flat to the mat

Don't use " fortnight " here , they don't know what it means ,seriously.

Yes is the answer , but you're looking in the wrong part of the country for decent paying work ,Western Canada is the place for coin and lifestyle .

Gremmie

You been here 8 years ??? thought you moved back once or twice

Gazman

oh dear, how can they not understand what a fortnight is ,
I think lifestyle is subjective, you can have a lifestyle to meet you aspiration almost anywhere so long as you have a modest approach.
But what does 'decent paying' mean? what would be a typical wage for a long haul based at Prince Rupert for example, and how much difference would there be between that and the wage of a long haul driver based in NB??
Also, isn't British Columbia in a recession at the moment? and wouldn't the cost of living in the west be m¨ch higher?

flat to the mat

Prince Rupert Where did that come from ?
You have to choose a larger city here to get your foot in the door,so to speak, what you do after that is entirely up to you .
I left long haul over 5 years ago , nowadays work 4 on 4 off so couldn't really say what the going rate is , but say it's 43/5 cents per mile here in the West , it'll be 33/5 cpm in the East .That's only before PR in the West , afterwards the choice is yours financially , you CAN pick a job to suit yourself . In the East you'll still be limited to the 33/5 cpm because the work isn't there to demand top dollar.
I earn 6 figures doing an easy shift out here , but if I wanted the cash it could be an awful lot more , have a Canadian mate who hauls our trailers into the oilfields solely who's looking to top just shy of 200,000cdn this year and lives in Mexico , when he get's home for three months a year plus the odd weekend .He loves it which is great , couldn't do it myself but it's there .
The jobs are here but you have to serve the sentence to obtain PR before picking the best fruit , something not to be found out East .

garvs11

How very true wages in the east are a lot less than the west to earn anything near 200,00cdn you would have to work extremely hard for 3 years and you might then get close to that figure.one of the hardest drivers working with me got close to 60,000cdn and he worked extremly hard for it.Most hauliers pay around the same and most do the same sort of trips,the east coast triangle which can get boring.House prices mind you are very cheap in comparison and if you have cash to buy one you can get alot more for your money.I also found PEI to be quite expensive in you average day to day living cost which again was pretty much comparable to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.Pr is alot easier to get on the east coast so there are for and against.

alandoug

Garvs: PEI is easy PR for some, no others. As some of our old friends are finding out. Food on PEI more than Alberta. Tax on PEI 15% only 5% in Alberta. Wages way higher in the west, I mean way higher. Miles a lot easier to come by & the runs a lot more varied. Triangle the armpit of the transport world, boring & loads of traffic.
Opportunity for employment in the west is nigh on endless. You were right when we first met, I should have done a recce trip, at least one. Only problem with that is I wouldn't have met you!!
Accommodation cheap in the east for bloody good reason, you will struggle to earn enough the pay for it. Gramps has done really well to buy his place. I have a soft spot for PEI, but time is a great shit filter once I got a couple of wage packets it would bring me down to earth with a bang.

Gazman

All I know about Prince Rupert is that it's in the West and apparently is 'the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast', hence my use of it as an example in my question. I don't have a clue how large or small it is as a city, but you will know that detail of course because you're already there and settled.
A fundamental requisite of any learning process is the ability to ask questions and then consider carefully answers that are offered. It's funny how some who have already learned the ropes can adopt a smug attitude as they become more comfortable with the fact that they have knowledge that others are yet to learn. Glad I managed to drag some figures out of you and gave you a good laugh happy new year

Gremmie

cdn$200,000 for 9 months work driving into the oil fields,, I call BS on that one

Any way to the guy's that want to come across and set up home, I am not speaking to the glory hunters that have pipe dreams of earning big $$$$$ in the oil industry, or living in Bum**** AB.
For long haul you must accept to work 70hrs a week, be on the road 9-14 days away and gross $60,000 -$75,000 per anum depending on company and location. West earns more than East, COL higher generally higher in West than East, more jobs and variety in West over east.
Choose a larger city area rather than rural,rural here can be really rural they play banjo's Your dream of owning a few acres out in the country should remain just that a dream. if it was so appealing millions of Canadians would do it also, but they dont, coz its really shitty driving 3 hrs one way just to get a pint of milk, only to get home and realize you forgot your smokes
So in short come out West, keep your aspirations to a level of half normal and be prepared to work long and hard.

