wire

I can certainly satisfy your curiosity for you. After my first year i found myself in that exact situation. My decision was to carry on with the flat deck job in fact and in fact quite a few of my mates are still there to this day.
However quite by chance i met my present boss when i gave a guy a lift to work one day. It just so happened that his boss was just in the process of buying another truck and as i had just become a permanent resident of Canada he asked me if i would be interested in working for him. The job is pulling a reefer instead of flatdeck and the truck is really top spec as well as the mileage rate being higher and actual available miles being more. (I mostly run Mexico in bond freight and the southern US in general) so the choice was easy to make at the time.
In short i consider it to be as good a job as it is possible to have and i love it.
The thing is this:..I have a suspicion that many of the drivers who this thread refers to would not consider it a good job at all. I think they would say that i have to run to hard. I average over 20,000kms a month every month of the year and sometimes can be out for several weeks at a time although 10-21 days is more average.
This suits me down to the ground as i am a longhaul trucker and this is exactly what i always expected from Canada.
However i honestly think that many of the guys who come over as so called career long distance men have very different expectations and so are ultimately and inevitably disappointed.

lilacheart

I am pleased you had an oppurtunity come up that worked out well for you. We were not so fortunate.

Don't get me wrong we didn't come out and expect an easy ride. If you knew me you would be very surprised that we have decided to leave. We were one of the first families out here and have tried to be a very positive influence on other families that have come since.

When we announced we were leaving to say people were shocked is an understatement, the fact we have not moaned and whinged for the past 3 years did not mean we have not found it difficult. I am disappointed it hasn't worked out for us long term we love the island. The boys would have a nice life here but the harsh reality is they would leave as young adults because there is no real chance of a decent job after university. We may as well all leave now and stand a chance of staying together

We now feel emotionally and physically able to take this to a new level it just means it will be in a different province....and hubby may even go back into trucking..

AndyGayle

Well....this is a really interesting thread. I have been at Bulk for 14months now and yes it was rubbish to begin with but if u get on and do your work without constantly complaining and saying your leaving the company every 2 mins then you'll be treated reasonably well. Granted the work is not that great but it's the same across the board according to the Canadian drivers i've met on the road. Don't come if you can't work for a living.
I am pissed off with all the negativity. Some British drivers come over here with the idea that they are above everybody else, but forget that they are now immigrants and must realise that they have to start at the bottom of the ladder. Common sense i think!

wire

Well said.

Gremmie

Well everything would be expensive if you only earn $3000 a month,

kb33

Must be a PEI thing , Because we don't find cost of living in Alberta any more expensive than the UK , Food is about the same (Beef really cheap ) Motoring is way cheaper apart from insurance which is more expensive, But drive around Calgary and watch some of the antics the locals get up to and you can see why !
Also no PST here and I think its 10% on PEI ? Plus wages are better here as well.

If you're not happy in the Province that sponsored you, Move to another part of Canada , And take no notice at some of the comments on this thread. At the end of the day you do what's right for you and your family.

loafy

Gremmie that does not make sense, it dosen't matter if you earn 5k a month it's still exspensive to live here as they are upping the prices not by a lot but enough to make you think that is by far cheaper on the mainland, and if someone says well you have to pay for transport and all that stuff then they are truly wrong in this day and age. They have that cost covered in already when they field out for tenders.
Simple equation here four chicken breasts at stupid store last week were on for $12+ and then next week on special buy one get one free they were nearly doubled in price so in reality you were not getting one for free. Robbing bastards comes to mind EH.

Loafy...

loafy

I agree with that so im off ASAP.
By the way ins here is pretty cheap i have to say, Food is not. Tools and hardware stuff very cheap on the whole.

kb33

Good for you

Where you going ?

Must admit my garage looks like a Dewalt Warehouse at the moment

Could never afford that stuff in the UK

lilacheart

$3000 a month, that would be wonderful....lol

Gremmie

Off course it makes sense Loafy, coz the ratio of income to out going is higher.

As for the old nutmeg of " Pay for transport " well heres a simple example of what BS that excuse is.
eg.
A full load of strawberries 44000lbs on Loafies truck costs $5000 transport cost which equates to 0.1136 cents per pound.
The same load on Gremmies truck will cost you $6000 for the same trip, this equates to 0.1363 cents per pound.
So allthough i charge $1000 more for doing the same job the actual cost increase per pound is only 0.0227cents.

karron

the relevance to your job and how much you claim to earn is because you are linking it to living in n.ireland and it in your eyes is one of the most dangerous places in the western world. i would say i have a fair knowledge about living here and what goes on and particularly in more recent times it is a lot safer than a lot of places,but then if i want to bullshit people i could spoof about dodging bullets and bombs every day on my way home from work. those people who do up sticks and give it a go are braver than you will ever be by sitting on here lecturing people on things of which you have no personal experience .with all your money and experience why dont you actually go and do the walk in the park.

Gremmie

Or off the cliff

kb33

I wouldn't bother , He as heard it all before from numerous posters on here including myself !

Now I just see it as entertainment and take anything he says with a large dose of salt and its all part of the banter some of us have on here

Big Truck

YOU have not got the faintest idea what you are talking about!!!!
Please show me were I said NI is "one of the most dangerous places in the western world"?

Why would I want to voluntarily leave a dam good job were I only work on average 14 days a month,earn £40k/year and will (fingers crossed) be able to retire on my nice FAT pension in six years time?!!!!!!

Have you read what is happening to ex-UK truckers here and over on BTA over the past year or so?
If so,do you reckon its a good time to emigrate to Canada then?!!!!!!!!