Advice for Calgary?
 

Hi,

well 8 weeks ago if i knew what i know now.....

My wife and I are coach drivers in the UK and 8 weeks or so ago we saw an advert in an internal british mag for british coach drivers to come work for a canadian firm.
Long story short, we got the job, and land in Calgary in 2 weeks, and I'm trying to do some leg work prior to even getting on the plane. The employer is supplying us with cheap accommodation to enable us to get established for at least 6 months to a year so thats covered, we need at least one but possibly two really cheap cars (even if we only get a few months out of them thats fine)...best place to look? what insurance do we need for these and tax? Mobile phone networks, we are looking for a pay as you go sim only deal, can anyone suggest a good cheap network?...internet in the house...etc etc......arghhhh arghhh okay I don't have a clue, honest, 8 weeks ago I was happy in my job in the UK, coming over to work based on my skills handling a coach was not on the cards...it never happens...truckers yes...coach drivers..no. We have made no plans for something like this and now we are kind of being over-whelmed, I'm trying to sell off everything in the UK at the same time as enquiring about stuff over there, so if you can think of things...even the obvious things...PLEASE post them we will be grateful, our over-riding concern at the moment is obviously a car and mobile phones, but if you can think of anything else.....:fingerscrossed:.

thanks
Kate and dave
(land 26th August)

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

Try Kijiji (like Gumtree) and Auto Trader for cars.

Internet - Shaw and Telus

PAYG Cell - Rogers, Wind, Bell, Virgin

we have just moved back to UK so I was on Rogers PAYG. $10 per month, but you don't get much time and the phone cuts out, without warning, when you run out of money.

the experts will be along after breakfast.

Best of luck with your move.:)

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

I havea PAYG from 7-11. I like it because the credits don't really run out

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

What visa are you coming over on?

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

LMO for me, wife coming as spouse, 2 year visa

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

You'll get a cheap car on auto trader as said before, car insurance is expensive. Try get a letter from your current insurer stating your no claims etc ( look on the wiki for more info) though not all insurers will accept this.
You need insurance before you get registration ( plates). No road tax here.
You'll need to exchange your licence for an Alberta one, but youll only get your car licence, all others will be a retest.
I'm with shaw, the cheapest package with no contact, tv is ok, Internet it great and phone is cheap.
You'll get a pay as you go mobile for around 15 bucks a month. I'm with rogers.

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

Car Insurance - try Canadian Direct they accepted UK driving history.

I don't spend much on mobile phones - Rogers allows you to set up auto top up on PAYG so you dont suddenly run out of airtime.

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

resit my coach test.....no-one has mentioned this yet at my employers...what "fun" :blink: (passed mine 12 years ago!!....bad habits...etc etc). I've done some reading on the forum and from what I can see we are looking at $1500 dollars a car plus insurance. We need the cars to get to work so we need approx $6000 canadian just to get on the road......ouch!! Plus get through to first wage which is odds on monthly (do you guys work a month in hand?). I'm seriously considering declining the job!! Looks like we will need possibily up to $10K just to survive until wages start!

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

Hi Dave + kate, Welcome to the forum.

As for the mobile phone. I took my unlocked mobile phone with me and got a sim card from the 'FIDO' network. It was handy as at the time I was on a two year visa like yourself in Calgary and I payed monthly so no contracts. But mobile phone costs are expensive.

As said above take your no claims history it will come in handy BIG TIME.

Google 'Kijji Calgary' for cars. No road tax, you just go to a registry. They have all the info there. You can swap your British licence for a Canadian one.

If you have time in the medium term. Go to Meetup.com There is a meetup group called Brits in Calgary. You can post there and maybe meet others at a the regular meetup. I say this because meeting others helped me settle big time when I was on a work permit.

I land in Calgary around October.

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

Generally it is fortnightly which is great.

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

I've lost my hgv licence, so need to re sit if I want it back, not cheap either. With the reciprocal agreement you only get class 5 (car).
That would be my biggest concern if I were you, is finding out who pays/sorts out your bus licence. And how soon it can be done after landing.
$1500 will get you a banger, Like you say, $10k won't last long here.

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

$10k?

Flights x2
Visa payment
Shipping
Car x2
Car insurance x2
Mobile phone x2
Home rental
Food
Etc

$10k can soon be eaten up in the first week very easily.

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

I think you might be pushed to do it all for 10k to be honest.

We spend just under £20k when you count all the flights up (2 adults and a child), getting the dog over (£1500) and deposit on house and month's rent up front, shipping our stuff over etc etc.... (this is including a big deposit on a car too)

Best £20k we ever spent tho... :)

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

yes i see....but employer is covering accommodation and furnishing it and deducting a less than market rent direct from pay-check, our flights we booked 2 weeks ago and by a fluke got a deal £362 each all in so they are paid, and at present as it is just me and my wife we are down-sizing everything and selling up...and by that i mean EVERYTHNG...we plan to arrive with 2 carry-on bags and 2 mega suitcases so we don't need freight or storage. we have no pets, so I suppose we will need 1 banger car to start off, 2 payg mobile sims, insurance and to survive to first pay-check (start at work the day after I arrive, and someone said it was normally fortnightly paid). you still say i need more than $10k?? <<<<<<<<getting worried, as at the min $5K is at hand

