Canadian Adventure

[v6g]

Long time reader ... you finally made me register....

North Van has worse weather but is closer to the mountains. Whistler soon gets boring and is mainly for the foreign tourist crowd - the locals know the better places.

North Van waterfront is only 15 minutes from downtown by the seabus across the harbour. For central but cheaper than downtown try Kitsilano, Kerrisdale, False Creek or Fairview.

If you're certain to be working downtown then those areas can work out fine but most tech jobs are in Richmond or Burnaby (both are on the skytrain routes). Be careful of commuting across bridges or tunnels.

Also, in general, tech is a small world round here, and a couple of large companies are emptying out in the next couple of months dumping a lot of folk on the local market.

Rates, are variable, but can be anything from a lot less than UK to slightly more.

Enjoy.

Oh, and don't buy any real estate on native land.

[redgiant]

Long time reader ... you finally made me register....

North Van has worse weather but is closer to the mountains. Whistler soon gets boring and is mainly for the foreign tourist crowd - the locals know the better places.

North Van waterfront is only 15 minutes from downtown by the seabus across the harbour. For central but cheaper than downtown try Kitsilano, Kerrisdale, False Creek or Fairview.

If you're certain to be working downtown then those areas can work out fine but most tech jobs are in Richmond or Burnaby (both are on the skytrain routes). Be careful of commuting across bridges or tunnels.

Also, in general, tech is a small world round here, and a couple of large companies are emptying out in the next couple of months dumping a lot of folk on the local market.

Rates, are variable, but can be anything from a lot less than UK to slightly more.

Enjoy.

Oh, and don't buy any real estate on native land.

Thanks for the tips ... and welcome to the forum I heard that North Van is very cloudy so you may have good views on a clear day but the rest of the time it's just going to be mist.

I am in a fairly niche area at the moment so I think I will be OK. If I do end up having problems securing an extension then I will have a holiday (get some skiing & boarding in) and fly back to the UK.

Won't be buying any land just yet ... got property & investments to worry about in the UK so it's not high on the priority list.

[Scoobos]

Ditto

Just call them directly and ask if they need you.

Then call some more..

They love being nagged like this, its how I did it .

Robert Half is a good agent , but you can go direct.

Toronto is MUCH easier than Vancouver because there's much more business there.

[Scoobos]

Thanks for the tips ... and welcome to the forum I heard that North Van is very cloudy so you may have good views on a clear day but the rest of the time it's just going to be mist.

I am in a fairly niche area at the moment so I think I will be OK. If I do end up having problems securing an extension then I will have a holiday (get some skiing & boarding in) and fly back to the UK.

Won't be buying any land just yet ... got property & investments to worry about in the UK so it's not high on the priority list.

I repped you with some help - PM me anytime when you are out there - I've been a few times now and love it.

The culture takes a bit of adjusting too, but its worth it.

Alberta / Banff and Jasper are 7-10 hours away and much better than Whistler .

Vancouver Island is brilliant, as is a trip by ferry up to Alaska, or Prince Rupert.

Oh and make sure you get up to the Yukon if you can!!!

[redgiant]

I repped you with some help - PM me anytime when you are out there - I've been a few times now and love it.

The culture takes a bit of adjusting too, but its worth it.

Alberta / Banff and Jasper are 7-10 hours away and much better than Whistler .

Vancouver Island is brilliant, as is a trip by ferry up to Alaska, or Prince Rupert.

Oh and make sure you get up to the Yukon if you can!!!

Thanks for the offer and tips Scoobos ... i'll let you know how I get along. Flying out for a short holiday in the west coast of the US first tomorrow and should get to "Vancity" in a couple of weeks.

I've been to Canada a couple of times before and love what I have seen (mainly Quebec & Ontario though so BC & Alberta are new to me).

[BigTime]

Young contractors - Kitsilano
Old contractors - West Van

[Scoobos]

Thanks for the offer and tips Scoobos ... i'll let you know how I get along. Flying out for a short holiday in the west coast of the US first tomorrow and should get to "Vancity" in a couple of weeks.

I've been to Canada a couple of times before and love what I have seen (mainly Quebec & Ontario though so BC & Alberta are new to me).

Bigtime's right!!!

Anything you need, PM me.

Final tips :

If you decide you want to stay forever, or at least get dual nationality DO IT WHILE YOU ARE THERE !!! (I didn't) , you get a Canadian Experience Fast Track acceptance.

I chose to go to Toronto to contract in the Winter, because I didn't want a british winter - and I'm really glad I did, the snow is like powder and its really not that unmanagable even at -30 .. Vancouver rains, rains and rains some more in Winter.

Don't worry too much about taxes, as you can legally file your return for (was) $50 at Money Mart and they give you your return in CASH!!!!

I'm jealous and excited for anyone doing this, it was one of the best times of my life.

[Scoobos]

Oh, damn missed something..

Do get yourself to Banff and Jasper, they are really beautiful.

Nova Scotia is also worth a look, and as I said before the Yukon is just incredible, northern lights, 24hr sun (or darkness) and it's just a wild laugh.

You will be "leftised" by it though

[redgiant]

Arrived earlier this week and am still negotiating what contract to go onto with the agent/client.

The setup over here is different to what i'm used to as it's a consultancy i'm going through but all their consultants are contractors with their own LTDs.

The big downer is that visa situation looks like that I will only do a three monther here until Christmas and come back. The Canadian experience visa required two years full time experience so any void/bench times will count against me. I'm not willing to wait that long and also be away from the UK family and unless there are other ways round a three monther is the only option.

I've set myself a target of the end of next week to secure a contract. Don't think I can stand more than a week more in a hotel so that may tip me to have a short holiday over here instead and fly back.