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How I got three job offers while being outside Canada

trumprefugee

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Jun 6, 2017
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Ottawa, ON
Category........
PNP
Visa Office......
Ottawa
NOC Code......
2172
App. Filed.......
06-01-2018
Nomination.....
19-12-2017
AOR Received.
07-01-2018
IELTS Request
24-06-2017
Med's Done....
05-01-2018
Passport Req..
09-03-2018
VISA ISSUED...
02-04-2018
LANDED..........
28-05-2018
Hi @trumprefugee! So cool to hear from you. I thought early-retirement was rare and even rarer was geographical arbitraging. But hearing from two other data scientists/SWEs with an identical mindset makes me think there's some signal to this trend. :)
I think early retirement is becoming more and more common, especially among Millenials as more of us value flexibility and balance and don't want to be forced into the traditional model of working full time for 40+ years and retiring in our 60s. I also sometimes follow a couple other forums related to financial independence and early retirement. We also are redefining what "retirement" really means. That said, I agree that early retirement is pretty rare, and I don't know of anyone other American who is planning to retire early in Canada. I do know of people who want to travel after retirement, and I would like to spend some time overseas as well, but after settling down as a Canadian citizen. So it's great to hear from you guys.

I actually had not considered retiring in a foreign country. Like many Americans, I thought of the US as the only place where I could live. On election night last year, I decided to emigrate. I had wanted to move to the UK but eventually decided on Canada. I think Canada is the best place for me to retire. I want to move to Toronto because it is a growing tech hub with many other opportunities as well. I still would like to do technology work, but on my own terms, not as a slave to an employer due to financial need. The government funded healthcare system is a huge benefit in allowing a person to break free of traditional employee jobs. One reason I did not retire earlier is because I have been worried about out of control health insurance costs here in the US.
 

axolotl

Star Member
Apr 17, 2017
186
249
Hi @trumprefugee! So cool to hear from you. I thought early-retirement was rare and even rarer was geographical arbitraging. But hearing from two other data scientists/SWEs with an identical mindset makes me think there's some signal to this trend. :)
Geographical arbitraging! This is the right term!

I will definitely move out of Toronto once I am done with the current job. Calgary seems a good option if I choose to stay in Canada, though I am also considering New Zealand for its nature and animals. I will however never move to a country with a weak legal system, a lot of corruption, or too much social conservatism (which seems to be positively correlated with religiosity).
 

axolotl

Star Member
Apr 17, 2017
186
249
A few updates.

My partner landed in Toronto on 15 Dec 2017 as a Permanent Resident. She will fly back to the Netherlands on 9 January 2018, to continue the IVF treatment. It was really nice to have her with me for Christmas and New Year. We visited Niagara Falls and walked a lot almost every day in Toronto. Lower Don Valley Trail is only ten minutes' walk away from my apartment and we frequented it a lot. I ordered some cross-country ski equipment. Unfortunately there have been some delivery issues and I will have to return them.

Financially speaking, the fact that she landed in Canada in 2017 means that she now has a TFSA limit of 11,000 CAD. Also, all her moving expenses are tax deductible from my 2017 income. I plan to transfer all my investments in Canada, except those in my TFSA, under her name, because she will have much lower income and thus a much lower tax rate.

The reason why I need to have any investments in Canada at all is to buy attractive properties. To get a mortgage without CMHC Mortgage Loan Insurance, one has to pay at least 20% of the purchase price of the property as down payment, which has to have been in Canada for 90 days before the closing date. What I do is simply keep about 40k - 50k in my or her investment accounts, and transfer extra money to Canada when and only when we are actually making a purchase. (So I will always have 40k - 50k and will be able to buy another property at any moment when I find a good one.) I do not plan to buy anything much more than 200,000 CAD and 50k should be enough for the down payment and other related costs (inspection fee, appraisal fee, lawyer fee, etc.).

In fact, we are purchasing a duplex in Windsor on 12 January 2018. My partner will own 99% of the property and I will own 1%. I would prefer to have her own 100% because of her tax advantages. But unfortunately TD requires me to be a co-owner. I chose TD because they offered the lowest interest rate (at 2.55%).

My company is doing very well and I plan to ask for a salary raise of 40% sometime in Q1, though I would be okay if it ends up around 25%. I will also ask the company to more than double my equity. We'll see what will happen.

The reason why I have been talking so much about my personal finance is that I have enjoyed my vacation greatly - I took one week off in 2017, got the last week of 2017 off for free, and one more week vacation in 2018 - and every day I could not help looking forward to my retirement, which I envisage in three years' time. But to reach this goal, I have to make sure that I will fare well financially for the next three years.
 
