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Sorry if it's not at the right place.

I, with family, am seriously considering to immigrate to Canada (most probably Vancouver) and later on to have secondary citizenship. I'm under skilled professionals with almost 15 years of experience, managerial skills, and good records in IT (specifically IT-Retail/Supply Chain).

As applying directly to Canadian immigration may take 1-3 years to get the result (as what I heard, though I passed on online self assessment test even without employment) and I don't believe immigration agents/lawyers, the fastest way would probably getting the job there.

Do you know any reputable recruitment company in Dubai which has also representative in Canada for job hunting? Thank you.

i've just been looking at the same process, i have a number of what i would consider good online canadian job sites, i'll pm to you later on.
remember to get a clearance certificate before you leave dubai!

dbxsoul wrote:i've just been looking at the same process, i have a number of what i would consider good online canadian job sites, i'll pm to you later on.
remember to get a clearance certificate before you leave dubai!

Thanks, I really appreciate it.
Do you mean NOC from company/sponsor? Or from police?

dbxsoul wrote: i have a number of what i would consider good online canadian job sites,

This is my favourite one.

http://www.workopolis.com,

I'm not sure how much help I'd be but I'd more than happy to help you in anyway I can, least i can do considering how many times you helped me, if you have questions about Canada, My coworker and my boss are both South Africans who emmigrated to Canada, lot's of SAF's there.

xty wrote:

dbxsoul wrote:i've just been looking at the same process, i have a number of what i would consider good online canadian job sites, i'll pm to you later on.
remember to get a clearance certificate before you leave dubai!

Thanks, I really appreciate it.
Do you mean NOC from company/sponsor? Or from police?

the police one, it's easier to get it from dubai when you are there. you are supposed to have a clearance certificate from every country you have resided in for longer than 6 months. i have tried to get one from sudan, but have given up. i don't think they even know what fingerprints are here

Fayz, since you are Canadian (right?), if you don't mind to help me.

- If you have any contacts (Vancouver would be great, others are Ok too) for jobs (IT or IT-Retail/Supply Chain), please let me know. If you need my CV, I'll PM you.

- Since my fields are in IT-Retail/Supply Chain, which city are considered to give better chance? For example, big cities or commerce center with lots of hyper/supermarkets/chain-stores, or warehouses, or as a trading hub, etc.

- Three things I come in mind: taxation system & percentage (family with 1-2 kids), medical/insurance system (company? social security?), education for kids (free? cheap? good?). For place, even I haven't been there, I'm sure Vancouver is a good place to settle, work, and enjoy life, right?

First off when you say IT-Retail, are you more talking about POS systems, developing them, tracking customer habits, etc? I know the market in Alberta is a lot better especially IT then in BC, wages are higher in AB.

Are you choosing BC because you have family there? Vancouver is one of my all time favourite cities, love the place but what is your main motivation to go there?

Also what languages/platforms/packages are you comfortable working in? what is your background in? PM is fine if you wish to keep this confidential

Hey XTY....you have all been a great help to me, so maybe it's my turn! I currently live in Vancouver and am on my way to Dubai. When folks discuss cost of living in Dubai, it is very expensive, but Vancouver was recently given poor marks for a few things: namely high housing costs and poor mass-transit.

As a 34 year old married professional, we are "priced out" of the real estate market. $600,000 CDN gets you a dumpy 3 bed 1200 sq. ft. home in a decent area. $400,000 gets you a studio downtown (very nice mind you). In my area, one hour north of Vancouver, $350,000 gets you a building lot, and building expenses are cuurrently about $135/sq. ft. New townhomes (villas) are going for $500,000. Wages just don't compensate for these prices. There are cheaper places, but you are looking at a 2 hour commute to work each way. Sort of like the commuter debates that go on here.

As far as taxation...extremely high. Personal income tax averages about 25% (ballpark) if you are making over $80,000, it comes closer to 40%, as well you have provincial and federal tax on just about everything you buy which adds another 13%. This tax is on cars and almost everything except children's clothes and milk and bread! Vancouver is in the province of B.C., affectionately refered to as "bring cash".

The education system is great, even the public schools (depending what district). University and College is not subsidized, and costs range from $6000 per year up. Health care is manditory for all residents and citizens and is relatively cheap AS LONG AS YOU ARE A RESIDENT. While waiting for my wife's residency, we pay $240/month for good health care.

Sometimes in this city we lose track of what "expensive" is. We have friends in Montreal who have a 4 bed, 3 bath home. Huge pool, double garage, 2 decent sized yards as well as finished basement. They arre selling it for $380,000....that same home if transplanted to Vancouver would be around a million dollars. Keep in mind, that is just a NICE home, SLIGHTLY above average. The median house price in Vancouver is currently over $720,000.

