Hi All ^^ As you probably know from my intro thread I'm an Australian fur moving to Canada for a working holiday. I want to find a place to live that has the following things:
- Easy to get around without a car (due to lack of drivers license or a car)
- Cheap rent
- Located in British Columbia
- Good chance of getting a job
These are the sort of jobs I'm looking for:
- Ski resort jobs (such as lift operator)
- Cashier (not food related as frequent contact with food and even little contact with detergents or plastic gloves gives me dermatitis. Yay for allergies)
- Barista
- Entry level office (Data entry clerk)
- Computer repair technician
Does anyone have any recommendations on where I could live based on this?
: Keitsu November 25, 2015, 05:13:35 -07:00
Hi All ^^ As you probably know from my intro thread I'm an Australian fur moving to Canada for a working holiday. I want to find a place to live that has the following things:
- Easy to get around without a car (due to lack of drivers license or a car)
- Cheap rent
- Located in British Columbia
- Good chance of getting a job
These are the sort of jobs I'm looking for:
- Ski resort jobs (such as lift operator)
- Cashier (not food related as frequent contact with food and even little contact with detergents or plastic gloves gives me dermatitis. Yay for allergies)
- Barista
- Entry level office (Data entry clerk)
- Computer repair technician
Does anyone have any recommendations on where I could live based on this?
I don't have much help to offer besides you could always check out Big White? They have snow right now and would probably be happy to hire more people. But that's only a job until the snow melts. Not sure how much it would cost to live up there.
http://www.bigwhite.com/contact-us/employment-info/
As much as I love living in BC, you need to know that it is a VERY expensive place to call home. Especially if you want to lay your head in the Lower Mainland (Around Vancouver). Comparatively, you may just find it nearly impossible to live in Vancouver. Especially if you are arriving AND looking for a job. There are jobs out there but living in the Vancouver area will limit your 'lift operator' opportunities. Whistler is also a very expensive place to live but has two world class ski hills. Nibi might be right with regards to Big White or other ski hills not located so close to Vancouver. For these areas, I cannot be much help. BC is a beautiful province. I would be happy living in almost any part of it.
Being a Barista and paying for rent on your own will nearly be impossible. You may want to advertise on here looking for a roommate? or two? Being a Barista AND having a roommate to share a room and some expenses - might be more realistic ...
Hope my $0.02 is of some value to you ...
Giz ..
There currently isn't any jobs available for big white that I would apply for. http://bigwhite.applicantstack.com/x/openings
But thanks for that.
My place is 695 a /mth and is in downtown Salmon arm so everything is close by. I would be happy to hire someone to help me with sales. Otherwise there are many shops and stores nearby.
@Fuzzy Wizard That sounds great. I'll send you a copy of my resume once I land in brisbane. (currently on my way to Canada)
When are you expecting to arrive? I won't be able to help until dec 2nd at the earliest. Do you have a work visa? and do you need company sponsorship?
I have a working holiday visa and I don't need sponsorship and I arrive on the 26th of November 11:23pm at Vancouver international airport. I have a hotel for the first 2 nights.
: Keitsu November 25, 2015, 05:13:35 -07:00
Hi All ^^ As you probably know from my intro thread I'm an Australian fur moving to Canada for a working holiday. I want to find a place to live that has the following things:
- Easy to get around without a car (due to lack of drivers license or a car)
- Cheap rent
Does anyone have any recommendations on where I could live based on this?
I wish you the best of luck.
These things are, I'm afraid, mutually exclusive.
Proximity to public transit seems to increase (at least) 3 things, the closer you get:
-cost of rent
-rate of crime
-scarcity; also, see numbers 1 and 2
The sheer number of Aussies coming here during the ski season means you are way, way behind the curve
(some ski hills have already opened for the season).
Best bet: find a nice Canadian girl, and get married.
Please forgive the cynicism; my company has locations in both Squamish and Whistler, and they cannot get (m)any
reliable workers outside of ski season. Hell, they cannot get reliable employees *during* ski season, yet at least
they have some bodies on paper ...
You can take the bus to Silverstar Ski resort out of Vernon. It is abit of a commute each day but can be done. Or you can try and get a room/apartment in vernon. Silverstar has just started hiring so it would be a great time and it's like being in a lil snowy village.
http://winter.skisilverstar.com/employment-opportunities-silver-star-general-information hey only $500 /mth all included to live at the resort.
Snow Hugs,
Wizard
Yeah I would keep an eye on anything in or around the Okanagan. It'll be a little cheaper. Kelowna though right now (where I live) is terrible for rent (unless you have roommates, then it's fine). It's also hard to find jobs that are full time, although you could try being a bartender. From what my friend has told me, a lot of clubs are always looking for good bartenders downtown Kelowna. It's really easy to get a serving it right licence here too. I know that's a little different from being a barista but it's similar and you get great tips. :S
: Nibi November 26, 2015, 09:34:17 -07:00
Yeah I would keep an eye on anything in or around the Okanagan. It'll be a little cheaper. Kelowna though right now (where I live) is terrible for rent (unless you have roommates, then it's fine). It's also hard to find jobs that are full time, although you could try being a bartender. From what my friend has told me, a lot of clubs are always looking for good bartenders downtown Kelowna. It's really easy to get a serving it right licence here too. I know that's a little different from being a barista but it's similar and you get great tips. :S
I don't drink (alcohol) much so I find that stuff all confusing. :o And yea, it's hard to get full time work in a lot of places these days.
You can rent a place in Salmon Arm or Vernon for 600-800 easily enough for a suite or small apartment. If you want more space and a yard it is gonna be 1200- 1500 to start. Jobs are easy to find if your qualified or Just have no burned bridges. Many people however seam to have damaged their chances by leaving work to party, or just not showing up, or having bad background checks. Having lots of schooling on a resume is fine but if you have 6 Years of dedicated employment without ever missing a day, 3 promotions, and leave on good terms your next employer will be thrilled to see your resume. Here I find everything is on-call or part time until they trust you.
Whistler is sweet if you want to work a resort job, although it doesn't pay much. Living here is fairly expensive as well (my little one bedroom is $1200/mo :S) but if you find a room in a house with some people it averages out to about 650-800 a room. But considering your weekends will be pretty much spent in the alpine or on the trails, or horsebacking riding in pemberton, or white water rafting, or downhill biking xD its not a bad tradeoff. Lots of partying if you want to x3 and lots of outdoor, you will naturally be in shape here just by exploring on weekends
I usually wake up on the weekend, have some coffee and put my board on my back and walk down to the ski lifts. After awhile you sort of get lost in the fantasy of it =3
Squamish is awesome as well, and Pemberton.
I'm living in Salmon Arm blw. All is good and this thread is no longer needed.