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monikah 
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Location: Wellington
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 Topic: who’s been to vancouver?
Posted: 09 July 2010 at 9:58am |
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so after the possibilty of moving to melbourne it turns out we may go to vancouver instead if DH's mate can get him a job at the awesome company he is with. but i have a few questions.
Do many ppl drive over there?
What is the best way to get around with kids?
How long does it take to get a working visa for DH (I.T.) and can me and the boys go over on his visa for 12 months?
Whats it like in general?
What kind of childcare or babysitting options are there in case me or DH want to go out one night or i have a doctors appt when i cant take the kids etc...? a year is a long time to not be able to leave the house without kids
How much money would it be good to have in saving before we go over to set up our apartment if we are going over there with him already having a job?
What is the process for renting our house over here as far as tax and all that kind of stuff?
any other stuff to add or experiences about moving overseas would be awesome...
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heaf3
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Posted: 09 July 2010 at 10:02am |
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ive never been to vancouver, but my friend lives there. do you mind if i email her your questions and ask her if she has time and can reply to them?
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monikah
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Posted: 09 July 2010 at 10:24am |
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that would be awesome!
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queenbean
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Posted: 09 July 2010 at 10:34am |
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Hey hun, has been a while but DH and I lived over there (Vancouver Island to be exact) before we were married.
Can't answer any of your questions about childcare, but the public transport system is good. We did buy a car in the end but only I got a Canadian drivers licence so DH took the bus to work every day and found it fine.
Also, because we got stuck in the UK for 8 weeks before we had work permits sorted out, we had next to no savings when we got there, did run up a bit of a credit card debt. Housing costs are actually quite similar to big cities in NZ, so I would just treat it like you were moving cities.
Not sure what you mean by tax with regard to renting out your house. We rented ours out fine while we were away, had a property manager.
I LOVED it there, would totally live there if my family lived closer! Very mild winters in Western Canada, and hot summers, scenery is beautiful.
GL!!!
Edited by queenbean
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heaf3
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Posted: 09 July 2010 at 10:45am |
ok cool, ill let ya know what she says 
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kiwi2
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Posted: 09 July 2010 at 11:21am |
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kimmies on these forums is over there at the moment on a one year exchange. Not sure if it is vancouver but in canada. You could try pming her
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monikah
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Posted: 09 July 2010 at 11:45am |
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wiked. since DH will have a job before going over we'll get an apartment settled first. i think our biggest thing is getting a car and furniture. we'll have visas done before we leave so hopefully wont get too caught out. i thought there were taxes on renting a house out but if not then sweet. we'll go through a company too
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didi99
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Posted: 09 July 2010 at 11:59am |
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You do have to pay tax on rental income as IRD consider it an income you can however claim expenses against it ie interest from your loan, rates etc.
here is a link to IRD website about it http://www.ird.govt.nz/income-tax-individual/different-income-taxed/rental-income/inc-invest-property/
ETA: Sorry I don't know how to do those flash linky thingys.
Edited by didi99
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 Angel Babies Nov 09, May 10, Dec 10
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heaf3
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Posted: 09 July 2010 at 3:30pm |
ok i have a message back from my friend:
Not a lot of people drive in the city of Vancouver itself, because there's a LOT of traffic and there's an excellent transit system that makes driving in a car seem like more of a hassle. The transit system consists of buses (these run really often, some lines run every 2-3 minutes) and Skytrains. The Skytrains are an excellent way of getting around in Vancouver itself as well as the outlying areas (Burnaby, New Westminster, Delta, Richmond etc). The best thing is to buy a monthly transit pass which covers all forms of transit.
The best way to get around with kids would be to use skytrain or buses.
I have no idea about visas, sorry!
In general, Vancouver is GORGEOUS! It has the ocean and mountain surroundings, the weather is temperate so it never gets too cold, rarely snows, and the summers are beautiful. It does RAIN an awful lot in the winter, but at least you don't have to shovel it. There's a lot going on for families in terms of markets, concerts, festivals etc. It's an amazing city, I absolutely love it. The neighbourhoods are all so different too, so if you don't like the look of one area, just head several blocks away and it's like a different city.
Child care, I don't have kids so I'm really not sure...I would imagine that there's lots of options though because a lot of people have families in the city. I would just ask around in your neighbourhood for a recommended caregiver or agency...
I would save up as much as you can in terms of money for Vancouver. The city of Vancouver itself can be quite expensive, especially North Van and West Van. If you settle in East Vancouver or further from downtown in Burnaby or Richmond, it will be considerably cheaper. A one bedroom apartment can be rented for anywhere from 750-2000 Canadian per month. It entirely depends on the neighbourhood. Basically the further EAST you go the cheaper it gets.
Good luck!
hope that helped you somewhat
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jaz
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Posted: 09 July 2010 at 3:50pm |
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It's been about 15 years since I was there and recall the public transport system being very good. The friends I stayed with lived in an apartment and shared one car.
I gather most people take maternity leave then go straight back to work so the full time daycare would be good but unsure about babysitting services. I would assume that if being a SAHM isn't the done thing there may not be a whole lot going in terms of playgroups and things during the day either, which may make it difficult initially.
Vancouver is beautiful, with great parks and really friendly people. It does get very cold so be prepared to spend a bit more time inside, at malls, or going to movies. Although the Canadians tend to dress for it and get outside in the cold anyway.
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monikah
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Posted: 09 July 2010 at 7:46pm |
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wiked. it all looks pretty acheivable. we just have to somehow figure out how to lower our costs here while we are away. paying the GE card, mortgage, rates, insurance etc...
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Karnie34
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Posted: 10 July 2010 at 10:29pm |
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Hi, we got back from a holiday in Vancouver about 10 days ago. Vancouver was a beautiful city and I could definitely have lived there. We only used public transport and it was cheap and reliable and covered the areas we wanted to go to (but we were doing the tourist stuff).
We lived in Germany for 2.5 years (visited Vancouver on the way home) and rented our house out while we were away. A property manager sorted all the rental issues for us but we did have to pay tax. DH's work provided us with access to Deloittes in NZ and Germany but he still had to provide all the info. We had to do a tax return for both countries as rental income is taxable. You can claim for expenses which do reduce the amount of tax payable but can't remember how this works, sorry. If you go with a property manager I would also recommend getting them to organise gardening/pruning trees. We've come back to a right mess (and a broken shower base that the tenants conveniently don't know anything about, grrr)
Good luck!
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monikah
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Posted: 10 July 2010 at 11:18pm |
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cheers. we dont have any section or trees etc.. a small lawn so worst thing that can happen is it gets really long. DH looked into the tax thing and you get to deduct rates, real estate fees, insurance (i think)
im getting excited now and looks like if DH gets a job we'll def go. woot. i have looked at all the mail stuff like apartments, flights, lving costs and it all looks ok. i know its suposed to be one of the most expnsive cities to live in but i think it depends on how you live and since we own in wellington it is pretty comparible. i have heard from so many ppl its amazing so im really looking forward to it
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who’s been to vancouver?
