Canada 2010-2011?

Chet Zar

Captain Pillowcase wrote: »

Hey,
Saw a few posts there saying people were looking to get jobs in the area's they are working in at the moment at home and not to be a neggie nora and all but here's a heads up. I am in Vancouver and have been since June, trust me I have sent out 100's of resumes and my friend even more. It's hard to get something in the line you are working in now, it's still the re-keck here too and same as us they are giving to their own first as they have Canadian experiance and they can stay with the company for longer than the year. You can send off loads of resumes and cover letters and not hear back a tap for weeks. Supermarkets and coffee shops and bars are the best bet and for bars you need to get a "Serve it Right" cert that costs 40 bucks. Things are a touch on the pricey side in Van, say good bye to chicken its for the rich! I kid you not. I know I had looked at people posting things like this before I left and thought "Kill Joy" but they were right. I am not saying it's impossible but just be open minded to the fact you might not get an office job or a bank job etc and be open to the fact you might be working in a supermarket, bar or coffee shop. Bring as much money as you can and go easy on it for the first few weeks. Landlords can only as for you rent and a half months rent as security when you get somewhere. Kits can be expensive, Comm/Broadway is a good bet as is Mt. Pleasant etc. Look for Skytrain routes and Bus routes. As long as you are within walking distance of these you are good, and don't forget Van is HUGE! I get the 99 home from work just before midnight most nights and people be prep'ed for butts in your face at all hours! And hope no one blows off as some don't have air con. Yes some one ripped close to my head last night, not nice farty mc blowhole not nice.
So look, the place is nice loads of heads from home around Kits etc so you will feel as if you never left, except you can't get 2 chicken breasts for less than $6! And just remember you may not end up with what you thought, just keep an open mind!
For cheap foods, we found Wal-Mart at Lougheed brill. Its right on the sky-train, hence why I say this one and if ye go after 6.30 at night or on the weekends its only the 1 zone fare so cheaper again. Their Good Value range is as it says good value. Noodle 25c rice $1.50(ish) etc but then add on HST.

Thanks for letting us know how you're getting on. Mind if I ask what area of work you were applying to?

Captain Pillowcase

I applied for anything and everything. Cleaner, Cashier, Bank Clerk, Coffee Shops and some I can't even remember but thought what the hell!

I used Craigs List, Kijiji, Bcjobs, Monster, Workopolis, Canada Job Bank, JobisJob and a few others. I had a few different Resumes that my friend had done up for me and different cover letters too. I looked in Swap, I took resumes with me when we went out and handed them to Managers in stores we were in and filled out loads of online question forms asking everything only stopping short of asking for my knicker size!

Just be aware it may take a while and they can take a few weeks to even call you back so hence the take it easy on your money bit. And in some places wages are low you could end up working 6 days a week and you may not get 40 hours. But then you could be really lucky and find an awesome job straight off the bat, I can only tell you what it was like for me and a few of the others I have talked to here. Forewarned and all that.

I wish everyone the best of luck in coming here, I know that things are not great at home and coming to Canada you can escape some of the doom and gloom of back home with levies and job cuts but just rememeber that even though Canada has been lucky and not been hit as hard they were still hit so its a good idea to bear that in mind when looking. I didn't put that I only had a 1 year Visa on my resume but if you get a call back they know by your accent.

I hope that this helps a little, don't let me put you off coming as I said I can only share my experiance with you and some of what others have told me. But others may have a diff point of view in how it went for them and it's good to be able to weigh up everything good and not so good before heading out. I would suggest keeping moving money aside in case you need to up sticks and move to another city or prov. Just in case =]

Chet Zar

Captain Pillowcase wrote: »

I applied for anything and everything. Cleaner, Cashier, Bank Clerk, Coffee Shops and some I can't even remember but thought what the hell!

I used Craigs List, Kijiji, Bcjobs, Monster, Workopolis, Canada Job Bank, JobisJob and a few others. I had a few different Resumes that my friend had done up for me and different cover letters too. I looked in Swap, I took resumes with me when we went out and handed them to Managers in stores we were in and filled out loads of online question forms asking everything only stopping short of asking for my knicker size!

