dave 2

Hi

This is my first time on here!

We have almost made the decision to live in Canada, the Toronto area, well, Kitchener, Burlington, and maybe Windsor areas...

We would really like to know if anyone out there knows if the demand for Carpenters is high? Also how do you bear up through the winters, Ive heard they are very very cold! Does everything stop in winter?

Thanks

Jo

Cowtown

Do you really think everything will stop for winter? In Calgary it can go to minus 40 (with windchill) - minus 28 without windchill. Does that qualify as "very, very cold" - for Calgary then yes but generally not for Canada as there are many colder places!

britishvixen21

What I think Dave meant was cow with the snow does construction work shut down.
I have freinds who are carpenters and they dont stop working they just do outside stuff in summer and inside stuff in winter
Carpenters are in Huge Huge Huge demand here in toronto you wont have any trouble getting a job. as for the cold its cold everywhere in Canada they dont call it the big white north for nothing LOL.

But seriously its a different cold here and youl soon learn that if your house was burning down that youd save your thinsulte gloves and marks and sparks thermal underwear before the wife and kids. as long as you wrap up warm always wear a hat, scarf and gloves and master the art of layering youl be fine.

dave 2

Yes, I can imagine there being much colder places, and no I didnt think things would stop over there like they do here with an inch or so!

anyway, i get the jist..Its cold.

dave 2

Well thankyou for your reply!
And you were spot on about the snow and construction, and how it works.
Its good to hear the carpenters are in demand, ive looked on loads of web sites, and couldnt really find anything out about, so thanks.

Ive heard you dont get Marks and Sparks out there? Will have to stock up.
So, what about the summers?

dbd33

The chippies I see in the pub work all hours in the summer, less so in the winter. Carpentry isn't as extreme as, say, roofing, but they do tend to have seasonal beards.

dave 2

So there are pubs over there then? Another thing id heard was that the Canadian Social scene was just visiting friends in their homes etc! Pls tell me this is not true!

jcexit

Yep. There is the Queens Head in Burlington to begin with. There you can get Boddingtons, Bass, Tetleys, and Guinness on draft and steak and kidney pie, steak and mushroom pie, liver and bacon, bangers and mash and fish and chip dinners. Also, there is the Charles Dickens, The Poacher and Emmas Back Porch (well, nearly a pub).

britishvixen21

There are so many english pubs here like one on every corner, summers are great very hot, and fall, fall is my fav season. and yeah stock up on the long johns we dont have marks and sparks

My nan sends me em every year bless her.

have you applied yet?

britishvixen21

Here is the goverment website for job searches

http://jb-ge.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/Prov_en.asp?Student=false

Hope it helps

dbd33

That very much depends on the area. Around here, there's very much a pub scene but it's true that as one moves into the suburbs people entertain more at home. The problem is that, outside the city core, there's no public transit to speak of and the housing projects, subdivisions, contain only houses, not shops or pubs. A place where everyone must drive can't support many pubs.

Cowtown

Have you been to Calgary?

dbd33

Yes, a couple of times, but only downtown. There was an elevated people mover thingy in an area of bars and restaurants. I have a client there and talk to them most days but my contacts there are Newfies so they have a very specific perception of the city.

My comments were intended to refer to Toronto but they're true of most US cities, Montreal, Ottawa and, I'd guess, Calgary.

CalgaryBlade

Within 10 mins walk of our house there are numerous pubs, bars, restuarants and take-out places all very busy and tw*t free.

Judy in Calgary

I don't know what your question implies, Cowtown. That is, I don't know if it implies agreement or disagreement with dbd33 or something else.

I live in Oakridge, which I suppose could be called a neighbourhood that is an intermediate distance from downtown. It isn't close in, like Elbow Park, but neither is it far out, like Bridlewood.

The public transportation situation here is not great. There is no bus that goes directly from our neighbourhood to the downtown core. We have to catch a feeder bus to the train station.

In that sense we are worse off than we were before the introduction of the LRT (commuter train). During the morning and afternoon rush hours, we used to have express buses to and from downtown. They were very well used, and their patrons regretted their cancellation when the LRT was built.

The feeder buses come every 15 minutes during rush hour and every half hour during the day. However, the #80 bus from Heritage Station ceases at 6.15 p.m. If I'm on the train after that, I have to go further, to Southland Station, and catch the #79 bus, which is a much longer and more circuitous trip for me.

After 9.24 p.m., the #79 bus drops from a half hourly service to an hourly service. It occasionally has happened that I've worked late to meet an urgent deadline, and it has taken me two hours to get home.

Oakridge has a population of between 6,000 and 6,500, and it has one pub, the Point & Feather. It seems to be a popular place, as there are always lots of cars parked outside it. But I would be very surprised if more than a handful of its patrons -- if that -- reached it by public transportation.

So I would say dbd33's statement is a broadly accurate description of the public transportation situation in my neighbourhood.