See this link, although 20 months old...things have gotten worse, housing prices have increased another 30% on average.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news ... 17dc6cded5

Here is a more recent article (today):

http://www.canada.com/topics/lifestyle/ ... c0&k=49935

Unless you have bags of cash, I would rethink the move. After doing the math, my family is personally better off leaving here for Dubai. It simply works out cheaper for the same quality of life.

As far as the IT profession goes, Vancouver has plenty of jobs, but not very well paying. Unless you are an executive, it would be a long shot. I do wish you all the best and if you have more questions feel free to ask away. The employment situation is kind of strange....we actually have a labour shortage in BC, but in sectors that are different than the UAE. Some of the highest paying jobs here are in construction and the trades, which I understand are low-paying there. Welders, electricians and plumbers can command upwards of $75/hour and have more work than they can handle. If you work in remote regions, you can get even more.

Oh yeah......it rains 8 months a year here!

fayz wrote:First off when you say IT-Retail, are you more talking about POS systems, developing them, tracking customer habits, etc? I know the market in Alberta is a lot better especially IT then in BC, wages are higher in AB.

Are you choosing BC because you have family there? Vancouver is one of my all time favourite cities, love the place but what is your main motivation to go there?

Also what languages/platforms/packages are you comfortable working in? what is your background in? PM is fine if you wish to keep this confidential

I don't mind to publish publicly, may be others have different inputs too.

I've been doing projects in various industries in last 14+ years but in the last 7 years I'm in IT-Retail & Supply Chain, that is handling the systems from POS, back office operations (merchandising, purchasing, receiving, invoicing, inventory), distribution, and warehousing. Includes integration to finance, CRM, and other systems. From project management, to functional expertise, to technical expertise. It's a big software, kind of ERP systems but specific to retail, supply chain, and logistics.

First, I'd prefer Canada because it's one of English speaking countries (Western side), nice place to live in (I heard), education & health systems is quite good (I heard), not difficult to get a citizenship (one of my goal to get secondary passport), secure (I hope), and not racist to Asian (I hope). If possible, I could settle there for years.

It may not necessarily Vancouver, but it'd be great if I could get it because I simply like to live in big cities (convenience, not boring, lots to explore, everything you need is there) and Vancouver is probably the biggest in Western Canada. Also geographically close to nature (enjoying life & I love it, what lacks in Dubai), not too cold than Eastern (I heard), Asian-friendly (I heard). Not that I'm being racist, but just for convenience (foods, groceries, stuffs, environment, security). You know what I mean.

I've been living & working in some countries with different cultures, including one year in Paris-France. I understand basic French, daily and especially retail-related terms So I hope it may help a bit even if it's on the Eastern side (Toronto, Montreal).

As for packages, I don't know at all yet. And I haven't started to make research about the living costs: taxes, apartment, school (KG/elementary), car, foods, groceries, utilities, etc. But I wish if possible to get the same savings after all costs & taxes. If I want at least to save 15K AED per month (after all costs & taxes), how much approximately I can ask? And whether it's feasible for mid-level position (manager or consultant) with experience as above?

I just PM you my personal website (CV) to take a look.

dubaidog wrote:Hey XTY....you have all been a great help to me, so maybe it's my turn! I currently live in Vancouver and am on my way to Dubai. When folks discuss cost of living in Dubai, it is very expensive, but Vancouver was recently given poor marks for a few things: namely high housing costs and poor mass-transit.

As a 34 year old married professional, we are "priced out" of the real estate market. $600,000 CDN gets you a dumpy 3 bed 1200 sq. ft. home in a decent area. $400,000 gets you a studio downtown (very nice mind you). In my area, one hour north of Vancouver, $350,000 gets you a building lot, and building expenses are cuurrently about $135/sq. ft. New townhomes (villas) are going for $500,000. Wages just don't compensate for these prices. There are cheaper places, but you are looking at a 2 hour commute to work each way. Sort of like the commuter debates that go on here.

As far as taxation...extremely high. Personal income tax averages about 25% (ballpark) if you are making over $80,000, it comes closer to 40%, as well you have provincial and federal tax on just about everything you buy which adds another 13%. This tax is on cars and almost everything except children's clothes and milk and bread! Vancouver is in the province of B.C., affectionately refered to as "bring cash".

The education system is great, even the public schools (depending what district). University and College is not subsidized, and costs range from $6000 per year up. Health care is manditory for all residents and citizens and is relatively cheap AS LONG AS YOU ARE A RESIDENT. While waiting for my wife's residency, we pay $240/month for good health care.