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axolotl

Star Member
Apr 17, 2017
186
249
I haven't updated this thread for a while. There have been some changes to my life.

The most important one is that my partner is pregnant and I am expected to become a parent in October. We first tried IUI and then IVF. On 30 January at 6:45, I learned that the egg retrieval was scheduled on 2 February and I immediately booked a ticket for the Netherlands and left Toronto at 17:55. On 17 February we did the pregnancy test together and the result was positive. I flew back to Toronto on 18 February and announced the news to my colleagues in the following week.

This has changed my plan quite a bit. In Ontario, an employee is entitled to parental leave of up to 61 weeks. Although it is not obligatory for the employer to keep paying the employee any salary, the employee will enjoy employment insurance payments. In my case, it can be either 537 CAD per week for 35 weeks, or 322 CAD per week for 61 weeks. Once I announced the pregnancy, it has become practically impossible for my employer, both before and during the parental leave, to fire me.

If everything goes well, my partner will move to Canada in April or May. In the first few months, we could just stay in our 2-bedroom apartment. But once the baby is here, it does not seem to make much sense any more.

Currently I am paying about 1,800 CAD a month for rent, utilities, and Internet. I sublet the other bedroom and the living room for 1,400 CAD per month and therefore my own housing costs only 400 CAD a month. With a crying baby, my partner, and our three cats, it won't be practical to keep having two roommates. But then there is really no reason for us to live in Toronto any more and spend 1,800 CAD a month on housing.

My plan is to find a detached house with at least three sound-proof bedrooms. More space, especially a backyard, will be good for my partner and the cats. Also, we can Airbnb the other two sound-proof bedrooms both before and after the arrival of the baby. I first considered moving to Nova Scotia, where there are many beautiful houses with plenty of land for less than 80,000 CAD (like this one), or in Newfoundland, where I found this property with great Airbnb potential. I actually contacted real estate agents and collected various numbers (property tax, average utility costs, maintenance costs, potential rental income, etc.) The more research I did, the more excited I became.

If I purchase such a property, it seems a very realistic and even comfortable option for me to take 61 weeks off. Below are my estimates on the financial front.
  • Incomes
    • Employment insurance: $1,400 a month.
    • Child benefits: $800 a month. (We will have very low income, at least on paper, to be able to receive child benefits.)
    • Rental cash income: $800 a month. (We bought a rental property in January in Windsor ON for 190,000 CAD and rent it for 1,800 CAD + utilities a month.)
  • Costs
    • Housing and food: should be negative after deducting Airbnb income.
    • Taxes: 0. (We will make sure that we are poor on paper. Also, various costs, e.g. structural depreciation, can be deducted from rental income.)
    • Car insurance and fuel: 500 CAD a month. (I don't have a car but plan to buy one for the baby.)
This calculation seems to allow us to have a comfortable life without having to work! Financially it really does not make much sense for me to go back to work. I would make only 4,800 CAD per month extra post tax compared with staying at home. (Employment Insurance and Child benefits will become zero if I work.) The vesting of my stock options, which are probably worth much more than my salary, would continue in both cases. My cost will go up if I have to have a place to sleep in Toronto.

There are however a few problems.
  • Practically, the timing to move to our new house is tricky.
    • Before the delivery of the baby, it does not seem very practical for my partner to move to and live alone in NS or NL while I still work in Toronto. What if there is any medical emergency?
    • Immediately after the birth of the baby, we probably will be too busy and exhausted to move.
  • Financially, the plan depends on a lot of estimates.
    • What if the Airbnb income turns out to be less than expected?
    • Will we have enough energy to do Airbnb?
    • Have I underestimated the costs of having a baby? We have never had any children before and it is the unknown unknowns that are scary.
I may have to go back to work if my estimates are really wrong. (I do not want to sell any of my investments and see my wealth diminish!) But it will be much trickier if we have already bought a house in Nova Scotia or Newfoundland and moved there.

To mitigate such risks, we have decided to first rent a house in Barrie for up to 1,800 CAD a month, with at least three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and try to do Airbnb there. We should be able to make a better decision once the unknown unknowns are gone.

So our current plan is as follows.
  • My partner moves to Toronto in April or May.
  • Together we buy a car and look for a house in Barrie.
  • We move in the new house in May or June and immediately start with Airbnb, while keeping the apartment in Toronto for only 400 a month.
  • I sleep in Toronto Monday - Thursday. I will still be able to get to Barrie if there is any medical emergency before the birth. (I could potentially Airbnb my own bedroom for Friday - Sunday.)
  • I take parental leave when the baby is born and stop the lease in Toronto.
 
