to live! From Vancouver to Las Vegas- ewww

Just MHO, but I'd rather live in Canada than the states anyday (she says from London, England were she has resided for nearly two years!)I'd say quality of life, quality of education, and general atmosphere are better in Canada.

Good luck!

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe RevCan can only tax you on foreign income if you were gone for less than 2 years.
I think you're pretty safe at 20.
Not sure if you have to look into RRSP's or somewhere to hide your money though.

That weighs heavily on my mind here. (As he sits sipping his Corona in a beach hammock . pssst can I get a 2nd lime slice please?)

Arioch, swap your Jack in the Boxes for Tim Hortons & enjoy the ride . . . welcome home.

Yeah yeah, rub it in BermudaBum.

You shouldn't have any worries with taxes in Canada. You've qualified for non-resident status for a long time, so I'm pretty sure they can't tax you on anything.

Welcome back!

I struggle with the same questions that you have. I have been in the States for 10 years.

I just recently obtain U.S. citizenship so I am now Dual Canadian / U.S. My initial reason for taking U.S. citizenship was so that I could move back home to Canada but then always have the option to return to the states without the hassle of Immigration. The tax issue for me if I return to Canada is that Uncle Sam wants tax on world wide income. There are deductions however.

Culture Shock? You better believe it. Canadians are in general more tolerant and polite people.

Keep us posted on your decisions.

My Auntie Gene lived in the US for 45 years. She went back home to Toronto just over a year ago. She feels much better now.

Glad to find this site and specifically this topic. I am also considering a move back to Ontario. I've been in the US for 14yrs. Now with little kids , my wife and I are the only ones down in Atlanta.my family and my wife's family in in toronto area and ottawa. We're missing the family ties and considering a move back.

I'm glad to learn there should be no tax implications. Now I'm trying to figure out if I can transfer within my company to the Toronto area - and maintain or at least get close to my current salary.

Does anyone have experience with this? For those who moved back - Were you able to find equivalent paying jobs.I tried to move back about 4yrs ago and learned that my position in the TO area paid about 40% less than what I was getting paid in the US. So I stayed put.

depends on the company and the industry you're in. Some companies pay more than others, as do some industries.

My problem was the opposite tho. I used to make scads of money back home in TO, now I've moved to small town North Carolina, and the pay sucks

Sometimes money isn't everything tho. Weigh the pros and cons of quality of life in each area. Weigh the cost of living in each area. Maybe a 40% cut in salary in a cheaper city won't be noticeable.

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

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