JamesM

Canada is not really a place one moves to for the weather.

Piff Poff

https://www.google.ca/search?q=goodl...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Probably the biggest gym franchisers across Canada, One opened in Red Deer this year and they are always advertising for PT's All I know is my Personal Trainer also works as a Registered Massage Therapist as he can't get enough clients - there have been a lot of gyms open up in Red Deer all competing for clients in a fairly poor economy.

As DBD said 4Bells will have a load of info but she very rarely posts on here anymore and is on holibobs.

Howefamily

It really isnt. Whilst walking the dogs the other night, in the dark, with cold hands as my gloves werent up to it anymore, I remarked to my husband that I love our spot on the planet so much but my God, the thought of the next 5 - 6 months of this and worse is hard going.
The summer makes up for it, when you are in summer and that is fantastic and hot and seemingly endless as its so great, and then Fall is equally lovely weather and then bam, you are at the start of the endless winter. meh

Paul_Shepherd

To be fair though it does depend on the lifestyle you would like to live, I enjoy the outdoor lifestyle, so I found the weather really suited me down to the ground. I think Ive said this before in Southern Ontario you get 4 months of summer 4 months of winter and 4 months of in between.

The summer can be very hot and humid, but for me this wasnt a problem I worked in an air conditioned office, lived in an air conditioned house and during my off time I was out on my boat for the weekend, and invite to a friends cottage or camping, where I could go for a swim in the lake to keep cool, bugs are a nuisance, but the new better smelling deet sprays make that liveable.

Fall is a great time of year, no bugs and September/October is warm, hot even and the bugs have gone.

Winter...yeah its damn cold, but dress for it and its not a problem, I look forward to winter almost as much as summer now, between skiing and snowmobiling every weekend with friends, there is not enough winter to go around! lol

So for me personaly Canada's climate is perfect for me, 4 distinct seasons. Spring is the only season I find I cant do anything, but from an anticipation of whats to come point of view I like it. So I suppose I could say the weather did attract me to Canada...but as I said it depends on the individual's lifestyle.

Those were the good old days though when I had a job....but hopefully they will come around again.

MarylandNed

Depends what you mean by "nice weather". It's a very subjective term. I'm also from NI and spent several years in Manchester during and after uni. So I've seen more than my fair share of grey skies and rain. When I moved to Toronto with my wife, we would walk around literally staring at the clear blue skies. It was mesmerizing. Also the summers were hot and sunny - although humid. So, if that's what you mean by "nice weather", I get you. But also be aware that winters can be brutal - cold, ice, snow. If you can embrace the winters and are up for a bit of ice skating, ice hockey or skiing then great. If not, 5-6 month long winters could get old really quickly.

Also, I wouldn't say that Ottawa is a "large city" in North American terms. Yes, compared to Belfast which I know well, it's large. The really large city in Ontario is Toronto. I'd say you're going to find more opportunities in Toronto than in Ottawa. Also, Ottawa winters can be even more brutal than those in Toronto.

ScotinCanada

I don’t know if it’s helpful but relatives of mine emigrated to Ontario, Canada a few years ago - a lawyer and a personal trainer. It was really tough - had to retrain/sit a whole bunch of exams to qualify for working in Canada and spent 6 months looking for work. She’s Canadian so that’s how they got over there. She said the PT work was tough as she ‘rented’ a spot in a gym and it was really stressful getting clients to cover her costs. She’s now got a different job and not working in a gym.

That said they are much happier and have a better life there than in the UK. It was just a bit of blood, sweat and tears to get it.

I don’t want to put you off but I would do a serious amount of research before trying to move over there as it won’t be easy.

Will_PA

+1 On motorcycling not looking like a great option here. Mostly on the no filtering, can't imagine how frustrating it would be to sit in traffic.

Also I converted my UK licence to Ontario this morning, and as has been posted elsewhere... Actually forget that as you're from Northern Ireland they'll accept it for straight exchange. It's mainland UK licences they don't recognise for bikes.

Aviator

Not a big deal, take routes with less traffic.

mahdawg

Ah good to see so many people from NI here To the OP, I moved here around the same age that you did, through the IEC and got Permanent Residency from that. Now you can come here and work as a Personal Trainer and then after your two years go home because it might not be classed as a skilled job. Alternatively come here and look at other options, because if you enjoy it here, then most likely you'll need a skilled job to stay.

As for the bike. I drive the 401 highway everyday (a fairly busy road near Toronto) and only for a couple of months a year will I see a handful of bikes. Given that nearly every other day someone takes it upon themselves to crash on a straight piece of road maybe it's best to stay in a car that offers a little more protection

Siouxie

Personal Trainers are NOC 5254, which is classed as "B" 5254 Program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport and fitness

FSW: Who can apply: Federal skilled workers

mahdawg

Well even better news for the OP! I've certainly seen PT jobs around, I even interviewed for that position in my first month here for Goodlife (gym chain) but the salary of $30k and then make additional money through sign ups put me off. That being said, now that I know you could get PR through CEC it becomes a lot more attractive

Moses2013

There's actually a lot of advertisement going on at the moment here in the Republic of Ireland for jobs in Canada again. Maybe it's the same in Northern Ireland (OP) but the big issues I see are salaries vs. cost of living for some of those jobs, especially if you end up in the more expensive cities. It might be different in Ontario but I remember times when people could really save money for 3-5 years and were mortgage free back here. Now most people come back skint but that's mainly Vancouver .


It always depends but I don't know if I'd move to Canada for the weather and motorcycling, especially as it's so easy and cheap to do it from here and during winter you can still go to France, Spain, Portugal. Apart from that why not if the job and money is right.

dbd33

It has to be the case in Ontario too. Property is not as expensive here as in Vancouver but it aint cheap no more.

Piff Poff

Now I'm older I just use my bikes for ride outs rather than a commuter vehicle, plus we generally have snow on the ground for at least 5 months so that cuts down riding time anyhow. So filtering isn't really an issue.

mahdawg

I always did hear of a lot of advertising down south, never heard of it in NI. But maybe I was just in the wrong place! ha

But yes, with the cost of living in the big cities, it's not of much sense to come here for a worse quality of life than what you can have back there.