hi
im 46 my wife 45

im a welder (not coded)

wife is a nurse manager

after 4 long years we got our residensy cards ....please excuse bad spalling...not my fault this is a no frills keyboard and its illiterate...

mrs as handed her notice in..3 months and counting.....so on or around the 1st may 2011 we shall be ariving in edmonton.......GULP...



so
WHAT THE HELL DO WE DO NOW????????????????

WE HAVE NO JOBS SET UP
NO HOUSING
NO CAR
NO INSURANCE


all advice please

Just out of curiosity, if you've no job/house etc. yet, why are you decided on Edmonton?

I'm not saying Edmonton's not a good choice, just wondering why you've decided that's the place for you?

Hi, We will be doing the very same thing as you.. Landing in Edmonton and having to find work, car, house to rent.. On a plus side for you is there seems to be plenty work out there for welders. I was in Edmonton before living and working until I got laid off and had to come home as I was only on a temp work permit. Last time we were living in a hotel for 10 night and rented a car... That gave us plenty time to find a house to rent and buy a car... The only thing I will be changing this time around will be for me to go myself and get all the car and rented house thing done before the family follow... Good luck to you.

yea im finding it a wee bit stressful now ...after 4 years waiting for visa and 1 year deciding where to go...love the look of edmonton....love the rockies lakes etc..and only 24 hrs driving time to las vegas..but seriously...will i find work easy to come by?..i have no red seal or welding codes...but have made here in uk ...lorry trailers to scaffolding to general fabrications plus production welding...aluminium tig welding and mig welding.

ive tried a few companies but i think the second i say im in the uk its deleted.

well we have been to vancouver...love the place.....but will i find work????????
been to nova scotia...love the place ....but again...work

alberta...plenty of work...
and i love the area
and i just love the look of the west end mal
minus 40 in the winter dont float my boat...but there again theres california for a holiday
do i want the pavements made of gold?
no
but if the job situation is as it was in the uk 20 years ago..ill be very happy

3 months will pass in the blink of an eye. Try to save as much as possible whilst still in the UK, because money goes quickly once you arrive.

If you, like many, want to be near the Rockies, I'd suggest Calgary rather than Edmonton. The latter is about 4hrs drive from the Rockies, whereas you can actually see them from Calgary.

Buying a car is pretty straighforward, and a week or so rental whilst looking is inexpensive.

'Scuse me?

well i think we will give eddy ago 1st...dunno why just gotta a feeling

Have you done a search of the forum to see what other peeps have said about Edmonton? Not saying it won't suit you, but may make interesting reading!

Re: job hunting, have a read of the Job Hunting section of the Wiki to understand how to go about finding work out there - just sending emails is highly unlikely to result in anything, it's just not the way Canadians do things. Remember that Canada has only recently come out of recession as well, so don't expect miracles, and make sure you've got enough to live on for at least 6 months as often new immigrants find it tough to get any work without the seemingly essential 'Canadian experience'!

Good luck.

Has your wife prepared everything for the CRNE exam, assuming she plans to continue nursing when you get here?

Has she had transcripts of her education prepared?

Also, when you read everyone's opinion of Edmonton on here remember that one man's meat is anothers poison. So just take everything with a dash of salt.

We moved here in April 2008 and are very happy. We live on the outskirts of Edmonton.

Good luck

We live in Edmonton too- well, Sherwood Park, but close enough.
Any questions, give me a shout.

to be honest ..we have thought about nova scotia ,vancouver
van island.....all places have positive and negative
i think we may as well try eddy 1st....im happy to go any where in canada ...as long as we can support ourselves we can always move on .
i think once we are in canada we will hopefully settle in quite quick...we intend to come to canada to fit in..we dont expect canada to fit around us

Good prospects for welders in Edmonton - there are lots of module fabrication yards.

Don't know about the transferability of trade certs, but if you've already got PR then it should be easy enough to get a start at the ground floor and prove your way up the ladder.

this is what im hopeful about ...im from the west midlands in the uk...and i think its fair to say that manufacturing is dieing here...sounds to me ..thanks to the oil ..and growing cities that manufacturing is increasing in alberta...
me im willing to become an apprentice at 46 ! if they are willing to train im willing to learn..

Hi there

I strongly suggest a short term furnished rental for a week or two and hire a car, then look for a more permanent place while you meet people and get a feel of the areas. I stayed at a house in Edmonton, probably not in the 'nicest' area, but we had no troubles at all, seemed safe enough to me. Nice and close to safeway and of course close to the West Edmonton Mall which you mentioned.

Might cost a bit more for the short term rental, but I think it's a great way to have somewhere to drive to from the airport and have everything ready. The owners were really nice too, left their number and I called a few times for general advice around the place. www.comfortzonevacations.com is the website.

There are others around, but this one was good as we have kids. You may get something in an apartment building if there is just the two of you, but it gives you a starting point. Google "vacation rentals edmonton" and you will get a few results! www.vrbo.com had some from memory

Good luck in the move into your new life, we love Canada and will be there for our permanent move soon-ish!

Wayne