Shirtback

Don't underestimate the effects of jetlag; aftermath of the adrenalin "rush" of moving abating now that you made it; (excessive, imo) heating inside which tends to make inside air very dry, & "foreign" to your body microbes/germs/viruses (particularly from the plane trip).

Take it easy . You've arrived safely - anything that is not essential/time sensitive can wait!

MillieF

Couldn't agree more Be kind to yourself, unlike more exotic trips it's going to be a while till you get in a bikini and go to the beach!

Congratulations on your smooth arrival. I do hope that you will both be very happy.

Best of luck

Mad Jockette

Welcome to Canada, glad to read you had a positive experience in entering Calgary. I hope that you will both be happy and enjoy this beautiful country

JonboyE

Vancouverites can cope with a bit of Geordie so it should not be beyond Calgarians. The accent is less of a worry than using the right words.

In Canada you get run over if you walk on the pavement.

Home improvement stores can be sources of incomprehension. You use a tap to add a thread to a hole but you use a faucet to fill the sink with water. And so on. Don't even bother to ask anyone for a spanner.

Hurlabrick

Hahahaha


It ain't just Geordie accents I can tell you! My wife speaks virtually 'Queens English / Home Counties English' and was having to repeat herself constantly when we did our recce trip to Ontario last year.


My own accent is more like a semi-English 'Christopher Plummer' Canadian - I am often asked in the UK if I am from 'the west country'!


I think it is just that some people listen to the overall 'sound' of the sentence rather than the words and instantly go into 'OMG - foreign accent alert' mode!

paw339

Welcome to Calgary.

Make sure that humidifier is working, you'll regret it if you don't :-)

suzeandmatt

Hi again!!
It's been just over a week now so thought I'd add to our experience and what we've found.

Firstly- why did no one tell me you need a humidifier in literally every single room in your house if you don't want to get an electric shock off everything you touch?! Hahaha we have now rectified this situation. But yes- humidifiers are the most essential home product- coming from the coast my whole life it feels insane to buy one/5 though!! Hahaha

Also- getting a SIN number was super easy! We just went to the Service Canada building in downtown Calgary and took our passport and work permit (stapled into the passport anyway) and it was issued straight away.

Getting a mobile phone was also easy- just used our passports and that was enough.

Broadband internet also easy- did it online. (Though mobile phones and broadband internet are stupidly expensive!!)

Getting around Calgary has been dead easy. The trains are fab and the buses are great! Bus drives are amazingly helpful!

We found the Inter-faith furniture place to be awesome for second hand furniture! We got LOADS of really decent stuff (as in solid wood furniture and a super comfortable sofa) for less than $180 and paid a guy $60 for him to pick it all up and deliver it to us. He brought it all in our house too. We've kept his number!!

We picked up forms today to fill out for our health cards. Again those guys were mega helpful. We just fill the form out and take it back with passport and proof of address and sorted!

Clothing hasn't been an issue and we arrived in the middle of it being SUPER cold. I have worn my Ugg boots the whole time and cannot fault them at all! Feet have been warm and dry the whole entire time. A down coat I bought from Fat Face in the Uk has been awesome as well. And I've just been wearing jeans/a jumper underneath my coat, a scarf and a hat. When there's a bit of a breeze it feels WAY colder but as long as you have something to pull up over your face I found I was okay!! Haha

All in all, a positive experience. Husband started work last Monday. He is finding everyone really friendly too.

Just wanted to share in case it proves helpful for others doing the same thing!! :-)

Shakyuk

Cheers for the share Suzeandmatt, good read. I didn't know about the humidifiers, this thread is the first time I've noticed it mentioned!
We're hoping to do the move later this year so good to read things can go smoothly!

paw339

Most houses in Calgary have a whole house humidifier linked to the main furnace that runs automatically when required in the winter. Ours just requires a new $25 water panel about every 18 months. Makes for a much more comfortable winter (and no static).

suzeandmatt

Yeah- our house is fairly old (for Calgary's standards) and doesn't come with humidifiers fitted. So definitely worth checking. No one told us about the lack of humidity either though. And I hadn't come across it anywhere. It just hadn't dawned on me that with the dry climate it would be an issue. Lesson learnt for sure. I bought a humidifier that now lives in the bedroom- it lasts 12 hours so we literally just top it up before bed and again the next morning. It runs 24/7. Helps with sleeping- stops having a dry throat etc.
Then we got a larger one for the living space downstairs- it's all open plan so that one again just runs 24/7 and covers the downstairs space. When we furnish the spare bedroom for visitors I'll buy a small one for in there as well. :-) obviously if the place you move into has them already fitted then bonus!!

But yep- I'm happy to say so far our move has gone smoothly. I kept getting worried about things not being enough "proof" etc etc but, ultimately I really didn't need to worry.
Good luck with your move! I'm sure it'll be fine! :-)

suzeandmatt

That's the dream!! Haha Maybe it's the age of the house/heating system I guess. Fortunately the heating itself is more than adequate so that's okay.

GermanytoCanada

Really good post so please keep updating it. Very helpful for anyone arriving in the next few months.

As Shaky said, first I have heard of the humidifier issue also.

Great to hear that things have gone so well with your arrival.

paw339

Its probably worth pointing out that a whole house humidifier can be fitted to the furnace for approximately $500 plus or minus depending on the type, which might work out cheaper and certainly a lot less hassle than several individual ones.

Shirtback

Excellent update I'm glad to hear how well things are going!

Keep us posted.

Mad Jockette

An excellent update and so glad everything has gone smoothly for you. Best of luck and enjoy