Just be aware it may take a while and they can take a few weeks to even call you back so hence the take it easy on your money bit. And in some places wages are low you could end up working 6 days a week and you may not get 40 hours. But then you could be really lucky and find an awesome job straight off the bat, I can only tell you what it was like for me and a few of the others I have talked to here. Forewarned and all that.

I wish everyone the best of luck in coming here, I know that things are not great at home and coming to Canada you can escape some of the doom and gloom of back home with levies and job cuts but just rememeber that even though Canada has been lucky and not been hit as hard they were still hit so its a good idea to bear that in mind when looking. I didn't put that I only had a 1 year Visa on my resume but if you get a call back they know by your accent.

I hope that this helps a little, don't let me put you off coming as I said I can only share my experiance with you and some of what others have told me. But others may have a diff point of view in how it went for them and it's good to be able to weigh up everything good and not so good before heading out. I would suggest keeping moving money aside in case you need to up sticks and move to another city or prov. Just in case =]

Cool - I think the main thing is being flexible and I'm definitely going to be open to doing jobs that I wouldn't normally go for. All part of the experience too in a way.

So did you go for career jobs initially? Are you just out of college or were you working in a career job before you went out to Vancouver?

Black Swan

Boards.ie North America forum has been growing over the past year with its representation of Canada, so in time we should be very competitive with other sites. So when you move to Canada, take us with you by posting here. If Canadian posts continue to grow in our forum, eventually it may justify a separate Canada forum hosted by boards.ie.

inode

I applied for anything and everything. Cleaner, Cashier, Bank Clerk, Coffee Shops and some I can't even remember but thought what the hell!

I used Craigs List, Kijiji, Bcjobs, Monster, Workopolis, Canada Job Bank, JobisJob and a few others. I had a few different Resumes that my friend had done up for me and different cover letters too. I looked in Swap, I took resumes with me when we went out and handed them to Managers in stores we were in and filled out loads of online question forms asking everything only stopping short of asking for my knicker size!

Just be aware it may take a while and they can take a few weeks to even call you back so hence the take it easy on your money bit. And in some places wages are low you could end up working 6 days a week and you may not get 40 hours. But then you could be really lucky and find an awesome job straight off the bat, I can only tell you what it was like for me and a few of the others I have talked to here. Forewarned and all that.

I wish everyone the best of luck in coming here, I know that things are not great at home and coming to Canada you can escape some of the doom and gloom of back home with levies and job cuts but just rememeber that even though Canada has been lucky and not been hit as hard they were still hit so its a good idea to bear that in mind when looking. I didn't put that I only had a 1 year Visa on my resume but if you get a call back they know by your accent.

I hope that this helps a little, don't let me put you off coming as I said I can only share my experiance with you and some of what others have told me. But others may have a diff point of view in how it went for them and it's good to be able to weigh up everything good and not so good before heading out. I would suggest keeping moving money aside in case you need to up sticks and move to another city or prov. Just in case =]

what sort of rent are you paying and how much money did you bring over with you?
we're heading over in january 10th

Chet Zar

Blue_Lagoon wrote: »

Boards.ie North America forum has been growing over the past year with its representation of Canada, so in time we should be very competitive with other sites. So when you move to Canada, take us with you by posting here. If Canadian posts continue to grow in our forum, eventually it may justify a separate Canada forum hosted by boards.ie.

+1.

I notice that there are millions of posts by people on their way over there, but very few from people after they actually get there. Would be great to hear a lot more from people on the ground!

dceire

Hi guys, Dave here. I'm heading over to Vancouver solo on Wednesday.

I think I've hit the stage of nervous excitement but just want to get going at this stage. I have 7 days booked at the Cambie Hostel on Seymour but am looking to get sorted with a house/apartment.

Hoping to get a place in Kitsilano or Downtown. If a few other boardsies are in a similar situation and interested in getting together to rent a place drop me a PM. I'm on here daily so I'll get back to you soon enough.

Best of luck to everyone heading over

CiaranMT

Blue_Lagoon wrote: »

Boards.ie North America forum has been growing over the past year with its representation of Canada, so in time we should be very competitive with other sites. So when you move to Canada, take us with you by posting here. If Canadian posts continue to grow in our forum, eventually it may justify a separate Canada forum hosted by boards.ie.

