The Vancouver Thread

Faith

A thread for all things Vancouver! Chat, discuss, ask questions, arrange meet-ups, whatever!

Faith

Phew, now that I'm doing spamming the bejaysus out of the forum with new threads, time to talk about Vancouver! My fiancé and I are heading over in late August, most likely. I'm so excited about it! I've never been, but I've heard such amazing things. I'm delighted to be so close to Seattle as well, and I'm already dreaming of trips down the coast to California!

We haven't researched neighbourhoods yet though. I'd love a sea view, but I imagine rent is seriously high for that!

ciaran67

Faith wrote: »

Phew, now that I'm doing spamming the bejaysus out of the forum with new threads, time to talk about Vancouver! My fiancé and I are heading over in late August, most likely. I'm so excited about it! I've never been, but I've heard such amazing things. I'm delighted to be so close to Seattle as well, and I'm already dreaming of trips down the coast to California!

We haven't researched neighbourhoods yet though. I'd love a sea view, but I imagine rent is seriously high for that!

And they've just predicted us to have a very dry very hot summer. Never had a bad one here but 98, our first, was mental. Summer is Vancouver is unbeatable.

Good luck

PS We were cycling along the beach from Redondo to Hermosa Beach California not three weeks ago. Heaven and only just over two hour flight

I'm in Vancouver since last June working in UBC. The wages and benefits are excellent and far beyond what I'd get in Ireland. If anyone is in IT or administrative work definitely give the UBC job page a look and get your CV up to scratch, there's a good few Irish people working in various departments in the university.

I'm living at Broadway and Commercial at the moment, I drive to work and the girlfriend gets the skytrain. Apartment is nice but next one will be top floor with more sun! Other than that I've no complaints. Hope we get as good a summer as last year, it was a scorcher!

Faith

Ooh, I'm hoping to find research work in UBC or SFU! Wages for my job over there are 50% higher than what they are in Ireland (mostly because 90% of jobs in my field are unpaid in Ireland :mad:) so I'm feeling very positive about it.

Faith

Sacramento wrote: »

I'm in Vancouver since last June working in UBC. The wages and benefits are excellent and far beyond what I'd get in Ireland. If anyone is in IT or administrative work definitely give the UBC job page a look and get your CV up to scratch, there's a good few Irish people working in various departments in the university.

I'm living at Broadway and Commercial at the moment, I drive to work and the girlfriend gets the skytrain. Apartment is nice but next one will be top floor with more sun! Other than that I've no complaints. Hope we get as good a summer as last year, it was a scorcher!

Actually, how much annual leave do you get at UBC? I'm getting married next summer and trying to figure out how much annual leave I might have if I worked at a university.

AmyPL

Well, I'm probably a bit ahead of myself posting here as I'm not planning on going over until February of next year I'll be looking for senior web/media dev work and I want to use the rest of this year to work on my skills, website/portfolio, save money and do some networking so that I'm in a good job-hunting position when I move over. From what I've seen so far, a lot of advertised positions seem to be looking for polyglot developers so I'm going to try and work on learning some new programming languages too.

I'm most likely heading over alone, which is a bit daunting, but I've always wanted to work/live abroad and Canada (Vancouver in particular!) really appeals to me. Also I haven't had much opportunity to explore the Pacific-North west, and the thought of being a few hours flight away from most of the west coast is very appealing!

I've got an okay job and life here in Ireland but nothing's really keeping me here, so I figure now's as good a time as any to do what I've been wanting to do forever.

So, only 280 days or so to go I'm really excited!

