If you end up in Ottawa you'll be able to go to the National War Memorial on Rememberance Day (post Covid) and in the winter skate the Rideau Canal.
If you end up in Ottawa you'll be able to go to the National War Memorial on Rememberance Day (post Covid) and in the winter skate the Rideau Canal.
John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) said:Stealthtercel said:Regarding the military, would the OP's current VA benefits/status change if he joined the Cdn military and swore allegiance to Her Majesty?
Since he's currently labeled as disabled US Vet there is probably not a logical path to becoming Active Duty Canadian Military.
I've known reservists who deployed, fill out their disability paperwork when they get home for their injuries, then deploy again and repeat the process.
Thats American military, though.
With all, that's happening right now and on top is this pandemic. You will definitely have so many things to do before you can move in with your wife in Canada. You really have to wait a year before you can do that.
Algonquin College is a terrific school (“college” in Ontario does not mean university). We are lucky in Ontario to have strong, publicly funded post-secondary institutions.
Ottawa is almost as cool as Montreal (literally, and figuratively). Much of what I love about Montreal exists in Ottawa. And you will be closer to the epic Calabogie Motorsports Park. There are some board members here who live in the city and I am certain would be helpful to getting you settled.
As for how taxes between Canada and the US work, I can explain a bit. I live in Canada but work in the US so I have to file taxes in both countries. I pay US taxes just as if I were living in the US but file a 1040-Non Resident at tax time, which doesn't allow a lot of the deductions a US resident would get (no mortgage interest deduction, etc). Once I've done my US taxes, I do my Canadian taxes and calculate what I would owe in Canada as if I had earned all my income in Canada, but then I get to deduct all of the taxes I paid in the US including medicare and social security tax.
For example, lets say I earned $50 in the US and paid $15 federal tax, $5 state tax, $1 for medicare and $1 for SS, so $22 tax total. For simplicity, let's say that $1US=$1CDN, so I would do my Canadian taxes as if I made $50 in Canada. If I calculate I should pay $24 in tax in Canada, I then subtract the $22 to get $2 owing in Canada. It gets a little more complicated with retirement savings, but really it's just figuring out where to enter it in your tax software. Which reminds me, if you're a non-resident filing in the US don't use tax software to do your US taxes, it will not file the correct forms (1040-NR) and will try to give you deductions you're not allowed. You can use tax software to do your Canadian taxes if you have foreign income though.
ZOO (Forum Supporter) said:Algonquin College is a terrific school (“college” in Ontario does not mean university). We are lucky in Ontario to have strong, publicly funded post-secondary institutions.
Ottawa is almost as cool as Montreal (literally, and figuratively). Much of what I love about Montreal exists in Ottawa. And you will be closer to the epic Calabogie Motorsports Park. There are some board members here who live in the city and I am certain would be helpful to getting you settled.
Roughly speaking, a university is a degree-granting institution and a college gives diplomas. Universities give you knowledge and colleges give you skills :) My wife says I sound like a snob when I keep talking about going to university, but they are quite different in Canada. And yeah, Algonquin is a good school. You'll want to look at where your campus is, I think it's fairly spread out. I think it's in the more affordable parts of town for rent. I love downtown Ottawa.
Calabogie is a fun little track with fairly easy access. Last time I was there, I was in a stock-engined Miata on all-seasons and I almost wore out my point-by finger :)
Here's the program I'm looking at doing:
https://www.algonquincollege.com/sat/program/computer-systems-technician/
I just have to wait for my passport to get here and I can apply. Unfortunately right now passports can take up to 3 months, so hopefully there's still open classes by then! I want to start in Fall 2021. Looks like this course is at the Ottawa campus, which is in downtown. I've found some good apartments for acceptable prices in a reasonably nearby area. Assuming I apply and get accepted, then I'll just have to apply for a study visa and have the VA approve it, then save up a few more bucks, sell all our crap, and we'll be ready to go. I'm somewhere between terrified and excited for this move. I'm glad to hear there's a good racetrack there though! I really don't want to get rid of my challenge Civic. I'd like to try to keep it somehow and bring it with us.
It's not what I'd call "downtown". I mean, it's not Kanata but you're not exactly going to be walking to the Market from there. It's a bit of a blah area IMO but if you jump on the Queensway it's quick enough to get around. The good news is that it's right by the bike paths. Oh, and Lee Valley Tools is just down the road.