I will try to, but do you know of any Canadian-based sites?

Chet Zar

CiaranMT wrote: »

I will try to, but do you know of any Canadian-based sites?

Ask and you shall receive

Edit - that's prob more for people moving to and from the country....not sure if you'll find the equivalent of boards.ie....much bigger country for starters needless to say.

Captain Pillowcase

I only brought about 2500, stupid in hindsight, but you know what they say it being 20/20 and all.

The rent we are paying $1350 per month but its furnished and all util are inc. This seems fairly average to be honest.

I never expected to find something that I was working in back home, I was a Play School Teacher and I wanted a break so I knew I would be working in something like a supermarket etc. Am working in Tim Hortens! Donuts all round =]

But BC has low min wage. It starts about the 8.30 mark ph. So if you get 40 hours a week you can make rent and a little food. I work roughly 55-60 hours a week.

Hope this helps! Oh the weather here at the mo is 28 as I type and yesterday it was hotter =]

shipwreck

However Im in Toronto...the minimum wage here is $10.25, the highest in Canada, I make at the moment $14 an hour working in a bank!
Rent for me is $700 with utilities and I was lucky in that i got lots of furniture from my canadian housemates.
I had roughly $11,000 with me but it goes fast. little easier now that I'm earning. It took 6 weeks to find a job and I also handed out loads of resumes.

No Frills is great for the shopping. I found somewhere to live on craiglist.

Everyone gets the fear when they get out here, that there will be no jobs or hard to get somewhere to live...preserve and you will succeed!

Toronto is a great city, the weather is fab, the people are great and there is always loads to do. If you like city living, shopping, food and culture. This is the town for you....if you want mountains look elsewhere!

ciaran67

shipwreck wrote: »

However Im in Toronto...the minimum wage here is $10.25, the highest in Canada, I make at the moment $14 an hour working in a bank!
Rent for me is $700 with utilities and I was lucky in that i got lots of furniture from my canadian housemates.
I had roughly $11,000 with me but it goes fast. little easier now that I'm earning. It took 6 weeks to find a job and I also handed out loads of resumes.

No Frills is great for the shopping. I found somewhere to live on craiglist.

Everyone gets the fear when they get out here, that there will be no jobs or hard to get somewhere to live...preserve and you will succeed!

Toronto is a great city, the weather is fab, the people are great and there is always loads to do. If you like city living, shopping, food and culture. This is the town for you....if you want mountains look elsewhere!

The two previous posts really goes to prove how much more expensive Vancouver is. If you are looking at a year visas, which will put you into lower earning jobs, you really need to go where there is more work and that would defo be TO over Vancouver.

Zapp Brannigan

Paid off USIT today. Now I just have to look forward to Jan 17th!

Flying to Vancouver but dunno if I'll be saying there yet.

Limerick_Lass

I paid off USIT today aswell, everything more or less sorted.... leaving in 5 weeks :eek:
Wont have half as much money as I hoped unfortunately. Must get some work references organised. Thinking of staying in a hostel for a week and see how things are. Im hoping to get a job in whistler or some other resort for the winter season.

dceire

After 8 months of applications, planning and furious saving I fly out to Vancouver tomorrow. :eek:

I think I've hit the stage of nervous excitement but just want to get going at this stage. I have 7 days booked at the Cambie Hostel on Seymour but am looking to get sorted with a house/apartment.

Hoping to get a place in Kitsilano or Downtown. If a few other boardsies are in a similar situation and interested in getting together to rent a place drop me a PM. I'm on here daily so I'll get back to you soon enough.

Not sure what to expect. Wish me luck

kallstrom86

i just got quoted 990euro return to Toronto with Usit. Flying out end of October, including insurance. Am i being ripped off?

tenchi-fan

kallstrom86 wrote: »

i just got quoted 990euro return to Toronto with Usit. Flying out end of October, including insurance. Am i being ripped off?

possibly. try shopping around.. Air Canada, Aer Lingus and BA all have website.
As for travel insurance backpackertravelinsurance.ie are €200.

ogriofa

kallstrom86 wrote: »

i just got quoted 990euro return to Toronto with Usit. Flying out end of October, including insurance. Am i being ripped off?

