chiara Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Hi there We've been in WA for a year and a half now and are wondering what to do next. We never really wanted to stay in Australia long term - at the time it was a means of employment - but my daughter is starting high school next year and I feel if we're going to leave, we'd need to do it now. It's all fine here, but for me it was always too far from home. Also, as my hubby is in construction, his job never feels too secure - he's been made redundant twice since we came here - and the stress of living on a 457 is too much at times. Canada has always appealed more, but I'm wondering if anyone here has lived in both places (being from neither of those places originally), or if anyone else is considering moving to Canada. We want to settle down for a few years, after five years of constantly being on the move, and it seems a good, safe place to be, and where a flight home to Ireland won't mean taking out a mortgage. Any opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacaranda Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 I think twinsmom has lived in both,please correct me if I am wrong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbird Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 I spent 4 years in Canada and still have a number of friends there. I don't know how the visa situation is these days but temporary work permits were no different to 457 visas and the wait for a PR visa was when we applied a few years ago a staggering 4 years. As for cost of flying home the flight prices appear to have shot up recently and a friend who wanted to return for a holiday from Calgary was staggered to be paying almost $2000CAD which is $2100AUD. Also factor in construction in winter. In certain parts I would imagine it grinds to a halt due to the weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiara Posted July 14, 2013 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 Thanks for that. He's being put forward for a couple of positions with a couple of agencies, so I presume that if he got the job, there would be no question of not working during winter months. For us here in Australia, him working has meant either FIFO which we all found unbearable, or living in a remote area - which we are right now, and although the experience of living in Outback Australia is amazing, and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity, I couldn't do it for more than a couple of years. It all just feels so temporary here and his last employer sponsored him knowing full well that they were on the verge of going out of business! They knowingly allowed us to relocate our family, take kids out of school, give up our Perth rental, and then just said three months later 'sorry, no more work'. I don't know if that sort of thing happens in Canada - I'm sure it does - but we feel very exposed here and so very far from home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 I have lived in both but Canada was many years ago. Twinsmom is the best to ask as she is in Canada now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 I haven't lived in both, but I did think about both, mainly because, at the time, I could have got a visa to either. The attraction to Canada for me was proximity to USA (I am an America-phile) and also that yes it was an easy trip back to UK, it isn't just the cost, but the time as well. My OH was always against it though because he thought it was too cold. I know that was not terribly helpful, but I have had a glass of wine. :embarrassed: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiara Posted July 14, 2013 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 Ooh is it wine time yet? Lovely! Yes good point about the flying time, and with 5 kids flying home to Ireland is a financial not to mention logistical nightmare! I should have qualified my comment about work being either FIFO or regional, what I meant was that this is the only way of surviving financially we've found. We did live on a Perth salary for a while and had nothing left at the end of the week - the cost of living is astronomical (more up here in the Pilbara, where 2 litres of milk can cost more than six dollars in places!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 There is/was another Canadian on PIO - Bobbsy?...or something similar. Currently living in Queensland (Toowoomba) IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 What about elsewhere in Australia, say Sydney or Melbourne ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Twinsmom and bobbsy would be the best to ask, i would of said northernbird aswell but just noticed she's already posted. Where in canada would you be looking at? If you were going to somewhere like Vancouver then i think winters wouldnt really be much of a issue. Canada always appealed to me because i want to travel loads in america and also canada of course! Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiara Posted July 14, 2013 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 Calgary is the location. To be honest I'd prefer the east coast, but then there's always room to move later on. As for moving to another city in Australia, it doesn't appeal to me since the problems will remain the same - cost of living, distance from Ireland, work prospects. As for weather, I'm a winter baby and miss the cold and even the rain! Up in the Pilbara temperatures will be topping 50 degrees in the summer, which is just too hot, particularly when there's little in the way of infrastructure to take you out of it and into air conditioning, like you'd get in the UAE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Calgary is the location. To be honest I'd prefer the east coast, but then there's always room to move later on. As for moving to another city in Australia, it doesn't appeal to me since the problems will remain the same - cost of living, distance from Ireland, work prospects. As for weather, I'm a winter baby and miss the cold and even the rain! Up in the Pilbara temperatures will be topping 50 degrees in the summer, which is just too hot, particularly when there's little in the way of infrastructure to take you out of it and into air conditioning, like you'd get in the UAE. Calgarys supposed to be nice, we looked at moving there. Its definitely cold but they get those chinook winds that are supposed to heat it up. Plus they have this walkway thing that joins up the shops so you dont really have to go outside, quite cool lol A lot of people go on about the aus cost of living being high so it must be really bad for you guys since your a big family. If you went to calgary then theres always the option of the east coast later on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxboz Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Oh Chiara I am glad you said you are a