The Vancouver Thread

circular flexing

If you are a Mobilicity customer, Wind are offering 6 months free (ends this weekend)

http://www.windmobile.ca/mobi-customers

MarkJD

My wife works in Phonebox. If you want i can see if there is any deals or anything. Send me a PM if so

kronsington

Anyone fancy a Boards gathering for a pint or two soon enough? I haven't looked in this thread for a while so this may have already happened!

Stinjy

kronsington wrote: »

Anyone fancy a Boards gathering for a pint or two soon enough? I haven't looked in this thread for a while so this may have already happened!

There's another vibe night coming up but not until the end of Feb.. If you wanna arrange something I'll try drag a few people :P

kronsington

Stinjy wrote: »

There's another vibe night coming up but not until the end of Feb.. If you wanna arrange something I'll try drag a few people :P

I'll be there. I went to a couple when I first got here. They're good events to get to know people.

I've signed up to do the BC Ride to cute cancer in August. It's a 200k cycle from Van to Seattle over two days. I'm looking for People to get involved and maybe train together etc. Pm me if interested

Random Integer

Arrived in town on Monday, seems like good timing given the weathers been beautiful here and pretty miserable back home. Getting SIN, bank account and phone setup was pretty easy and straightforward. Apartment hunting has been another matter though, the couple of times I've managed to get someone to agree to a viewing they've cancelled on me shortly after as the place has been taken. Email seems especially pointless as I've never heard back from any of the dozens I've sent. Feel like I'm doing something wrong but don't know what, any tips from people who've been here a while?

Stinjy

Random Integer wrote: »

Arrived in town on Monday, seems like good timing given the weathers been beautiful here and pretty miserable back home. Getting SIN, bank account and phone setup was pretty easy and straightforward. Apartment hunting has been another matter though, the couple of times I've managed to get someone to agree to a viewing they've cancelled on me shortly after as the place has been taken. Email seems especially pointless as I've never heard back from any of the dozens I've sent. Feel like I'm doing something wrong but don't know what, any tips from people who've been here a while?

Oh Fun, I've been house sitting for a friend but they're coming back sooner than expected so I've to be out pretty soon / asap (they're not kicking me out like onto the street or anything) but I thought it was gonna be handy enough.. I don't like the sounds of that though.. (but I have noticed that a lot of the Padmapper listings that I was looking at yesterday have been taken down today - i.e. places seem to be gone pretty quickly at the start of the month.. )

AmyPL

Eek. We're heading over on March 19th. Was really hoping that house hunting wouldn't be a total pain in the arse.

circular flexing

I found Craigslist to be better than Padmapper for finding a place to live. Padmapper tends to miss quite a few of the Craigslist ads. You can set up an alert on Craigslist too. When sending an email, be sure to say a bit about yourself and why you are looking for somewhere to live etc.. I did this and got a reply to every email I sent.

fergusb

If you are looking for an apartment, a lot of them post signs about availability, you can just walk around an area you are interested in a call into ones advertising.

Originally we had set up a couple of viewings which were terrible, but then saw a sign in a building and found the place we are currently in.

Stinjy

okay, thanks guys, It's reassuring to know it's not all bad.. firs time renting and all that..

MarkJD

Timing is everything as well this probably the worse time as alot of places have either just signed a new lease as its the beginning of the month. We found around the 12th-18th to be the best time as thats when most seem to advertise when a lease expired teh month after so keep an eye from then onwards.

We used a company that just had a listing we liked. Advent Real estate. Be prepared to have a lot of documentation though and references from others and previous / current employment help. Get your friends that may own a house or may be currently renting to even give you a review or something!

Random Integer

I wouldn't let my troubles worry anyone else, probably just something I'm doing wrong.

I always include a bit about myself, why I'm moving etc. in the emails which is why I was surprised to get not even one response. I'm just sending them to the anonymized Craigslist email addresses, which I'm assuming is the right thing to do unless the ad says otherwise but they just seem to disappear into the void.

Anyway more success today, got a viewing tonight and three more tomorrow so for me at least it seems like phone is the way to go.

ciaran67

fergusb wrote: »

If you are looking for an apartment, a lot of them post signs about availability, you can just walk around an area you are interested in a call into ones advertising.

Originally we had set up a couple of viewings which were terrible, but then saw a sign in a building and found the place we are currently in.

This is very true. Vacancy signs are everywhere. Canadians arent on the ball with returning calls or using the internet like America and Europe.

