Moving to Canada from Ireland

[emerm]

Hey everyone,
Myself and my fiancee are hoping to make the big move in may, to vancouver. its great to read all the great advice about life over there. I was wondering does anyone know if there is still much work in construction,particularly plumbing over there.Thanks!

[jacktoboggan]

Hey Anne
I can provide you with a plenty of facts and opinions about living in Canada, well living in and around toronto to be exact. I moved here 19 years ago so i do have a bit of experience. Since nothing comes free I would like you to give me similar info about living in Ireland. Deal?????
Jack

Originally Posted by AnneIreland

My husband and I and are three children, age 11, 8 and 5 are considering a move to Toronto, Canada next year from Ireland.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Where to live, schools, jobs (my husband is a Mechanical Engineer/Construction Project Manager), way of life, standard and cost of living (couldn't be as much as in Dublin) etc.

This would be a huge move for us so negative as well as positive feedback would be great.

Thanks.

Anne

[jacktoboggan]

Originally Posted by emerm

Hey everyone,
Myself and my fiancee are hoping to make the big move in may, to vancouver. its great to read all the great advice about life over there. I was wondering does anyone know if there is still much work in construction,particularly plumbing over there.Thanks!

Hi Guys
The good news is that plumbing is a trade that always seems to be in demand in Canada. Bad news is that you need a licensce to access top wages. So if you move make sure to start working towards your licence asap. In Ontario this gets frequently done while working.Apprenticeship program is what its called
How much work is out there. It can be easily checked by using websites of local newspapers, employment jobsites etc.
jobbank.gc.ca is one of them, run by government of canada.
Cheers Jack

[spandza]

Hi Anne,

We moved here to Edmonton Alberta from Australia 8 yrs ago. Edmonton is great to bring a family up in compared to the urban sprawl and lifestyle in Melbourne. My husband is a structural designer and with all the work here he will never have to worry about a jib again as opposed to the last three years in Oz where he was away for two weeks at a time and home for a weekend. We arrived with two kids and now have three. Alberta is the only province where there is no PST so automatically it is cheaper with just GST. I pay approx $60-$100 per child to have them in school per year in the catholic system. Schooling I believe is cheaper here too as opposed to Toronto where it becomes more of a private school system as the children go into high school. We rented a car every weekend for $30 initially and our credit card covered our insurance, my husband got his Canadian license fairly quickly and I drove on an international for a year which I got from Oz before I came. Sometimes we would hire a car on a weekly basis for $99 pw. It's all workable ad doable but certainly vehicle history and extracts etc help as well as financial. Hope this helps. Sharon

[Auld Yin]

I believe is cheaper here too as opposed to Toronto where it becomes more of a private school system as the children go into high school.

I apologise but I must set you right here. All education in Ontario (Toronto) is free unless one chooses the private school route.

[spandza]

Originally Posted by Auld Yin

I believe is cheaper here too as opposed to Toronto where it becomes more of a private school system as the children go into high school.

I apologise but I must set you right here. All education in Ontario (Toronto) is free unless one chooses the private school route.

Thanks for the correction - my apologies.

[scallions]

Originally Posted by spandza

Hi Anne,

We moved here to Edmonton Alberta from Australia 8 yrs ago. Edmonton is great to bring a family up in compared to the urban sprawl and lifestyle in Melbourne. My husband is a structural designer and with all the work here he will never have to worry about a jib again as opposed to the last three years in Oz where he was away for two weeks at a time and home for a weekend. We arrived with two kids and now have three. Alberta is the only province where there is no PST so automatically it is cheaper with just GST. I pay approx $60-$100 per child to have them in school per year in the catholic system. Schooling I believe is cheaper here too as opposed to Toronto where it becomes more of a private school system as the children go into high school. We rented a car every weekend for $30 initially and our credit card covered our insurance, my husband got his Canadian license fairly quickly and I drove on an international for a year which I got from Oz before I came. Sometimes we would hire a car on a weekly basis for $99 pw. It's all workable ad doable but certainly vehicle history and extracts etc help as well as financial. Hope this helps. Sharon

Hi Sharon,

Can I ask you a quick question please? I hope Anne doesn't mind me butting in on her question? My husband and I are hoping to move to Canada ASAP - the only thing standing in our way is saving up the settlement funds before we can make the application. He is an Architectural Visualiser/Illustrator and I see that your husband is working in Structural Engineering. Can I ask you what the work in that area is like as a freelancer? I'm mindful that your husband may not be working as a consultant/freelancer, but even if he had a general idea of how you may get on as a freelancer.

I'd really appreciate any info you have on this. The information I've read on this thread so far is excellent!

Many thanks. M

[spandza]

Originally Posted by scallions

Hi Sharon,

Can I ask you a quick question please? I hope Anne doesn't mind me butting in on her question? My husband and I are hoping to move to Canada ASAP - the only thing standing in our way is saving up the settlement funds before we can make the application. He is an Architectural Visualiser/Illustrator and I see that your husband is working in Structural Engineering. Can I ask you what the work in that area is like as a freelancer? I'm mindful that your husband may not be working as a consultant/freelancer, but even if he had a general idea of how you may get on as a freelancer.

I'd really appreciate any info you have on this. The information I've read on this thread so far is excellent!

Many thanks. M

Unfortunately I don't feel I can answer your question on the market for freelancers in your husband's field. Their are agencies that cater for all engineering/architectural positions were you would be put on contract. One agency comes to mind is called Roevin which have offices all over Canada. Best thing to do is call them and see what they can do. Hope this helps.

[scallions]

Originally Posted by spandza

Unfortunately I don't feel I can answer your question on the market for freelancers in your husband's field. Their are agencies that cater for all engineering/architectural positions were you would be put on contract. One agency comes to mind is called Roevin which have offices all over Canada. Best thing to do is call them and see what they can do. Hope this helps.

Great - thank you

[Auld Yin]

Originally Posted by scallions

Hi Sharon,

Can I ask you a quick question please? I hope Anne doesn't mind me butting in on her question? My husband and I are hoping to move to Canada ASAP - the only thing standing in our way is saving up the settlement funds before we can make the application. He is an Architectural Visualiser/Illustrator and I see that your husband is working in Structural Engineering. Can I ask you what the work in that area is like as a freelancer? I'm mindful that your husband may not be working as a consultant/freelancer, but even if he had a general idea of how you may get on as a freelancer.

I'd really appreciate any info you have on this. The information I've read on this thread so far is excellent!

Many thanks. M

May I ask what type of visa do you hope to apply for?