hi oh has 2 job offers as bricklayer one in calgary/edmonton and other in vancouver, just wanted to get peoples opinions to help us make a decision. I know that everything is subjective, but would value peoples experiences.

Oh is wondering about job and weather ie. if he will be laid off during winter, if there are any blocklayers in calgary in particular, who could give him any info would be grateful.

Also stuff on housing (rentals), schools, childcare etc (travelling with 2 kids, 10 & 5). Have done the research on Wiki, which is very comprehensive, but would like some personal experiences, thanks a mil

Anne

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=512029
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=466641

thanks for those 2 links bazzz , have read them both, the weather is one of the reasons for posting, oh is worried that in calgary he will not be able to lay blocks in winter and will be laid off.

Anne

Hi Anne,

Can't answer the question re being laid off in winter but having visited Vancouver and Calgary, we ended up in Calgary (south of, place called Okotoks). Our blog (see link below) will give you a feel for things around Calgary (we've been here since October 07).

Try a search for past posts on [name of city]+house rentals and likewise on education. There's been lots of coverage on these things in the past.

Have you visited any of Vancouver, Calgary or Edmonton before...if not, would be worth a tour of all 3 before making a final decision.

Kind regards,

Eamonn & Janet.

thanks Eamonn & Janet, have already had a look at your blog it is very good we are veering more toward calgary and was looking at Okotoks, it looks quite nice and the house rentals seem quite reasonable.

There are also a few catholic schools in that area,(that are not private), not overtley religious but would like to keep some continuity for the kids seeing as they are coming from school in Ireland.

God, we are still even unsure of the move, worried about the effect it will have on kids and ourselves, anyway nothing ventured - nothing gained!

Anyway thanks for replying, ive noticed your always in there with advice for people Anne & Anthony

Hi Anne & Anthony,

If you're finding Okotoks rentals then you probably have the link to the Western Wheel (Okotoks weekly local paper) classifieds...but just in case...
http://www.westernwheel.com/classifieds.htm

Feel free to PM us if there is anything we can do to help or any questions you have. I (Eamonn) might only be a Plastic Paddy (my Mum and Dad were born and brought up in Limerick City but moved to the UK in the 1950's before the 7 kids came along!) but I was taught to treat others as I like to be treated so I will be more than pleased to help.

Kind regards,

Eamonn (& Janet).

Thanks for that it is a great link will follow up on it, oh was born in Limerick, but was brought up in kilkenny, where we live now, tell me does it snow as much as they say?

I've never yet made it to Kilkenny but hear it is a fine place. Re the snow, we posted just today with some thoughts on that...post number 6 on this thread...
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=557525

A surprise for us (we have only done one winter thus far) was that the worst (and wettest & therefore, very heavy) snow was in April rather than in mid-winter as such. That was fairly unpleasant. Other than that, there were a couple of spells of very, very cold weather, let's say two or three spells of "minus plenty" type weather ! The rest, by and large, was manageable, especially as main roads are kept fairly clear on the whole.

Eamonn & Janet.

Eamonn and Janet, don't do that to me!!

Here I was, all resigned to the fact I would be living in Wellington, New Zealand by the end of the year, and then you go and post a blog full of stunning pictures and my mind has gone back to moving to Canada.

I would choose Canada over Wellington or anywhere in NZ anyday. We have weather in Canada but nothing like that of NZ - wind, rain (for three or four weeks non-stop) mini-cyclones, earthquakes, and temperatures no higher than 23 degrees in summer. We tried it for 6 months and really that was enough. At the back of the phone book there is (or was) an emergency procedure to follow for severe weather conditions which would frighten the life out of you.

Aren't we mean! Thank you for the kind words.

Eamonn & Janet.