# anything about brooks, alberta



## sparkycpu (Apr 6, 2008)

Hi, 
My wife and i are planning a reccy visit over in december/january, I am planning it for this time because my wife doesn't know if she can put up with the cold !! 

My wife has picked out the city of Brooks, but i am struggling to find much info, does anyone know what Brooks is like for employment, housing etc. I am an electrician by trade in the UK, but could anyone tell me what qualifications i would need to continue my trade when i arrive, or what courses i would need to take.:confused2:

Many thanks in advance.


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

sparkycpu said:


> Hi,
> My wife and i are planning a reccy visit over in december/january, I am planning it for this time because my wife doesn't know if she can put up with the cold !!
> 
> My wife has picked out the city of Brooks, but i am struggling to find much info, does anyone know what Brooks is like for employment, housing etc. I am an electrician by trade in the UK, but could anyone tell me what qualifications i would need to continue my trade when i arrive, or what courses i would need to take.:confused2:
> ...


Is your wife trying to determine what level of cold she can withstand? You have picked the coldest months to visit Brooks. It will be probably in the -15 to -20C range and possibly even colder.
Brooks is a small city and lifestyle would be commensurate with that. You would require to have an appreciation of small-town living.
Electricians are always in demand so obtaining a job should be no problem. However you will require to be certified to practice in Alberta and you should read the following:- http://www.albertacanada.com/immigration/media/WA_trades_certification_en.pdf


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## sparkycpu (Apr 6, 2008)

Hi, 
Thanks for that, yes i think my wife is going for the go in december/jan and if she can stand that she should be ok, better than going in the summer and not really knowing!
As for small town living we currently live in a town smaller than brooks, and before that smaller villages so are well aware of the situation, in fact brooks would be the largest place we have lived in !!!!
Had a look at the link you sent, thats the information i was after very helpful.

Although my wife has picked brooks we will be starting in Calgary then going to Brooks, and then carrying on to Medicine Hat, just to have a good look about while we are over in case we change our mind.
Any good/bad comments about Medicine Hat or Lethbridge none are ruled out just yet !


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## ponchoape (Aug 24, 2009)

Yeah, Brooks has about a population of about 10,000, and as you noted, is within an hour of Calgary.

It'll probably be between -10 to -15 when you visit, but it'll be a dry cold, which is not as bad as you think (very low humidity in Southern Alberta).

I think the economy has slowed a bit in all industries in Alberta since the price of oil has cooled, as well as the general recession. However, I would _guess_ things might heat up again within a year.

The wikipedia entry has a bit of information (I assume you've already done this much research):
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks,_Alberta

Also, there is some pretty decent info at citystats.ca for Brooks:
citystats.ca/city/Alberta/Brooks.html


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## sparkycpu (Apr 6, 2008)

Hi again, 

well the visit to canada was lovely, the weather did not seem to much of a problem for the wife, so thats one hurdle done !!

On our visit we took a couple of days out to drive through the rockies, amazing .

Out of all the places visited we decided we liked Lethbridge the best, although we didnt make it to Medicine Hat as we went on our detore through the rockies.

We have decided that i shall apply for a TWP so i am currently looking for jobs, i have a couple of questions regarding this :-

1. what sort of wage would let me survive, not looking at a grand living just yet !
I have seen jobs advertised and although we went round shops looking at prices etc i dont want to, hopefully, take a job and find i simply cant survive on the wage. I have seen jobs advertised which pay roughly $18-22 per hour, and was wondering if this was good, bad, or average. This would be in the constuction side.

2. If i am employed and over on a TWP can my wife take a part time job say in cleaning, which she does at the moment, to boost our income or would she need a permt as well. 

Thanks for your posts last time and i hope you can answer my questions this time.


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

sparkycpu said:


> Hi again,
> 
> well the visit to canada was lovely, the weather did not seem to much of a problem for the wife, so thats one hurdle done !!
> 
> ...


Good Luck.


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## mcd1203 (Nov 25, 2008)

Lethbridge in a nice place to live. Its considered a university town as during the school terms its completely full of university/college students. Once term is over the town becomes a lot smaller. Its also one of the windy cities in Alberta and very dry in the summer.


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