Not sure I needed to put Canada there but I did it anyway.
I stumbled onto a job opening at a machine shop in Langley that looks like it fits my knowledge base and skillset 100%, and it pays a couple dollars more than I'm making here in Pekin, Illinois, United States. 
I am intrigued and would like to learn more about Langley.
How are the schools?
How is the crime?
How far would $30-$33 per hour go with a family of 4?
What's the motorsports activity level like up there?
Would I be able to import my cars?
I'm sure I'll think of a few other questions later on...
I know the climate is mild and the scenery is beautiful but feel free to link pics, if you should feel the urge.
Cheers, everyone! And thanks in advance!
I'm sure the whole process of getting a work visa and stuff aint so wonderful.
Pretty sure what he really means is 'answer all these questions so my wife will consider the idea,' which isn't going to work. Wife isn't interested in relocating to a different country.
My father in-law lives near there. Really nice part of the country IMHO. It is not a cheap place to live however.
As for importing your cars the answer is more likely depending on what they are. Over 15 years old and the answer is definitely.
That area can be divided by ethic lines a bit just so you know. Maybe rent a house before you buy.
Try asking your question at http://www.autos.ca/forum/ - someone probably knows more.
Things more spensive up north. The $30/hr might be nice but everything is a little more expensive in canada, except maple syrup, bagged milk, and yodeling.
Do a good cost of living comparison first and ensure the company will sponsor any visa's and/or move.
Welcome to my town man!
I don't know much about the schools as I don't have kids, we do seem to have plenty of them, private and public.
Crime is pretty low, we have the most police officers per person of any city in the area.
Climate is mild, it's 10C above and a bit rainy as I'm typing.
Motorsports activity, there's a drag strip and road course about a half-hour drive from here. There's a speedway on Vancouver island and PIR is a few hours away.
$30-$33 per hour is a good wage but be aware that housing price out here are HIGH!. My 1975, 2700sq-ft 2-story house with a 600sq-ft shop on a 7000 sq-ft lot was almost $500,000
I do live in a nice neighbourhood though, it's called "brookswood" if you feel like googling it. Older, established area with older houses, bigger lots and lots of trees and parks.
Send me a PM and I'll give you my phone number if you're interested.
Shawn
What are you comparing it to?
Any vehicle coming into the province must pass a safety inspection. That can be a crap shoot for a modified vehicle.
The "Lower Mainland" is one of the most expensive parts of all of Canada. Check housing prices. The summers are not too hot, the winters are not too cold, there's not much snow, there's not many bugs. Air quality can get a bit thick in summer, but it ain't LA. Lots of "rural" feel surrounding Langley. They have a Princess Auto, KMS Tools, and decent car shows. River's Edge (Misson Raceway Park) race track and drag strip are not far away either.
I would rather slit both my wrists with running, flaming, chainsaws, than have to move back to the lower mainland, but that's just me. I ain't no city boy.
^ Don't mind the interior boys. 
They're constantly telling us how much better they have it up there.
Just remember, Vancouver B.C. is where people go on vacation. You can go skiing and surfing on the same day.
We're the California of Canada, complete with the California-style nutjobs.
Thanks for the info!
Holy house prices !! That's about double what a similar house here would cost, of couse, you get what you pay for. (Location.)
I didn't realize you lived there, TransMaro, that's pretty neat!
I'm going to research the housing market and contact the company to see if they're even willing to hire a foreigner.
I've dreamed of moving to the PNW for...as long as I can remember.
Mcleans magazine had an interesting article on how much the house prices dropped per minute of driving. I'll search for a link...
http://www.macleans.ca/economy/realestateeconomy/when-it-comes-to-house-prices-heres-how-much-location-matters/#maps
Not really sure if its relevant, but its interesting.
PHeller wrote: I'm sure the whole process of getting a work visa and stuff aint so wonderful.
NAFTA made the process a whole lot easier, but considering the post below yours, this may be a waste of time.
Their bacon is messed up.
NGTD wrote:PHeller wrote: I'm sure the whole process of getting a work visa and stuff aint so wonderful.NAFTA made the process a whole lot easier, but considering the post below yours, this may be a waste of time.
From what I understand it is a lot easier going to Canada from the US than the other way around. I hired an American a couple years ago but my HR department did all the work.
In reply to Woody:
I thought that stuff was only sold to the saps South of the border?
In reply to NGTD:
Not a waste of time, just a wife with a lot of fears about leaving 'home'.
Our bacon is just like your bacon.
