Canada 2010-2011?

amber23

Canada wrote: »

lol it just comes up with a page with only one fan, what am i doing wrong?

heres the link:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Irish-Invasion-of-Canada-2010/230232657214?ref=nf

inode

i just sent away for my garda cert today. can i send my application without the garda cert or do i have to wait till its in to send all the stuff?

dceire

Just booked my place on the student programme and am now officially €400 worse off :mad:

A quick question about the departure date you had to give in the booking process. Is that date set in stone now or can I change it at all?

lisab22

dceire wrote: »

Just booked my place on the student programme and am now officially €400 worse off :mad:

A quick question about the departure date you had to give in the booking process. Is that date set in stone now or can I change it at all?

ya u can change it id say coz they just sed estimated date so i wouldnt say its set in stone

lisab22

jasonf wrote: »

got this info from usits website

Can I complete my medical at anytime?No, you must wait until after you have received the medical forms from USIT. You will receive these 4 to 6 weeks after your documents have been submitted to the Canadian High Commission.

i emailed them yday and then sent me the forms via email.

dceire

lisab22 wrote: »

ya u can change it id say coz they just sed estimated date so i wouldnt say its set in stone

Yea, I thought as much but you never can be too sure with that USIT lot.

Speaking of which do we have any choice when it comes to booking flights or is it a must that we book them through USIT?

JohnMearsheimer

Can't seem to book a place at all. Website is running really slow. Rang them but you can't book over the phone:mad:

JohnMearsheimer

Mr.S wrote: »

Its slow, but just be patient. It eventually loads.

It finally did....it only took an hour and a half. Thank christ I only pressed the submit registration button once!

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

JohnMearsheimer

Mr.S wrote: »

I'm not sure when you can book flights/insurance. I assume once USIT process everything they'll give you the flights/insurance they have to available. Apparently though, you can book your own flights and insurance, but have to pay USIT a 40€ "fee" for doing so.

I'm guessing thats the way it goes. heard too that if you give usit 40€ they will let you do a diy job on flights and insurance. Hope its true.

JohnMearsheimer

Mr.S wrote: »

Well you can deff book your own flights/insurance but it could be €80 for both (40€ charge each)

If you look here

http://canada.usit.ie/student-programme/flights-and-insurance/

It says:

"Sssh... Super special offer if you book flights and insurance with USIT this year... We will pay the Canadian High Commission fee for you...(worth at least €95!)"

But, we've already payed that (part of the 399€ fee) so its a bit confusing.

Had a look there too. It's a bit confusing alrite. As I understood it the €95 was incorporated into the €399 fee. Maybe they will knock €95 off the bill for flights and insurance if you go through them. I liked the free flight change. I had to change a date for an Aer Lingus flight I was on in November by a day and got charged €150 for it.

JohnMearsheimer

Mr.S wrote: »

Apparently though, flights for the west coast through USIT are in the range of 800€ and the insurance is around 200€, which is madness. I can get flights at the moment for 450€ return by doing it myself :rolleyes:

Ya, usit are meant to be quite steep for flights and insurance. Its no harm to see what they are offering but from what I've read on Boards I wouldn't hold my breath:)

karlcox2

JohnMearsheimer wrote: »

Had a look there too. It's a bit confusing alrite. As I understood it the €95 was incorporated into the €399 fee. Maybe they will knock €95 off the bill for flights and insurance if you go through them. I liked the free flight change. I had to change a date for an Aer Lingus flight I was on in November by a day and got charged €150 for it.

ye they knock 95 off the price but to be honest they charge alot more than others so your still better off going elsewhere

onemorechance

Scien wrote: »

Am I getting this right, you can apply now & if successful you pay €399 within 40 days.
Then you have until Jan 31st 2011 to leave; I.e you have a few months to save for flights & insurance etc.?

You need to pay the 400 when you apply, this is Canadian Embassy fees, usit administration fees etc. Once you get a confirmed place, like an email a day or two later you have 40 days to sent in all your documents.

Edit: What I am doing to maximise my saving time is to wait near to the end of the 40 days to send in my documents, then it takes up to 8 weeks for these to process. I'm not sure how long after this you need to book and pay for flights. I don't plan to leave til October. You are correct that you can delay leaving until Jan 2011.

jasonf

Mr.S wrote: »

Apparently though, flights for the west coast through USIT are in the range of 800€ and the insurance is around 200€, which is madness. I can get flights at the moment for 450€ return by doing it myself :rolleyes:

hey thats a good price so it is, would ya mind me asking what website you got that of so i can have a look, thanks

jimmypitt

jasonf wrote: »

hey thats a good price so it is, would ya mind me asking what website you got that of so i can have a look, thanks

Try www.kayak.com...You can get return flights to Vancouver from Cork or Shannon for 488 Euro. Probably even cheaper if you fly out from Dublin.

Outlawtorn

Heading to Toronto in August with my girlfriend ( canadian) when she goes home. Just gonna live and work in Toronto for a year and see what happens...

Anybody been quoted for flights and insurance yet??