winter baby. My OH went there for work a couple of years ago and it was minus 30 brrr - I couldnt cope with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiara Posted July 14, 2013 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 That walkway thing sounds so cool! Living costs here are only bearable because hubby is earning good money (or he was...looking for another job at the mo!), but our groceries alone are costing us about $600 a week, and I don't buy a lot of packaged stuff. Add in rent and bills, not to mention clothes, shoes and trips out (not that we do much of that up here!) then a Perth salary of say, $90k goes absolutely nowhere. So it brings us back to the dilemma - live up in the bush forever or have hubby do FIFO forever. Neither of these prospects constitute 'livin' the dream' to me, and hold no long term appeal at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 That walkway thing sounds so cool! Living costs here are only bearable because hubby is earning good money (or he was...looking for another job at the mo!), but our groceries alone are costing us about $600 a week, and I don't buy a lot of packaged stuff. Add in rent and bills, not to mention clothes, shoes and trips out (not that we do much of that up here!) then a Perth salary of say, $90k goes absolutely nowhere. So it brings us back to the dilemma - live up in the bush forever or have hubby do FIFO forever. Neither of these prospects constitute 'livin' the dream' to me, and hold no long term appeal at all. I gave you a PM, just with some places that will give you info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbird Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Calgary is the location. To be honest I'd prefer the east coast, but then there's always room to move later on. As for moving to another city in Australia, it doesn't appeal to me since the problems will remain the same - cost of living, distance from Ireland, work prospects. As for weather, I'm a winter baby and miss the cold and even the rain! Up in the Pilbara temperatures will be topping 50 degrees in the summer, which is just too hot, particularly when there's little in the way of infrastructure to take you out of it and into air conditioning, like you'd get in the UAE. Calgary is lovely but there is cold and there is cold. Think of being stuck indoors at plus 40 degrees you have the same issue at -30 degrees in Calgary. Spending 20 minutes putting snowsuits on kids just to walk to the school bus. No different on East coast. Lived in Calgary and Halifax and the cold was as bad as the heat is bad here. Plus in summer you can get scorching temperatures too which feel far more oppressive than the heat in Perth. Saying that I loved the place and would have no hesitation living in either place again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbird Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Calgarys supposed to be nice, we looked at moving there. Its definitely cold but they get those chinook winds that are supposed to heat it up. Plus they have this walkway thing that joins up the shops so you dont really have to go outside, quite cool lol A lot of people go on about the aus cost of living being high so it must be really bad for you guys since your a big family. If you went to calgary then theres always the option of the east coast later on Plus 15s, and they are only in the downtown area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candygirl Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Hi Chiara, Sorry to hear that your OH has struggled with work. I remember when he lost his job the first time and you wrote on here about it. Our friends have applied for a PR visa to Canada and it is not easy. They started the process at the same time as us for Oz and are still waiting. Canada have just recently updated their FSW List and there are now only 24 occupations on there, so very limited at the moment. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 If they were desperate to leave then i think they could go on a normal work permit, its sort of like a 457 visa by the sounds of it so not that secure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinsmom65 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Hello, sorry just saw this thread, I am 12 hours behind Perth. I have lived in both countries. Originally from the UK, moved to Canada in 1981, and then spent 2 years in Perth in 2008. I live in Ontario, but know people who live in Calgary. Calgary is a lovely city, near the Rockies. Alberta's economy is the best in Canada, due to the oil industry almost like Perth. Cost of living is more expensive in Alberta, but wages are higher. Personally, I could live in both countries, but do hear your concerns about cost of living. For example I went shopping yesterday, spent $170 , for that I got 12 steaks, 2 boxes of chicken wings, chicken burgers, cat food, dog food, fresh fruit and vegetables Eggs, water etc. In Perth that probably would have cost me over $300.00. My girls love Canada, they enjoy 4 seasons, Xmas in the cold, Halloween. Canadians on the whole are nice people, very polite, not over the top like Americans. We have national pride, but it is not in your face. Construction does slow down in the winter, I can't speak for Alberta, but I know it does slow down here in Ontario, as my OH is in construction. I will post some links for housing, and grocery stores for you. One thing you will notice a difference, is that in Canada we have a lot more choice for shopping, plus close to the US for cheap shopping weekends. Cheers Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzz Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Hi, I am a new member and just saw the thread about Canada. I have lived in WA in 2008-09. We moved there after to Canada in 2010 after we received our PR. Been here for the last three years. While its a beautiful country, jobs are difficult to come by. All your previous qualifications count for nothing. You have to spend money(150-200) to get them reassessed up to the Canadian standard. No such guarantee that you will get a job even after the reassessment. There is this Canadian Language Benchmark that you can do for free where your level of English can be assessed, its free. We are currently packing our bags to move to Calgary as friends have moved there and jobs are aplenty. We are in Ontario, job market is pretty bad. If you have friends and relative here you could probably get a job, otherwise good luck trying as people are not as receptive as they are compared to what I have experienced in Australia. Weather is bearable, you will get used to Winter but the bad thing is the halt that it brings during those cold months. If you work in the Service industry, you can expect to be unemployed for months. A guy I know in horticulture works only for 6 months, and collects