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Working in Canada |
 Posted: Mon Jul 6, 2009 7:07 pm |
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| Hi,
I want to go to Canada for a year (Vancouver or Toronto) in 2010 - 2011 before I go to university and wondered if anybody can help me out and answer a few questions? How much money do I need to take out there? What sort of jobs are available? What should I expect to be pay for rent and bills per month? Thanks Nath |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 2 Posts |
| Posted: Mon Jul 6, 2009 8:02 pm |
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| Downtown Vancouver is pretty expensive place to live your looking at approx $1200+ to get a studio or 1 bedroom and approx $1800+ to rent a 2 bedroom... you can find rooms for rent in someone’s condo for about $500+ try this link for rentals its the main Newspaper in Vancouver to get a rough idea on rental costs.
http://vancouversun.oodle.com/housing/rent/ Outskirt areas near Vancouver (20 - 40 minutes away, by skytrain/bus) like New Westminster, Burnaby and Coquitlam are pretty reasonable for rent and the sky train can get you downtown pretty quick (should also be able to look at rentals available at that link for those areas). due to the current economic situation we're in…. not very many places are hiring atm (depending on what area of work you want), I’m sure that will change in 2010 considering the Olympics will be here (however, rentals also might skyrocket during the Olympics)….you can almost always try McDonalds is worst comes to worst ……to be on the safe side I would have at least 3 months worth of rent to get you by just incase you can't find employment right away. Serving jobs normally pay around $8 - $12 plus tips….. office jobs pay approx. $12+ (depending on experience). I don’t know anything about Toronto sorry. Hope that helps, if you have any other questions just ask. |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 24 Posts |
| Posted: Tue Jul 7, 2009 7:27 am |
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| Just as an example I'm paying $530 (inc. all bills) a month for a room in a shared house in a suburb of Vancouver 15 mins bus ride from Downtown (Kitsilano). The suburbs that have been mentioned are cheaper. A lot of places come unfurnished (but I was lucky and only had to buy bedding) Deposit is usually half one month's rent. For rooms in a shared house craigslist is also a good place to look.
Take as much money as you can! But 2k upwards should be sufficient. I agree its a tough market out there at the moment, but there are definitely hospitality jobs available and that's probably the best place to focus your job search. Examples of jobs that working travellers I've met are doing - gardening maintenance, working in retail stores, drugstores, grocery stores, fast food and coffee chains, etc. |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 38 Posts |
| Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:00 am |
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Thanks for the replys, very helpful  . I'll probably take about 2k with me and look for a place In the suburbs then. I'm not really too bothered about what work I do, as long as it pays the bills etc.
Thanks again, nathan. |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 2 Posts |
| Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 7:05 pm |
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| did you find somewhere to live once you got there? my partner and i are going to Vancouver in sept for a year and are trying to figure everything out. what are other decent places to live which are still only a short bus journey?
any help would be great!! xxxxx |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 12 Posts |
| Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 8:45 pm |
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| I live in Kits and the more I stay there the more I love it. It's right near the beach, a bus away from downtown and there is a bus that can take you from one side of Van to the other real quick.
Depends what you are after and your budget but Kits is both cheap and awesome. Great area, nice bars, beach, awesome views and nice peeps. For me personally the only other places I'd consider would be North Van, Point Grey and West End. |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 41 Posts |
| Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:03 am |
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Kits does indeed rock  I never want to leave! |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 38 Posts |
| Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 1:11 am |
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| I stayed In Toronto in summer 2005 and found living pretty cheap. However, i didn't take much money with me and spent quite a lot on arrival so i got into a good bit of debt. But if you take a decent amount (£2k?) i think you should be ok. I got a job really quickly (Summer's Ice Creams in Yorkville) and lived cheaply (renting a room in a frathouse). I found food from the supermarket quite expensive, but eating out was really cheap. You'd have to find a easy medium. Toronto is awesome, but if there is one bit of advice I would give - remember this is a WORKING holiday, not just hols where you can blow all your money, like i did (whoops!).
Have a great time though, and don't mind me too much, I am a little drunk :P xxx |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 501 Posts |
| Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 6:00 pm |
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| Bit of advice for future Bunacers from the UK.
