Deciding to
leave the UK wasn’t a problem for me. Events now unfolding had for years,
long been predicted and here it was finally, actually, happening.
The writing was on the wall and the aware taking heed, it was time to go.
A little more difficult though for my wife, as she has a close family and
aging parents, but for the kids, a son almost 17 and daughter of 12, it
was the start of a lifetimes adventure. Canada had always allured us. The
thought of all that space, the huge land mass, the natural resources, the
healthy living, lumberjacks, bear wrestling, canoes, maple syrup and pancakes
....all the things we had seen on TV and the movies. One could get lost
there - what a wonderful thought.
Having a vacation
home that could act as a base camp for exploring North America (or even
south), would be fantastic. And now, with the Internet, and modern communications
systems, we could also operate our business ventures from anywhere on the
globe, funding our dreams as we go.
-
4Escape is a search engine that searches our network of websites each of
which shares a common theme: International relocation, living ? investing
overseas, overseas jobs, embassies, maps, international real estate, asset
protection, articles about how to live ? invest overseas, Caribbean properties
and lifestyles, overseas retirement, offshore investments, our yacht broker
portal, our house swap portal, articles on overseas employment, international
vacation rentals, international vacation packages, travel resources,
every embassy in the world, maps of the world, our three very popular eZines
. . . and, as they are fond to say, a great deal more.
Next step was
to place the house up for sale. Timing is everything and we carefully monitored
the property prices as they made the long recovery from the crash of the
early nineties.
The Estate
Agent set his valuation, and we fixed ours! Our bullish attitude earned
us an extra 10% on the sale price, which in real terms after we had settled
the mortgage, yielded a further, welcome, 20% in equity.
Whilst waiting
for a buyer, we surfed the Net gathering as much information about Canada
and it’s provinces, as possible. In the end we decided on the east
coast and Nova Scotia, a place not dissimilar to the area we were living
in and the shortest possible flight time (7hrs), just incase we had to
head back to the UK for some family crisis.
Using this
marvellous new media, the Web, we were not only able to arrange a place
to rent but also organised phone, electric supply and cable supply, book
flights, holiday insurance, overnight hotels and bank accounts. The
only problem was a hire car.
On the North
American continent you have to have a credit card to do this, and I didn’t
have one. I had a debit card with a Visa on it, but no, none of the International
Rental Companies would accommodate.
Once we had
a purchaser for the house, it was time to announce our intention to all
and sundry. Anyone who has stood up and done this, knows exactly
what it’s like. The family, neighbours and most of your friends will cry
dissent, tell you are mad or in the least, unwise. The very thought of
you stepping outside the circle of normality fills them with fear, woe
and sometimes jealousy. Make note, you will have a hard time and few allies,
but go for it, for it will be the best thing you have ever done. Be brave,
be bold!
Worldly
possessions
Here’s a strange
fact. Your family will go through all their possessions and sort them out
in two piles, those to be packed, and those to be disposed of. The
former will be those precious little items that sentiment will not let
you part with, and the remainder, all good stuff that you haven’t managed
to flog and can’t justifiably drag to the other side of the great pond.
And so the
last day at your place will be like “Come on down, the price is right”.
All those dissenters will turn up with roof racks and cart off your worldly
assets, shaking their heads, and rubbing their hands, as they go.
The oddity
is that when the retained goods finally catch up with you, two months later,
and you anxiously open the crates, it appears to be full of utter junk.
What you freely gave away, you could really do with. Never let your
heart rule your head. My advice, start disposing of all your assets as
early on as you can, enabling you attain the best possible price.
Every penny
counts, so liquidate EVERYTHING. Package up the photos, teddies & other
treasures you want to keep and stick them in a relative’s attic.
When returning for a visit, you will have the rational to downsize these
considerably, saving all the hassle and expense of shipment.
- Began Summer
1998 - Now with almost a half million subscribers, out eZine is the resource
that expats, and wantabe expats turn to for information. Our archives
now have thousands of articles and each month we publish another issue
to a growing audience of international readers. Over 100 people a
day subscribe to our eZine. We've been interviewed and referenced
by the Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Washington Post, London Talk Show
Radio, C-Span, BBC Click Online, Yahoo Magazine, the New York Times, and
countless other media sources. Featuring International Lifestyles
~ Overseas Jobs ~ Expat Resources ~ Offshore Investments ~ Overseas
Retirement - Second Passports ~ Disappearing Acts ~ Offshore eCommerce
~ Unique Travel ~ Iconoclastic Views ~ Personal Accounts ~ Views From Afar
~ Two things have ushered us into a world without borders... the end of
the cold war and the advent of the world wide web of global communications
? commerce. Ten years and over one hundred issues! We're just
getting started - Gilly Rich - Editor
If you do
intend to bring goods in to Canada make sure that you have a full manifest.
This is a list of what you are bringing in, and what box or container it’s
housed in. If it’s a teapot, then give a full description, it’s current
value and location (box no.). Your shipper will probably offer to arrange
insurance and will need to know exactly what you want covered. The
best way to do this would be on a spread sheet using a PC, so that you
can run two columns for the values, one for insured items, the other for
the remainder for which you are willing to take a risk on.
The lower
the cover required, obviously the lower the premium payable. If, say,
the teapot was given to you by great granny, then it has sentimental value,
but to replace it wouldn’t justify the insurance cost.
You will also
need this for Canadian Customs who will not only require to know the items,
but the total value of the shipment. The goods will be for you vacation
home, your Canadian base and so if you intend to bring over further items
for the same purpose, declare them then and it will be added to your statement,
thus avoiding import taxes.
Coming from
the UK, our goods, all 220 parcels (on 3 pallets at a cost of £1,400
transportation costs), went to Montreal, then down to Toronto and finally
up to Dartmouth. We had to rush up to the shippers, collect the release
paperwork, shoot over the bridge to Halifax to Canadian Customs to get
a clearance stamp, and then over to the Ministry of Agriculture for another
stamp and then back across to the freighters. Goods arriving without a
manifest can work out very costly, as Customs will insist they be taken
to a secure place and for inspection, for which they charge. Don’t pack
anything organic (that rots), bulbs, plants, food or perishables or anything
dangerous or explosive. No firearms or weapons, so leave the bazookas at
home. Ensure any wooden crate or pallet are UK manufactured, and
not a packing case from some third world country that harbours beetles,
worms or other nasties. I suggest you contact Canadian Customs for a comprehensive
list of do’s & don’ts. Your packages will have a rough ride - even
the shrink wrapping on to a pallet can crush them, not withstanding the
odd stab with a forklift truck arm. Finally make sure your shipper
has arranged to deliver your goods to your door, otherwise you might just
end up having to either pay a surcharge or for the hire of a U-Haul to
cart it home.
Leaving
We decided
to leave the neighbourhood in style and so rented a brand new Mercedes.
This would be no ordinary farewell, but a head turner. Wrong! Apart
from making a fool of myself out in the street fighting with the
onboard security system, just to get the thing to start, I discovered,
surprise, surprise, although the car is huge, the boot is micro small -
enough space only for four German executives lunch packs. So, it was back
to the rental company for a Focus Estate and then a question of sneaking
out under the cover of darkness.
