Canadian perspective on Austin? (West, Paradise: transplants, mortgage, lawyers)

[Evilyne]

Hello out there. I'm Canadian and considering a move to Austin. I'd love to hear from other Canadian transplants about how they've enjoyed or regretted the move South of the border.

Mostly I'm worried about health care, culture, ease of obtaining visas and finding work and how mortgages work for people who are not US citizens or green card holders.

Any info would be appreciated.

[iceshots]

We are transferring down to Austin from Toronto in three weeks. I have been coming to Austin workwise for the last two years. Over that time I have probably spent about 40 weeks here. My wife has spent about the same amount of time.

First off, I really like the place. It has a good small city feel and everyone I have met have been very friendly and welcoming. We find that Austin is very much like Ottawa. Small city with a mixture of government, university and high tech. It is also surrounded with a lot of open country rather than continuous suburbs until you reach the next city.

The roads down here take some getting used to. Austin has a number of highways cutting North/South and East/West along the south end of the city, but in many cases you cannot get from one to the other directly. There is no ramp from one highway to the next, you have to take to the city streets and proceed to the next on ramp. It takes a while to get used to and can be confusing at first. But you get used to it and it is no longer a problem.

Housing is a little different from Canada. They do not have basements, so the recreation part of the house has to be included in the main or second floors. If you are used to a finished basement for your TV, rec room or extra bedroom, you will have to increase the square footage you are looking for in a house. We have a 2600 sq ft house in Canada with a full finished basement. Down here we are looking in the 3500 - 4000 sq ft range to find an equivalent house. So don't compare house prices sq ft to sq ft. Bump it up a notch.

I have talked to a mortgage expert down here and there are no special mortgage issues for non-citizens. But you have to apply for a Social Security number when you arrive.

Visas - Both my wife and I are entering under an L1A status. That is a management intra-company transfer. The company lawyers pulled all the information from us and prepared the application forms. We were covered under a blanket L1A that the company had received from US immigration, so we just had to prove that we qualified as management transferrees who had been with the company in Canada for more than a year. You may want to do some research to determine what employment status you will be applying for entry under. Unless you can qualify under an L1B (unique skills- PhD, top experts etc) or a TN (free trade covered skills) you may have a very hard time convincing immigration to let you in. It is much better if you already have a job lined up, and the company can support your application.

Health care and other issues I still have to work through myself, so I cannot help you there.

Good luck with your relocation.

[Evilyne]

My husband is actually interviewing for an internal transfer, but my company won't be moving me down there as I work for municipal government up here, so they wouldn't even move me to another city in Canada. Is there any kind of program where the spouse of someone with a job down there gets a visa too or are we going to be down to one income?

I'd noticed the no basement thing and as I only use my basement for storage right now I'm not too concerned. As a townhouse-dweller any house at all will be an upgrade if I can afford it. One income might make that challenging though.

[iceshots]

You would most probably enter under an L2 status which is a dependant of an L1. We will be processing one for my daughter. I cannot remember if someone with an L2 status can work or not.

[y200]

Almost certainly, but you need to find a decent immigration attorney. It should only cost you a couple of grand to get it sorted, but it's better than dealing with it yourself.

[iceshots]

If your husband gets the transfer, negotiate with the company for them to hanle your visa needs as well. It should be standard practice. Cannot move the husband and leave the family behind.

[TerryDactyls]

There is a group in Austin called Canadians in Austin that get together periodically. I know a lot of them from the local hockey league and they invite me to things like the Canada Day celebration last month. When you get into town, head to the Paradise Cafe on 6th Street. They seem to congregate there (Molson, Labatts, etc).

[iceshots]

I was just thinking about the Canadians in Austin group. Last I checked their web site seemed to be dead. Is the group still active?

[TerryDactyls]

They celebrated Canada Day at the Paradise Cafe last month.