unemployment for 6 months. Not something I look forward to. Ontario min wage is 10.25/hour. Don't know about other provinces. I know Alberta, Manitoba and Sasketchewan is currently booming, it can be cold there. With a family of four, we roughly spend 100/week for groceries. Heating can be expensive in winter months up to 200. Cable around 150 to 170 for tv, internet, landline and mobile (cheaper plan). Gas 1.28/liter yesterday. Cheaper if you drive across the border to States. Friends usually shop in States for cheaper gas, groceries and other stuff, they say its way cheaper than Canada. We bought a cheap Minivan 2002 (7 seater) for 2K but the insurance is really expensive. I pay almost 300 a month, even after 3 years still paying 250/month. You can convert your license straight away as I did mine from WA to Ontario with no issues. Just get WA Transport to give you a letter (abstract) that Ontario will gladly accept. You get your G immediately. If you move to other province, I am not sure what are the requirements though. We don't live in Toronto so cannot comment on that. I have been there and hate the traffic. Highways are huge, 3 to 4 lanes easy. You will be overwhelmed with the trucks as transportation is big in Canada. Country roads are nice and quieter. We will be travelling across Canada from Ontario to Calgary end of the month. Looking forward to it. Kids love school, we are non catholics but the kids go to Catholic school here. You don't pay anything for school here but for excursions and pizza days, etc. I find the school system really good here and they always invite parents to take part as well. I know in WA it was comparable too. YMCA is big here and have lots of programs for migrants but depends where you are, in smaller towns not so much. The government is taking steps to help migrants and you can do short courses for free to get you assimilated into the workplace then again depends where you are, mostly available in big cities. I have lived in both countries albeit 2 years in WA and 3 in Canada, My conclusion: I would return to Australia in a heart beat if I had the chance. Note too that there are no "beaches" in Ontario except for the lakes which are technically the beaches here. Just my take though. This is just the information about Canada that I can think of and by no means meant to criticize Canada. Every country has its difference and that is what we are here to embrace. For once, I am lucky that my family has the opportunity to embrace the best of both worlds, we enjoy travelling and life doesn't always turn out to be the way you want to, but you have to continue to strive and be positive about it. Moving here is not something that we regret, but we had a different experience altogether and you have to embrace that. I am from Asia so that makes it difficult for us to revisit our family and friends but if you live in the UK, it takes only hours to be back. If you have questions feel free to post and I will try to answer them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinsmom65 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Whereabouts in Ontario are you? I agree with construction shutting down in the winter months, my BIL is a dozer operator, and is usually off during the winter periods for around 3 to 4 months and collects unemployment. My OH is a sheet metal worker, and this summer has been the slowest ever. It is scheduled to pick up in September. $100 a week for groceries is not too bad at all. When I lived in Perth, Australia I was spending approx $450 every two weeks and then at least another $100 on the off weeks for a total of almost a $1000.00 a month. I believe that gas in Perth is up to $1.56 a litre or more. Its all horses for courses as the pay is higher in Australia. Is there a reason that you left Australia? Cheers Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzz Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Whereabouts in Ontario are you? I agree with construction shutting down in the winter months, my BIL is a dozer operator, and is usually off during the winter periods for around 3 to 4 months and collects unemployment. My OH is a sheet metal worker, and this summer has been the slowest ever. It is scheduled to pick up in September. $100 a week for groceries is not too bad at all. When I lived in Perth, Australia I was spending approx $450 every two weeks and then at least another $100 on the off weeks for a total of almost a $1000.00 a month. I believe that gas in Perth is up to $1.56 a litre or more. Its all horses for courses as the pay is higher in Australia. Is there a reason that you left Australia? Cheers Karen We left as we received our PR for Canada while we were in Australia. We were in the midst of applying for Australia though and as you know curiosity kills the cat, we decided to see what Canada is all about hence the move. We are in the Niagara region, worse for employment. Well we do our groceries and pick and choose what we can, plenty of offers here and there sometimes. Plus also at time some grocers do honour price match if someone else is offering on the cheap too. One time we went in to NoF and the cashier punched in the wrong price, we told her that it was wrong and she concurred, we got that stuff for free! Sometimes we do buy stuff on the cheap to avoid higher prices so grocery bill can go up in certain weeks, but on average around 100. Whole roast chicken we usually get it for 6.99 and 12 cans of coke up to 3.99, I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinsmom65 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 We are in Kitchener. Agree about traffic in Toronto, couldn't pay me enough to live there. You should check out our sister site http://www.britsabroad.com as there is a big section on Canada. Cheers Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Whereabouts in Ontario are you? I agree with construction shutting down in the winter months, my BIL is a dozer operator, and is usually off during the winter periods for around 3 to 4 months and collects unemployment. My OH is a sheet metal worker, and this summer has been the slowest ever. It is scheduled to pick up in September. $100 a week for groceries is not too bad at all. When I lived in Perth, Australia I was spending approx $450 every two weeks and then at least another $100 on the off weeks for a total of almost a $1000.00 a month. I believe that gas in Perth is up to $1.56 a litre or more. Its all horses for courses as the pay is higher in Australia. Is there a reason that you left Australia? Cheers Karen One question - your bil is a dozer operator.. So what happens to the migrants that come over as construction workers when its winter. Are they just left 3 or 4 months with no money?? A lot arent on pr visas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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