Alright I am going to toss the heavy sentimental stuff out the window for the moment and go on sheer "Life" discussions. If it was just me, I think Oregon would be my new home, but I have a wife and a 2 year old daughter.

30 years ago, everyone wanted to move to the USA and now we have people from the USA immigrating to Canada because of jobs and higher wages.


Here is the deal, we lease a $450,000 house at $2150 per month her.
Usually bills are about $5500 per month. That's food, rent and all the extras. ( 2 cars and insurance)

I have noted the cost of living in the states is 1/2 what it is in Canada, however your wages are horrid and the economy is in the tank.
You also have no government health care system. Side note, we as Canadians that make a household income of over $5500 per month have to pay $240 per month for health care to the government (thats for the 3 of us). And that does not cover vision or dental. It just covers 100% of Hospital and Medical Doctor visits.


My father passed away recently. He left behind a $300,000 home in Aurora oregon, $100,000 in Tools, and $100,000 in stocks, life insurance and other misc items.

I could sell it all off and split it with my sister and take the $250,000 back to Canada and use it for a down payment on a place. Housing prices in BC are sky high, housing prices in the USA are in the dump.

Or I could move my entire family to the USA. The house is 4 bedrooms, which sounds small but its not. It has 2 family rooms, a dining room, plus a seating area in the kitchen. A full completed Attic to live in, plus a full basement and 3 acres of land to play on. Its a huge house built in 1903. Its where I grew up in. I believe its around 5000sq feet in size. I Love the house, but hate the idea that I am taking my daughter into a country that is on the verge of a revolution or at the least an economic collapse.

I will need to find a job as a computer tech or Fiero mechanic very quickly, and she will need to find a job as a nurse very quickly. She is not a regular nurse she is an industrial first aid nurse. She works in factories and is certified to run fork lifts and other heavy equipment.

Me I fix Fiero's and Computers. Aurora does not have a single computer shop in the place, so I know I could start a business and be happy. However I am worried that as people get less money to live on, computer repairs and sports cars will slow down a fair bit. If I take the home from my sister she wants 130,000 cash up front payment to buy her out of her side of the house. I don't blame her, but that would leave me with a mortgage to pay.

My biggest fear is if Arianna our 2 year old daughter gets sick. What do we do. We obviously won't have any insurance when we get to Oregon, The best I could do is race her Back to Canada for treatment. It really sucks.

Can someone offer some good advice, is the American Dream still an option, or am I better off taking the money using it for a down payment in Canada where Lisa has a great job and I have a great job and paying 500,000 for a house instead of moving into my fathers and paying 125.000 for a house that is bigger, cooler and has 6x the amount of land to park a Fiero on.

I just can't decide what I want to do. Either way I am going to have at least 50,000 in my pocket to play with. Fix my teeth, my Fiero and give my wife proper lessons on how to drive a Standard Fiero. (She has a SBC V8 Fiero that she has driven twice because she does not know how to drive stick.



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85GT Soon to be 87GT,93 Eldorado 4.9, 5spd Dual O2 Custom Chip, Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything Capt Fiero --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Full Poly Suspension, Lowered 1/2" in front, Corner Carver.

[This message has been edited by Capt Fiero (edited 09-08-2011).]

Stay in Canada. The U.S. economy is going to collapse under the weight of our debt and moron politicians.

A house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I know what we were told our house was worth but there are 3 of them vacant because no one will pay that price.
Before you do anything have the house appraised at current market prices. You may find that even if you try to sell its going to take a long time to get the price you want.

If it was me I would move back where I was established.
If you do decide to stay pool your talents, start looking at jobs at medical facilities. Medical technician would be a good place to start until she can get her certification. Help desk tech at any large hospital would be a good starting place until you can learn and work your way up.

quote Originally posted by fierobear: Stay in Canada. The U.S. economy is going to collapse under the weight of our debt and moron politicians.

While we are not in Revolution (yet) due to the economy in the tank and what Bear said, I'd stay in Canada.

You could always rent the place in Oregon, then when the economy improves, move here, or use it as a second "vacation type" house.

Or at least wait for the economy (housing market) to improve before "flipping it."

I'm assuming you've already factored in US Estate Taxes if any apply.

