Hello All,

I am a newbie and this is my first post.
Hubby has a job offer in Calgary and LMO in process as we speak! Reading loads on the internet and think I'm reading so much I'm getting confused
Once the LMO has been approved, do we then need to apply for a temporary work permit before heading out to Canada or is the LMO all we need to get in?
It will be me & Hubby plus our two little boys, aged 6 & 3.
Also, we are looking at Mckenzie Towne or surrounding areas. Any comments on these?
We were over briefly in February and I seemed quite taken by the area, had a 'family' feel about it.

Any comments or thoughts much appreciated

Hi, and welcome to BE.

If the LMO is approved (don't make any concrete plans until it is with so many being refused at the mo!), then your husband may be able to just get his TWP at the airport when you arrive, but it will depend on his job and nationality. Have a read of this to see if he could do that or if he'd need to apply via the London visa office and get it before you go - http://britishexpats.com/wiki/TWP_:_...o_apply-Canada

I've edited your thread title so that it's a bit more specific and so that those in the area you hope to move it will see it and respond. If you haven't read it already, then have a look at the 'Newcomers' sticky thread (link in my signature) which has useful tips for how to use the forum.

HTH a bit, best of luck.

I've been through that part of Calgary a couple of times and it seems ok, others on here have commented on good transport links, family friendly yada yada yada. so it should be good and suit your needs

i live in Mackenzie..well the new Brighton part..im sure im not the only one on here that does who in habits this forum..great for kids and families you cant go wrong really

Thanks guys for your comments.
Always nice to hear from 'real people' instead of reading pages of writing on the internet!
Fingers and toes crossed now that the LMO is accepted..
I'm sure I'll be back on with more questions very soon

We lived in the heart of Mckenzie Towne for 6 months...Had moved from Burnaby BC to try out Calgary as there was so much buzz about cheap cost of living, affordable housing and making more money and got a job at the new South health campus hospital. I am a mental health nurse.
The towne itself has a family friendly feel, quiet I should say. We did not like it, I guess its because we just did not fall in love with Calgary as a city, I found it too expensive, (electric and gas bills $250 a month) and I was on my own for the most part as my husband would work in the east coast a lot. We dont have kids yet. The winter was harsh and the job is another story. Public transit is ok, takes an hour to get into down town Calgary, no train in the towne so its buses but then you can drive. The rents I find are ridiculous, we were renting a 2 bed townhouse for $1500 and then add the $250 for hydro. We tried looking around but even some apartments are going $1600 for 2 beds. Overall, the area is nice and family oriented. For us we decided to return to BC.. Good luck.

My husband didn't come and buy bits of car from you at the weekend did he???

We have visted McKenzie on a few occasions, we would look at houses there.

no but he might have seen me mowing my front lawn yesterday

We live in McKenzie Towne and love it as a neighbourhood. For a young family (we have 3 small children) it's ideal as it's full of young families and has tons of playgrounds as well as a couple of indoor play areas (one of course which we never go to due to price - but I guess it's there anyway!) Unlike most Canadian neighbourhoods it is pretty self-contained and everything you need is within walking distance or a 5 minute drive.
The shopping area at 130 Ave is your classic big box area and not walkable but the High street is nice and we often go there for ice cream or a cupcake.
The killer is the commute - there are a lot of bus routes but they are 35-40 min (35 on a good day) so if you're walking at either end of the route it can easily be an hour. Deerfoot is backed up but there are alternate routes and i would definitely drive if we had a second car.
There are a lot of Brits who live in the area so it seems to work for a lot of people.

We too live in McKenzie Towne and I'm enjoying it so far! I like that everything I need is pretty much in the area but yes...the commute to downtown or the other end of the city can be a pain in the ass! It all depends on where you would be working I guess? There are also a few schools in the area but I think the only one above grade 4 (it might go up to grade 5..not too sure) is Catholic...so my son has to get the school bus at 7am to the area we actually moved from (Acadia) which is pretty crazy really! When we came here we were advised to buy near our son's school that's why we ended up in Acadia only to realise that it was like a 'retirement village' and most of the kids at Acadia and David Thompson were actually bussed in from McKenzie Towne and New Brighton! So, our son didn't really have anyone to play with in Acadia..now he has plenty of friends! I have considered sending him to one of the catholic schools here in the area as I do find the 7am bus journey a bit much...especially during the winter months when it's dark and catholic school didn't do me any harm! Lol! But on the whole the area is family friendly, plenty of shops (including the English candy shop!) and there is also a new hospital in the next community (Auburn Bay) so it's seems to be gradually coming together

As I say whenever this subject comes up... the ring road will be finished on November 1st. And a lot of businesses are located on 52 St SE.

Also at some point there is supposed to be a C-train route up from Seton Blvd SE along 52 St SE to downtown.

The traffic even now is nowhere near as bad as it is on 37 St SW or Sarcee Trail and it will improve, whereas the SW ring road won't open until November 2017.

At the moment traffic is a dogs dinner..52nd street is down to one lane..they are closing the 84th Street/ Glenmore intersection which means even more traffic on 52nd avenue..and because 52nd ave is down to one lane means even more traffic on Deerfoot.

They are closing 84th/Glenmore to complete the Stony trail intersection onto Glenmore...I was reading in the paper that Stony trail south east section will open on October 1st

Yeah but that's only temporary, my alderman said the SE ring road would open on November 1st, there's been a problem with one of the overpasses or something, on their website it says: "fall" http://www.sestproject.ca/wp-content...ummer-2012.pdf

Anyway suffice to say the road infrastructure is better in the SE than the SW.

But that is purely a fluke of not having to have to deal with the T'suu Tina.

Once the western side of the ring road is resolved (I appreciate that it has been ongoing for some time), they should both be similar.

Once stoney trail is complete to Highway 22x then next summer they will be digging up Deerfoot