Hi!
1. Yes, a G license. When the insurance people checked it they were told I had many years experience - so the license has basically been back-dated in effect
The actual card versions of our licenses came 15 days after the temporary paper versions that were given to us.
2. Yes, I found 3 independent smaller networks, which are "
Public Mobile", "
Mobilicity" and "
WIND". These are noticeably cheaper. There is of course a catch - which is that they "roam" as a fallback, so it is just a matter of checking the coverage maps when you buy to make sure you're happy. As long as you remain in their main coverage areas (Toronto etc), they are a cheaper option. In my case I found the coverage too restrictive (we did a short trip to Lake Huron and the phone we had borrowed was "roaming" most of the way), hence I looked for a cheap option with a national provider and chose Virgin Mobile.
I did notice that
Public Mobile are changing their network so they might get national coverage via Telus without roaming costs (
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/teluss-decision-to-shut-public-mobile-angers-consumers/article17703328/), in which case they may be a nice cheap option.
3. We bought a modern Nissan Versa. Small compared to the big trucks around here but doesn't eat too much fuel. I was tempted by a bigger vehicle with more seats but we have been able to borrow a larger vehicle when needed from friends because most car insurance around here covers a car for other drivers, so we didn't need to spend money on the larger "van" type MPVs. If I couldn't borrow a bigger vehicle then I would have bought a "van" - because we've bought a fair bit of stuff from Kijiji and you have to go and collect things.
Sorry I'm not following the forum much, and hope everyone is continuing to see good progress.
All the best.