I 2nd staying in Canada. Cost of living may be high, but it's offset by higher wages and your medical programs. US taxes are likely to raise significantly in the next decade, and I don't see a huge improvement in the long term US employment picture anytime soon. Your heart is likely to always be there, you seem to be relatively content with your present circumstances, and I don't see a whole lot of upside to you moving south other than the "free house" your father left you and your sister.
IMO, Canada, due to it's large size, relatively small population, and large mostly unexploited natural resources will be the better of the 2 choices for the future--I'm thinking of the 2 yr old in this as well. Should the current spate of US govt programs actually go into effect, you will find yourself in Oregon with most of the downsides of Canada and none of the upside. You also need to consider whether Oregon has a State income tax, and find out what the annual property taxes are on the piece of property you may live on. Property taxes in the US are levied by local govts (usually county) and can be substantial even with a homestead exemption.
Sorry to hear about your Dad.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 09-08-2011).]

So your Dad's house is paid for?

Would you have to pay some tax before you could live there?

Brad

I think Don's thoughts on the matter are very well thought out. He aptly said everything I was thinking and other points that never crossed my mind.

I wish I was surprised at the non-USA support here... but I am not. And while I am patriotic in the love of my country, I am also not blind enough to know that things are greener on this side of the border.

Cap... I am very sorry to read of your loss. May your family heal quickly and remember the good that your father did.

Oregon has no sales tax, but has a state income tax. You should prorbably be able to look up the taxes on the house on-line if you do not already know them. My biggest concern for you is healthcare costs (I sent a PM on this). Unless you work for a large corporation in the US, where you might get a great plan, you are basically relegated to lower coverage or no insurance which means big out of pocket expenses should you get sick. I know, I am there (sick that is, but with excellent coverage).

Good luck in your decision.
Jim

as I understand USA laws he should not pay any estate tax on 500k now to the feds
some states have different laws and limits so check that
BUT check Canada's they had lower limits so that may enter into this too

if you are a good wrench you will have no problem finding a job in most areas
but while I understand your love of Fiero's I would not limit youself to fixing only them
there is a wide range of FWD GM cars with the same bits to fix

medical esp nursing is high demand lower supply

The IRS is not very forgiving on assiging a vauation on deceased's assets. They insist a value be put on EVERYTHING. Clothing, home furnishings, pictures, knick knacks, big boy toys, vehicles, yard equipment, as well as the aforementioned $100K in stocks--the $300K home--the $100K tools. As far as the stocks go--the IRS will insist on placing a value on them relative to the closing market bell the day the owner died--not on today's market valuation.
If those taxes become much of an an issue, you might want to consider having a private and independant appraisal done, as the IRS is open to accepting an appraisal from local people who actualy are competent in the local valuations. BTDT

The American dream is still real. I make enough with our "crap wages" to cover your Canadian expenses...and I am a single family income. I have no college education and have made due with being great at being me.I don't know your skill set or anything about your really, but nurses, as far as I know, are ALWAYS employed here in the States. Insurance is a minor issue, Nurses typically get great insurance with their jobs. If you are that worried about it, go get a job at UPS. 5000sqft, unless you dirty Canadians use a different measuring system, is HUGE. 4 bedrooms is also huge. My home with a 3 car garage is 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It can be purchased for around $150,000 and is considered new construction, 2005. At about 2000sqft, it is comfortable for 2 adults who aren't sleeping together.

A side note, I love the name of your daughter.

Also, the next time you say derogatory things about my country, Uhlastan will blow your house up....and as FPSRussia says "As always, have nice day."

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What you just decide that I'm drunk? You can't decide that I'm drunk. I make that decision! That decision is mine and God's!

It has pretty much already been said. A lot of good advice here.

So, all I will do, is welcome you if you and your family come here. Heck, it would be great to meet you at Northwest Fierofest.

Tony

Edit: So very sorry for your loss. I know your charachter, and it was surely taught by your Father.

[This message has been edited by Tony Kania (edited 09-08-2011).]

I know Boondawg ditched the north....and I hate the winters....but try anywhere north of the top of lake Michigen...50 grand will get ya all the space to live ya need, firewood for heat is free for the taking, and food can be grown or shot or fished whenever ya please......I am 44 years old, and I still feel the call of the wild like I was 21 again.....dude, take that money and your girl--and run north

I was very tired and upset when I wrote the initial post and let the spell checker change few things wrong as well. I have edited it to correct the mistakes.

