immigrating

[Lovian]

Hi all, i`m in the process of moving from the UK to Canada paper work is all in and just waiting on London to finish processing it. Has anyone else moved countries and have any help and advice?

Also going to need to ship some of my stuff over going to leave behind my TV and white goods as I think going from 240 120v will kill them even with adapters. However going to take my Sony amp, ps3 and tannoy speakers if anyone one has done this will they work ok?

[ZarakiKujata]

Your TV shouldn't matter, shits all made in Hong Kong/Taiwan/China and is used around the world, new adapter should be fine, same way it is for ps3, ipod and other high end electronics.

[The Stig]

How big is your TV? I'll give you up to £2.50 for it.

[Lovian]

40" TV but going to leave it in my flat so I can rent it out fully furnished sorry, plus its all the way up in Glasgow, shipping as far as i can tell over to Canada is done by size rather than weight so might be better off just getting a new one over there. Been doing some reading up and turns out only 1 studio is making their blu-ray region specific so thats good Bought metal gear solid while visiting last year to just double check that the games are region free which they are (yeah i know any excuse)

Got a place to crash for a while when I move over but will need to find a job quickly preferably in I.T as that is what my skills are in. Other than the usual job sites anyone have advice on that, and what areas around Toronto have I.T jobs?

[Komm Suesser Tod]

If you don't have a job yet, maybe moving isn't the best idea. If you have a few solid leads lined up, it's one thing, but if you've barely started looking it could be a while before you could find a job that could sustain you.

[Lovian]

Been doing some programming for a contractor doing the ESA site, so have some good references so far. I have a back ground in web design (with graphic design thrown in, my last employer is in BC so will be able to get another canadian reference) I have a degree in Genetics with a postgrad in I.T, MCSA (messaging) and just finishing off a CCNP. The problem is that over here around glasgow is that IT jobs are few and far between and the economy is in a worse state than they let on. Mainly moving over because I really like it there the quality of life is better and the people are nicer.

The reason i havn't chased up a job sooner is I will be getting Perminant Residence which will allow me to work instead of having to run around sorting out temporary work permits. I also now have an idea of the time frame as CIC have passed the paper work to London so, so long as there are no hiccups i should be able to move over in just over a month.

[Lovian]

opps

[Vigilia]

Yeah, electricals don't care as long as you have a good adapter. Other way around, my husband still has his American SNES and it's been working fine in the UK for the last twenty odd years. You may need to replace the adapter(s) before the machines themselves. But with regards to white goods, it's probably cheaper to buy new or used in your destination than try ship your own over (unless you've got some insane £1+k fridge etc.) just because of the weight of the items. And taking little things like a toaster with you is just pointless, they're so cheap everywhere. Try to move light. I assume you have a job waiting in the other end, with a steady income it shouldn't take too long to replace most items. (EDIT: Nvm, you added the post above while I was typing this that you don't, but rest of the advice still stands) At the start it's better to just wait a little to get all the luxuries than go crazy with the credit card or you'll suffer for it later. Start looking for a place to live before you move as well, I don't know about Canada personally but most estate agents/managers I've met are helpful and if you explain them your situation they can line up flats/houses/whatever for you to see as soon as you've landed in the country. The less you have to stay at a hostel or motel or whatever the better.

I've not ever moved over oceans but I have moved a lot around Europe and the best advice I can say is that once you've settled in, find your local library and/or local government's website and office, they are awesome sources of information that you need in the day to day life. Once you get daily routine nailed down you'll start to feel like home and rest of the culture shock becomes easier to deal with. And do not assume you won't get a culture shock going from UK to Canada because you will, there are still major differences between the two countries. Talking to your new neighbors once you move in is useful too as is going for long evening walks/drives in the area just to learn your way around and to make sure you haven't missed anything. Places like swimming pools (if they're your cup of tea) are not always advertised much.

[Lovian]

Yeah, electricals don't care as long as you have a good adapter. Other way around, my husband still has his American SNES and it's been working fine in the UK for the last twenty odd years. You may need to replace the adapter(s) before the machines themselves. But with regards to white goods, it's probably cheaper to buy new or used in your destination than try ship your own over (unless you've got some insane £1+k fridge etc.) just because of the weight of the items. And taking little things like a toaster with you is just pointless, they're so cheap everywhere. Try to move light. I assume you have a job waiting in the other end, with a steady income it shouldn't take too long to replace most items. At the start it's better to just wait a little to get all the luxuries than go crazy with the credit card or you'll suffer for it later. Start looking for a place to live before you move as well, I don't know about Canada personally but most estate agents/managers I've met are helpful and if you explain them your situation they can line up flats/houses/whatever for you to see as soon as you've landed in the country. The less you have to stay at a hostel or motel or whatever the better.

