Considering moving to BC from Quebec - Need your help

[da-fox]

Hello there everyone!

Long time i havent posted here. :-)

So, things went a little different than expected in my life here and for long time I've been considering moving to BC (around vancouver mostly)

I've spent a week there in 2010 and really liked that.

I want to start a new life.

I'd have about 2500$ in my pockets. maybe a little more hopefully.
Calculating about 600$ for fuel to get me there and another 100$ for food. I should end up there with about 1800$ in pockets.

I'll have my tent, so dont need to pay for motels or anything.

So here's where I need your help.

I've been looking on government website and forums about how it works there.... but I want feedbacks from furries actually living around there and all.
I know a few of you all and you're all awesome people :-)

I know its expensive to live there, more than here in Quebec.

So yeah i dont really know where to start...
I'm 19 years old, high school graduated.
wanted to specialized in Multimedia production but college failed for some personnal reasons.
Wanted to try the Vancouver Film School, but well, at 25k$ the program... cant afford it.
I'd say im pretty good in english. French as main language.

I'm sure there's some francophone clubs or something around town to welcome new residents.

I'll be looking to get a job straight away, maybe even gonna start looking this week.

Where I,ll mostly need help will be for a place to stay for the first weeks.
I'll have my tent so i dont mind taking the backyard if i have to.
I'll be able to pay for my food and all, and maybe a little for rent.

So yeah, if you think you can help in any way to help someone start a new life and start over, feel free to contact me.
It can be about rooming, about a job, or anything else.

I'd love to have some more infos about the area... activities, furmeets, how doest it work around there, etc.

Also wondering if like here in quebec there's a financial help program for poor - homeless people to help them get a place and a job?

Anyway, i'd have so much to ask and talk but i think i gave the most important...

For when is the moving.... dunno yet but might be pretty soon.

Contact me on msn, yim, aim, skype, etc.
*mostly on MSN those days*

THANKS A LOT for helping a little fox to get to start a new life! :-)

[Sevrin]

if the week you spent here was during the olympics, its not always like that you know.
yeah we have social development programs.
I know all the tricks for saving money when it comes to buying food, let me know if you'd like help in that department.

[da-fox]

if the week you spent here was during the olympics, its not always like that you know.
yeah we have social development programs.
I know all the tricks for saving money when it comes to buying food, let me know if you'd like help in that department.

hehe yeah well, i need helps in pretty much any departments so... xD

[Haemish]

There is a fur, Delmir, who has lived both here and Quebec (currently he's in Montreal).  You could track him down and ask a few questions on how they compare.

I moved here from NB a decade ago, with about the same amount of money.  I loved it!  It was really great starting over.  Vancouver does have a reputation for being cold and a hard place to make friends, but the furry community nullifies that.

Get yourself a library card; the free internet there was a big help when I first got here.
I know there are french community centres around here,
http://www.lbv.ca/en/historique.html
http://www.lecentreculturel.com/index.php?lang=en
http://bipt.ca/resources/swis-resource/vancouver-francophone-cultural-centre-0

they can help you find a place/work.  Even just regular employment centres, I went to this one a lot when I first came here:
http://www.ywcavan.org/content/Career_Zone/180


There is hardly any french here, compared to the East coast, and compared to the amount of Asian/Indian languages here.

[Gizmo]

Hello there everyone!

Long time i havent posted here. :-)

So, things went a little different than expected in my life here and for long time I've been considering moving to BC (around vancouver mostly)

I've spent a week there in 2010 and really liked that.

I want to start a new life.

I'd have about 2500$ in my pockets. maybe a little more hopefully.
Calculating about 600$ for fuel to get me there and another 100$ for food. I should end up there with about 1800$ in pockets.

I'll have my tent, so dont need to pay for motels or anything.

So here's where I need your help.

I've been looking on government website and forums about how it works there.... but I want feedbacks from furries actually living around there and all.
I know a few of you all and you're all awesome people :-)

I know its expensive to live there, more than here in Quebec.