Oak2014

I've been in Vancouver for two years now. It is really lovely here in the summer. Sometimes even a bit too hot for my Irish skin!! Loads of places you could live close to the water. Kitsilano is probbaly your best bet and close to UBC too. Rent for a one bed is probably around $1,200 per month. I live close to kits. Its not on the skytrain line so you'd have to bus it. But transit is great here. In late Aug all the students will be returning to Van and looking for places to stay too so make sure you do your research before coming. Use craigslist.ca to find places or when you get here walk around Kits and phone the numbers on the vacant apt signs. I cannot say wages are good for me here. I am an accountant and would get about 10,000 eur more at home! It's because the market is saturated with accountants here. My hubby is on a wage comparable to home. He is a programmer. Seattle is so close. We've been. It's fab there! You can apply for MSP (health cover) when you are here after 3 months. It's great, you pay about $60 per month each but doctor visits are free. There are so many Irish here already, you'll feel at home!!

Faith

Faith wrote: »

Actually, how much annual leave do you get at UBC? I'm getting married next summer and trying to figure out how much annual leave I might have if I worked at a university.

I get 140 hours per year and my working week is 35 hours which is well above the Canadian average of 10 days

Faith

Sacramento wrote: »

I get 140 hours per year and my working week is 35 hours which is well above the Canadian average of 10 days

That's 4 weeks, right? Or 20 days? That's brilliant in comparison! I presume all employees of UBC would get similar?

mulbot

hi,i'm moving there in july-with partner and baby to follow within 2-3 months, seems like a nice place,how does the cost of living compare to ireland?

Faith

Faith wrote: »

That's 4 weeks, right? Or 20 days? That's brilliant in comparison! I presume all employees of UBC would get similar?

Yeah that's 4 weeks! I'm not sure about other departments but I assume it's the same.. I'll ask around though!

mulbot wrote: »

hi,i'm moving there in july-with partner and baby to follow within 2-3 months, seems like a nice place,how does the cost of living compare to ireland?

Cost of living is quite high here, one of the most expensive cities in North America but the wages are far better than in Ireland for the same work and benefits are the norm. So I'm more comfortable financially here than I ever was in Ireland.

ciaran67

BTW, you can always negotiate your holiday benefits.

If anyone is thinking of going to Seattle, Ballard is an excellent weekend away just to the NW of the city centre. There is an old heritage street with bars and restaurants along it.

MAntC1

Hello guys,I'm interested to know is there much construction work going on in the Vancouver area?Most people who want to work in construction seem to go to Calgary or Edmonton.I'm trying to make up my mind which part of Canada to go to and I'm curious to know what opportunities would be like for a construction worker in Vancouver?

Thanks
MAntC1

Faith

We looked at flights this morning. Think we'll head off around the 17th of August. Getting very excited and scared now!

Do people cycle much in Vancouver? It's a handy way to get around without a car, but I can't tell if the city is very hilly or not.

AmyPL

This is all second hand information as I've never been there, but the few people I know who have moved to Vancouver have pretty much all said there's a big cycling culture there and a decent infrastructure. I've noticed looking at places on craigslist, etc- a lot of them specifically mention bike storage or bike lockers.

A good cycling infrastructure/culture was one of the reasons it appealed to me as a city. Cycling is my favourite way of getting to places!

I was looking at flights this morning too (staving off the Monday blues at work ) though I'm probably a bit premature. Prices vary hugely, I don't know if it's because I'm looking so far in advance.

Faith

Excellent, I might get a bike over there so! Or maybe they have something similar to the Dublin Bikes scheme.

I looked at flight prices a few months back and they've stayed pretty much the same, so I don't think it fluctuates too much. Flying from Cork via London to Vancouver in August is coming out at €550 - €600 pp one way. The same trip return in October is €650!

I've read on another thread that most rentals start (come on the market?) at the beginning of the month, so we'll have a week or so to settle in and familiarise ourselves with the area before finding a place. We'll definitely be competing with the students though

circular flexing

This is a good map for cycling in Vancouver

http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/map-cycling-vancouver.pdf

There are a few separated cycling lanes in downtown which are really good and I would try and stick to them as much as possible. A lot of other streets have painted bike lanes which are also good. The cycle lanes a long the seafront can't be beat.

There's no bike sharing scheme yet though there are plans afaik.

jilln

Hi all,

Myself and my boyfriend are moving over to Van in mid-Sept. Can't wait!!

