Immigrating to Canada in 96 hours!

[Rich_AR]

dsgrnmcm said:

Apologies for the lack of posting, been full tilt!

Getting stuck in to work, and attending work events.

So:

Car buying With the first car being Mrs DSGRNMCMs it had to meet strict criteria:

Not be Chavvy, not be loud, be comphy, high (SUV) and have a parking camera. So Audi Q5 Premium it is (2018, $33K plus $4K Tax...) I tried to get a 2017 Macan, but it was $55k plus tax and didn't feel that great.


So we had to put a deposit of $500 down (Bank card limit is $400 a day, so more credit card faff. Then they survey the car (All cars in Ontario have to get a "Safety" (MOT) at the time of sale, and that sit until it gets sold again. Also they are doing the registration for licence plates, doing a service (Inc Diffs) and putting Witner tyres on. However they will provide an OEM boot seal but not fit it?

The bottom outer bit is broken.



Also new discs and pads.




Insurance has come down to $3450 for two of us, then I joined the CAA and got membership (Think AA on steroids) and asked them for a quote, with a 20% discount (Better be below $3000!!!!)

Next Banking:

We had to go in again today to sign for a joint account, bank cards and the extremely small daily limits. Not as slick as the UK, but now finally done.

Health cards:

They came in the post today, and we can now go on a waiting list.... great.

Dentist:

Same story, although the Mrs is getting stung with $550 for a check up, scrape and polish!

Road trip:

Next week (Fingers crossed) we will be driving (Hire car or the Q5) from Ottawa to Halifax for my work so we intend to go "over the top" there, and then back through the states on the way back.

Don't forget to get yourself an ESTA and an I-94 visa when entering the US by land.

Has your company provided health insurance yet? Dental is part of it and you only pay a small part of the checkups etc (i do anyway).

Did you get or view a copy of the Carfax for the Audi Q5? Rubber boot seal is easy to replace. I guess you're not buying from Audi if they ain't gonna fit it for you.

I found banking in Canada a bit like you're in the 90s. First day i arrived in Canada, I went into a branch (TD), with a salary letter from my company and they approved a half decent credit limit on a credit card.

How did you get on converting your driving license?

Edited by Rich_AR on Tuesday 14th February 16:19

[wibble cb]

Lol at the banking, I worked for the same bank in the UK as here, then soon after I arrived I was seconded back to London, my credit card wouldn’t take the whole flight and hotel bill, due to the small limit, I had to ask my boss (managing director) to write a similar letter, I got a higher limit pdq !

[dsgrnmcm]

fourstardan said:

Not sure I could deal with the weather situation out there in winter, although properties are big enough for a golf sim

What lines of work are you doing in Canada?

Wasnt too bad today, got the Bus in and train home. Wore a shirt and body warmer. No need for a coat.

I'm doing Business Development (Ex Navy, its what we all do)

[dsgrnmcm]

[quote=Rich_AR]

Don't forget to get yourself an ESTA and an I-94 visa when entering the US by land.

Has your company provided health insurance yet? Dental is part of it and you only pay a small part of the checkups etc (i do anyway).

Did you get or view a copy of the Carfax for the Audi Q5? Rubber boot seal is easy to replace. I guess you're not buying from Audi if they ain't gonna fit it for you.

I found banking in Canada a bit like you're in the 90s. First day i arrived in Canada, I went into a branch (TD), with a salary letter from my company and they approved a half decent credit limit on a credit card.

How did you get on converting your driving license?

Thanks Rich_AR

We have our ESTA still from last year, what is the I-94?

Thye provided a basic Health insurance for 3 months, I need to sign up to my benefits programme (Thursday)

I agree, using cheques, everything is geared towards credit cards really odd.

The licence was a straight swap. Car insurance is still steep though.

[Rich_AR]

dsgrnmcm said:

Thanks Rich_AR

We have our ESTA still from last year, what is the I-94?

Thye provided a basic Health insurance for 3 months, I need to sign up to my benefits programme (Thursday)

I agree, using cheques, everything is geared towards credit cards really odd.

The licence was a straight swap. Car insurance is still steep though.

i94 visa: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home.

Did they honour more years/UK years on the license? $3k for insurance sounds absurd to me . Can other PH'ers in ON comment on insurance over there?

[wibble cb]

Insurance is expensive, I was treated as a new driver on arrival despite having held a Uk licence for 16 years , there was nothing option to add years of experience to my licence or insurance records, one thing that did happen though was that a couple of years ago I got a refund cheque from my insurance co, telling me they had been overcharging me for years, I got 2k cad back, but no explanation of why or how they did it!

My frogeye still costs 1500 $ a year to insure, I can still not get cheap classic insurance if I have full insurance on another car, but I don’t need another car, so that not an option.

[Rich_AR]

wibble cb said:

Insurance is expensive, I was treated as a new driver on arrival despite having held a Uk licence for 16 years , there was nothing option to add years of experience to my licence or insurance records, one thing that did happen though was that a couple of years ago I got a refund cheque from my insurance co, telling me they had been overcharging me for years, I got 2k cad back, but no explanation of why or how they did it!

