# Moving to canada! Help!



## emmamcdowell1234 (May 26, 2011)

Hi All

My boyfriend and I have applied for our Canadian Visas and we are hoping to move there from Northern Ireland by the time they are processed (6 months) we are getting our visas through GlobalVisas. 

My boyfriend (24yr old) is a fully qualified Plumber with 7 years experience and i (23 yr old) have a business studies degree from university with experience in sales and administration. Are there many jobs about that would suit us in Calgary?

We are planning on moving to calgary as from reading up on Canada this has been recommended as a good place to start of from. can anyone give me advice on where is good to live here, obviously to begin with we wont want anything too expensive. Would we be better having somewhere to move into before we go, we originally planned to book a hotel for a week or two until we find a job/car/house. but not sure if this is best should we have all this lined up before we go?

Any info on anything i have mentioned would be great

Thanks


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## clb09 (May 26, 2011)

Hi! I was originally from Vancouver, BC and moved to Calgary 2 years ago for a job. It must be quite exciting for you guys to be moving overseas! 

I can't say anything about the plumbing trade. However, for you with experience in sales and admin, perhaps you can consider getting a job as an administrative assistant? I, myself, work in the oil & gas industry in Calgary and I know a few oil & gas companies were looking for admin assist...the last time I was looking around to see what jobs are out there. 

Not knowing what you'll be renting into may be a bit sketchy. In my opinion, I think it's best to come to Calgary and stay at a hotel OR hostel first. Then look around and see the place first before renting. I'm not sure what you and your boyfriend's income situation is or how much savings both of you have... but if you want to rent cheap, you can perhaps look into renting basement suites! They're usually cheaper than renting an apartment/condo. However, if you really want to have more privacy and live in an apartment instead. I'd recommend looking in the Mission area or the Beltline area. Lots of apartments there to rent. Close to downtown with lots of restaurants and shops. Grocery stores aren't too far by bus or walk (depending on where in the neighbourhood you live in). Other areas to consider would be Kensington but that area tend to be a bit more pricey. 

I hope it helps. If you have any other questions, don't hesitat to ask!


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## kimo (Feb 12, 2011)

emmamcdowell1234 said:


> Hi All
> 
> My boyfriend and I have applied for our Canadian Visas and we are hoping to move there from Northern Ireland by the time they are processed (6 months) we are getting our visas through GlobalVisas.
> 
> ...


I strongly recommend a hotel first, and definately not renting a house/ apartment etc site unseen, nor would I send any money to someone you don't know or trust, there are countless stories in the news about people giving money to someone claiming to be a landlord, and then of course they show up to move in to someplace that wasn't even theirs to rent. If you Google Craigslist rental scams, you will probably see what I mean, and also, what you may see in an ad online, may not quite be what you get. But by then its probably too late as any legitimate landlord will want to interview you in person first, and require you to sign a contract and rent on minimum, month to month and that you give at least 30 days notice before vacating. But thats just my opinion.


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## crockett (Feb 4, 2009)

A good fully qualified Plumber should find work anywhere..My next door neighbour makes a VERY good living,He has 4-5 trucks on the road all the time...Lives in a Lakefront home!

Has soon as he can set up on his own..My mate is about $80-90 an hour per man...lol (plus add ons!!)

Good luck

xx


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## NewCanuck (May 29, 2011)

Definitely stay in a hotel or hostel before you commit to living somewhere longer term. You've have a chance to check out the neighborhoods and get a feel for what's good value for the money.

If you're looking to rent, you should check out PadMapper -- Apartments for Rent - PadMapper Apartment Search for Oodle, Apartments.com, Kijiji, and Craigslist Apartments. It's a free site that shows rental listings (from a number of sources) on a map. You can filter the list to see just the kinds of places you're after, and they have lots of other cool features.

(This is not an ad for that website -- I have no relation to the site, and I have no idea if/how they make their money. I've just used the site and think it's pretty cool.)


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## liomath (May 30, 2011)

it is wise before choosing your place you stay there for a week


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## kimo (Feb 12, 2011)

crockett said:


> A good fully qualified Plumber should find work anywhere..My next door neighbour makes a VERY good living,He has 4-5 trucks on the road all the time...Lives in a Lakefront home!
> 
> Has soon as he can set up on his own..My mate is about $80-90 an hour per man...lol (plus add ons!!)
> 
> ...


Would your neighbour be Ian by any chance?


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## kimo (Feb 12, 2011)

liomath said:


> it is wise before choosing your place you stay there for a week


It depends what you mean by "place"?, if you mean the area of town, then it couldn't hurt to live in the area for a week or so if you can find a place to stay like a hotel, but there aren't alot of hotels in most residential areas, but if by "place" you mean a house or condo/apartment that you are thinking of buying or renting, I doubt anyone would rent to you just for a week, as most would require minimum 30 day rental, plus a hefty damage deposit and maybe even first and last months rent, but hey, stranger things have happened.


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## roundfoot (Jul 11, 2010)

You can probably find holiday rentals for a week. Just google it.


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