There are very defined "ethnic" areas out here, not really sure why other than people from the same culture seem to like to live in the same area.
Langley is about the whitest suburb you will find in the lower mainland. That being said, the folks across from me are brown and I live in probably the whitest area of Langley.
It's not as if we don't allow "those people" in the neighbourhood or anything.
Be aware that there are FOUR "Langleys" in this town (for may assorted, silly reasons) There's Langley City (where I live) Langley Township (the rural area surrounding the city) Langley Indian Reserve (you can't live there anyway) and Fort Langley (the old part of town and the birthplace of our fair province).
Langley is also the start of the bible belt in this area. We've got a lot of churches.
If you do decide to go through with it, I can put you in touch with a broker we use who can help with bringing your cars into the country.
Yes, it's a great place to raise kids. That's one thing I love about our area, it's mostly 30-something, working class folks with kids.
We're the hotrod capitol of B.C., the car culture here is great and almost everyone has some kind of project in the garage.
Like I said, mostly working class, blue collar guys, chances are your neighbour will be a welder, the guy down the street a carpenter, mechanic, etc.
Any way you guys could visit before you make the big decision?
Sounds nice and in the exterior pictures of houses there I can't get over how green everything is!
I wish we could visit but I foolishly spent a large chunk of our savings on the too-often cancelled or delayed family disney trip. Then, when we got back, the place where I work has been shutdown every fourth week due to a lack of work/order volume. Tough to rebuild the cushion when you're short a grand per month.
Working class, gearhead families... sounds like heaven. :)
I suppose it's the PSW to you guys, not the PNW. :)
In reply to Morbid:
Understood, IL to BC is a big move. Frankly I doubt I would go the other way - Canada to US.
BTW, something nobody has mentioned, our Income Tax rates are much higher than the U.S. factor that in to your calculations.
Health coverage is typically included by most employers, so that may offset what I noted above. This is health coverage over and above what is covered by the government.
The_Jed wrote: I can't get over how green everything is!
You clothes won't dry on the line either. Just sayin'.
I didn't know umbrellas wore out until I moved to Vancouver. Heck, I didn't even ~own~ one in the interior.... Oops. There it is again. Interior boy here... (It is way WAY less green here in the Okanagan Valley).
I haven't been in the Okanagan since I ran Knox Mountain in 1985. I swore I wouldn't go back without 500hp...
Nice area.
Better money in north or central B.C. kind of a boom going on now lots of work in mining and forestry the shop I work for is looking for a machinist with hydraulic experience 35 to 40 per hour full benefits. We are 8 hours from the nearest road course but we do have a great autocross club and a facility next to none (10 acers dead square no light posts or curbs
You don't have to live in Langley to work there. Look at Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack, Rosedale, Agassiz, Harrison Hot Springs. All cheaper-in fact any move East from Langley will get you a cheaper house. Other than that, we have a booming local economy, lots of motorsports and other mechanized activities and everywhere in the Fraser Valley or Lower Mainland is 30 minutes from a border crossing. Don't forget also we have Whistler and three or four other ski hills within a short drive. Tons of golf courses, lots of really steep mountains to climb 4x4 or sled up, 10 foot sturgeon or 30 pound salmon to catch, rivers to kayak, lakes to sail on, the Vancouver Canucks if you like hockey(you better if you come here!) Seahawks (we adopted them) if you like football, or the BC Lions if you want to see real football, temperate climate with few natural disasters. Our summers are long and warm (usually 60 days in August and September of sun despite what the Albertans say)and lots of sun the rest of the year with a fair bit of rain thrown in.
I am a little biased being a BC boy, but I have traveled a bit and Southern BC is pretty damn nice.
It just keeps sounding better and better!
Hopefully it's not bad form to ask about a prospective employer but, is anyone familiar with a company called Sicom Industries Ltd.?
@Danvan:
Back when I was a diesel grease monkey I serviced and rebuilt hydraulic systems for liftgate trailers but that was... more than ten years ago. Is that what you mean by "Hydraulic experience" or do you mean manufacturing hydraulic application specific parts?
We rebuild and manufacture hydraulic cylinders for the mining, forestry and construction industry we also provide full service machine shop service.
A nice say 1200 square ft. house with a detached garage will run about 250k up here about half of the lower mainland price we also have a drag strip forgot to mention that on my last post.
Depending on your weather prefrances we do also get a pretty harsh winter up here but a true 4 seasons.
Never heard of them but I see they are in Gloucester Estates which is Aldergrove so you are 15 minutes East of Langley right off Highway One. That makes commuting easy.
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