garvs11

Gazman,im sure it wasnt meant to be a smug comment to be honest i dont think Prince Rupert has ever been mentioned on this site and many dont know where it is or have ever been there.Yhere should never be a daft question if you dont know the answer and i m sure there will be plenty to help with any query.If your seriously considering going over to Canada take a little advice go on a recce trip it helps it help you understand how bloody big the country is and what your getting into.I was on the east coast i was as far away from some of my cousins who live in BC as i was from my wife who was back in England.Sometimes you can anylaze things to much then nothing comes of it the 3/4 provinces you need to look at Alberta/Manitoba/New Brunswick Pei.East coast low wages lower house prices but still high coast of living,west coast higher wages higher house prices but more opportunities.

Gazman

Er, Prince Rupert 'never' been mentioned on this site??, oh dear well that explains why I'm struggling then , I really am running blind at the moment.
Yeah I do understand the scale of Canada, I've checked out driving times between many major cities and its really shocking the distance even from Moncton to Toronto
I'm was thinking of doing a recce in April/May actually. I've seen details of the coast-to-coast train, can get a deal of 12/15days of hop-on-hop-off travel within a 30day timespan at a good price so I'm considering that.
I'd be coming will no family issues at all though. I do have relatives in Oakville ON who I'd like to meet but that's all. So my motivations for PR purposes are thus;
1; being not toooo far from the coast. (hence my interest in Maritimes)
2; finding a company who are keen on keeping their drivers long term and looking after them.
3; Wage
All the above could obviously be juggled to a certain extent, for example Alberta or Ontario are not near the coast, yet if the job/wage was right then that could swing things, but I get the feeling I could not settle in Manitoba or Saskatchewan unless the wage was outrageous. I suppose I won't know until I make that recce...
I was thinking possibly of flight to Vancouver - then the train through rockies to Banff - Calgary - Edmonton - Toronto - then on into New Brunswick and poss Nova Scotia...
Is that too much to do in such a short time?, or should I perhaps stick to either two west provinces or two east provinces???

jamesmc

Manitoba .....land of 100,000 lakes.. if thats why you want near the coast.
jimmy

flat to the mat

Not a smug attitude matey , just one that benefits from eight yrs hard work over here , taking opportunities ,and now enjoying what Canada has to offer without spending my life in a truck , well only half of it .
You need to do a lot more research , oh and don't base your future on what you read on a forum ,it can help but that's as far as it goes . The FACT that most of the population from the East Coast now live in /or are trying to move to AB/SK should speak volumes for prospects out there .
Gremmie ,you disbeliever ,it ain't no BS I can promise you that as I've seen the figures from both sides . Was almost tempted myself but I'm happy with my lot as is BTW , has someone installed spell check for you ?

mickfly

May seem shocking, but people in Alberta will drive 13 hrs to the coast, or even drive to somewhere like Great Falls airport Montana to fly out to Florida or Vegas.

We had two East coast family men living in their trucks at my last company in Alberta, doing B train work with oversize loads up to Fort Mac, and they couldn't have earned anywhere near the same money back home. I think they were a bit like the Poles in UK, sending brass back to their families in NS and NB, although at about 3,000 miles from Calgary AB to Moncton NB they are a damn sight further away from their loved ones back home than the Poles in Britain are.

Gazman

I'm starting to realise it would be wise to move the Wage to number 1 on my list. If I work hard and save well I could one I suppose buy my own light aircraft for those trips to the coast

mickfly

I wouldn't put (promised) wage at number 1, I would put 'availability' of constant work as first priority.

Most people going to Canada say... "I'm a hard worker, and willing to do anything and stay out anywhere", very commendable, until the company simply don't supply the promised miles.

That was always my main beef with H&R... they very often leave you sitting, when you're willing and able to roll.