I've not ever moved over oceans but I have moved a lot around Europe and the best advice I can say is that once you've settled in, find your local library and/or local government's website and office, they are awesome sources of information that you need in the day to day life. Once you get daily routine nailed down you'll start to feel like home and rest of the culture shock becomes easier to deal with. And do not assume you won't get a culture shock going from UK to Canada because you will, there are still major differences between the two countries. Talking to your new neighbors once you move in is useful too as is going for long evening walks/drives in the area just to learn your way around and to make sure you haven't missed anything. Places like swimming pools (if they're your cup of tea) are not always advertised much.

Thanks for the info, no job yet as stated above but have a place to stay as long as I need so that worry isn't there. Will also have access to a car though i will need to learn to drive something else to do before moving over. I'll be moving over pretty light and i'm sure i'll survive on the basics (i was a student for 5 years). Forgot about using local libraries as a place to find info so hoping that will help as well.

[Takedown3]

dont move to my country because you want a job, lots of people here need there own.

thx

[Demosthenes11]

*emigrating

[Linliel]

Good luck! I moved from Australia to Belgium last year and it was a huge thing. I basically sold off all my big things, electronics etc. and bought them again when I got here. It sucks a bit but it's much cheaper than shipping it all over! Don't forget that when you take the plane you'll probably have only about 20kg, which isn't very much! I had friends and family bring over extra suitcases for me (about another 50kg total) but that was mostly cooking equipment and spinning and knitting wool so you may not have that problem ;D

I also sold all my non-precious novels and bought a Kindle, best decision I made really lol.

See it as a new stage in life, it's a good opportunity to get rid of all the stuff you don't really need. As for when you move in: try to get out and make some friends pretty quickly; it'll make the transition a lot easier, especially if you've left loved ones at home. Get into a good routine, get exercise, eat well, and you'll be fine.

If you have any other Q's feel free to PM me.

[Linliel]

Oh another tip, take a box each of the sorts of medicines you use for headaches etc. if you get them, since they may go by different names and it's often useful to show chemists the boxes of the stuff you usually take

[Bikpik]

Well it might help to know where you plan on moving to in Canada, I think we have most of the provinces covered on here so we can give you the ins and outs of most places.

Research in Motion (Blackberry) has offices in Waterloo and Halifax, maybe more, but these are the main 2, and if you don't mind starting off in a call center, this has a lot of room for advancement. And Halifax wouldn't be as much of a culture shock to you.

[ZarakiKujata]

dont move to my country because you want a job, lots of people here need there own.

thx

THEYRE TAKIN OUR JERBS

[Norellicus]

*emigrating

Tomayto, tomahto.

They're the same thing, one is just from the perspective of leaving your home nation and the other is the merge into the new one.

[ZarakiKujata]

Tomayto, tomahto.

They're the same thing, one is just from the perspective of leaving your home nation and the other is the merge into the new one.

http://www.fruitycuties.com/images/h...omato-joke.gif

[Mizango]

Just throwing this out there, but if worse comes to worst you know that you can always move to Texas right? Immigrants there flat out run shit and get free amenities for life. The locals even have to learn to speak their language and assimilate into their foreign culture, how fucking boss is that?

You always need a plan W and that was it.

[Isiolia]

Your TV shouldn't matter, shits all made in Hong Kong/Taiwan/China and is used around the world, new adapter should be fine, same way it is for ps3, ipod and other high end electronics.

Actually, a TV might have issues being that he'd have a PAL/DVB set and Canada uses NTSC, with a planned transition to ATSC.

Some sources/connection types may work, others may not. I mean, power-wise, sure, if the devices don't have variable power anyway you can simply use transformers.

It may be simpler to just sell and buy new stuff though, as it also means less waiting for shipments >.>

[ZarakiKujata]

Just throwing this out there, but if worse comes to worst you know that you can always move to Texas right? Immigrants there flat out run shit and get free amenities for life. The locals even have to learn to speak their language and assimilate into their foreign culture, how fucking boss is that?

You always need a plan W and that was it.

pretty sure this dont apply to white people. especially white people from Scotland.


But lets face it they don't even let white people immigrate to Texas anymore.