Thanks for your reply. Is the environment good in Richmond? Do you know how much it is for renting a two bedroom apartment / house?
I have two kids who will go to primary school so I think it will be better for them to learn native English. If the Canadian born Chinese kids speak native English in school, I think we are ok to live in Richmond.
Sorry, one more question. Do you know if there are any Chinese organisations who can help new immigrants in Vancouver. I hope I can get more information about Vancouver from those organisation.
for long term lease, two bedroom apartment is about 800-1000 per month. A house is about 1200 (2bedroom).
I was just back to Hong Kong from Richmond. Frankly speaking, a child cannot learn native English as the same pace as other parts. Too many Chinese - now from mainland china, not hong kong.
My daughter attended summer schools there but found no native speaking child. We could still get Korean, Japanese etc, though. Richmond is a Chinese community - to be straight.
中橋is helpful. Several years ago, their helpers are speaking mandarin and cantonese but nowadays, they speak mandarin only.
CAD 800-1000 is a bit more expensive than in Toronto. It's about CAD 700 for renting a 2-bedroom basement in Toronto. I guess there is no basement in Richmond, right?
For my son's sake (he is in grade 5 now), I think I may need to consider the cities with more Canadian and less Chinese. But I have no idea which cities have less Chinese.
Did you go to Vancouver for summer vacation? What do you think about Vancouver? People told me that the living standard in Vancouver is high. Is that correct?
Thank you for your sharing. Sorry for having so many questions. My husband will go to Vancouver with my two kids early next year so I need to get as much info as I can. Thanks.
Oh no, your reply is very prompt. I really appreciate it.
Do North Vancouver and Burnaby have less Chinese and more Canadian? Are these new or old areas? Do you think their environment are good? How far are they from the city of Vancouver?
Sorry for having so many questions because Vancouver is really new to me, but we have decided to move to Vancouver rather than living in Toronto because of the weather.
Thanks for your suggestion. I will try to get more information on these two cities.
Yes, the living standard in Vancouver is much higher than that in Toronto. I bid you have got this information also from some Canadian feature news or economic news programme. And building in Richmond doesn't get any basement because Richmond is located in Earthquake Zone and the land level is lower than Fraser River water level.
If you want the best education of your child, why you move away from Toronto? Every canadian thinks Toronto is the most cosmopolitan place in Canada and the best education located in Toronto too.
Yes, North Vancouver and Burnaby both areas have less Chinese and more Canadian. Their environment are good although the temperature may be a little bit lower than Richmond as both located in the North of Vancouver while Richmond is in the South of Vancouver. It takes about half hour driving to city of Vancouver.
In Vancouver, there are only 3 Universities. UBC, SFU and Victoria. Actually, Victoria is very far away from the city of Vancouver so that there are only 2 Universities that you can choose in Vancouver. Personally, I think UBC is not bad as I was graduated there.
Weather in Vancouver is really good. Even in winter, it is not very cold and only snowing for a few days. As a result, "thick" snow accumulated on the road does not happen very often. I really miss Vancouver; I think I will return to Vancouver after xx years....
The reason why we consider moving to Vancouver is because of the weather. My husband and I don't want to shovel the snow when we are 60 (this is what my father still doing now in Toronto). We need to think of a place that we can live longer because moving from one place to another is not easy.
But education for my kids is another big consideration. I think it is alright that my son goes to Ontario for university when he grows older. Honestly, I do not know the ranking of the schools in Canada. I think I need to check this out before I make any decision. Thanks for your advice.
I thought you are living in Vancouver. Do you always go back to Vancouver to visit your family?
North Vancouver or Burnaby sound suitable to me. Thanks for your suggestion. I will try to get more information on these two cities. I don't mind the temperature to be a bit lower because it won't be as cold as it is in Toronto.
Can I ask you one more question? Do you know if the residents in B.C. need to pay for the government health insurance? It's free in Toronto.
Yes, I lived in Vancouver before and the last time I went back to visit my family was 1999.
As I know, in B.C. if the annual family income exceed CAD $14xxx then you have to pay about CAD $1xxx for annual medical insurance per family. Otherwise, it is free of charge. The medical insurance covers body check, doctor charges but not includes medicine.
Thank you for all your info and quick response. I have more knowledge on Vancouver now and will start getting information about Burnaby and North Vancouver.
I lived in Richmond with my parents before, and it's a very convinent place. There are quite a lot of chinese and oriental shops and restaurants. Since many people are coming back to HK to work, the number of immigrants from mainland china is increasing as well.
There are lots of good places in vancouver, and it really depends on your budget, your preference. For example, my husband's family used to live in vancouver, near oak street, before.
there are many organizations that help immigrants.