1. Don't take the Bunac insurance, find one yourself and then just print and send in their policy when you send off your main form. I think the Endsleigh policy (from Bunac) was like 600 quid and the one I found which did the same job (but with a larger excess) was 140 quid. 2. Sort out your phone straight away. Look around at the various deals the phone operators offer as Bunac will try and force a pay-monthly (non-contract) phone down your throat straight away, although the contracts are ok you can't use your own phone (no sim cards in the phones offered). Am stuck with this crappy Sanyo phone. Meh. If you look around first you can make more of an educated guess rather than be pressured to take the plunge at the Bunac meeting. 3. If you are really tight for money don't do the group flight. Find your own flight across and then just go to the same hostel and meet everyone there. You might miss out on chatting to people on the flight but you will save a heap of cash if you play your cards right. 4. If you are coming across in the winter bring an umbrella and slippers. These aren't end of the world issues. But if you can dodge a bullet you may as well bear this in mind. |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 41 Posts |
| Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2009 1:09 am |
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| i want to live in vancouver for a year also, but i have no idea where to start.. i have just came back from australia.. but nowhere seems as straight forward and as easy as australia.. I mean people living there now, did u just head to Vancouver, get into a hostel and then everything just fell into place? and is this kits place the place to go to? | |
| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 67 Posts |
| Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2009 1:11 am |
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| And whats it like to meet people out there? it was easy to meet people in oz, is it dead easy to meet people in canada too? | |
| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 67 Posts |
| Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 11:56 pm |
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| David if you want to come to Vancouver for a year you will need a working holiday visa. Being from England you can only get this visa through BUNAC who are authorised to sell these visas on the Canadian governments behalf. Go to the Bunac site and check out their Work Canada program and work out what is good for you.
The visa will allow you to live and work anywhere in Canada for a year. You can get a student visa and a non-student visa so you have potentially 2 years of working holiday that is easy to get. Just don't get the visa unless you totally sure you will use it as you can never get these visas again once you've got them. So many people get these rare visas and then stay in Canada for a month or 2 not working and then go home. If you are only coming for a long holiday then a holiday visa is perfectly fine. I came here in Jan with the group flight. Met everyone in the hostel, moved into a place in Kits with some of the lads, got a job, moved again and it's been bloody brilliant. You'll meet people everywhere and everyone is as friendly as in Oz. Hostels, work, pubs, out, shared houses etc yada yada. Just got to jump in. |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 41 Posts |
| Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 3:24 am |
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| thank you very much for your reply flamedude. your account of things of going there and moving into a flat etc is exactly what i want to do!.. but the thing is, i know nothing about hostels etc in Canada, what knowledge did you go out with? or did u just head out there and everything fell into place? what hostel did u stay at?
Also, the big thing is, whats the job situation like in Canada? coz I actually had to come home early from Oz.. all I managed in Oz was some farm work once, then after that it was a no hoper.. absolutely devasted having to come home  but tbh, i reckon Canada would be better.. canadians seem alot nicer than ozzys! |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 67 Posts |
| Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 8:00 am |
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| hey!
this post is really useful i'm thinking of doing this too. i'm going travelling for 6 months jan 2010 but am thinking of doing a yr in canada when i get back, around christmas time 2010 i expect. i've already contacted BUNAC and they suggested i apply for a visa this christmas as i can use it up to the end of jan 2011. i'm a bit worried about paying for it, though - £300 is a lot to pay out when i'm about to go round the world for 6 months and need every penny i can get! i take it it all needs to be paid straight away? i'm a bit worried about the work situation too? i think i would want to start in ontario as i have family in toronto so i can do the visiting thing. i would also like to work there for a bit - i have a lot of experience in office work and a fair bit of waitressing etc. are these the kinds of jobs i'd have to go for? i wanted to go west as i've been around the rockies when i was a bit younger with my family and i would LOVE to go back and work maybe in banff or jasper? has anybody done this? i'll pretty much do any work, i'm not too fussy! i am also thinking of doing a CELTA course, maybe in montreal? does anybody have any experience of this? any info/advice anyone can give me would be brilliant! thanks, Sarah xx |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 47 Posts |
| Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 6:14 pm |
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| hi guys!!! im so interested about canada,, and im
planing to go there,but i have no idea about living/working there,anyway i have my brother who is just gone as tourist for 6 months in Ottawa " Gatineau Aylmer" but he is now looking for job,so its too hard to have job as long as he is in canada as tourist,,, so guys have u any idea about getting job there however his visa as tourist?? thnx for reading my words,, |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 1 Posts |
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