Vancouver Canada Moving Help?
Hey I'm from Florida and I'm looking for schools and vancouver has an amazing school for my degree. I was looking for Information on vancouver but I have been finding some extremely mixed feelings and stats. Any help here? FYI I hate the heat, the cold will be orgastic to me. Looking for things like crime, costs, living, attitude to Americans, things of that nature. I don't plan on having children any time soon so thats not really a problem. Also my soon to be wife is a nurse and I was wondering how her degree would transfer and if she would still make ok money up there.
Vancouver - 4 Answers
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1 :
Vancouver is not an inexpensive city to live in but it is a world class city and is getting better all the time. A nursing degree is a great credential to enter Canada with but be informed that a BC competency exam would have to be written. This is not a big deal for a fully qualified nurse. I would suggest you go online to the classified section of the Vancouver Sun or the Province newspapers to check on rents etc. in the greater Vancouver area. If you find an address look it up on Google Earth and try avoid having to cross a bridge in order to get to school or work as they tend to shut the city down if an accident or snow is present.'You will not have to worry about constant heat such as you experience in Florida nor the high humidity. July and August are the warmest months with temperatures approaching 85 - 90 but it is not constant as there are breaks of cooler weather in between. Good luck with your pending plans.
2 :
If you hate the heat, you'll love BC's climate. Summer is lovely, mostly dry and not humid, winter can be cloudy and wet but it's usually light rain all day instead of a downpour. Stays green all year, there's some snow most years. It's fairly expensive to live here, mainly because of housing. On the other hand, you probably won't pay much for heat or anything at all for air conditioning. Don't worry about attitudes to Americans. You'll blend right in, thousands do. Petty crime is on the high side in Vancouver, but genuine violence is fairly rare. You can walk on the street just about anywhere anytime and be safe. Nurses are in high demand but I don't know anything about credentials needed. She should make decent money.
3 :
A US nurse is very welcome in Canada. She has to line up a job first with a Canadian Hospital. Then when she moves to Canada has to get a "TN Visa" at the border. Look up "TN Visa" on line. And do understand that the UN has rated Canada the best place on earth to live and Vancouver the best place in Canada. Yes Vancouver has some bad things but lived there 20 years and would be OK going back there when my H-1B visa runs out. And Vancouver does not get really cold like places like Edmonton.
4 :
Just moved here from Florida with my family in Summer of 2008. It is COLD - so if you like that you are all set. However, compared to Florida you will be DIRT poor here - at least that is how we feel. Some "things" that you may want to keep in mind that no one told us - some may not apply to you as a student, but may help someone else: 1) In Canada there is no such thing as joint income tax returns, so if your wife makes a decent amount of money, despite the fact that you are a student and not bringing in income, be prepared for her to pay extremely high taxes - Despite the fact that you are married, your income is individual - not family. Highest tax rate is 43% I believe. 2) If your wife participates in a 401K, she will be forbidden to participate for the 1st year at all - therefore if she is getting any matching funds, that will be lost income. If you do contribute after that to 401K (Equivalent), when you leave Canada, you will be penalized and taxed for taking your money back with you. The Canadian equivalent of Social Security will be taken out and obviously if you don't retire in Canada, will be lost to you completely. 3) Costs here are incredibly expensive (compared to Florida at least since that is where you are coming from) - I mean everything, from a buss pass ($2.50 a trip) to parking, which you will pay just about everywhere, and especially groceries (People here look at me like I am nuts, but $4.99 a pound ON SALE for chicken breasts (non free-range) is pretty pricey. Milk (non organic) is $3.99 a gallon (ok, a tiny bit over a gallon). Prices on housing are for sure coming down, but are still out of control and will be far far far above what you are paying in Florida (especially if you are getting the FL homestead allowance) and your average 2 bedroom is about 900 sq feet. Many apartments come with one parking space, but if you need two, be prepared to pay at least $100 a month for secured parking. 4) The banking industry here is about 10 -15 years behind the U.S. There is NO such thing as a free checking (or savings) account like you are used to in the U.S. You will not be able to get a real credit card since you will not have Canadian credit - it will be a secured card with a very low limit. Checks you deposit will be held by the bank for up to 6 days so they can skim interest out of it. Also, there is no real electronic communication between U.S. and Canadian banks, so if you need to wire money or something, it is all inputted by hand and will take at least 3 days. 5) Car insurance - wow what a nightmare. Be prepared to pay at least triple what you are paying now for a lot less benefits. That is IF you have at least 8 documented years of accident or ticket free driving. That gives you a "discount" - if you have a poor driving record, you may want to leave your cars behind 'cause you won't be able to afford it. Also, if your car does not have automatic "daytime running lights", you will be required to have them installed - at least $500 a pop here, so you should look into it before you move to compare prices. 6) Income Tax - you will have to file income tax in both Canada and the U.S. and tax prep help to do both here is costing us $2500 - no turbotax ability! That said, it is very beautiful for sure! Lots of nature, gorgeous parks, etc.. As far as your other questions - attitudes towards Americans are just fine. Crime is different than in Florida, but still around - not sure what part of Florida you are from, but they have fewer murders overall than say, Orlando and less crimes against children, but more "petty" crime like break ins (especially cars). Lots of drug use - openly on the street. Weed is VERY popular and accepted here. In lower parts of greater Vancouver (surrey especially) there is quite a bit of gang-related crime. Let's see, what else - Make sure your wife is able to get a work permit in Nursing. I am not a nurse, but my work permit has exclusions for health care and education for some reason. Be prepared for LOTS of bureaucracy. The waiting period for a work permit can be up to 90 days. Best of luck to you! I am not trying to dissuade you, but wanted to make sure you were not blindsided as we were with unexpected expenses. P.S. - Oh yeah, one more "tiny" little thing - If you like alcohol, prepare to up your budget further. You can only buy alcohol - including beer in liquor stores. Average price of a 6 pack of beer? $12.50 - Not kidding. Don't even ask about the price of wine or liquor. It is all regulated by the gov't.
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