M and I decided over the weekend that it makes the most sense for me to move there at this time. While we leave open the possibility of moving back to Southern California or to some other location in the future, it appears the best option for us now.
That being said, this now opens a huge number of questions that we must resolve. Immigration is a complex matter and will likely require actual legal help to navigate. A friend at work’s wife deals with immigration as a paralegal and he’s going to ask her for some initial information for me to get me started. I also have access to the ARAG legal group through my incentives at work, so I will be contacting them shortly to start asking questions. What are the rules for Permanent Residency and/or Citizenship?
I have spoken with my boss at work and I can definitely keep my job after moving. However, there are still questions involved—do I pay taxes in California, America, and Canada? What about bank accounts—is it easier to keep my current accounts and open a new one in Canada, or just use the California accounts from there (as I have been doing while visiting)? How about my connections speeds and ability to work effectively from Canada? What about my 401k retirement plan? Will I need to take vacation or a leave of absence in order to perform the move? As a side note, my current lease at my apartment is up in October. Can I get out before then?
Being a pet owner, and M being resigned to my need to bring my pet with me, brings up still other questions. How will my cat handle the move? How will she handle the plane ride? What immunizations and paperwork do I need?
And then there are the health concerns. How will my insurance work in Canada? Will I need it, or can I use Canada’s socialized health care even with my chronic illnesses? One immediate benefit may be that my medications will be cheaper. Even with insurance, I pay nearly $1000 a year just on medications; if I can get them cheaper in Canada, bonus! Obviously I will need to get a full copy of my files from my three current doctors to take with me, and that is another, albeit minor, expense.
What about my truck? And then there are all of my things that I will take, and all that I won’t take. What to do with all the stuff I don’t need/want? And what about import costs? Taxes? Shipping costs? Are there items I cannot ship to Canada (I am both a gun owner and an exotic weapons owner)? What about my personal electronics (PC, TV, TiVo, etc.)?
Lastly, I’m moving to a location that definitely has weather. Which means my window for moving is limited. Can I answer enough of these questions quickly enough to work on moving this summer, or will we have to wait another year?
M and I are actively pursuing answers to these and a whole host of other questions. We are trying to break it down into palatable morsels that are easier to digest; otherwise, we might get overwhelmed by the host of questions.
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I really know Jack about this whole thing, but have friends who have moved to Canada from other countries - mainly the UK. They all have said the same thing - keep you pay in the original funds and then convert them to canadian. All of them have kept their original bank accounts and information and opened up another account in Canada.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there shouldn't be a period of holding or vaccinations for the kitty - we just had other friends move back to SJ from Wyoming and they took with them a dog without issue and brought back the dog and another cat without quarantining or shots, so that should be good to go.
I will try to find out more from them next time we speak - they only arrived back to SJ after 3.5 years in wyoming 3 weeks ago, so they have the freshest news. They are away in Nova Scotia at the moment, but I will try to get further info for you.
Glad to hear that a decision to work towards has been made. I'm sure I speak for everyone around here that were will all try to do whatever we can to make this happen - the sooner the better!!
:)
As for transporting kitty from the US to Canada I do have some experience there since I purchased a cat from Alaska. There's no way of knowing how the cat will handle flying. The one from Alaska was super relaxed and cuddly, but was sooooooo upset by the flight. My other one is super spazzy and LOVED LOVED LOVED flying - she's a great traveller though. Start small. Does she have a crate? Start now. It's a cozy place now. That way it'll smell like her. Do not whatever you do put her down in the hold. Make sure when you reserve her to bring her up into the cabin along with you - it'll make both of you feel better for the comfort of leaving your former home.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing is when the breeder was planning to send the cat to me there was some red tape as far as shipping - ie have to be a registered whatever with the transport ministry in order to ship the cat or even to bring it across the border as an American and it is approx $75 to register and takes approx 3-4 weeks to get the papers. That was in 2000.
For me to bring the cat across as a Canadian citizen it was just a matter of stopping to pay the duty as though I'd gone shopping.
