Our story so far...

Over the last few years Carolyn and I had grown evermore tiresome of the society we were living in, the UK had become a country we didn't know nor did we want to be part of anymore, we made the decision to re-locate although our current location wasn't even on the list.

One evening whilst finalizing details for a vacation to one of our favourite holiday destinations we spotted an advertisement for an immigration show not far from our home.

On the Saturday morning Carolyn and I made the short pilgrimage to Coventry where we paid our entrance fee and wandered the various stands advertising locations all over the world.

One stand in particular caught our eye, attended by two gentlemen, Mike Wilson (UK2NovaScotia) who was busy in conversation with a young couple, the other a very distinguished looking gentleman in a suit, this was Jerry Murphy (Remax-Nova).

As we approached the stand Jerry welcomed us and asked if we were interested in Nova Scotia, honestly we had never even considered it, there was a wonderful display of realty at what could only be described as very competitively priced homes.

Sadly during our visit we were unable to speak with Mike but we did agree to receive some information about UK2NovaScotia and Re-Max Nova, we even agreed to spend our remaining vacation of the year in Nova Scotia, viewing property and exploring the possibility of a new life in a new country.

During the period between the visit to the show and our flight to Nova Scotia we exchanged several e:mails with Mike and Jerry with regards property viewings and making contact with prospective employers, possible life style changes and more.

On the 25th November 2007 Carolyn and I along with our youngest son David landed at Halifax airport, on the approach looking out of airplane windows it looked very bleak, when we exited the airport it felt even more bleak, we picked up our hire car complete with Sat Nav and proceeded to downtown Halifax.

We arrived at our hotel early evening and were wondering why we had substituted the south of France for this place?

The following morning we had a pre-arranged meeting with Orla, Mikes wife and business Partner, we met in the Sunnyside Mall over a cup of hot chocolate, we still had that feeling of why are we here? Orla gave us an overview of the country with regards lifestyle, possible earning capacity, job prospects, financial information and much more, we had started to feel more at ease, even starting to think "yes, this could be a possibility"

The following day we arranged to meet with Jerry and his wife Annette whom we spent the morning viewing houses, We would admit at this stage Nova Scotia was starting to grow on us, one house in particular caught our eye, if we were to live here this would be the house we would live in.

The following day I had a meeting with an employment consultant who reconfigured my CV into a Canadian style resume', a document far more brief and to the point than a UK CV.

I had decided it was time to test the job market, I acquired a copy of the local yellow pages from the hotel reception and commenced telephoning as many company's in the area with regards the possibility of employment should we decide to settle.

By the end of the second day I had become somewhat deflated by a lack of enthusiasm from my intended targets, I sent Mike and Orla an e:mail saying that this may have been a mistake coming here, Mike and Orla forever optimistic told us to keep our chin up as it was just the wrong time of year for job hunting, everyone was in Christmas mode, something else you don't often see in the UK these day's.

Mike and Orla put us in touch with HSBC bank during our visit, this was to discuss the possibility of financing a mortgage should we decide to purchase one of the properties viewed earlier, the meeting went well and HSBC agreed to lend us 65% of the purchase price of a property even before landing or securing employment.

We were then confronted by our first set back in Canada, we tried to use our UK credit cards, they were declined, we spent a good few embarrassing hours trying to find out what was wrong, the hotel where we were staying had tried to debit our credit cards for nearly $14,000.00 and luckily our Bankers security had stopped the process but in doing so left us without any means of paying for anything, take our advice, always let your bank know where you are going and what cards you will be using, its a frightening experience being without especially when your in a strange country.

We decided to enjoy the rest of our holiday with the snow, Christmas lights and decorations everywhere and return home happy that we had done everything we could, before leaving we had to see that house once more, we arranged a visit and this time our hearts got the better of our brains, this is what it looks like now, what do you think attracted us?

On the last day of our holiday we decided we had to have the house, we arranged a meeting with Jerry and as they say the rest is history but it didn't end there, the house was to be a holiday home and a rental, on the 7th December 2007 we got on an airplane and flew back to Heathrow, I don't know about anyone else's first impressions of the UK but for some reason we didn't feel at home anymore, Sunday morning, pouring with rain, traffic jam on the M3 etc etc, we just left a country with snow on the ground and blue skies, no traffic on the roads, wonderful, polite and courteous people!

