Hey guys hopeing to move to calgary mid march 2013..any advice on a hostel or short term accomadation to stay at for the first few weeks? What would the weather be like then? i the info on sites can vary Also is there any bank thats better i should go with?also what phone would be best to get? i just want mostly for phoneing and txting back home to ireland..where should i be looking in calgary to live? and is there alot of jobs in pubs and cons for a hard working irish lad
Thanks Ross

The temperature could be +20, it could be -20. It could be dry, it could be wet. Most likely, it will be cold some days, warm on others with clear, blue skies.

The best place for accomodation will depend upon where in the City you will be working and what you intend to use for transport.

I have no idea which phone plans are best for phoning and texting Ireland.

There are nowhere near the amount of pubs in Calgary that you are likely used to seeing in Ireland. It should be relatively easy for you to go in and ask them if they are hiring.

Best of luck

get a smartphone and get an app like Viber or Whatsapp, free texting/calls using Data or Wifi - i phone and text the UK with it all the time!

banks are hit and miss....Scotiabank was the only one who called me back for an appointment, so i went with them - free banking for a year, and an unsecured credit card...does the job for now

Go for an average of minus 10 you should be okay

All the main banks offer pretty much the same service at the same cost (you pay for banking here as a general rule) so again it's irrelavent, stick a pin on your google page of the Canadian big 5 and you'll be good

You pay for outgoing AND INCOMING calls and texts (even if someone who you don't know calls you by mistake - you pay for it) so watch out for that. I wouldn't want to call the UK from a Canadian cell so the advice ablve is good.

Do you want downtown where all th action is or in the subaurbs where the families are or out in the sticks with some bears cows and horses??? You won't find 'pubs' as you are used to. Most of them sports bars and you don't go to the counter to get served, a waitress comes to your table, takes your drink order, brings it to you and you pay her.

Hey Mr Salmon and welcome to the forum.

I just landed in Calgary end of September.
From what I remember from the three years I was here on a work permit, weather in Feb will be cold. Your looking at anything between -10 to -25+. You'l get the odd chinook(Warm wheather fronts that come in and pick up the temp to like say +1 for a few days).

As for accommodation, Check out rentfaster.ca for room rentals. Im kinda lucky, im staying at my sisters till I get myself sorted.

Get a smart phone or bring one unlocked from back home. Im with a phone company called fido, I just got a sim card from them and I pay monthly. Again till Im a bit more settled then I'l get a contract. But as above, phone calls and texts are expensive. I use whattsapp to text back home and I use skype to make phone calls back to London.

As for jobs. Change your CV to a resume and make it skills based and specific to the industry your trying to get into. Start applying for jobs NOW.
Get in touch with some new comers to Calgary agencies.

http://www.centrefornewcomers.ca/living_calgary.shtml

http://www.immigrantservicescalgary.ca/

Get networking thats pretty much how its done here really. I was lucky. I went to a careers open day and got interviewed right away.

As for banks. Ironically I just got a job at TD. So I will say no more as I don't want to solicit. But as what is written above shop around. Banking is not free here. Visa debit cards are just coming out with TD bank right now.

If you have any other questions about the banking in general, ask away as im learning about it too right now so I'l help you out as much as I can.

Thanks very much everyone for all your comments yea basically i am traveling solo and don't no anyone in Calgary so i just want to have a kind of plan in place i have worked in Irish bars in the past so i just taught i might be able to pick of a job just to tie me over i either want to get work in the electrical game or a job in construction or anything (iant fussy) to tie me over for a while and hopefully in that time i will meet few friends networking etc. long term goal would be to get a job in the oil game.. i plan on staying in the wicked hostel for a couple of weeks till i get sorted i suppose i would want to live with somewhere of easy access to a bus to downtown till i get sorted wit a car i plan on doing a few safety courses which will look good on my cv or resume as you guys call it. i am currently making one up now..yea i have heard so many differant opinions about what network for a mobile phone to be on. so thats why i just asked was there any network or a deal that was a good one to get..yea i have heard scotiabank offering that deal so i probaly will go with them thanks for all your help

Hi
I know a lady in the NW Calgary who rents out a basement suite on short term arrangements let me know if you would like her contact info.

Have you even got work authorization? If you haven't then you're likely to be denied entry when you land.

It will be cold in mid-March, it's still winter. There isn't the same sort of pub culture as in Ireland or the UK, controls on alcohol are much tougher in Canada. Although having said that there are plenty of bars on 9th Ave, etc.

yes i will have a work visa for 2 years. and i don't drink anymore why does everyone always think that all Irish are alcoholics i am just hopeing to get a job in a pub to tie me over till i get a job as an electrician or in the oil sands.thanks ross

Scotiabank offer a program called StartRight for new immigrants - you get free banking for a year and a credit card - which is something that is hard to get as you don't have a credit rating in Canada. It's got a pretty low limit, but better than nothing! We went with Scotiabank and have found it to be good, no problems so far.

We spent AGES trying to sort out a phone, find the best deal etc etc....Ended up going PAYG with a company called Wind. They're one of the only ones (that we could find anyway) that don't charge for incoming calls. Plus, all texts are free. We call home on Skype so don't know about call costs to UK/Ireland but would guess it would be pretty expensive to call from a cell on PAYG....
Seem to be lots of jobs around in Calgary, 17th Avenue has a lot of pubs/bars - as others have said your best bet is to just go in and ask.
We just moved here in August so feel free to PM me with any questions!

-31 today, makes work entertaining!!! Went to the toilet on site the other day, felt like id had an epidural. Couldnt feel a thing from the waist down.