Cutting lines from Canada

[vladkri]

Greetings,
Plan to to leave this cold place for a while, maybe a long while.
Stay in warm places for years and maybe return one day.
Anyone can share experiences and strategies how to deal with
big things. Such as OHIP will be gone, driver license will be gone, no
Canadian address anymore. Health insurance, boat insurance
possible before leaving, worth it? I'd rather pay in CAD for these.
How would you access your money? Leave it at a Canadian bank and
transfer some place else?
Pointers to blogs or books are appreciated.
Cheers,
VK

[Hudson Force]

VK, Welcome to the community! I have no Canadian insights for you and no advice about cruising out of Canada, but I would say that there is much to offer in the lower latitudes. We've spent many wonderful decades living aboard and cruising out of Florida.

[Mike OReilly]

Hi vladkri, there are quite a few active Canadians on CF with plenty of experience cruising off. I’m still in Canada, although now call our boat home.

That’s quite the collection of questions. You might get better responses if you take them one or two at a time. Some of your questions depend on residency and locality.

OHIP will cease if you are out of the province for more than seven months out of 12. Then it’s private insurance or pay-as-you-go.

Driver license can be renewed remotely until you need a new photo. After that I’m not sure. There are international drivers licenses you can get, but I don’t know anything more than that. Passport would be something you want to keep on top of.

Boat insurance … money answers all questions here. You can buy insurance for pretty much anything. Cost will vary.

Not much problem getting access to your Canadian bank account in most places around the world now. Many Canadian cruisers set up American $ accounts. There are lots of ways to minimize financial fees.

Tons of books, and even more blogs. Google is your friend.

Anyway, welcome. If you can ask a more specific question you will get lots of answers from experienced Canadian cruisers.

P.S. Warmth is over-rated. I’m headed to Newfoundland .

[AiniA]

Originally Posted by vladkri

Greetings,
Plan to to leave this cold place for a while, maybe a long while.
Stay in warm places for years and maybe return one day.
Anyone can share experiences and strategies how to deal with
big things. Such as OHIP will be gone, driver license will be gone, no
Canadian address anymore. Health insurance, boat insurance
possible before leaving, worth it? I'd rather pay in CAD for these.
How would you access your money? Leave it at a Canadian bank and
transfer some place else?
Pointers to blogs or books are appreciated.
Cheers,
VK

We were out of Canada for seven years - five living onboard in NYC and five years off cruising. Here are a few thoughts. Keep a Canadian address - a relative or a friend. You can keep your Ontario license. We rented cars in half a dozen countries without a problem. Health insurance is a huge concern when you are in the US but not much of a problem elsewhere especially if you are healthy to start. Doctor and even hospital costs in other countries are more reasonable than Canada. We had one major medical bill in South Africa ($5000) for an operation and five nights in hospital after an accident (crushed hand). Even there we could have gone to the public hospital and it would have been free (even for a visitor), although the care would not have been as good as in the fancy, private hospital we went to. Saw a doctor at the private hospital in Fiji and it cost $6 for the Aussie trained doctor.

You can get boat insurance before you leave. You need to decide if you want full coverage, liability, or none. There are a couple of companies that provide worldwide coverage for cruisers. These companies are in the US or Europe so you pay in those currencies.

When we left the first time we took about $9000 in US currency but found out we did not need to do so and take the risks associated. In many/most countries you
can use credit cards (although their use is not as ubiquitous as here). Cash machines are available basically everywhere. It is a good idea to have a few hundred dollars US to pay for things like customs fees when you arrive in a country, before you find the machine. Better to have twenties and singles than hundreds since they may not have change and you might end paying $100 for a $25 charge.

Also consider income tax considerations. You will still need to pay Canadian taxes on foreign earnings, if any. With tax treaties this may not be a problem but you still need to file.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, VK.

[vladkri]

Thanks everyone