True Canadian Winter! Our First Taste!

When we were preparing to come to Canada, a lot of people thought we were mad to come here and deal with the harsh winter. We were aware that the winter was going to be tough and that is why we chose to enter the country in summer and get ourselves totally acclimatised to the changing weather. In the end it turned out to be a great idea as when Toronto was hit with its first snow storm for 2007, we were well prepared.

Thanksgiving 2007 in the US signalled the day for the arrival of the early winter in Canada and we woke up to snow filled roads and driveways. To me this was the first time that I have ever seen the white stuff and I was totally excited and thrilled. Walking in the snow and leaving my footprints excited me even more.

Sadly that feeling wasn't the same for most drivers as we recorded an accident a minute that day. The traffic on the roads were extremely slow, several GO Buses and Trains were cancelled or delayed. Local Transit was affected too and schools were called off.



To give the local community services credit all was okay by the evening and the roads had been cleared out and salted. The highways clear and the trains and buses had started gaining some normalcy. The best part of the depressing weather were the radio stations who chose to make the most of it and played Christmas Music all day long. It has been Christmas season ever since on the radio.

Getting Adequate Cover!

When you plan to move to Canada another major cost that you need to factor in, is for the 'what if' something goes wrong. For this reason it is important that you cover all your important belongings with adequate insurance. There is a school of thought that argues against getting adequate cover, however, if you want peace of mind then adequate insurance cover is a must.

Given the nature of uncertainties in North America, the insurance sector is always booming. Many people do not pay adequate attention to their insurance needs especially the younger lot. Also, since there are so many choices most people aren't always sure of what cover to get.

The most important coverage is Car Insurance. Like I have said in the past, a car is a necessity in several parts of Canada. There is an average of 2.5 cars per household in Canada, the most in the world. In order to keep the roads safe with so many cars around, insurance premiums on cars are very high. As you graduate with your license the insurance costs come down drastically. Any accident blows your insurance cover through the roof.

Another important insurance cover is Home Insurance. It is extremely advisable to insurance the exterior and interior of your home. It is your greatest asset and it is always advisable to protect all your belongings. Home Insurance is available at a fraction of the cost when compared to Car Insurance and if you couple the two you can save a lot overall.

The other important insurance is Life Insurance. You may wonder as why to I have it on as number three on the list. It isn't so and that is because most people are aware of what Life Insurance is and how important it is to have one.

There are other types of cover such as mortgage insurance, loan protection insurance, credit card protection and unemployment insurance. When buying a home if you do not make a 25% down payment, the finance company imposes a mortgage insurance in order to protect their interests. This protects the loan that they give you and should you default on the loan payment, the insurance company covers the loss.

There are other insurance products available to protect various debts, however, do not rate very highly in my books. I am not a big fan of these and it is a personal choice on using products of this nature.

Home Inspection!

If you choose to bite the bullet and buy a home, it is extremely important that you budget a home inspection in all your expenses. Contrary to advice that you will get from people around a good home inspection will save you a lot of money and heartache.

A good home inspector takes into account all aspects of your house to ensure that your dream home is safe and free from any immediate danger. The saying 'don't judge a book by its cover' is apt in this situation. The house that you choose may look perfect from the outside, however, it may not always be true.

A thorough inspection will give you a complete report of the minor, average and major problems that are currently present in the home that you are looking to buy. In addition to that the Home Inspector also puts in recommendations that you would have to take care off when you move. The inspection covers almost all aspects of the house, however, will not cover specifics such as whether there is power running through each electrical point. This is something that you will have to do yourself.

The inspection will give you a good idea about the structure of your home, the state of the roof, inspect for leaks, age and condition of the furnace, air conditioner, boiler and other electrical components. It also looks at the attic, crawl spaces if any, plumbing, leaks etc.

So if you are buying a home, please invest in a good inspection to save you the pain when you move in and discover it yourself.

End of Summer Time!

Working with US based organizations for over seven years now, I've always wondered what it meant when clocks changed. 'Spring Forward, Fall Back' is the catch phrase we used to explain the phenomenon to our employees. For the first time this year, I experienced the Fall Back.

To me it is no different. It is just that we are now doing things an hour later though the watch tells you a different story. It just gets darker and brighter earlier than what it did a week ago.

There is great debate that Summer Time is a phenomenon that is used to keep shops open longer so that the economy benefits. Adding or losing an hour doesn't particularly have any scientific explanation. I must mention here that I have not done any research on this and it is just a phenomenon that I have experienced here.

To me in Spring Time we will do things at the right time and not an hour later :-)