Hi guys,
My GF has started the application for perminant residency which she has before sponsored by her family living in Alberta. We are looking for recommendations for places to live. We would love to live in BC as we love the coast but having looked at houses we may have to consider elsewhere. Her family live in Alberta (Loydminster). I work in the security sector as a bodyguard but I am also studying a degree in Security and Risk management. I'm currently working overseas and earn a decent salary which I could continue to do if we move to Canada should employment prove difficult. Our requirements are below any advice would be great. I currently work in the gas and oil industry but could work security consultancy.

1. Close to a good mountain (love snowboarding)
2. Close enough to a city or large town (2hrs drive)
3. Quiet enough but with decent entertainment (young couple)
4. Cheaper house prices with decent size houses.
5. Plenty of shops and restaurants etc.
6. In Alberta initially but will look to move to BC. Unless someone can suggest somewhere cheap enough in BC or anywhere with decent security jobs (oil and mining etc)

Many thanks

Wayne

Must add to this that I will look to have her sponsor me once her application has completed and we will be getting married in the future.

Hi, welcome to BE.

Who is sponsoring your gf? It's just that it's very unusual for an adult to be able to be sponsored, is it her child sponsoring her?

And you could be sponsored in the future once she's a PR, but do be aware that you can't marry or be deemed 'common-law spouses' before she has landed and obtained PR (if you are, then she must declare you on her application). Your PR would take around 8-10 months or so after she's got PR and is living in Canada (she can't apply from the UK, so must move first).

As for where to live, what do you class as 'cheaper houses'? AB or BC aren't the first places that spring to mind for cheap housing, but it depends on what you class as cheap I guess! Sounds like somewhere west a bit of Calgary would suit so that you can drive to skiing in the rockies perhaps? But those that live in AB will be able to advise, and also advise as to the availability of jobs in your field.

Best of luck with it.

Thank you for the quick reply,
Without going into too much detail her mother is sponsoring her under special circumstances. She lives in Canada with her other 3 siblings. House wise I was thinking around 330000 CAD for something that you can call a decent sized family home. I hate big city living after a year in London but want the option of a drive to the city.

Ah, ok, so I assume under H&C grounds. I rarely recommend people use a lawyer, but as an adult going under H&C I would say it's essential, fingers crossed she's got a good one and will be successful.

Not sure how much $330k will buy you but those in AB will be able to advise. Where does her family live, do you want to be close to them?

Her family live in Loydminster but they have informed us that it is deadly quiet and work is hard to come by. They also want to move to BC. We don't need to be super close to them but a 3-4 hr drive would be nice but not essential.

Red Deer has been recommended but I like the sound of Cochrane. We just want to collect some names for research and maybe pop out next year to check some places out.

Cochrane is supposed to be lovely, and we have a few forum members that live there I believe, hopefully they'll see this thread and be able to help you out. Red Deer is another place that I think one or two live in? If you haven't done so already, a forum search should bring up some relevant threads.

Just be careful about being too far away from her family, remember that for H&C you have to show 'unusual and undeserved or disproportionate hardship' as a reason for her PR app being approved, and if you're using her being apart from her family as that reason, it will be a bit difficult to be convincing if she's happy to still be 4 hours from them!

Best of luck with it all.

How do you define "bodyguard"? CQP for "important" people in the middle east or overweight "big" dude at pop concerts? I can't imagine that there is a huge call for either in Alberta although it would appear that you may not need to work in Canada. If that is the case, how do you intend to meet your residency requirement if you obtain PR?

None of the cities in Alberta are anything comparable to London so don't discount "city" living.

$330,000 will get you a largeish property outside of Calgary and the surrounds. I would't want to live in Lloydminister.

$330,000 in Cochrane may be pushing things a bit.

There are not many places in Alberta that are within a 3-4 hour commute of areas that most would wish to live in B.C. For example, Lake Louise is a 3 hour drive from Calgary.

Best of luck

Red Deer is a bit far for day trips to the mountains, we've done it but it's a long day, especially if your going to be active whilst visiting the mountains. Red Deer does have it's own ski area - google canyon ski if you want more info.

Red Deer has grown a lot in the 11 years we've been here. It's halfway between Edmonton and Calgary. The downturn has affected jobs, unemployment is fairly high, there is development going on like mad. Crime is up. It's not a bad city if your raising family and they are trying to give the downtown core some Ooomph.

We like Red Deer but we are planning on moving somewhere with a lot more diversity. It's a fairly transient city, people move for work from all over and then move back when there are either no jobs or they have finished with work. We are off when work is finished.

Houses in that range are more than doable in Cochrane - you can get new build in fact. We haven't yet hit the bottom of the market, although it's close I feel.

Example homes:
https://www.realtor.ca/Residential/S...-River-Heights
https://www.realtor.ca/Residential/S...9-Sunset-Ridge
https://www.realtor.ca/Residential/S...Alberta-T4C0X4
https://www.realtor.ca/Residential/S...9-Sunset-Ridge