BTW, make sure you skate the canal and take advantage of the parkway closures for biking during the summer. And the nearby Gatineau Park is a gem. When skating, get a beaver tail - specifically, a Killaloe Sunrise. You can get them year-round but they taste best when you're on skates :)
I don't know the neighborhoods yet - I've only been looking at Ottawa for a day. It's, you know, downtownish kinda area haha. I definitely need to learn to ice skate when we get up there. And we're pretty excited for all the biking also.
The Motorsports Club of Ottawa has an active autocross scene. I’d be happy to help make some introductions.
Sounds great! Now I just need to figure out how to get my challenge Civic up there affordably, and find a place to park it. 2200 miles in a race car will certainly be fun, haha. It is street legal, just fully gutted - will they allow the car across the border?
If you want to register it, it may have to go through a safety inspection.
I sent in my passport and my sons passport to get renewed. With expedited service we were told it would be 1 month...
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Only if he wants to plate it
In reply to docwyte :
With the rate of things are CBP right now, I would expect it to be forever. I submitted my application for renewal of my Global Access in January, Just got the notice it was preliminarily approved and ready for the interview.
Small problem is the first DIA interview slot availalbe is in May next year.
Peabody said:In reply to Keith Tanner :
Only if he wants to plate it
I was equating register with plate.
ZOO (Forum Supporter) said:The Motorsports Club of Ottawa has an active autocross scene. I’d be happy to help make some introductions.
I used to race with the MCO. It's a strong club with a range of activities. I didn't realize that this was not typical until I moved away.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Different things.
You can register it with an unfit ownership and no plates but it will still have to be imported and go through the RIV inspection first. Probably not worth it if it’s only a challenge car
Right. Forgot the specific terminology. I have an unplated Ontario car that is registered to me, too...
I can't add anything to the conversation, but I do want to move to Canada when I retire. Not sure if that's possible, but that is what I want to do. Probably the more eastern side. Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI. Of course I'd probably move there earlier if possible, but with our oldest just starting adult life at 18, and the other at 14, moving now is probably a bad idea.
In reply to Mazdax605 :
There's a pretty well outlined process on the Canadian government's on how to immigrate there. The border being closed due to COVID certainly makes it a lot more difficult - you'd have to have a work visa or a study visa just to be allowed across, basically. Once the border is able to be opened, the process should be pretty easy.
I work in Canada semi regularly and am a US citizen without a work permit. My company handles all the paperwork through a multinational law firm. I can tell you that entering Canada legally for work is HARD. I had a 5 pound package of documents last time I entered and was interviewed at length by their border security. You're best off to marry a Canadian girl.
A 401 CJ said:. You're best off to marry a French Canadian girl.
FTFY
A 401 CJ said:I work in Canada semi regularly and am a US citizen without a work permit. My company handles all the paperwork through a multinational law firm. I can tell you that entering Canada legally for work is HARD. I had a 5 pound package of documents last time I entered and was interviewed at length by their border security. You're best off to marry a Canadian girl.
That is how I did it the second time I immigrated to Canada.
I brought in two workers under a Labor Market review where I claim that they had unique qualifications that were not easily found in Canada,
Ultimately if I did it this way, the earliest I could even go to Canada would be for the Fall semester. Who even knows what the border situation will be at that point.
We were going to trade in our two cars on one new one at a local dealership but after reading all the fine print on their offer I felt there was some dishonesty there. So the Wife and I are just going to work our rear ends off and pay our current cars down until we can trade them in without being upside down. That will open up a LOT more options for us. We're looking at the small/small-mid sized SUV market, since they have the room we want, still get acceptable gas mileage, and many come in AWD, which will help in the snow.
Right now we're thinking of me using my GI bill to finish the 9 month computer networking course here at the local college. That would use up the last of my GI Bill. Then I would have to simply find work in Canada in order to immigrate there. Hopefully the border will be open by then but who knows. Now after finishing that schooling my GI bill will be done but I can still possibly use the VA chapter 31. If I could use that, then I would simply take the networking course I posted above at Algonquin. But with me finishing the course down here first, if by chance I wasn't able to use the Ch 31 then at least I would have good job skills and I could start applying. There's a lot of different things to factor in with this move and it's really annoying, but we know we absolutely want to move to Canada. Oh and we also want to start trying for a kid soon since I'm not getting any younger. So add that into the mix as well!
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