Ok to answer a few questions.
1st question was, about the sale price of the house. It was actually worth closer to the 500,000 mark. How the most recent appraisal came back with $300,000

Yes the house is paid off, my father paid off the mortgage years ago. He was one of those odd guys. (I loved him dearly though) He would make $100,000 a year. Have no mortgage on his house and still he would buy cars from an Auction and fix them up to drive. He loved the thrift stores and pawn shops. The only thing he bought a lot of brand new was Tools. Not just one of a tool, he would be 3, one for the home shop, one for his work and a 3rd as a spare in case either the house or work version broke. Its going to take me at least 2 months to clear out the house. As he also bought anything that caught his fancy. He's got 2 Pop machines in his dining room, from the 60's. They were meant for the old style pop bottles. Which turned out to be perfect for Wine Coolers / bottles of Beer, and Bottled Water. He fixed the refrigeration so they run nice and cool.


Ok my idea for Health insurance is to buy private insurance. I looked into the price and it would be about $500 a month from a place called Kaiser.
The Taxes on the house are $2400 per year. Plus insurance is another $1600 per year. bowrapennocks, how would I look them up online? I am going by old papers I have found, which I believe to be current, but finding out for sure might be worth my time to check.

Oregon has no sales tax at all, but it does have state income tax.

Honestly I don't know about estate tax, however we are paying a lawyer $200 per hour to help us sort out the financials. On top of the house and stocks to deal with, He had 6 cars and another dozen motorcycles that we are trying to get transfered into my name.

We are hoping that because the estate is being split in two. That neither of us is going to get hit really badly. I am worried though about Canada. If I file my taxes and tick off the little check box that says owns foreign property value of ....... They may want to call it income and tax me accordingly, and I can't afford to pay that much tax. One of my options is to live in both places. Well not really live, but keep a current Canadian address at my mothers place, and continue paying my medical insurance up here, while living in the states. Then if I end up with some really bad issue and need an extended hospital stay, back to Canada I come.

My other big problem beyond all my fathers stuff to sell is the stuff to save. I was not kidding about the $100,000 in tools. He was head of Maintenance for Johnson Controls which makes Interstate Batteries and Sears Die hard batteries. In the Canby Oregon plant. They had to rent a 5 ton truck just to bring his work tools home. The basement is so full of tools and shop equipment that you can't move around. I have counted 6 roll around top bottom box combos. Plus cabinets that are full, every which way I turn. I don't know how I would haul all the tools back to Canada, let alone where I would put them all. I just don't have the space to hold it all here, and my fathers tools are one of those things that I WON'T just sell off. Everything else fine, guns, cars, juke boxes, but the tools, I am saving.

Maybe it is best that I move to Canada, its just trying to decide how to bring 2 worlds together.

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85GT Soon to be 87GT,93 Eldorado 4.9, 5spd Dual O2 Custom Chip, Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything Capt Fiero --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Full Poly Suspension, Lowered 1/2" in front, Corner Carver.

Another thing you need to look into is your wife working here as a nurse. She might have to be tested to be certified to work here as one. She also may have immigration issues down the road, unless she applies for citizenship. You may have to sell your father's home so that your sister can get her fair share of the estate. You have to determine if the pluses outweight the negatives on this decision. I'm sorry to hear about your father's passing.

I think you've been given all the perspective needed to make an informed decision. That said, I'd probably go to Canada (and I can't believe I'm saying that).

Sorry for your loss.

[This message has been edited by Rainman (edited 09-08-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Capt Fiero: I was very tired and upset when I wrote the initial post and let the spell checker change few things wrong as well. I have edited it to correct the mistakes. Ok to answer a few questions. 1st question was, about the sale price of the house. It was actually worth closer to the 500,000 mark. How the most recent appraisal came back with $300,000

Appraised value and market value are often two very different animals.
You can check the appriased current value by going to the website of the county the property is located in--usually county clerk's section or appraisal district. You will need (probably) a title #, an abstract #, and perhaps a survey name. IOW, a number that identifies the said property according to that county's way of doing things.