So yeah i dont really know where to start...
I'm 19 years old, high school graduated.
wanted to specialized in Multimedia production but college failed for some personnal reasons.
Wanted to try the Vancouver Film School, but well, at 25k$ the program... cant afford it.
I'd say im pretty good in english. French as main language.

I'm sure there's some francophone clubs or something around town to welcome new residents.

I'll be looking to get a job straight away, maybe even gonna start looking this week.

Where I,ll mostly need help will be for a place to stay for the first weeks.
I'll have my tent so i dont mind taking the backyard if i have to.
I'll be able to pay for my food and all, and maybe a little for rent.

So yeah, if you think you can help in any way to help someone start a new life and start over, feel free to contact me.
It can be about rooming, about a job, or anything else.

I'd love to have some more infos about the area... activities, furmeets, how doest it work around there, etc.

Also wondering if like here in quebec there's a financial help program for poor - homeless people to help them get a place and a job?

Anyway, i'd have so much to ask and talk but i think i gave the most important...

For when is the moving.... dunno yet but might be pretty soon.

Contact me on msn, yim, aim, skype, etc.
*mostly on MSN those days*

THANKS A LOT for helping a little fox to get to start a new life! :-)

So many questions ... I might be able to answer a few for you ...
Film School / Working in the industry: I am currently doing freelance work in the industry. Its not an easy place to 'find work' ... You may need to start off by offering your film services for free while you build your resume and contacts list. That's how I got started ... but it takes time. Time you will need to feed, clothe and house yourself. You can look into various film programs offered here (I agree, VFS (Although a good school) is typically outta reach for most) but I think you need the resume and contacts more to kickstart your film career.
Government Help: If you are not working now, I would suggest you apply for assistance there first ... then transfer when you get here and an address. Might make the transition a bit easier for you. There is always help out there ... but to be independent would me a better solution. Labour Ready / Work Force Temporary labour placement places always have work out there ... It sucks and can sometimes be hard work, but it puts change in your pockets when you have an empty belly. All the time, you keep looking for other more stable work.
Not sure I can help with a place to stay ... but I am now in the storage business and can help with temporary storage of your stuff if that helps. If you are in real need, I have a couch and am relatively close to all transit.
I think tenting it across the country is pretty amazing and am a bit jealous! I wish I had that opportunity. Take lots of pictures!
There are always lots of furry events going on and, if you are here in time, I have a furry pot luck happening in September ... would be awesome to introduce a new fur to the community!
I can't really offer any help with Francophone clubs / groups ... but I am sure there are a bunch!
I wish you luck in your adventure ... when you get here, be sure to look us up!

Giz ...

[Delmir]

Hey-  I hope I can help indeed-

You plan to live in a tent?  That's not a good idea.  For one, it's not legal, and for two, the people who live on the streets of Vancouver are not all friendly!  It would just be a matter of time before you're attacked.  Not to mention, plumbing is a BIG deal.  You're not going to get a job if you're all dirty and smell bad.  Plus, where would you poop?? You should try to find shared accomodations via craigslist or with furries...  Failing that, try a youth hostel while you look for a job. You'll get to sleep in a bed indoors; You'll have a bathroom; You'll have a place to hang out in the daytime;  You'll be surrounded with people in the same situation as you, so you can trade advice...

If you DO go to a youth hostel, remember to keep your stuff locked up.  As in literally locked up.  Money in your socks, etc. There's lots of stealing that goes on in hostels (but still, much safer than living in a tent!).

I guess from your "Fuel" description that you're travelling by car. If you do indeed have a car, you might consider selling your car and using the metro system. Vancouver's metro system is very good.  They have the Skytrain that joins up a few of the surrounding cities (Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, and Surrey) and reliable buses to get you to the more specific places. Also, it's really a bitch to find parking downtown, and you will definitely need to pay for it. Not to mention the cost of gas.