Liam90

I'm heading over next week and within the first 2 weeks I want to get a gym membership as its something very important for me. Generally how much would I be looking to pay for a gym membership for a year in BC?

Was looking at Goodlife Fitness

Scruffy19

Liam90 wrote: »

I'm heading over next week and within the first 2 weeks I want to get a gym membership as its something very important for me. Generally how much would I be looking to pay for a gym membership for a year in BC?

Was looking at Goodlife Fitness

depends where you go really! I was using a local community centre gym costing 60 a month but there is a few downtown like Steve Nash etc etc

Check out Irish and new in Vancouver. There is a few people on there that work in the gyms and could give u a rough idea.

ellenellen

Liam90 wrote: »

I'm heading over next week and within the first 2 weeks I want to get a gym membership as its something very important for me. Generally how much would I be looking to pay for a gym membership for a year in BC?

Was looking at Goodlife Fitness

Post in the Irish and New in Vancouver Facebook groups. There seems to be a few reps there, particularly for Steve Nash. I got a quote for a 24 hour one on Cambie and it was around $60 a month with other fees too so didn't bother.

A lot of the high rise buildings downtown have gyms available for residents/employees. If you plan to live/work downtown then hold off on buying a membership somewhere else and just pay by the visit at a community gym in the meantime.

fergusb

Some of the gyms give free trials as well. So especially if you don't know where you'll be living try and talk you way into a trial for a week to keep you tied over.

radiata

What's the story with rent, is it a full months payment up front and a months deposit?

kronsington

Liam90 wrote: »

I'm heading over next week and within the first 2 weeks I want to get a gym membership as its something very important for me. Generally how much would I be looking to pay for a gym membership for a year in BC?

Was looking at Goodlife Fitness

I joined the west community centre gym for $30.. Decent gym, steam room, squash court and some other stuff. It allows access to other centres in the city. Trevor Linden down by Canada place is decent too and is around $20 a month.

And for all newcomers and those messaging above I'd be happy to meet with any or all of ye in the near future or when you get here to offer my two cents or help on anything.. Looking for a new gaff myself come April so it'd be nice to potentially share with a fellow paddy!

mulbot

radiata wrote: »

What's the story with rent, is it a full months payment up front and a months deposit?

usually 1 months rent plus half that amount for deposit!

Random Integer

Just a heads up for anyone who read my earlier post and was concerned about the rental market, turns out the reason I wasn't getting any replies was because Craigslist was blocking emails sent from my gmail account for whatever crazy reason. When I switched to using another address the replies started coming in. So yeah, if you're not getting any joy with responding to Craigslist ads try switching email accounts because they might be randomly blocking the one you're using.

MarkJD

In relation to the gym you can also try find a building / apartment thats in a complext alot will have a gym / weight room / sauna / jacuzzi included. They can be small / busy but if you get your timing right its included in your rent so could save a few quid.

guest124

Any advice on where to get a good reasonable (well,cheap) laptop?

is bestbuy good?

Stinjy

guest124 wrote: »

Any advice on where to get a good reasonable (well,cheap) laptop?

is bestbuy good?

I got a new computer from Best Buy, found they had better prices for what I wanted and they're most like PC world or Currys.. There were a few smaller places that would get you a cheaper refurbished one if you wanted other than that I couldn't find anywhere better.. Plus free delivery and all that!

guest124

Stinjy wrote: »

I got a new computer from Best Buy, found they had better prices for what I wanted and they're most like PC world or Currys.. There were a few smaller places that would get you a cheaper refurbished one if you wanted other than that I couldn't find anywhere better.. Plus free delivery and all that!

Cool. Thanks Stinjy. Must invest in one soon. Hopefully get something decent around $450 mark!

el diablo

yeah, probably Best Buy is the way to go. They also regularly have sales on for laptops and TVs etc.

Stinjy

guest124 wrote: »

Cool. Thanks Stinjy. Must invest in one soon. Hopefully get something decent around $450 mark!

yeah you should get something decent I think, depends what you're using it for I guess. The service can vary though if youre looking for a staff member to talk to about it so don't be put off if you initally get someone who doesnt give a sh*te..

guest124

Stinjy wrote: »

yeah you should get something decent I think, depends what you're using it for I guess. The service can vary though if youre looking for a staff member to talk to about it so don't be put off if you initally get someone who doesnt give a sh*te..

Haha grand. I really just need it for Office and streaming tv!

Stinjy

I posted this is the other Vancouver thread but this one seems to have more traffic. Q: does anyone know where I can get Haribo Tangfastics, I can find gold bears and stuff.. any help guys and gals ?