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

Then no. Unless your job disappears or you hate it, of course. Going over to the unknown with $5k on hand and nothing to return to is VERY ballsy :)

$5k might cover your car insurance for 2 cars ;)

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

+1

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

"nothing ventured nothing gained rodders":D...we didn't plan for the opportunity, but are grabbing it, if it doesn't work...well..at least we took the chance:thumbsup:

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

I like your guts! :thumbsup:

Just make sure you have enough money on hand to return if the jobs turn out to be not to be what you thought. Also try and keep on good terms with your UK employers so you can go back to them if it does not work out. This happens a lot here, people get promised the world and find out it is a "county"

Good luck - keep us posted, will enjoy your views of Calgary and Canada:)

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

Don't let the panic mongers scare you with the 5k car insurance. Shop around a bit, yes it's not cheap but you can get a company that will take your UK discount and accept a UK credit check - we did and paying around $250/month for 2 cars and contents insurance for the rental house we are in.

Good luck with the move - we love it here - hope it works out for you. :)
If you visiting Cochrane, gimme a shout!

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

One good thing about what we do for a living is we have a very good reputation in the industry, and work self-employed in the UK, so getting jobs back here or within europe is not an issue. We are also lucky to both have understanding parents that are still alive with spare rooms, we can "take the punt" because we have no kids, no debts or mortgage, no ties to speak of, and if it does go up the swanny, well we have seen a bit of Canada:D As I've said before, this is neither planned for or even thought about as it NEVER happens to those in my industry, hence the almost half-assed way we are bumbling through.

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

Make sure you get a letter from you insurance company stating how many years "Accident free" you have. They dont understand "no claims bonus".

What are you getting paid an hour? I am a driver to and thinking of a move to Calgary!!!

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

Let me guess: Brewsters?

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

I hope you can cope with the jetlag better than we did. It took us almost 5 days to get over it:thumbdown:
We paid $3000 for our car (found it on Kijiji, had to travel an hour out of the city too) but it did take a long time to find something which was actually worth the money (the car is12 years old I must point out).
Where abouts in Calgary are you staying in? I would advise you to get the full address so you can google it before you leave.
I think you are making the right choice. We love it here:thumbsup:

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

My husband and I came over to Calgary with no job offers/accommodation etc. We had about £20k between us to keep us going/fall back on. We've been in Canada for about 2 months now and spent nowhere near that much...
We haven't yet bought a car though.
However, if you'll be starting work the day after you arrive, I'd have thought your current savings would be absolutely fine.

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

Hi guys, been here since sunday, now got SIN's, alberta licences, bank accounts, etc etc. I now drive around in a $1200 cadillac (but I love it...great car) which cost $1400 to insure through the bank and which we are paying monthly, everything is done more or less and we have approx $2K left until payday...:thumbsup:

Big phew and wipe of brow though:fingerscrossed:

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

Does anyone know some Constructing companies in Calgary that hire carpenters?

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

what kind of carpenter?

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

its doable. I came here on me tod with a ruck sac, no job, and about 2000 quid.

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

NOC 7271
Carpenters construct, erect, install, maintain and repair structures and components of structures made of wood, wood substitutes, lightweight steel and other materials. They are employed by construction companies, carpentry contractors, and maintenance departments of factories, plants and other establishments, or they may be self-employed.

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

i know what a carpenter is:sneaky:..what kind of carpenter are you..shuttering carpenter, finishing carpenter...joiner etc etc

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

form carpenter

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

you need to be applying to formwork companies..there are quite a few in Calgary i have two different companies on a couple of my sites right now downtown.

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

I am applying for a while but it seams they don't even read my resume. Maybe those companies I applied don't have LMO...I don't know. Can you help me?

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

How are you contacting them? If its by email then no suprise there, I made this mistake and people soon rectified me on here :unsure:

They prefer face to face but if thats not possible you need to be phoning these companies, I sent over 75 emails and had no reply to any. The first company my partner called ended up being the one who has taken him on!

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

I am sending e-mail, I thought it was my cover letter or resume...Gonna try by phone - hope it works. Do you know any company (name) that has LMO and looking for carpenters?

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

No sorry ... I thought they only applied for LMO if they actually had someone to do it for .
We didn't go looking for a company with LMO we were looking for a company that were willing to go through the process . Luckily they already had it as someone from the U.K backed out .

But I am probably wrong ...
Have you read up on what the LMO is and what an employer has to prove to get one? It also only last's for 6 months I believe before they have to start the process again which is was im thinking they only applied if they had someone lined up.

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

thank you. i m not from uk and i know what LMO is.

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

Just to feed back. Called some companies directly, among lot of those unwilling to import foreign worker, found some willing to look how the process goes, or familiar with the process and willing to go throw. Still waiting but now with more hope. Thank you for the advice.

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

Excellent!! Good luck guys ! :)

Re: Advice for Calgary?
 

Well we made it....payday yesterday and bought a second car for the good lady got everything paid and we are okay....so we did it with $5K for the two of us from the UK, but certainly squeeky bum time until that first payday, we have put by enough for two flights home if needed but at the moment still enjoying just being here.