A monthly transit pass is $81/month for 1 zone, $110/month for 2 zones, and $150/month for 3 zones.  The zone system means, for example, if you're living in Vancouver, a 1 zone pass would let you travel around Vancouver, but you'd have to pay 3 or 4 dollars for an upgraded one-time-use pass to enter the other zones (like if you wanted to visit the anime geeks in Metrotown mall).  Here's a map of the different zones.  There's not a whole lot to do in zone 3, except access to Surrey where a few furs live.  http://www.translink.ca/~/media/images/content/fares/fare_zone_map/ctlhz_metro_vancouver_fare_zone_map.ashx

Rather than Vancouver, you should think about living in some of the other cities nearby.  They're a bit more boring, but there are MUCH cheaper places to live, and they're never that far away from Vancouver.  Here are some options based on my own experiences:
Burnaby - Still very urban with good shopping malls. Not the cheapest, but still cheaper than Vancouver
Richmond - A VERY Chinese area, so lots of cheap food :D Don't worry about the language.  It's just an accepted fact that nobody understands eachother there. The biggest problem used to be the fact that it was so hard to get to it, but in the time since I've left they've connected the Skytrain to it.
New Westminster - Not too shabby, but still fairly shabby.  It's kind of grungy (so, cheaper), but there's some nice stuff in town.  Plus it's very accessible by skytrain.
Surrey - A very cheap dump <3 At least there's skytrain access.  Lock your tent doors.
Langley - Suburbia. Popular activies include "going to other cities". It's cheap living, and crime's not incredibly prevalent, but it's about 30 to 45 minutes away from anything fun.
North Vancouver - Expensive and wild bears will eat you.

As far as an education...  Stay in Quebec :|  Education here is RIDICULOUSLY cheap compared to Vancouver. At any rate, if your current plan is to live in a tent, you're going to have bigger concerns than post-secondary education. I might go on to say that graduating with an arts degree isn't going to help your financial situation, but that's a whole other discussion.

[da-fox]

Hey-  I hope I can help indeed-

You plan to live in a tent?  That's not a good idea.  For one, it's not legal, and for two, the people who live on the streets of Vancouver are not all friendly!  It would just be a matter of time before you're attacked.  Not to mention, plumbing is a BIG deal.  You're not going to get a job if you're all dirty and smell bad.  Plus, where would you poop?? You should try to find shared accomodations via craigslist or with furries...  Failing that, try a youth hostel while you look for a job. You'll get to sleep in a bed indoors; You'll have a bathroom; You'll have a place to hang out in the daytime;  You'll be surrounded with people in the same situation as you, so you can trade advice...

If you DO go to a youth hostel, remember to keep your stuff locked up.  As in literally locked up.  Money in your socks, etc. There's lots of stealing that goes on in hostels (but still, much safer than living in a tent!).

hehe thanks all for your advices.
As for the tent thing.... I would not be living in the streets or like somewhere in the wood.
It would just be a temporarly place if someone has a home with a backyard but no space inside. So i'd have access to bathroom and all hehe.
Selling my car once there was already in my plans. I'd just have to get another one once im well installed and all.
anyway... all this project is still a biiiig maybe. I'm still thinking of all the options I have and all.

Will mostly depend on if someone has a little space for me for a few weeks (maybe less) and all. (like i dont mind couch or sleep on the floor or in my tent in a backyard hehe)

[NitroShep]

Langley - Suburbia. Popular activies include "going to other cities". It's cheap living, and crime's not incredibly prevalent, but it's about 30 to 45 minutes away from anything fun.

Hay!! Langley can hold it's own! lol we have more horses to get you to these other hick towns ;)

--

Anyway, I think there's not much more I can add here, everyone's covered the facts very well. Vancouver itself is very expensive, the further away you go the cheaper rent.

Not sure if you'd find it better living out here, tenting is a bad idea regardless of bears eating you or theft. From October to April it rains almost daily. Wet dog smelling foxes are not cute, cause tents leak badly. My dog would like to rent his unused dog house... Wait, thats illegal too :/

Finding work right now isn't the easiest either, with the money you have it would run out very quickly paying for rent & food without a steady job. You may need to give up on Cons, going to any eastern ones from here is -expensive-

I know you've asked me before, and I'm always wanting to help anyone I can.. But keeping others with me in my house only begs for trouble in my relationship, cause other foxes get jealous also. If you find the need to move out here I wish you luck with that, make sure all your bases are well covered.

[Amby]

Do it, The furs there are more social :3