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canuck78

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Jun 18, 2017
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Congratulations! Can tell you haven’t been around babies. Would be pretty difficult to host people in Airbnb with a baby. The bedrooms would have to have some significant soundproofing. You might be able to get away with moving in the basement and having your guests on a 2nd floor if there are no air ducts and really good soundproofing. Not sure if guests would really love to hear babies waking up every 2-3 hours or being up all night. Also once your baby is sleeping you wouldn’t want someone waking them up. There is definitely not the same demand for Airbnb in the maritimes like in Toronto. There may be increased demand during the summer but hard to count on regular Airbnb income. You also have picked some pretty remote locations. To maximize your income would probable suggest Halifax or St John’s. Airbnb in Barrie also won’t have the same interest. Might want research cost of diapers, formula if needed or required if breastfeeding doesn’t work out, stroller (even used), etc. You’ll probably need a snowblower and 4 wheel drive for some of the locations you selected. You have lived in places with high population density but these locations have the exact opposite. Things like finding a doctor become issues in these small communities. Haven’t researched it in detail but isn’t max Ccb closer to it $600 not $800? You will probably need a property manager for Windsor property if you don’t have one now. That said you are in a very lucky position. A bit confused about what you plan on doing after the 61 weeks is up?
 

axolotl

Star Member
Apr 17, 2017
186
249
You might be able to get away with moving in the basement and having your guests on a 2nd floor if there are no air ducts and really good soundproofing.
Then I'd rather have the guests in the basement :)

Not sure if guests would really love to hear babies waking up every 2-3 hours or being up all night. Also once your baby is sleeping you wouldn’t want someone waking them up.
I heard it really varies from baby to baby. Some babies keep crying, while others sleep and sleep.

There is definitely not the same demand for Airbnb in the maritimes like in Toronto. There may be increased demand during the summer but hard to count on regular Airbnb income. You also have picked some pretty remote locations. To maximize your income would probable suggest Halifax or St John’s.
It can be sometimes counter-intuitive. I looked around on Airbnb, it seems that the average price in Halifax is much lower than in some more remote places. Certainly demand is higher in cities, but so is supply. There is a nice function in Airbnb which allows you to see a place's occupancy. Halifax NS, for example, seems less attractive for Airbnb than Pasadena NL, at least in March and April.

Haven’t researched it in detail but isn’t max Ccb closer to it $600 not $800?
I used this Child Benefits Calculator.

You will probably need a property manager for Windsor property if you don’t have one now.
I'm already using a manager. 800 CAD is the cash that I get after deducting mortgage payments, property tax, insurance, and management fees.

A bit confused about what you plan on doing after the 61 weeks is up?
Honestly I am sick of being employed. As long as my life can break even, I will just let my investments grow and perhaps do some side business. I have been considering buying a big piece of land, build eight to ten rental properties, and either hold them or sell them to investors.

But maybe I will fail miserably and go back to the life of an employee/slave. We'll see.
 
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canuck78

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Wow that is really good returns for Windsor. Yes it depends on the baby but they all cry. The first 3 months at least is a blur. Not sure you can count on a child who doesn't cry much. Things like teething can make you baby cry for weeks.

Yes you can get more money out of the cities for Airbnb because you will be conpeting with B&Bs and small inns. They have to charge quite a lot because of the short season. The Maritimes has a pretty short tourist season because of weather. Would be helpful to be close to a tourist attraction if you decide to move forward. Have you been to the maritimes during winter? The weather can be crazy. Lots or snow and wind. Would recommend a generator especially if you are not in the city. I love the maritimes and the people their are lovely. It is just a very different economy and pace of life. With a baby I would check whether there is a family doctor taking new patients in the area because that is also a big problem in the maritimes.
 
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axolotl

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Apr 17, 2017
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Wow that is really good returns for Windsor.
This return is not really extraordinary for multi-family properties in Downtown Windsor.

Yes you can get more money out of the cities for Airbnb because you will be conpeting with B&Bs and small inns. They have to charge quite a lot because of the short season. The Maritimes has a pretty short tourist season because of weather. Would be helpful to be close to a tourist attraction if you decide to move forward.
The one is Pasadena NL is close to Gros Morne National Park.

A good way to estimate your future Airbnb returns is to post the property in which you are interested on Airbnb, without actually owning it or living there. Just remember to disable automatic booking. This allows you to see how much demand there is at what price.