There was one possible set back after arriving home, HSBC bank had decided to undervalue the house and were asking us to fund the difference of $16,000? At this point you have to understand that we had already signed a purchase agreement with the builder and placed a $10,000 deposit, we were now duty bound to purchase the property.

Jerry Murphy (Remax Nova) intervened and put us in touch with the Royal Bank of Canada, one Catherine Fitzsimmons who could only be described as a guardian Angel at this point, Catherine organised our mortgage via e:mails and faxes, we're not saying it was easy but we got through it.

Over Christmas we kept remarking on the change of feeling for Nova Scotia and at some point during the Christmas break we made the most outrageous decision of our lives, we hired a moving company, got rid of all our belongings that we could not take through customs, loaded a container, booked flights and told our family that we were off.

We had placed our faith in four people we had only met once; two months previous, can you imagine that? It just seemed right.

The day of the flight we met Mike, Jerry and Annette at the airport, they had been back in the UK for yet another conference, as you can imagine they must have been pretty fed up with all the questions by the end of the flight especially and spookily enough as our seats were next to them?

The flight was a bumpy one and so was the three and a half interview at Halifax airport, we understood that the immigration staff had a job to do and as I would want in the UK, you don't know who's coming in do you?

After they had established that we were not to become vagrants and disappear into Canada nor become a burden to the Nova Scotia economy; the mood changed and we received our six-month visitor visa.

We exited the airport tired and weary to pick up our rental vehicle, we had now been travelling for over 16hrs, this and coping with the time difference we made our way to our temporary accommodation.

We moved into an apartment in Oakfield a few miles north of our new house whilst awaiting closure and of course the arrival of our container.

The Quiche, owned and run by Paul and Julie, whom we are proud to call friends, they made us feel at home and the finish in the apartment was something that wouldn't look out of place in Mayfair, London.

The first job was to find a job, I contacted every scaffold company in the area, I sent rйsumй's and letters of reference on request, I attended interviews with all of them, they all said they wanted me on board but!!! It was the wrong time as there were no contracts coming up, oh dear!!

The apartment became our home for far longer than expected, we closed on the house 10th March 2008 as planned, our moving operator contacted us to tell us that the container ship had been delayed and would be sailing into Halifax harbour two day's late, oh well! We thought another two day's is no chore but there was some more bad news in store, we were contacted by our movers once more to say there would be further delays due to some stowaways that had been caught on a previous arrival, the customs had decided to search all containers, time scales we were being quoted of two weeks, this meant we had our new house we couldn't move into as we had no furniture and we would now have to pay over our budget for rented accommodation.

Julie and Paul were very accommodating and another week wouldn't be a problem for them as there were no further bookings for two weeks, we also had to consider the additional rental for the car.

We decided to drown our sorrows and go shopping, we purchased $12,000 worth of furniture, enough for the other half of the house, this is the first house in our married life where we didn't have enough furniture.

Some good news, our moving operator made contact once more to say that our container had been released, we made an appointment to go to the customs office to sign for our goods where we were to receive some more bad news.

Upon our arrival we stated our case and were duly told that we had no right to bring goods into the country without paying duty on them, being unsure as to our current status we agreed to pay any sums required, what we didn't expect was a bill for $5, 596.00 to secure our container, we had been wrongly classified but not wanting to throw any more spanners in the works we offered up a visa card which they wouldn't take, we offered a debit card and again they declined, we had to run to the bank, get a bankers draught, returned to the customs office with payment, yet another cost we had not budgeted for.

We were beginning once again to think that this was a bad idea, all we were doing was spending out money and with no employment on the horizon things looked bleak once more.

We had to get rid of the rental car and decided to search for a long term replacement, first we went to a dealership recommended to us, it didn't go well, we were told as a landed immigrant we were unable to secure credit without placing a substantial deposit? More spending, I think crying was on the menu at this point.

The dealers came up with various options; which they thought fair but anyone with an ounce of grain matter could see the odds were stacked in someone else's favour, namely the dealer, where to turn next?

We contacted Mike Wilson who sent us to McPhee Pontiac, what a service, what a pleasure, within one week we had a brand new Pontiac Torrent with 0% finance and minimal down payment, the after sales service was nothing less than a RR customer would expect in the UK, we even have a free car wash we can go to anytime, you have to see it to believe it.