Carter96

Vancouver all the way! Just got back from there again a few weeks ago. The old man lives there and got lots of friends there now so...can't wait!! Great place.

Aiming for July but realistically it'll be winter

Carter96

Oh yeah - I wouldn't recommend Air Canada - they're awful to fly with.

Jestershire

Vancouver is a fantastic city for all those heading this way. You do pay a premium for living here and in British Columbia in general, but from my past 2 and a half years here it's definitely worth it.

Things will get even more expensive in the near future though with the introduction of the HST (essentially a Canadian version of VAT). Affects Ontario as well, so you're unlikely to avoid it no matter where you go, save for Alberta and the likes.

Good luck to all making the hop across the pond

colin29

Make sure to bring some tea with you, black tea here is crap and to buy Barrys here in Vancouver is $10 a box.

Carter96

colin29 wrote: »

Make sure to bring some tea with you, black tea here is crap and to buy Barrys here in Vancouver is $10 a box.

What you suggest bringing a year's supply of tea!?

Carter96

Mr.S wrote: »

As a matter of interest, whats the price of a beer in say a bar and a supermarket?

And cigarettes:)?

Smokes are about $8- $10 a pack if I remember correctly.

colin29

Mr.S wrote: »

As a matter of interest, whats the price of a beer in say a bar and a supermarket?

And cigarettes:)?

Beer can be bought in a liquor store, not a supermarket, in Vancouver a six pack will cost you about $8-$13 depending on what you want, lots of micro breweries in this country, at a bar you can get beer by the jug in some places which is always cheaper than a glass, you don't get pints here unless it's import like Guinness etc, expect to pay between $5 and $7 but you can find places that'll sell it cheaper, college nights and that kind of thing.
Don't smoke myself so can't tell you much on that I just know that it's expensive.

colin29

Carter96 wrote: »

What you suggest bringing a year's supply of tea!?

Two to three boxes at least, depends on how much you like tea, you will find it very hard to like the muck they have here, my wife is Canadian and can't stand the stuff, she insists we pay the money and get Barrys, when we go back to Cork we make sure we bring back a few boxes.

colin29

Carter96 wrote: »

Oh yeah - I wouldn't recommend Air Canada - they're awful to fly with.

This is good advice, nothing but a pain in the backside the two time I flew with them, KLM or British Airways are good options.

Carter96

colin29 wrote: »

Two to three boxes at least, depends on how much you like tea, you will find it very hard to like the muck they have here, my wife is Canadian and can't stand the stuff, she insists we pay the money and get Barrys, when we go back to Cork we make sure we bring back a few boxes.

I don't mind it at all to be honest. I think if people are going traveling and looking for an experience then I think should leave the Barry's or whatever at home. Just my humble opinion on matters such at these.

lonny

what irish banks are affiliated with oz banks can anyone tell me

Taz79

lonny wrote: »

what irish banks are affiliated with oz banks can anyone tell me

AIB...I went into them last week and explained the situation..they have an affiliation with a bank based in sydney..basically I got an international cheque in aussie dollars. I had to pay for it on the spot so you may be able to get one if you are not a customer or just get someone who is.
They wrote the address of the aussie bank on the cheque so Im guessing the money goes to them and then on to the Aus fed police when they cash it

Jestershire

Shootenanny wrote: »

Hi all

Planning on applying for the 1 yr student work visa to canada (vancouver) and will be travelling on my lonesome...am really excited about the whole experience..but am also a tinchy bit nervous because have never travelled so far alone before..
Would love to hear the experiences of others who went over alone...like how easy is it to meet people and what kind of social scene is there over in vancouver?..are the people generally a friendly sort?
Also am debating whether to register myself as a nurse over there..if anyone else has experience of this would love some advice because seems like a lot of hassle/money and not sure if employers would take on a nurse who is only going to be there for a limited time.
Hope I posted this in the right place..if not please redirect me.

Thank You!!:)

I made the lonely trip over myself in November of 2007 and haven't looked back.

I actually didn't have the best of starts on the trip, mostly down to my mistakes in planning things out. I originally flew directly to Toronto with the intention of starting out and traveling from there. It really wasn't the place for me as I was looking more for big mountains, beautiful views, etc. The kinds of things you'd be hard pressed to find in Dublin

From there I booked a flight over to Vancouver and have been loving it. I started in hostels in Toronto which is a really great way to meet fellow travelers. You'll usually run into a few Irish people wherever you stay and from there can get the lay of the land.

When I got to Vancouver I actually didn't bother with hostels and just booked into a hotel downtown for a few days as I knew I was going to be looking for accommodation / work pretty sharpish. Lucked out and got a great apartment right away in a suburb about 30 minutes from the city. Had a pretty cool roommate so it was easy enough to meet people from there.

Guess it all really depends on whether you're thinking of traveling or working right away. Hostels for the former, your roommates, etc. for the latter are the easiest ways to meet people. The folks here are really friendly, so you'll have good craic on hockey nights in the pub

PM me if you have any other questions, and enjoy the adventure!