Considering moving to Vancouver, BC from Seattle, WA... Where do I start???

Question

My husband, 2 year old son and I are considering moving to Vancouver, BC from Seattle, WA. I was just wondering where to begin???? Housing, safe neighborhoods, the job market (my husband is an internal auditor for a software company here)...

I was wondering if there was anyone who could give me a jump off on where to start... maybe you've made the same move or one similar?

Or any helpful websites... anything would be helpful at this point!! Thanks in advance :)

Answer 1

My sister lived in Vancouver for 2 years and had enough...It is over priced, labour short, drug ridden, as well as bum ridden. It has many many problems. If I were you I would look a little further down to Calgary I have another sister who lives there and loves it. It is boom town right now. U can pretty much go anywhere and find a job the same day.(ex) I saw a clothing store in a mall hiring for 17/hr to start plus monthly bonuses. Housing is a problem it can run anywhere from $800 to $1800 a month plus utilities. U still have the luxury of Banff which is beautiful and all Calgarians usually vacation in the mountains. I wouldnt recommend driving there they are the worst in all of Canada. The city has such great public transport u wouldnt need to most of the time anyways..$2.60 to ride the C train.

Answer 2

First, I'd check to see what is needed to work in Canada.  Probably nothing special but it doesn't hurt to check with the Canadian Government.  Considered salary in the Canadian dollar.  

Will the salary be an improvement after adjustment?  Probably.  both dollars are about the same now.

Answer 3

Vancouver is booming the olmpics  are comming> the suburbs are cheaper  We live in South Burnaby  Medicare around a hundred a month  ( three month wait time )  hospital is free  We have some of the same problems as you  Except less racial problems    Why not visit for a week???

Answer 4

I would contact Citizenship and Immigration Canada and go through the proper channels and make sure you, your son, and your husband are able to immigrate to Canada. Usually coming from the United States is not that difficult. As far as housing and neighborhoods, traffic in Vancouver is terrible, so where you live would depend heavily on where you work. You can go to my website nicknijjar.com and click on "Property Search" and that might give you an idea of prices in certain areas. As far as the job market goes, BC has been in  a major labour shortage for a few years now in almost every industry, so I wouldn't think it would be difficult for your husband to find work here. Nonetheless, might be better to have a job lined up before making the trek north. Hope I helped. :-)