Unless you have bags of cash, I would rethink the move. After doing the math, my family is personally better off leaving here for Dubai. It simply works out cheaper for the same quality of life.

As far as the IT profession goes, Vancouver has plenty of jobs, but not very well paying. Unless you are an executive, it would be a long shot. I do wish you all the best and if you have more questions feel free to ask away. The employment situation is kind of strange....we actually have a labour shortage in BC, but in sectors that are different than the UAE. Some of the highest paying jobs here are in construction and the trades, which I understand are low-paying there. Welders, electricians and plumbers can command upwards of $75/hour and have more work than they can handle. If you work in remote regions, you can get even more.

Oh yeah......it rains 8 months a year here!

Seems like Vancouver is the most expensive city in Canada, isn't it?
As said above, it's not necessarily Vancouver, but great if I could get it while keeping the same earning/saving than other cities.
Basically I don't mind how expensive to live in a place (like I live in Dubai now) as long as I can keep a minimum target of savings (after all costs & taxes if any)... say roughly 15K AED per month.

But it's surprising because I heard one thing that since China economy is booming, lots of Chinese in Vancouver/BC left the country causing the apartments to be empty (means cheaper) and there's shortage of workers (means more opportunity). So it's a good time to move there nowadays. Is that true?

At the moment I'd probably go renting apartment, can't afford yet to buy one. How much roughly for decent (mid-class) 2 BR downtown and suburbs?

Is the 40% tax/social security flat for single & family? How about for family with 1-2 kids? Monthly? Yearly? And how about health insurance? Is it from social security or company or private?

If you don't mind to give some monthly rough figures for:
- Foods & groceries per person (with twice a week eating out)
- 2 BR apartments downtown and suburbs
- Transportation (gasoline and small car rent at least until I can buy one)
- School (kindergarten and elementary)
- Utilities & entertainment (water, electricity, sat/cable, internet)

I get used to 10% VAT and at least 6 months of heavy rain in my home country so I think I will not be surprised on those

dubaidog, here's world's Cost of Living ranking I got from here.

Toronto, the most expensive city in Canada, has dropped 35 places to position 82 ( score 78.8 ). Calgary and Vancouver have also tumbled down the rankings, sliding from 71st place to 92nd and 56th to 89th respectively. Ottawa remains the cheapest Canadian city in 109th position scoring 72.3. Canadian cities have traditionally rated favourably in the worldwide ranking. The new scores reflect a low rate of inflation and stable housing prices. In addition, while it has appreciated slightly against the US Dollar, the Canadian Dollar has depreciated nearly 13% against the Euro since last year’s survey.

while Dubai is at 34th on the ranking.

Plus the Quality of Living ranking where Dubai is at 58th and Vancouver is 3rd in the world. That is awesome. My expectation is right then.

So it must not be that "bad" moving to Vancouver/Canada, right?

Well, be prepared for the cold. I for one can't stand it. The cold in Atlanta, Georgia USA almost killed me from shivering even with thick jackets on. And it doesn't even snow there (except once in 30 years). And Atlanta is supposed to be closer to the equator, hence hotter.

gtmash wrote:Well, be prepared for the cold. I for one can't stand it. The cold in Atlanta, Georgia USA almost killed me from shivering even with thick jackets on. And it doesn't even snow there (except once in 30 years). And Atlanta is supposed to be closer to the equator, hence hotter.

Seeing here I think I can handle it. I have lived in Paris years back, and the temperature on average is similar, except for extreme condition (two digits below zero). My concern is only for my daughter who never lived in subtropic country. Though it may take a while to adjust, but if others can manage, so could we

xty wrote:dubaidog, here's world's Cost of Living ranking I got from here.

Toronto, the most expensive city in Canada, has dropped 35 places to position 82 ( score 78.8 ). Calgary and Vancouver have also tumbled down the rankings, sliding from 71st place to 92nd and 56th to 89th respectively. Ottawa remains the cheapest Canadian city in 109th position scoring 72.3. Canadian cities have traditionally rated favourably in the worldwide ranking. The new scores reflect a low rate of inflation and stable housing prices. In addition, while it has appreciated slightly against the US Dollar, the Canadian Dollar has depreciated nearly 13% against the Euro since last year’s survey.

while Dubai is at 34th on the ranking.

Plus the Quality of Living ranking where Dubai is at 58th and Vancouver is 3rd in the world. That is awesome. My expectation is right then.

So it must not be that "bad" moving to Vancouver/Canada, right?

Sometimes I wonder where these stats come from! I lived in Calgary most of my life, and yes I can vouch that the sanitation is good, but Dubai is not exactly swimming in fecal matter! How do you get a job doing these studies?!?!?

