Canada questions?

Hi new member here who is VERY much hoping that her family will be moving to Vancouver or surrounds this year.  I would love some help from those who have gone through this experience or anyone from Vancouver.  We are a family of 3 (daughter aged 5) and I have been over a few times to Van and also stayed with friends for 3 weeks in White Rock so had a look around South Surrey areas.
I would love some help with the following:-

1. Which are the good schools to aim for (state education) and any performance tables on schools that I could look at?

2. Is it better to live in North Van rather than South Surrey area because of commute times/ease (husband may be working in downtown)?

3. How easy is commuting in from south surrey areas and north van?

4. How long would you suggest renting versus buying property - should you give it at least a year to settle and make sure you are happy in the country?

5. Any other information gratefully received

Thanks and if you can cross your fingers for us to that would be great!!!!

Sorry I have never lived in Surrey, but I have in North Vancouver.



1. Which are the good schools to aim for (state education) and any performance tables on schools that I could look at?
Sorry no idea.  I know there are good private schools and also good public schools.  Most public are good.  As far as I ahve heard no major issue with any schools in N Vancouver



2. Is it better to live in North Van rather than South Surrey area because of commute times/ease (husband may be working in downtown)?
I think North Vancouver would be better as I commuted and it is very quick...just hop on the seabus and you are right downtown.


3. How easy is commuting in from south surrey areas and north van?
Surrey has the train now....you can look up on the internet where the stops are...so it might not be bad....depends if you are close or not.  I found taking a short bus ride to the seabus very quick and very easy.  There has been some dangerous activities ( beatings, muggings and such) in the Surrey train stations at night so that might be a concern.



4. How long would you suggest renting versus buying property - should you give it at least a year to settle and make sure you are happy in the country?  Definately Yes....give a year or so.  Winter can be very wet and grey...you might not like it!

5. Any other information gratefully received
This is strickly my opinion.......North Vancouver is generally a bit more upscale than general Surrey.  It is a bit more expensive, but the area is lovely, very close to downtoen, great views, ski hills are right there, great village feeling as there are several small "village" areas.  It has a nice smaller town feel than Surrey.  Surrey tends to get in the news for crime and such.  Now it depends where you want to live.....closer to White Rock I think would be better...but then you have a long commute to downtown.

anyways...I would defiantely aim for N Vancouver...but depends on what you want!

Hello, I'm french and I want to go to Canada to improve my english. But I don't know what is the best city for it. I would like to find a job just for 4 or 6 months. Have you got any information ? Thank you.

Hi Julie, I recommend you to read this blog: http://correresmidestino.com/ She is a french girl living in Canada, teaching french to english speaking Canadians xD

Thank you, I'll read this blog.

What do you like to do?  Do you want to be in an area that is very urban or not?  The cities are different, and the weather is quite varied as well....

Hi. We are planning to move to Montreal for (my husband's) work. Which area in Montreal would be good to live in with small children (maybe international pre-schools) which is not too far from the international airport?

Hello,
I am planing to move to Quebec to attend Universite Laval for grad school in May or April. I have many questions about relocation. Here are a few things on my mind:
1. I have a dog. How difficult is it to find living arrangements that accept animals? Is Quebec City a pet friendly place? Do I need to register my dog with the city or anything???
2. I plan to bring my car, what needs to be done so I can have my car with me a few years? insurance?
3. What are the best cell phone companies/plans for this area? Any companies to avoid?
4. Can I open a bank acct in Quebec? What do I need?

Thanks for any thoughts you have. I sure need some direction!

hey. i am a new member and i have alot of questions regarding living in canada. me and my family are to move there in a few months if everything goes as planned.

1-are the living costs reasonable? rent and utility bills etc?
2-is it too difficult to find a job for ppl who have degrees from outside canada?? my mother is a school principal and my dad is a petrolem inspector. they both have a B.Sc in biochemistry from egypt.

3- How costy is it to attend university in canada?? i want to complete my degree in engineering from there.

4- Is it worth it??? i mean leaving our home country and starting from scratch is not going to be easy. it has to be possible for us. we cant be up against to many hurdles.

my question is about the school system in Canada,we are about to move in Toronto in the next two weeks,I live in US for 6 years and my son was born there,and he's gonna be in first grade this year but we will be in Canada so I wanna know what's the requirements for a US citizen attending school in Canada.

I am not exactly sure, but I think that if you live there, they can go...you need to provide a bill of some sort with your address on it....it may also depend on which province you go to as education is run provincially rather than federally....google the public education system of whatever city or region you will be in, I imagine they will say.