Any One Ever Buy Land In Canada, and try to build?

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I am thinking of buying canadian land Nova Scotia, PEI, somewhere in the Atlantic provinces from dingnamland.com. Any Advice? any horror story's? Looking for acreage, remote setting, and scenery. please help

-- Erik Miller (enricoestabar@yahoo.com), February 19, 2001

Answers

You need to read Jackie Clay's account of how her family had already bought land in Canada and was told by some officials there if she had all her paperwork IN THE PROCESS she could go ahead and move, BUT THEN got to the border with livestock (which had all its proper paperwork and shots and stuff) and two trailers of other stuff and WAS NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER...it would have taken them a year to get permission to enter....even tho she had the paperwork in the process!

You can probably find the article at the BACKWOODSHOME.com site.

Or you can e-mail her at that site too.

I'm sure there are folks that have had some better experiences but her family had sold their previous homestead and so were "homeless" for a little while until they found another in the U.S. Thank goodness they were able to get their money back from the Canada real estate folks so they could use it on another place in the U.S. or they would have been homeless for a year!

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), February 19, 2001.


I have relatives and friends in/from Canada. After hearing their stories and experiences I don't know why you would want to leave America to live in a socialist country.

Looking for remote setting, acreage, scenery? Try Montana or Wyoming. Central Montana (north of Billings) has rolling hills, large acreages, few people, and cheap land - under $1000/acre. It is dry, but can't be all bad because people live there. We too are looking to relocate and I've seen some potential properties in the Roundup area.

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), February 19, 2001.


Sheesh!! We're not THAT bad, you guys! : )

Why would anyone in the US assume they could move across a border to another country, when the immigration process was not yet finalized? Owning property in a country doesn't automatically give someone the right to move to that country. Thousands of US land/home owning Canadian snow birds (escaping the cold winter) know this fact. Ownership is not citizenship or the right to live on that property permanently. We Canadians have a heck of a time moving to the US; you guys don't let us do it, right? Everyone is afraid that someone moving to the US would *steal* a job from an American. Why would anyone expect any other country would just say "Come on in.", no questions asked?

We're a great country, Erik. You just need to make sure you do everything in the right order. Our taxes may be a bit higher, and our dollar lower than the US during some periods, but we offer national medical coverage (paid by taxes), and no one ever cuts you off due to a pre-existing condition. We have 30 million people in a landmass slightly larger than the US. So, we tend to be a bit more spread out. Isolation is simple to accomplish. The Atlantic provinces are beautiful, and there's no lack of scenery. Winters are cold, so beware if you're used to a warm southern climate. Hope you're successful in your move to Canada, we could use some more homesteaders!

In the 1960's, my Canadian father entered the US Navy. Then he married my Canadian mother. After she moved to Norfolk where he was based, she was chased down every couple of months by the INS (?) to make sure she wasn't working.

-- Rheba, a Canadian (rbeall@etown.net), February 19, 2001.


Hi I live in the northwest corner of BC in Canada, and you couldn't ask for a more beauitful, remote, quiet place, if you can hanlde the cold and snow, which is no worse than the mid-west states. Land is forest and farmland, we have grizzlys, black bears, brown bears, the rare white Kermodie bear, moose, deer, caribou, cougar, wolf and the best salmon fishing in the world. The main industry is forsestry and mining. the winter months are a little long but the summer day light hours make up for it. We get 22+ hrs of day for June July and Aug, then we lose some and get the same amount as you guys down south, we're not that far north to have 6 months of dark. There are lots of homesteaders up here as well as people who left the US to find their true selfs. The other provinces, such as the praires are alot cheaper(Sack.) but there is little to no jobs and you will freeze in the winter cook in the summer if you weren't blown away by the wind, it never stops blowing and all the soil is heading for the states. There are to many people in eastern canada for me but I hear the maritime provinces have nice properties if you can handle all the rain and damp winters. If you move to Canada do not bring any animals, to long a wait at the border even if your papers are in order, and you can replace them for usually less here. One thing to keep in mind is that you must do your research for the area that appeals to you and than write the town concil for bylaws and/or rules that apply to that community. We are pretty laid back up here, but that's not so for all of the province. Happy hunting and good luck. If you are looking for cheap land, really cheap and can live with the cold and wind, wish to have a farm with house and barns, wells and outbuildings, Saskatchewan is the place to look, but remember people are leaving that province due to a lack of work, medical services and loss of their farms(banks reclaiming them) because of poor crops the last couple of years. Good luck Anne Bennett Glacier Falls Barbados Smithers BC Canada

-- Anne Bennett (barbados_anne40@hotmail.com), February 19, 2001.

Husband and I were thinking about moving to Canada about three years ago and becoming citizens. We had looked at several wonderful properties in Nova Scotia. That was before we realized how much we secretly hate snow. I wrote to the Canadian Government requesting information regarding the move and applying for citizenship. Egad! They quoted some sort of immigration fee that was around $5,000 per adult and $3500 per child, as well as the requirement that you must already have a job in Canada before you may move there. I explained that we were looking at early retirement and the reply was "too bad" because you must have employment. The Canadian office recommended that we buy a home in Canada, and keep our US citizenship, and we can live in Canada during the Summer without a problem, returning to the States in the Winter.! We did not like that idea at all because we do not like it when folks live in the US, but don't bother to become citizens (not trying to start a "thing", just explaining OUR perspective). Anyway, it all worked out because we remembered the snow thing and moved to Alabama! If you are considering a homestead in Canada, check it out very carefully for those whopping entry costs!

-- Lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), February 19, 2001.


Is that the correct address dingnamland.com? I tried it and doesn't seem to work.

-- Debbie Arendt (serendip@rocler.qc.ca), February 19, 2001.

It isn't easy to establish residency, or acquire a visa to reside, in any foreign country. We lived in the UK for almost four years because my husband's former employer transferred him to London. Without a job, we would not have been able to live there. The process took months and it wasn't easy. We were at the point of establishing residency when we moved back to the USA. If you want to live outside the US, you will no doubt need to go through extensive red tape, and probably find and employer that will sponsor you, before being able to move. I would contact the Canadian Embassy for information.

-- Amy (acook@in4web.com), February 19, 2001.

We are thinking of making a permenant move to Australia. If you have enough money you can live anywhere. Canada, OZ or the UK don't want to be responsible for you or your health care, they want to see $$ and how much you have to support yourself etc.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), February 19, 2001.

Umm...I'd just like to point out that Canada isn't a SOCIALIST country, Skip, we're a democracy, right up there with the good ole US of A. We vote...our vote means something, too, despite what others say (refer to PREVIOUS thread about two months ago on this particular topic -- just because we have the queen on our money doesn't mean she rules us! We also have a beaver as a national symbol -- doesn't mean we worship it.)

Next thing you know someone will be throwing around the dreaded "c" word -- no we're not communists, either.

The fact is, Canada isn't THAT different from the US, except that we have universal health care (which isn't foolproof, like everything else), and we have a bit more space to move around in. Then, of course, there's that pesky crime rate....

Is it hard to get into Canada? Of course it is. Why would American people, who have a VERY stringent immigration policy of their own, assume that we wouldn't? Just because we have more space doesn't mean that we're trying to fill it.

-- Tracy (trimmer@westzone.com), February 20, 2001.


Hendo, that's an exactly correct summary. Anyone's welcome to visit most places, provided they've got a return ticket and appropriate permission/visa. If they want to immigrate, they've got to satisfy whatever requirements the target country's government has set, in advance, or they won't get approval. If they come on a tourist visa, and overstay, they're illegal immigrants, and liable to deportation, with costs against if they've got assets.

If you'd like to correspond about Australia, I'm available.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), February 20, 2001.



Thank you for your responses....Our family is planning a trip across Canada starting in the Atlantic Provinces and heading West. I am looking for something to grab me and make me stop dead in my tracks. Currently I am a nurse, planning on obtaining my Masters degree in Regional Planning within the nxt year and would like some topic that I can research that might actually make a difference. My goal is to start somewhere small, keep it neat, and enjoyable for all. thanks, Erik

-- Erik Miller (enricoestabar@yahoo.com), February 21, 2001.

Response to Eric concerning Canada. Canada is so large, you will be able to find anything you like there, cities, rural life, water, plains, the list goes on. It is absolutely beautiful and the people are the best. However, if you get that far and do not find what you are looking for, just keep going and you will be in Alaska. We have reasonable land, remote settings, scenery and helpful neighbors. Come on up. Maureen at Ravens Roost in Alaska E-Mail me if you have specific questions.

-- Maureen Stevenson (maureen@mtaonline.net), February 21, 2001.

If I were to ever have to live in a city, then Toronto, Canada would be it! I have traveled to every state in the US, excepting Hawaii and Alaska and been to most big cities from New York to San Francisco and can honestly say that being in Toronto was about the best experience I had. The city was clean, the buses were clean and the subway system was great. No grafitti, no trash and the people there were very nice. I wandered around there for a week, walking and riding the train and if I got lost, some nice Canadian would help me find my way again. On the other hand, I took the train from Toronto to Boston during that same trip and stopped in the very French city of Montreal. I met some very rude people there and the train station was a mess. But the countryside between the two was wonderful and the border crossing was great (except that it was 2:00 am) when my my cabin was ordered "Open" for inspection.

After having lived in Europe, Mexico and the United States, I think that the best place is where your heart is. Mine is still here (although I go ga-ga over Australia and England). You can't always find the "perfect" place, but you can always perfect the place you find. Good luck

-- Cindy (colawson@mindspring.com), February 22, 2001.


Hubby and I have been toying with the idea of spending the winters in Virginia and the summers in Canada when I retire and would like to buy a piece of land to do that. Since we would have a good retirement income and not need to work, would this be a problem for us to purchase land in Canada and build a home but just to live there for part of the year? It sounded like on one of the threads that someone said this is not a problem. Just wanted someone to confirm this and mention if there are any problems with this.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), February 23, 2001.

The National Medical Coverage sounds wonderful.. don't think I could stand the cold though, am so used to heat and horrible humidity..

-- Lynn(MO) (mscratch1@semo.net), February 23, 2001.


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