Hello all,

I'm wondering if there are any current or previous residents of Edmonton that might be able to give their thoughts on the city and my situation. I've been offered a construction job there starting in the Spring with a biggish sized company. The wage on offer will be around $20 per hour initially. If the lmo is approved and all goes well I should be there in Spring sometime. I will be on my own there to start off and the plan is to rent a nice affordable room in a quiet area. I won't be buying a car for the first while by the looks of it. The work sites are fairly central I'm told (but then that might not always be the case) so am looking for somewhere with good transport links to the centre first and foremost but not too far out in case I have to work elsewhere in the city. Any suggestions for areas to live? It doesn't bother me if there isn't loads of nightlife, pubs or restaurants tbh.

And I'm wondering if anyone has managed without a car in Edmonton and what it was like. Were the trains and buses reliable?
Also I'm curious if work is shut down sometimes on building sites during the very cold months there. Has anyone heard of this happening in Edmonton?

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Hope you get the answers you need from this thread.

It might be worth mentioning for the sake of anybody reading that your wife intends to join you once you've settled in and that she won't have an open work permit, so that $20ph would need to support you both unless she can get a LMO/TWP in her own right.

It's tough to survive Alberta winters without a car. On the positive, however, since there's no MOT you can buy very old cars for cheap and run them relatively cheaply.

Thanks for the info guys,been looking into this myself too!

Does engine size make a difference to the insurance like it does over here,ie would I be cheaper buying say a Subaru forester 2.5ltr AWD than something with a 3.4ltr or larger engine?

Is a UK no claims cert/renewal cert any use over there at all? Curious if it makes any difference,or if we start from scratch again.

Ta for the replies so far.

Just to be clear, we're under no illusions that $20ph would support 2 people comfortably for any length of time. The updated plan is herself to stay working here until a job offer is forthcoming or some sort of visa gotten ie AINP etc and if something doesn't turn up with them she'll come on a 2 week job-seeking recce.

I would take confirmation of your NCB and proof of a clean driving record e.g. No speeding tickets, demerit points etc. A good broker should be able to get you better rates than starting from scratch. Good luck with your move.

Thanks mate,just got my renewal through,I'm hoping to leave before I renew it lol,just done the bloomin road tax there.

It is worth finding out if confirmation of NCB is sufficient for insurers in Alberta. It isn't in BC. Here you need written confirmation from the insurance company that you have been insured from ..... to ..... and have had no at-fault claims during this time.

Has something changed then, I thought it was the norm when someone had an LMO and WP for the spouce to have an open one.

Only if the TWP holder is in a job that is Skill Level A, O or B - the OP's job will be Skill Level C, so his wife won't qualify for a SOWP.