wesleyk

hi there
so this is my first post,sorry if it has been asked before..

so i currently living in vancouver on a work permit.i have applied for my canadian residency. once i have been accepted i would like to move away from vancouver.
my trade is bricklaying..so there are just a few questions i have

1. what kind of wage will i be looking at?
2.is work easy to come by?
3.what happens in the winter? do the construction sites close down?

toronto would be my first choice,but id be happy to take advice on other parts of canada.

dbd33

My brother worked here, in Toronto, as a bricklayer, illegally, for maybe seven years before marrying a Canadian. That was a while back. At the time winter work was available, under giant heated tents, but getting that work was fiercely competitive.

He originally came on holiday, mentioned that he was a brickie in the pub and was offered a job for cash money and stayed. iirc his original wage was $25/hr laying blocks, it went up a bit after he got better connected but then he went off on his own building chimneys.

I don't imagine the flow of work has changed, he'd pick up jobs in the Longest Yard up by Eglinton, they'd usually go for one factory or warehouse and then he'd be back looking for another job.

wesleyk

thanks for the reply.

Deeny

Hi
Sorry I can't answer your questions with specifics,however; we have just returned from Toronto and I can say there is an enormous amount of constuction going on. There are condo/apartments being built everywhere so I would have thought there would be more than enough work for you.
By the way, we loved Toronto,unfortunately the property prices are way out of our budget!
Regards
Deeny

wesleyk

thank you for your reply.

are the property prices really that high over there..i have just moved to canada myself you see,so dont really know whats goign on.but i got told that every thing is heaps cheaper in toronto.

Deeny

Hello again

We haven't been to Vancouver so I can't compare with Toronto.What I will say is that we found eating out cheaper than the UK but the general price of clothes,CD's,books etc the same as the UK.We met with a couple in Ottawa that said they felt the cost of living to be around a 1/4 cheaper than the UK.
House prices were scary-a look around a few estate agent windows and a property paper showed the average price for a 3 bed apartment $1 MILLION CD, a house apprx 1 1/2 - 2 million! We were looking at housing for a family,your needs will be different,and therefore prices would be different.
This was also right in the centre,it gets cheaper as you go out.
With a lottery win we would be buying a place near the harbourfront tomorrow!
Regards
Deeny

dbd33

Ahem. Even in the Beach (an area I know very well) a nice house suitable for a family of five is way less than a million dollars. $400,000 gives you a limited choice, $600,000 a decent one. There are multi-million dollars houses but they're not the majority. There are also many cheaper areas within the bounds of the streetcar/subway.

wesleyk

yeh you always pay more in down town areas..im just renting as i dont really know where i want to live yet.but when i got to van,i was looking to rent down town and it was just ridiculous.

in vancouver its pretty cheap aswell..but again it all depends on where you are..like where i live i pay say 20 bucks for a jug of beer.and i can walk 10 mins down the road and i pay 14 bucks for a jug..

so for a 26 year old,single male...where would you guys reccommend living in toronto

Deeny

Well that is good news.
Sorry to have misled you,we only looked in a few windows, obviously the wrong ones!
If that's the case there may be hope for us then.
Deeny

dbd33

Assuming you are straight and enjoy fornicating with random strangers I suggest Yonge and Eglinton.

Bill_S

If straight, Church & Wellesley is RIGHT OUT.

dbd33

Oh but if you're not and if you enjoy a random stranger where better to be?

Mikey B

You slaggin of my fave hang out?

Doesnt Butch love it there too?

wesleyk

ha ha ha ha..yeh im straight and strangers sounds good.
thats what traveling is all about ..right

dbd33

Yes, it's something I've greatly enjoyed. Apart from Yonge and Eg the area around the St. Lawrence market might suit, lots of bars around there and you could walk to the "entertainment district" where there are many more bars and clubs.