Hiya, reckon so. I paid 650 for flights and insurance.
Theres no rules about booking having to book through them.

lilmissbadass

kallstrom86 wrote: »

i just got quoted 990euro return to Toronto with Usit. Flying out end of October, including insurance. Am i being ripped off?

i shopped around for the same flights at the end of october. british airways quoted me 745 return and backpackers quoated me insurance for 400 which included winter sports. in total this was 1145 and thats without booking flights to london and taking into acount that you cant book your return flight 1 year in advance which cost extra to change them if you book independantly. usit on the other hand quoted me 1030 for the lot plus a sim card and 1 free flights change so in my opionion i found usit to be the better offer plus you dont have the hassel of having to do all the work yourself you just tell usit when u want to fly and then they do all the work while u sit back and relax

ciaran67

kallstrom86 wrote: »

i just got quoted 990euro return to Toronto with Usit. Flying out end of October, including insurance. Am i being ripped off?

Have a look at flying into Detriot or Buffalo. We used to fly into Seattle for Vancouver, much cheaper.

CiaranMT

Chet Zar wrote: »

Ask and you shall receive

Edit - that's prob more for people moving to and from the country....not sure if you'll find the equivalent of boards.ie....much bigger country for starters needless to say.

Thanks Chet Zar, that looks to be of some use.

Limerick_Lass

Busy busy researching... with just over a month to go Im still unsure where to go in Canada :rolleyes:
Flying into Vancouver, probably stay for a week and make my mind up then, just hope i get a job soon enough. Its all getting very exciting now. Looking forward to living the Canadian way but hope to meet up with the few irish too, for the bit of banter
Any tips appreciated from those there & best of luck to all heading over.

Limerick_Lass

ciaran67 wrote: »

Have a look at flying into Detriot or Buffalo. We used to fly into Seattle for Vancouver, much cheaper.

Would there be a problem though flying into the states with that visa? Say crossing the border ect.? Just curious, because it does sound like a good plan.

ogriofa

Limerick_Lass wrote: »

Would there be a problem though flying into the states with that visa? Say crossing the border ect.? Just curious, because it does sound like a good plan.

Hiya,
Im gonna guess that its fine, as long as you dont leave the airport. I reckon its a slightly different version of a stoppover flights (as per flying to Aus, you stop over in Singapore, but without a singaporean visa)

Maybe someone else has actually done it?

Chet Zar

CiaranMT wrote: »

Thanks Chet Zar, that looks to be of some use.

No worries, seems to be tonnes of info on there.

citytillidie

I went to Montreal via a week in California with no issue at all.

Did not need a Visa for the States just did that ESTA and was fine

dceire

Any boards heads up for getting together to watch the footie somewhere over the weekend in Vancouver?

I'm in the Cambie on Seymour and Malones underneath supposedly shows the games but I'm open to suggestion.

CiaranMT

Just a question about adapters and voltage...

I'm bringing my laptop, phone and other things, with UK plugs. I have a North American adapter.. I'm just wondering if I need to buy a special type of adapter? I know that they operate on lower voltages over there so would I need one with an in-built transformer?

Reney

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has been asked to supply an Australian police cert for their 2010 visa application? USIT have just sent my visa app and all my docs off to Canada for processing but they advised that I apply for an Australian police cert now because although it is no longer an essential pre-requisite to provide this, some people have been asked at random to supply it and it can take up to 6 weeks to come through. It also costs $120 and I would have to get official police fingerprints taken for it. Has anyone else been asked for this or know the likelihood of being asked for it?

Thanks

Reney

lil_lisa

You can use just plain power adapters, it just won't give enough energy. For example, my laptop takes a little bit longer to charge but it's not a big deal so I just use an adapter, my hair straightener doesn't get the full amount of heat so I need a voltage converter/transformer to use this properly.

Basically, it depends on what you're plugging in. If it will run fine with just an adapter, there's no need to get a converter.