George-Ang

Hi we are George and Ang. she did the posts onlyme1, Ang is forgetfull, we live on the 46 North just off Highway 1, i work for Big freight in Steinbach, if u want we can pm our tel number so the wifes can chat, i started work yesterday on shorthaul, but will be going longhaul, and we will be having summer parties, on our 5 acre lot with its 24 x 24 above ground heated pool, let us know

onlyme1

Thanks Dear

Rachelmark

Hmmm, Like the sound of this place!

We are still undecided on whereabouts in Canada to settle. We originally wanted to go to Vancouver, but since we applied, house prices have gone up a lot, and I keep reading posts about how difficult it is to find work there.

I have been on the mls website looking at property around Winnipeg but can anyone tell me what it is like to live there? In particular, job opportunities (hubby currently works in financial industry and I am a teacher, although I know I will have to train more to work in Canada.) What is the weather like? What about things to do for kids? (19, 16 and 9 ) and anything else you can think of!! Do you have any nasty things like earthquakes, killer spiders, lager louts!!

I think that's enough questions for now- more later!

onlyme1

When we first looked into moving to Canada we were looking at the Kitchener/Waterloo area in Ontario but we soon discovered that even we though we would have a nice deposit for a house we would still end up with a larger mortgage then in the UK.

Then we started looking at other provinces, areas that would give us more house/land for our money as well as things to do, communities, weekend stuff and employment we found Manitoba to fit our needs.

I am not sure regarding employment opportunities in the teaching and financial sector but I haven’t come across any killer spiders (probably to cold and all died off) or lager louts were we are yet (Steinbach is actually a dry town but at the bar a couple of meters outside the towns perimeter trade is booming).

These links maybe of some use

http://www.communityprofiles.mb.ca/

http://www.sport.mb.ca/

http://wwwa.accuweather.com/canada-w...code=R5H%201A1


Ang

Rachelmark

That's great thanks- I'll check out the links now.

Grah

things to do
19 year old what ever they like.
16 year old school + after school Activities or in the basement playing PS2
9 year old what ever you tell them.

Finance, loads of Credit unions and head offices for great west life, Faneuil,Investors group + banks and a stock exchange ( I think)

You can also check out

www.immigratemanitoba.com
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=326255
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=328207
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=328158

If you do an advance search on this forum you'll find lots for Winnipeg and Manitoba.

As for kids things to do basically Winnipeg anything that doesn't involved going down a hill. Some parts of Manitoba does have hills for skiing etc

When you think of the questions as with more detail.
Instead of for Things for a 16 year old to do - Ask Can my 16 year old "boy/girl" still do their "favourite activity"?

If it's ballet we can answer yes if is morris dancing don't know but souvenir might know.

We can then give insight into level and who to contact before landing.

If 19 and going to uni there is 2 in Winnipeg and several others in Manitoba.

Rachelmark

Thanks for that Grah! will check out those sites now. What is the thing with mosquitoes? Are they a problem? I have looked on the Winnipeg council webpage and they have an insect department??!!

I am hoping that my 16 year old will develop an interest in any activity aside from fighting with her 9 year old brother!

scimdarren

I like Winnipeg because it has everything you need in a city and still has a small town feel, the traffic congestion is not bad for a city of this size, so rush hour isnt a nightmare.

I didn't experience a full Mosquito season, although I did feel like fresh meat when I landed, for all the mosquito jokes it wont ruin your Canada experience even if you do get bitten. The city are trying to work on natural control, by introducing more dragonflys into the area (they can eat 70 mossies a day). This will probably take a few years to establish. The city still fogs (insectiside), this is controversial but you do notice the difference.

Winnipeggers are very big on sport, and from my experience, anything your children have an interest in- Winnipeg can accommodate.

Winnipeg gets cold, very cold! But you get a low rainfall and BIG BRIGHT BLUE SKIES all winter.

Housing is cheap compared to other areas in Canada, the house we have bought here would need a lottery win for me to afford in England, plus I have reduced my mortgage by half, cleared English debt and now have some savings!