My frogeye still costs 1500 $ a year to insure, I can still not get cheap classic insurance if I have full insurance on another car, but I don’t need another car, so that not an option.

Thanks, and interesting (yet annoying for you chaps). Does ON have the classic/collector plates like they do here in BC (anything over 25 years old etc)?

[fttm]

Pay under a grand each for F150 and Jeep Grand Cherokee for 3rd party Provincial plates , topped up with a private fully comp package policy for another $400 each . BMW M3 (sold last year) was $160 for a 3 month plate during the summer . My youngest son at 17 was paying $700 to insure his RHD Subaru WRX STI , madness

[wibble cb]

Rich_AR said:

wibble cb said:

Insurance is expensive, I was treated as a new driver on arrival despite having held a Uk licence for 16 years , there was nothing option to add years of experience to my licence or insurance records, one thing that did happen though was that a couple of years ago I got a refund cheque from my insurance co, telling me they had been overcharging me for years, I got 2k cad back, but no explanation of why or how they did it!

My frogeye still costs 1500 $ a year to insure, I can still not get cheap classic insurance if I have full insurance on another car, but I don’t need another car, so that not an option.

Thanks, and interesting (yet annoying for you chaps). Does ON have the classic/collector plates like they do here in BC (anything over 25 years old etc)?

Yes we do, but they restrict you to travel to and from shows/events, so not really worth it either

[dsgrnmcm]

fttm said:

Pay under a grand each for F150 and Jeep Grand Cherokee for 3rd party Provincial plates , topped up with a private fully comp package policy for another $400 each . BMW M3 (sold last year) was $160 for a 3 month plate during the summer . My youngest son at 17 was paying $700 to insure his RHD Subaru WRX STI , madness

WHAT! that is cheap as chips!!!!

We are stuck with $3500 for the pair of us for the first year.

However the Garage have not applied for finance yet, the bank is so new we don't have a statement to give them yet, but I want something on credit as we want to get a credit history going.

So tomorrow we are off in the hire car (1st world problems!)

[Rich_AR]

dsgrnmcm said:

WHAT! that is cheap as chips!!!!

We are stuck with $3500 for the pair of us for the first year.

However the Garage have not applied for finance yet, the bank is so new we don't have a statement to give them yet, but I want something on credit as we want to get a credit history going.

So tomorrow we are off in the hire car (1st world problems!)

Did you check the carfax for the Q5?

Also, did you speak with your bank directly about an auto loan? Some provide them (i've no experience on that however).

Insurance on my '98 911 is $800 a year. I still think it's expensive.

[dsgrnmcm]

So we did the road trip to Halifax and back, took a weekend to get there and the same for the return. Met some nice people, did some work on the ship then drove back.

Turns out I have an ESTA, just for my old passport.... tried to get one, but it took ages, so we drove back through Canada and didn't go through Maine as planned. Bugger....

Here is the view from the Main Mast of MV ASTERIX:



On the way home we pulled in to look at a house I saved on the real estate site,:

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/24920656/8970-r...

one problem....



In winter the access road freezes up! So it must be a summer home. Bugger.


But on reflection, with a new (2022) law being passed in the state of Quebec where: any legal professional will only speak in French. So doctors and lawyers for example.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bill-96-ex...

[fttm]

Clue is in the details , electric heating , deffo not all season . Go steady on the spending until you're both sure the move is working , ahem .

[dsgrnmcm]

fttm said:

Clue is in the details , electric heating , deffo not all season . Go steady on the spending until you're both sure the move is working , ahem .

Thats the plan, to save as much as we can. As we dont know what the "real" cost of living is. Nor the tax implications.

[RDMcG]

Spring is very late this year......usually less snow by now!

[dsgrnmcm]

Evening all,

so today put container arrives with all our worldly goods, that we can't fit in to our apartment...



last week I met up with a PH'er! first time ever, and I had to do it in Canada.

We are getting settled, still have Tax and pension faff but have been taking some Ski lessons, and my legs are intact!

[RDMcG]

Great that you are getting settled in!

[happygoron]

dsgrnmcm said:

last week I met up with a PH'er! first time ever, and I had to do it in Canada.

I'm not even a powerfully built director, nor have I ever owned a 335d. Though I do know someone in Ottawa with one....

[dsgrnmcm]

happygoron said:

I'm not even a powerfully built director, nor have I ever owned a 335d. Though I do know someone in Ottawa with one....

no way, I have not seen any BMW diesel cars. Only a few RAM diesel trucks.

[Rich_AR]

dsgrnmcm said:

happygoron said:

I'm not even a powerfully built director, nor have I ever owned a 335d. Though I do know someone in Ottawa with one....

no way, I have not seen any BMW diesel cars. Only a few RAM diesel trucks.

Must only be a handful of 335d's in Canada (of approx 2009-2011 vintage) and at a guess none were tourings. Anything newer was the 328d (and only upto the f30/31).