I also noticed that the article mentioned "the Canadian dollar has appreciated slightly over the US dollar". What a joke, the Canadian dollar is worth MORE than the US dollar and has appreciated 40% in 6 years!

Canada is great, yes, and Vancouver is great and lovely, but way more expensive day-to-day than other places I have worked and lived. As far as stable housing prices....they must be sniffing glue....some places like Saskatchewan have seen a 50%+ housing increase. Those figures must be offset by the vast rural areas that do not fluctuate as much.

I also lived in Toronto for many years, and I have no idea how it outranks Vancouver and is Canada's most expensive city. If you can score yourself a good job here, then great. Just keep in mind that you are likely to get paid the same or better in Ottawa or Calgary than you are in Van. Seems employers here don't realise the high cost of living and will pay a pittance.

http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetails.aspx? ... ID=6229795

The above is a well-below-average, tiny, ancient house I found doing a quick search. It is in the poorest postal code in the country. I think they skip these areas in the surveys. You wouldn't let your kids outside day OR night in this neighbourhood. Sometimes this city really disappoints me!

Thanks so much.

And any inputs you can give on my previous post before that?
Can I achieve or how much do I expect for the salary to achieve my expected savings of 10-15K AED/month?
And the rough costs breakups?

f you don't mind to give some monthly rough figures for:
- Foods & groceries per person (with twice a week eating out)
- 2 BR apartments downtown and suburbs
- Transportation (gasoline and small car rent at least until I can buy one)
- School (kindergarten and elementary)
- Utilities & entertainment (water, electricity, sat/cable, internet)

I did not want to quote your entire posting, so just the key components.

Food and Groceries: Tough to say without knowing your family. Essentially, last time I was in Dubai (April)I found it relative to here except for a few key items. Honestly, I would say it is Spinney's priced here. Some things like milk and toilet paper are WAY cheaper here. In general, maybe 10% cheaper here overall. Eating out at fast food like BK or McDonalds is about 40% more here. We were out for dinner at the cheapest family restaurant in town tonight, and for 3 people with 2 beers it was 275dhs. For a family of 4 no alcohol, it would be about the same, with no appetizers or dessert. (meal for each person, and a coffee/soda) but that would be pushing it.

Schooling: Free for residents and citizens (don't know about others) I know college and university is over 35,000/yr for non-canadians.

2 bed apartment: scary neighbourhood, no convenience, in the suburbs, probably a basement suite...around 3500dhs/mo. In a nice high-rise, downtown, like JBR around 9000dhs. Further out in the suburbs (1-2 hour commute by car or transit) about 6000dhs.

Transport: I have sold my truck so I can tell you exactly! Toyota Yaris 915 dhs a week, gas is about 4dhs/litre(cheap). Insurance is another 90dhs/day (crazy) and is mandatory.

Utilities: water...usually included, electricity (depends on heating use), but I would guess about 400dhs/mo for a 2 bed. We pay 200 in summer and 1000 in the winter for a 3 bed, 1200sq. ft place with electric heat. Cable/internet/telephone....you can usually get a package. We pay 256/mo for decent TV (not sat) and out phone/internet is 400/mo for high speed and north-america anytime calling.

As I said before about health care, you must pay private coverage unless you have a resident or working visa. When you are all legal, it is only 500dhs/month for a family, but privately, we pay 915/PERSON!

Hope this has been some help for you. A little insight for me and my wife. We live an hour north of Vancouver, and it costs us 9882/month for rent, average car, insurance, utilities, fuel (tank a week in the Yaris), 2 cell phones and household expenses. That is before we eat out or shop for groceries.

You mention "savings" of 10-15AED a month. Do you mean saving money, in the bank? Or savings over your current lifestyle? if 10K is worth 2800 CAD, that means you would want to save over $33-41,000 CAD per year. That is considered a starting wage for most professional sectors. If you want to bank that kind of cash, and have an average life, you would need a pre-tax income of around 700,000AED. I don't know your industry, but I don't know a soul that saves that much money. If you are an upper-executive, I could see it, but as a low-man on the totem pole....not a chance.

Things are very backward here, like I said. What is considered skilled work here, is labour work there, and vice-versa. My wife earns 7320 per month here, after tax in the medical field. She will earn 25200 in Dubai doing the EXACT job. My income will quadruple there in Dubai, and although the cost of living is high, it is way more affordable with the ratios there rather than here.

Check out these links for jobs in Vancouver

http://www.bcjobs.ca/?ti=%23%26L%22%2A%0A

http://working.canada.com/vancouver/index.html

http://www.vancouverjobs.com/

http://www.employmentinvancouver.com/index.html

http://www.careerbuilder.ca/ca/JobSeeke ... bJQT%3dRAD

Good Luck