Have you been to the maritimes during winter? The weather can be crazy. Lots or snow and wind. Would recommend a generator especially if you are not in the city. I love the maritimes and the people their are lovely. It is just a very different economy and pace of life. With a baby I would check whether there is a family doctor taking new patients in the area because that is also a big problem in the maritimes.
Never. I am not moving there yet. I need to first see how well I can handle the baby.

Eventually I want to live off the grid and perhaps home school my child or children.
 
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canuck78

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Jun 18, 2017
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This return is not really extraordinary for multi-family properties in Downtown Windsor.


The one is Pasadena NL is close to Gros Morne National Park.



A good way to estimate your future Airbnb returns is to post the property in which you are interested on Airbnb, without actually owning it or living there. Just remember to disable automatic booking. This allows you to see how much demand there is at what price.


I would try to see what happens in the fall. That's when you really need to see if you get any bookings from November to April. On a positive note the lower dollar will help attract tourists.

$800 monthly profit is very good for Windsor especially on a property that is worth less then 200K. Windsor has only slowly bounced back from 2008 crash. Guessing that there may be a lack of good rental properties to be able to ask such a premium vs cost of ownership.

On a postive note the Maritimes would be a very good place to live off the grid. You will survive motherhood it will just be a large adjustment and you may have loosen your purse strings a little bit. Having 2 parents at home makes things a lot easier and your partner is the one who will have to do a lot of the work because she will be feeding the child if breastfeeding is what you choose and works. Babies make things harder to plan which you seen to enjoy
 

Koguiking

Full Member
Feb 15, 2018
20
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Very interesting thread :)
Congrats @axolotl and thanks for sharing the details of your adventure, for me, that I am waiting for the PR, makes an empowering experience to read you.
My background is in new business focused in startups, would you mind sharing your in situ perspective about the tech startup world in Canada for non software engineers? -sometimes reading the articles or news feels a little biased-
Many thanks and please keep us posted,
 
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Reactions: CthulhusCupcakes
Jan 10, 2018
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This has been one of the most informative threads... Brilliant detailing! Thanks a lot!
Also congratulations on the coming baby!!! Hopefully your plans keep on track (babies have the tendency to throw everyone off, but you could probably bribe them with lollipops to work with you on things )
(Immortality achievable in our lifetime - you're my hero, I thought I was the only fool to believe in that!)
 

axolotl

Star Member
Apr 17, 2017
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Just wanted to clarify that you should look at your lease carefully if you plan on subletting rooms or renting them out on airbnb. I would imagine lots of landlords will have written in conditions that either exclude that possibility or require permission.
Just for fun, I did some research on the legality of putting one's extra rooms on Airbnb in Ontario. The findings are very interesting.

First of all, as long as a tenant still occupies the unit, it does not constitute a sublet, and consequently any no-sublet clause in the lease agreement does not apply. See this link.

In this case, the tenants lost the law suit exactly because they had vacated the property themselves.

The only effective argument that a landlord could use to prevent a tenant from doing Airbnb is that the tenant is running a commercial operation (if commercial use of the property is prohibited in the lease agreement). But it would be difficult to argue this successfully unless the tenant makes a lot of money - let's say at least greater than the rent itself - out of Airbnb.
 

axolotl

Star Member
Apr 17, 2017
186
249
My background is in new business focused in startups, would you mind sharing your in situ perspective about the tech startup world in Canada for non software engineers? -sometimes reading the articles or news feels a little biased-
Many thanks and please keep us posted,
Any specific questions?
 

Koguiking

Full Member
Feb 15, 2018
20
7
Thanks for your reply!

First a bit on my background: Undergrad Finances (Colombia), Master in environmental management (Colombia) MBA from Exeter University (UK), after, I started to work in Droplet (Fintech startup), I took the smallest city into the second highest adopter. Then, I came back to Colombia and worked setting up new business for different kind of companies (Achieving high milestones in each of them), but I want to get back to the startup world in Canada (currently waiting for PPR).

Just a few questions:
1. Is there an specific crowdfunding company for canadian companies? I have been looking around but I find the famous from UK and USA.
2. You mentioned that it was easier for you finding a job in a non managerial role, any tips if I am looking for the manager kind of job? - First would be an entry role: mostly "making thing happens" in sales and looking forward to grow.
3. Recently you are looking to move to other city, would you recommend to first stablish in Toronto and then move? for this kind of profile? I am actually considering Calgary as it seems to have the best income/expenses ratio in Canada according expatistan and the research.
4. Whats your experience of the job evolution of non software engineers in the tech startup world in Canada?

Many thanks,