Moving back to Canada this year? Here are some tips to help make your return to Canada a little easier.
Buying a house vs. Building a house - Right now in the current conditions of the pandemic if you are thinking of building a home, consider waiting. Construction is already a year behind in Halifax and in one recent case here a build that was due to be completed in November got pushed back another 13 months.
Airbnb is probably a good bet for quarantine and waiting for your F&E. We chose a hotel close to downtown so we were close to amenities when self-isolation ended but the nightlife kept us up until 3 a.m. so we weren’t getting rest and were essentially being teased that the public was out enjoying themselves and we were stuck in.
Canada is catching up to Europe with food delivery Apps like Skip the Dishes and local restaurants offering deliver or curbside pickup as well as grocery delivery. It works very well when you are self-isolating.
When arriving in Canada with your many pages of inventory items, ensure that you total each of the pages with a grand total of Canadian Value amounts otherwise you will be adding them up at the counter with the Border Service Agent.
If you have the chance to get measurements for windows and need rods and curtains go to a local The Range store before you go. There is a reverse culture shock coming home as well as the ROE conversion back to CAD and you will realize quickly that things are actually more expensive here.
As for a sponsor. Lots can change in the time you are away and they will have tips for what the new unit’s expectations are or they can collect data so that your accounts can be activated for you soon after your arrival. Some bases take more than a week to set up DWAN accounts, or other permissions.
- Former OUTCAN community member