Davethebrickie

Hi folks new on here and wondering if anyone could help us out, me and my paRtner are in the process of applying for work to live visas in Canada,I am a bricklayer and she is a bookkeeper we are at the stage where I need a job offer,so we have been looking at properties to rent in calgary (our preferred location but depends on job offer) and some of them are expensive so we are wondering if it would be better to stay outside calgary and if so what areas are good ?,any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jingsamichty

99% of houses here are timber framed on concrete basements... not a lot of work for brickies I'm afraid.

Davethebrickie

Been looking for jobs and a good few been advertised in the area but have to speak to an employer and see what the situation is but thanks for the heads up.

Jingsamichty

Bricklaying would be a seasonal job as well Dave... no laying mortar at -30C. You might need to think about a winter trade as well, say from Nov-April.

Davethebrickie

Aye a had been looking into that and seemed that they managed to work around it a lot better than we do here but it was definitely something I had concerns over, it's still the dream though so we will make it work somehow,seemed to me a lot of the work available was building Industrial units and not housing.

beaujolais

Bricklayers are not highly called for in Calgary and you may well be better off looking for somewhere like Vancouver. Or you may be re training or out of work for quite some time Good luck

Jingsamichty

OK, best of luck. Anyway, it seems that rental properties in Calgary are like gold-dust at the moment, and finding a bargain might be very tough.

There's no such thing as a bad area in and and around Calgary really, they're all pretty much of a muchness - your main concerns would probably be commuting and/or schools.

Davethebrickie

Thanks for the help guys not the news I wanted but good to go in with our eyes open,like I said it's our preferred choice but we knew it would depend on my work and re training is something I would be looking at anyway into construction management which I started here.

beaujolais

There is always work in the mountains ie: Canmore Banff area which could tide you over for a while until you settle, both towns have a good community spirit, but are expensive to rent in. You need to work in Banff if you live in the town. But on the upside there is loads to do and you don't have to drive miles to do it. Take a look- unless you are a city person who likes driving you might prefer these communities, both towns have hospitals, schools and everything else you could ever need all with a view!

christmasoompa

Sounds like a good plan. If bricklaying work is scarce and seasonal, you wouldn't get a LMO for it, so will need a plan B. Construction Management is more likely to get you a LMO, and if you've done it for a year or more now then you could even apply for PR as a FSW without a job offer?

Best of luck.

Steve_

There are no areas with any appreciable rentals outside of Calgary. Airdrie maybe or Chestermere. There is a labour shortage here combined with a housing shortage.

I'm not quite so pessimistic about bricklaying as a trade; there aren't that many bricklayers about and brick-faced housing does seem to be getting more popular. But yes, some other construction trade would help.

Davethebrickie

Thanks Steve it's good to hear a little more positive feedback but I understand it's going to be a different ball game from here and we are prepared to do whatever it takes to make it work for us.

MovALot

Hey Dave

Good to see you are making the plunge, as someone who achieved PR in Aus, my advice is stay positive and keep chasing the dream. I am lucky to have a job offer in Calgary and waiting on the dreaded positive LMO before a move, I have also been looking for any rentals property wise but it seems there is a shortage. Same problem I had when moving to Perth 3 years ago, again my advice is wait and suss it out if and when you get there, things always change and move in City's, Good Luck.

P.S

Take the good comments and bad in equal measure on forums, everyone's walk is a different path