We now had our house, our furniture, a car and associated costs, telephones both land and mobile, internet access, and all the costs you would normally expect as a home owner, we even passed our tests and had NS drivers licences but still no job!

We decided to make good use of our time so we started clearing the wood from the small forest to the rear of the property and started clearing the weeds from the garden ready for grass etc, the phone didn't ring, still no job offers.

We had now been in NS for nearly two months, things didn't look good, we still needed to live, eat, etc, we were constantly transferring money from the UK and I don't care what anyone say's, it gets very worrying especially when your not even in your own country, there you have half a chance.

Out of the blue one morning I made a call to a man I had met back in December 2007 to see if he could help, he told me the same that no one seemed to be hiring at that time, after a short conversation we said goodbye and hung up, I couldn't think of anything else I could do. Not long after that Bill phoned me back and gave me a name and number, he said "no promises but its worth a try".

The number he had given me was for a local scaffold company, the name was the one above the door as they say, I made the call and sent my resume' and references upon request, I was invited to an interview, the interview went well and two weeks later I was invited to meet the President of the company, this also went well, one week later I was invited back to discuss my future, its very difficult to find the words to express what I was feeling at that moment, I think we went out to dinner to celebrate.

We still weren't out of the woods as we still needed to get through the immigration process, the first step was to convince my prospective employer that I was worth the trouble and paperwork as a landed immigrant, the next thing for them was to advertise the position in the local press, the company would need to consider any Canadian first for the position if they were suitable.

The closing date for the advert came and went, there were four applicants including myself, I was picked as the most suitable and we began to proceed through the red tape, my prospective employer had to get what is known as an LMO (Labour Market Opinion) through local government, this is to ensure that I would not be taking a job away from and Canadian Citizen, which after all is only fair.

The LMO came back positive and I was offered the job, the next step was to secure a work visa, for this we needed to leave the country, our fear has always been that we would not be allowed back into the country, sounds crazy but it could happen.

One Bank Holiday Monday we left our home in Fall River and drove for five hours to the US border, we crossed, we were questioned about our trip which could only be described as a day shopping trip and to meet up with an old friend. We stayed in a Motel overnight and returned to the boarder the following morning, we got there early, we told the Canadian border guards of our intention to seek working visa's and to our surprise they were great, we were directed to the main office, the guards were polite and efficient and after about one hour I had my visa and I also had an open visa for Carolyn.

We spent most of the day driving back, we were tired but happy it was over.

One week later I started work and was unsure as to what to expect, I met Matt at his office where he said we would be spending most of the day together, visiting jobs, people and picking up my truck as he put it.

When we arrived to pick up my truck I was gob smacked, most employers in the UK would think twice about supplying a new vehicle to most new starts let alone supplying a brand new vehicle to someone you've never met and is from another country, What do you think?

To add to this I have a supplied laptop, blackberry and all the other benefits you get with long term loyalty, I only hope I can repay the kindness they have shown me, my colleagues are a pleasure to work with and the job is great, it takes me 17 minutes to get to the office instead of 2 to 3 hrs each way in the UK for the same distance, what else is there that I could add, the only statement that seems to fit is this "life doesn't get much better than this", we took a major risk and although we have had to climb over hurdles and jump through some hoops and we know there will be ups and downs; the returns so far cannot be overstated enough, we also know that as long as we have friends like Mike and Orla, Jerry and Annette, Paul and Julie we can over come almost anything.

This is the gang, Myself, Carolyn, Christopher and David, along with our Daughter Victoria and friends who visited from the UK in early June.

You maybe thinking, "why would we want to go through all that", sometimes knowing all the pit falls can deter the most strong willed of people, believe us when we say, "no matter what, there will be no regrets, we didn't want to look back in another ten years and say "what if" Nova Scotia is a beautiful country, with wonderful people, if your reading this and your living in the UK, go out tomorrow and look around you, look at the over population, the traffic situation, the culture you now live in.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Mike and Orla Wilson for our present life style, for their friendship and support, along with all the other people that we have met along the way and now call our friends, if there is ever anything we can do in kind, you only need ask.

Thank you

Mark, Carolyn, Christopher and David

THE NEXT STEP- PERMANENT RESIDENCY, we'll keep you updated.

Oh, and by the way im Mark, im the good looking one at the back.