Does anyone know of any good hostels to stay in whilst looking for accommodation? Thinking something less backpacker-y and more for other people in similar situation (new to the city etc), would be a good way of meeting people...

Oak2014

jilln wrote: »

Hi all,

Myself and my boyfriend are moving over to Van in mid-Sept. Can't wait!!

Does anyone know of any good hostels to stay in whilst looking for accommodation? Thinking something less backpacker-y and more for other people in similar situation (new to the city etc), would be a good way of meeting people...

You should check out the Moving to Vancouver website. They have a house where they rent out rooms for new comers.

jilln

Ah amazing thank you!!

Lorzy_

jilln wrote: »

Hi all,

Myself and my boyfriend are moving over to Van in mid-Sept. Can't wait!!

Does anyone know of any good hostels to stay in whilst looking for accommodation? Thinking something less backpacker-y and more for other people in similar situation (new to the city etc), would be a good way of meeting people...

I'd suggest staying at the Hi Vancouver Downtown hostel on Burnaby St (the street I now live on). Its on a nice quiet St in the West End area of downtown with a 2 min walk to the beach. I didn't actually stay in that one when I first came here because it was booked out so I stayed in their other one on Granville St in downtown which was great, near everything and great free breakfast.

Faith

Been doing a bit of investigation into rent prices in Van. Average rent for a 1BR place in Kitsilano seems to be about CA$1400 - less than €1000. That's comparable to, or cheaper than, Dublin prices and far cheaper than, say, London. I thought it would be way higher the way people go on about it!

Anyone who is there/was there: What areas would you and wouldn't you recommend? Primary concerns are proximity to amenities and safety.

kronsington

How about a Boards Vancouver meet up soon lads??

Faith

Faith wrote: »

Been doing a bit of investigation into rent prices in Van. Average rent for a 1BR place in Kitsilano seems to be about CA$1400 - less than €1000. That's comparable to, or cheaper than, Dublin prices and far cheaper than, say, London. I thought it would be way higher the way people go on about it!

Anyone who is there/was there: What areas would you and wouldn't you recommend? Primary concerns are proximity to amenities and safety.

I'd recommend looking for somewhere temporary first, that rents month to month so you can move once you figure out where you're working. If you're thinking of working in UBC then Kitsilano would be a great choice. If you're working downtown then living near the Commercial/Broadway skytrain station is ideal. Both are safe areas and fun places to be in general!

kronsington wrote: »

How about a Boards Vancouver meet up soon lads??

I'm up for that!

kronsington

Lads I'm just wondering has anyone sort any time at the Moving to Canada International House? It's a nice place but there's 10 people sharing the one gaff. If I can, I'm going to try stay there for a little but I'd say I'll be looking for a place again soon

Faith

Are there any good/useful facebook groups for Vancouver?

Oak2014

Faith wrote: »

Are there any good/useful facebook groups for Vancouver?

"Whats the craic vancouver"
"moving to vancouver"
"Vibe vancouver"

There are probably way more but thats all i can think of

Scruffy19

Oak2014 wrote: »

"Whats the craic vancouver"
"moving to vancouver"
"Vibe vancouver"

There are probably way more but thats all i can think of

"Irish in Vancouver"

HisDudeness

Hi all

Me and the missus are moving to Vancouver in late August/Early September

I read some where that the best time to move over in terms of finding accommodation is the end of the month, as the start of every month is where rentals start.

Does the time you move over make much of a difference accommodation wise?

Thank you all in advance!

Oak2014

HisDudeness wrote: »

Hi all

Me and the missus are moving to Vancouver in late August/Early September

I read some where that the best time to move over in terms of finding accommodation is the end of the month, as the start of every month is where rentals start.

Does the time you move over make much of a difference accommodation wise?

Thank you all in advance!

Ya most rentals start at the beginning of the month. Sept is a busy time to come as the students are back to Uni but ye will find something!