Manitoba is very positive towards immigration, Winnipeg is prosperous and wants to grow, it has the space to grow.



Darren

Rachelmark

Thanks for that Darren, it sounds like heaven, especially the bright blue skies bit.

Rachel

beeginger

we are Dave and Virginia from weymouth in dorset and have just returned from a fact finding holiday in Calgary but actually came away with a couple of job offers and the best was Winnipeg driving long haul. we hope to be out there by march. although calgary was great, winnipeg as an initial place to live and work was better. are you a truck driver then as well?

George-Ang

Yes Dave i am a truck driver, i work for Big Freight Systems Inc there main base for haulage is in Steinbach, this is about 40 mins from winnipeg down the route 12, but they also have a yard just inside the winnipeg perimiter road,,, so it all depepnds on wether you want to do long haul, these runs are normally 10 days away, or short haul, on this you can be home every night, but would run from the winnipeg yard, we live in st anne, this is about 30 mins west on the route 1 and i am only 15 mins from Steinbach.if you goto big freights web site you will find a link that says emmigration or some thing, there is a freephone number you can call to speak to some one, and yes they are still recruiting Brit drivres, we just got 45 brand new trucks, and they need butts in them, hope this helps mate, and if they ask you how you found them, plz give my name, if your taken on after 6 months i get $500 bonus for reccomending you

crazydaisy

Hi there - sorry for being so elusive, we're planning on leaving Canada for Ireland so have spent most of my time hanging around the Irish forum! Feeling all guilty now! The Winnipeg brit meetup group was discontinued by the meetup.com site. This was because they wanted to charge $9.99 USD per month just to run the bloomin' thing and my group is small (about 13 members last I looked) and no-one felt able to contribute and I couldn't afford to pay the fees myself. With that in mind I started a new forum called The Britz which is aimed at brits in all parts of Canada not just Winnipeg where people could arrange their own meetups or chat without paying any fees (similar to this board of course!). I am still organising meetups meanwhile and what I do is I have a list of invitees and every 2 months invite people using evite.com which allows you to design your own invites and view RSVP's etc. I did try to arrange a meetup for November but apart from a small number of regulars the others didn't even view the invite (as host I can see who did and who didn't view) so with that in mind I cancelled the event. The regulars will be having a small party together once one has returned from the UK. There will probably be another event organised early next year so if any one fancies coming they can drop me a line with their email address in my private mail box and I'll add you onto the evite list. I can also answer the question regarding the Brit store in Winnipeg. It is owned by one of the meetup members and their website is Raging Brits They have recently started stocking up on some Brit food too including choccies and if you see some pics on the wall as you walk in they may be ones that I designed (just a quick plug there!). I also gave some business cards for The Britz to go in the store so you may even be able to find a card to take home with you. Unfortunately I will be needing a new organiser to take over from me with the meetups after June next year but the forum will continue running for years to come hopefully!

Hope that answers the questions! Best wishes,

crazydaisy

crazydaisy

Just a quickie to let you know that a new meetup is in the works for Winnipeggers around about the end of Jan. The choices are Mexican, Greek/Italian or a trip to the Regent Casino to dine in the Royal Palms Restaurant followed by a tour of the walkthrough aquarium. Anyone not currently on my evite list are welcome to drop me a line by using the private message service on this board. Also anyone currently on my evite list who would rather not receive automatic invites can let me know too and I'll remove them from the list.

Have a great New Year celebrations and hope to see some more faces in 2006!

Grah

Hi CrazyD,
Casino sounds good and the walk through/under fishtank is ok for about 5 minutes, especially if you don't like watching fish swim. Have you been on the Manitoba history train at Regent Street, yet?

Amazing they don't have these two attractions where kids can see them.

Whereabouts for the other choices?

MapleDragon

hey grah, can you tell me more about this train? My family are flying in in 3 days and I'm kinda stuck for things to do. (as it was all done in October on their last visit.)

I was thinking about snowman building, skating and sleding for my 8 year old neice, but that seems to have gone out of the window... along with all the snow?!

when is this heatwave going to end? haha