A positive start in Calgary
 

Hi guys,

My wife and I arrived in Halifax, NS on the 30th June. Arrival at Halifax was a breeze. We spoke to a nice young lady at immigration who let us enter as visitors for 6 months so we could job hunt and activate our working holiday visas at a later date. She had to do a little research and took photocopies of things like passports, LOI, savings etc. We spent about 10 days with my uncle and his lady on their farm enjoying the top weather, bbq's, general farm chores and also some touristy stuff in the Halifax area.

We flew across to Calgary on the 11th and started hunting for cars, a home, jobs etc. Finding a home was tricky because we have a small dog and had a bit of pressure from my parents in the UK who are looking after her to get into a home quick. We found a place in Cochrane and move in soon, good news. We also picked up a clean Ford Explorer which hopefully will be a reliable car. I also got offered a job this morning which is great news as now the pressure is off financially. I had 3 interviews last week and had 3 more lined up this week which I've now cancelled. There's definitely IT work in Calgary!

So, all in all, it's going well for us so far. Plenty of prep' before getting here paid off as did the advice from members on here. In addition, we're very lucky that a friend has given us somewhere to live for as long as it takes for us to find our own place.

So our first month in Canada is drawing to a close and it's been great. We now need to wait for our PR decision and we'll likely put in an application through Alberta's PNP stream because we don't want to go back!

Thanks for reading! :)

Re: A positive start in Calgary
 

Congrats on the job offer - that is a great start! :thumbup:

Welcome to Cochrane - hope you are gonna like it - great little town. :)

Re: A positive start in Calgary
 

Thanks Ann :) it's a lovely place, I think we're going to be happy here!

Re: A positive start in Calgary
 

Congratulations :D

What type of IT work do you?

Re: A positive start in Calgary
 

Thanks :) I've had a fair bit of experience as a software developer and I've found work doing that here quite easily.

Re: A positive start in Calgary
 

Welcome to Cochrane! We have been living here for 3 months and we love it!

Re: A positive start in Calgary
 

Will you have to flagpole to activate your visa?

Re: A positive start in Calgary
 

Thanks, things are going well so far! :)

Re: A positive start in Calgary
 

We've already done that step. We went south into the US and went to a National Park and a hotel. All very nice! Now that's done we're free to work! :)

Re: A positive start in Calgary
 

Glad it's all going well!

Re: A positive start in Calgary
 

Really great to hear of your successful start, rubberduck. Long may you continue to be happy and successful there. :thumbsup:

Re: A positive start in Calgary
 

Thanks guys, it's been hard work getting ourselves over here and we're still waiting on PR as many are but it's been good. We've met a lot of very friendly people and we're already putting down some roots here :)

Re: A positive start in Calgary
 

Can this be true? You sound almost glad to be there! Can this really be the same country I have heard so much about?:huh:
Aren't you already annoyed by their shallowness and lack of personality?:huh:
Haven't you had the mickey taken out of your accent yet?
Aren't you already mortally offended by the fact that they have "Beautiful B.C - the best place on earth" plastered everywhere?
Haven't you already been discriminated against at work because you are foreign?:ohmy:
Aren't you even now completely brassed off that you cannot get the full range of cheap beer in the local supermarket that you used until recently to be able to get in your local Tesco at any hour of the day or night?:frown:
NO?:eek:
You are HAPPY???:whatchutalkingabout
Well, wonders will never cease!
Whatever you do, don't tell some of the Expats - you will be lynched as a traitor:lol:
(Sarcasm over;))
Congratulations to you all. Enjoy your new life.:thumbsup:

Re: A positive start in Calgary
 

:rofl: thanks, it's all going great thanks :) I've only been in the country for a month but I want this to be permanent, I love the place. Everyone's been so friendly and helpful and day-to-day life is good so far :)

Re: A positive start in Calgary
 

Congratulations, and welcome to Cochrane. We have been here just over a year and love the town.

I hope you get your PR soon and can put down some permanent roots.

:thumbsup:

Poppit