Hey,

My husband is starting a job in Saskatoon in October this year. We will be moving from the Uk with our three children (12, 10 & 7).

I’ve tried looking online and asking on Facebook groups but no one seems forthcoming or very helpful.

We’d like to rent in a safe community in or outside Saskatoon. With good schools and a good school bus system or walkable.

Please could anyone help with moving there and getting everything put into place 🙏 thank you

Hi, welcome to BE.

If you can give people a bit more info i.e. your budget, what kind of house you'd want, where your husband will need to commute to, then I'm sure they will be happy to help with suggested places.

Best of luck with the move.

Thank you we are thinking we will start small and low side of budget to make sure we are comfortable and settled before expanding.

Ideally 2 bedroom apartment or house - $1400-2000per month

He will be reporting in Saskatoon but will travel between sites. I’d like to set up a base for me and the kids around the Saskatoon area 😊

Very sensible, with the cost of everything in Canada! Ah, ok, so it doesn't matter so much whereabouts you live? I've never even visited Saskatoon I'm afraid, but hopefully those that live there will be along to help you shortly.

Might be worth searching the forum to find previous threads as well, it might give you some pointers on where to start.

Are you planning a trip out there before October? To scout out areas and look at schools?

Nope, we’re going fully out there cold Turkey 🙈

Would the employer include a scouting trip as part of your husbands relocation package? Most do, so it would be worth asking if it's not already been offered.

I'm not sure if you appreciate where you're moving to. It's an extremely isolated and rural part of Canada. I think for somebody moving there from the UK cold turkey, you're in for some real culture shock. Everyone in Saskatchewan drives everywhere and everything in Saskatchewan is built for driving, not public transportation or walking. The further you travel outside of the city, the more it will be entirely dependent upon having a car. Immediately surrounding Saskatoon are farmers fields and small towns that cater to the farming community. Are you a farmer? Not every community has a school bus service. However, as education is a provincial jurisdiction, and most children attend public schools, the reality is that there really isn't a great deal of difference in schools to warrant having to move next to a "good school" - they'll all be good enough. Don't get too hung up on the school. Talk to a relocation specialist or a real estate agent in Saskatoon who also deals in rentals - they will be able to share a good neighbourhood or a more walkable neighbourhood in Saskatoon (perhaps next to the river trails there). Good neighbourhoods will have good schools. It's a different mindset than in the UK. Don't worry so much about the school. Find a neighbourhood you like in an area you can afford and trust that the local school will be completely acceptable.

thank you - it’s not much different to where we live now, we can’t walk anywhere and have to drive. Our nearest shop is 4 miles and supermarket 14 miles away. My kids school is 8 miles away…but have seen Sask actually gives us more a community living.

I’ve been to 22 states of America and Vancouver / whistler. I think I’ve driven more miles in America over the years than here 🙈. It won’t be a surprise to us being in that way of living. Just to start with we will only have one car and hubby will need it for work x

You forgot the carnivorous black flies in summer and the flatness of the land where you can watch your dog run away for a week.

Good to hear!

I think, however, the main difference is that where you currently are, if you want to escape and venture into a big city, or a more built up environment, you can quickly and cheaply do so. In Saskatoon, the nearest big cities (Edmonton and Calgary) are a 5-6 hour drive away, and even they're not really big cities. It's rural flat-as-a-pancake farmland and oil/gas industry for thousands of miles around, literally. That's all. It will be like a completely different flavour of Canada compared to Whistler and Vancouver. However, it sounds as if you have the right mentality and are going into this with an open mind. Best of luck!

,,,, and winter lasts from October to end March........

Maybe try the Saskatoon reddit?
https://www.reddit.com/r/saskatoon/

I can't give any first hand experience unfortunately, but for walkable it's likely you're going to have to look into the historical areas built pre-WWII. These are the areas that Canadian cities most have in common with their European counterparts. Apparently the Broadway Avenue area is nice: https://www.discoversaskatoon.com/pl...hoods/broadway

For house prices there is https://realtor.ca - unfortunately Saskatchewan doesn't have any websites that show property sold prices, which makes it harder to find good deals and understand the market.

winter here has been from September - still going. It’s June 13th and we’re all still wearing coats

Just take a look at temperatures in Saskatoon in winter..... nothing like those in the UK

Sounds like Yorkshire.