I had papers with me for vaccinations, etc and a certificate of health from the vet. Customs didn't much care about those though. Not sure if it was just a lax night and they were so excited about seeing an adorable kitty or if they just really don't need them.
You should also look into particular airlines. There is a pet pass of sorts through a few of them that when travelling abroad allows for elimination of the quarantine time. There is paperwork to fill out and there's no quarantine time here in Canada, but it might help you to at least have all the papers in order that could potentially be asked of you at Customs.
Since I'm down with a migraine this is about all I can think of at the moment, but please feel free to ask. I'm sure there's something you've thought of that I haven't mentioned. I've found Gabe's paperwork just recently so I can go through it to see if there is anything else you should know about.
BTW, Congrats on the decision! I'm sure it's a huge weight off your shoulders to finally at least have it made.
yes, it's fantastic that you guys have reached a decision, and it's really great news that you'll be able to keep your job and work from here.
ReplyDeletewhen i lived in france, i was actually paid by the canadian government - so i kept all my accounts. however, other people i know that have lived for extended periods of time overseas did open accounts for their daily banking stuff, and just transferred what they needed over.
you know who can find out about the cat, is jenn's hubby. he works for customs, albeit on their computers!
i do know about the medicare system, though, as there is a teacher at school who just became a citizen last year. she could access the medicare benefits when she became a landed immigrant (equivalent to the us green card), but not really before. i am not sure how that works with different visas.
but certainly the drugs will be cheaper up here, and that's not a bad thing for your budget! :)
anyway, congrats! guess you'll need more warm clothes!
http://canadainternational.gc.ca/gtc/Going_To_Canada-en.aspx
ReplyDeleteThat'll give you some info on immigration. Including what you can bring, etc.
To the best of my knowlegde, firearms and other weapons are not easy to bring across. That said, I don't think it's impossible in all cases.
I was given a shotgun many years ago that I have left in the care of my parents because I don't care to get a firearms acquisition certificate and go through the hoops of registering the thing. And let's face it, I don't hunt.
I'm pretty sure you can move your truck across with little or no problems. Canada and the US have agreements on vehicles. There might be minor things that you have to deal with depending on how new it is. New Canadian vehicles are required to have daytime running lights, for instance.
The cat should be easy. We take our dog across to Calais occasionally and have had no problems. Just make sure you have recent immunizations and stuff. The last time we did, you could tell the guy on the American side liked dogs. We haven't even been asked for her papers.
As far as moving window... Take it from me, you can move any time of the year. It's not necessarily enjoyable in the winter or late fall, but it's doable. Jody and I have moved in all different times of the year. If you're moving yourself (err, and your friends are helping) a sunny day in late fall is kind of nice. You're working hard at the moving, so you don't feel the cold so much.
If you're paying other people to move your stuff, then go crazy and move when it's convenient. They'll have a a nice warm load no matter what. And probably a cool by comparison unload, no matter what. :)
Another thought I had for you as far as "movers" is a container move. Instead of the typical truck, they drop you off a container which you either fill (or they can fill) and then they drop it off to your destination. This also means they can transport it via train rather than truck. The convenience of this being that since you'll be moving into an already furnished place it will give time to sort through and re-arrange things on both your parts instead of one big huge dump. I believe you can keep the container for up to a month after the drop off at the destination end. It's either United or Atlas that does this. Pretty sure it's Atlas.
ReplyDeleteIf this were a movie, they'd probably just finish up by showing John getting on a plane to Canada with a dreamy look in his eyes, the whole and they lived happily ever after ending.
ReplyDeleteReal life forces us to consider whether or not the airbags on our trucks meet Canadian standards. Kinda kills the romance a little.
They say that anything worthwhile usually isn't easy. It seems this is certainly proving to be the case here.
Hey John,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to pass on my best wishes for you and M. Glad to hear that you've been able to work something out and that you guys can be in one spot finally. Kudos to you both and best of luck sorting out the move! I am in definate "Saint John" envy of you!!
Shawn