As far as taxes goes in relation to the state/fed, we opted to pay all taxes before the property was divided. Paid them out of the estate itself instead of dividing and then leaving it up to all beneficiaries to fend for themselves. In my case, I took a bit of a hit on it as I had already purchased part of my "inheritance" but paying all taxes beforehand is the best way to go about it IMO. In Texas, it is required that the estate be vaued in total, rather than after division, as the IRS sees it as a single lump value on the DECEASED's property--not on the recipients of said property. Your attorney is best suited tho to inform you in this regard.
Please take special care to safeguard all papers you may find in regards to your Father's name, SS#, address, property, past taxes, and other items that might be used for identity theft, and always keep all those papers for any future litigation that may arise from county, IRS, or anything else. You will want to check all area banking facilities to ensure you are aware of any accounts your father might have had that you are currently not informed of. You'd be surprised how many older folks keep multiple accounts at different banks for various reasons--especially if they didn't trust a single bank. Good luck with it and don't let the estate come between you and any other loved ones--it ain't worth it.

Stay in Canada, for sure. Or if you come here, retain citizenship there so that if you get sick you can go back home for care. Guy up here's wife is from Canada and she did just that. Had some serious health problems a few years ago and went back for care, so they didn't have to declare bankruptcy and sell their house for medical costs.

An Update to this.

Over the last 6 months, Lisa and I had decided to move to the US. I had spent several months down in Oregon setting up the place, letting go of lots of items that we would not need and getting stuff ready. The US Immigration threw a wrench into it by telling me that my landed immigrant status in the states was no longer valid and my US Social Security number was no longer valid because I had been back in Canada for too long. It would take 12 yes, twelve years to get it back. In order to legally immigrate to the states the average person is in a line up that lasts 12 years. So we thought we were sunk. However we had one more card to play. Lisa's birth father (not on her birth certificate) is an American. Her Dad never married her Mom either, so there was no legal paperwork to show they were related. She knew who he was and we went to visit him several times over the years so its not like he was a stranger. Because he is an American it would technically give her Dual citizenship. However without any legal papers the US government would not recognize it. So off to the DNA testing place and got the positive match, got it notarized, and several appointments with US immigration, we have to pay $600 filing fee then wait on the US government to deny or accept the claim. So we are in a waiting game.

Now fast forward to last week. Lisa had been feeling like she had the flu. Then realized she had not had her monthly visit from the girlie stuff. She peed on the stick and looks like we are going to be parents for the 2nd time around. We had always planned on having 2, we were just not planning on it right now. So this puts the entire plan up in the air. If we move down, we don't know when we will end up with medical insurance, and even if we get it, how good or bad it will be. Also because we will be technically be home owners, we won't be eligible for any government medical, which used to be called the Oregon Health Plan. So having a baby out without insurance could be $25,000.

If we stay here, she gets great medical care from her OBGYN, plus her regular doctor, then when the baby is born a great hospital and to top it all off, she gets a full year of paid maternity leave . When Arianna was born a few years ago, it paid her $1600 per month for the full year she was off.

If we move, we could get stuck with a huge hospital bill, huge doctors bills and extremely tight finances while she is at home taking care of the baby.

So we have decided, that for the time being, at least a year, we will be staying in Canada. It just makes no sense at all, to move down to the US.

My grandmother is willing to stay at the house with my step grandfather for the time being. As she understands the situation we are in. So unless we get guaranteed jobs with top shelf medical down there, we will be staying here for the time being.


Does anyone else have any suggestions, comments or idea's. I just can't see any other decision at this point.

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857GT Part 85GT Part 87GT Part Caddy, 93 Eldorado 4.9, 5spd Dual O2 Custom Chip, Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything Now with Nitrous. Capt Fiero --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Full Poly Suspension, Lowered 1/2" in front, Corner Carver.

quote Originally posted by Capt Fiero: Does anyone else have any suggestions, comments or idea's. I just can't see any other decision at this point.

Stay in Canada. (As your primary residence) Your better off there. When you need to "get away" visit the US and go to that house (the one your dad had owned) to stay in during your visit.

[This message has been edited by htexans1 (edited 03-18-2012).]

I have not been here in a while, so first off my condolences for you loss.

Congratulations on the baby! It sounds like you are making the right decision for you current circumstances. I am not sure about currently, but 15 years ago I almost took an engineering job in canada, but the income taxes were very high and then I still had to pay medical insurance. I know I get my medical down here on my own for about $256 a month for myself and my wife.

I live in Arizona, which was hit very hard by the down turn in home prices but things are not as bad as many like to say.

In the long run the best decision is what works best for your family, good luck and congrats again on the new baby.

Have the baby in the state..an anchor baby for sure. It works for those on the southern border.