The Vancouver Thread

Faith

A thread for all things Vancouver! Chat, discuss, ask questions, arrange meet-ups, whatever!

Faith

Phew, now that I'm doing spamming the bejaysus out of the forum with new threads, time to talk about Vancouver! My fiancé and I are heading over in late August, most likely. I'm so excited about it! I've never been, but I've heard such amazing things. I'm delighted to be so close to Seattle as well, and I'm already dreaming of trips down the coast to California!

We haven't researched neighbourhoods yet though. I'd love a sea view, but I imagine rent is seriously high for that!

ciaran67

Faith wrote: »

Phew, now that I'm doing spamming the bejaysus out of the forum with new threads, time to talk about Vancouver! My fiancé and I are heading over in late August, most likely. I'm so excited about it! I've never been, but I've heard such amazing things. I'm delighted to be so close to Seattle as well, and I'm already dreaming of trips down the coast to California!

We haven't researched neighbourhoods yet though. I'd love a sea view, but I imagine rent is seriously high for that!

And they've just predicted us to have a very dry very hot summer. Never had a bad one here but 98, our first, was mental. Summer is Vancouver is unbeatable.

Good luck

PS We were cycling along the beach from Redondo to Hermosa Beach California not three weeks ago. Heaven and only just over two hour flight

I'm in Vancouver since last June working in UBC. The wages and benefits are excellent and far beyond what I'd get in Ireland. If anyone is in IT or administrative work definitely give the UBC job page a look and get your CV up to scratch, there's a good few Irish people working in various departments in the university.

I'm living at Broadway and Commercial at the moment, I drive to work and the girlfriend gets the skytrain. Apartment is nice but next one will be top floor with more sun! Other than that I've no complaints. Hope we get as good a summer as last year, it was a scorcher!

Faith

Ooh, I'm hoping to find research work in UBC or SFU! Wages for my job over there are 50% higher than what they are in Ireland (mostly because 90% of jobs in my field are unpaid in Ireland :mad:) so I'm feeling very positive about it.

Faith

Sacramento wrote: »

I'm in Vancouver since last June working in UBC. The wages and benefits are excellent and far beyond what I'd get in Ireland. If anyone is in IT or administrative work definitely give the UBC job page a look and get your CV up to scratch, there's a good few Irish people working in various departments in the university.

I'm living at Broadway and Commercial at the moment, I drive to work and the girlfriend gets the skytrain. Apartment is nice but next one will be top floor with more sun! Other than that I've no complaints. Hope we get as good a summer as last year, it was a scorcher!

Actually, how much annual leave do you get at UBC? I'm getting married next summer and trying to figure out how much annual leave I might have if I worked at a university.

AmyPL

Well, I'm probably a bit ahead of myself posting here as I'm not planning on going over until February of next year I'll be looking for senior web/media dev work and I want to use the rest of this year to work on my skills, website/portfolio, save money and do some networking so that I'm in a good job-hunting position when I move over. From what I've seen so far, a lot of advertised positions seem to be looking for polyglot developers so I'm going to try and work on learning some new programming languages too.

I'm most likely heading over alone, which is a bit daunting, but I've always wanted to work/live abroad and Canada (Vancouver in particular!) really appeals to me. Also I haven't had much opportunity to explore the Pacific-North west, and the thought of being a few hours flight away from most of the west coast is very appealing!

I've got an okay job and life here in Ireland but nothing's really keeping me here, so I figure now's as good a time as any to do what I've been wanting to do forever.

So, only 280 days or so to go I'm really excited!

Oak2014

I've been in Vancouver for two years now. It is really lovely here in the summer. Sometimes even a bit too hot for my Irish skin!! Loads of places you could live close to the water. Kitsilano is probbaly your best bet and close to UBC too. Rent for a one bed is probably around $1,200 per month. I live close to kits. Its not on the skytrain line so you'd have to bus it. But transit is great here. In late Aug all the students will be returning to Van and looking for places to stay too so make sure you do your research before coming. Use craigslist.ca to find places or when you get here walk around Kits and phone the numbers on the vacant apt signs. I cannot say wages are good for me here. I am an accountant and would get about 10,000 eur more at home! It's because the market is saturated with accountants here. My hubby is on a wage comparable to home. He is a programmer. Seattle is so close. We've been. It's fab there! You can apply for MSP (health cover) when you are here after 3 months. It's great, you pay about $60 per month each but doctor visits are free. There are so many Irish here already, you'll feel at home!!

Faith

Faith wrote: »

Actually, how much annual leave do you get at UBC? I'm getting married next summer and trying to figure out how much annual leave I might have if I worked at a university.

I get 140 hours per year and my working week is 35 hours which is well above the Canadian average of 10 days

Faith

Sacramento wrote: »

I get 140 hours per year and my working week is 35 hours which is well above the Canadian average of 10 days

That's 4 weeks, right? Or 20 days? That's brilliant in comparison! I presume all employees of UBC would get similar?

mulbot

hi,i'm moving there in july-with partner and baby to follow within 2-3 months, seems like a nice place,how does the cost of living compare to ireland?

Faith

Faith wrote: »

That's 4 weeks, right? Or 20 days? That's brilliant in comparison! I presume all employees of UBC would get similar?

Yeah that's 4 weeks! I'm not sure about other departments but I assume it's the same.. I'll ask around though!

mulbot wrote: »

hi,i'm moving there in july-with partner and baby to follow within 2-3 months, seems like a nice place,how does the cost of living compare to ireland?

Cost of living is quite high here, one of the most expensive cities in North America but the wages are far better than in Ireland for the same work and benefits are the norm. So I'm more comfortable financially here than I ever was in Ireland.

ciaran67

BTW, you can always negotiate your holiday benefits.

If anyone is thinking of going to Seattle, Ballard is an excellent weekend away just to the NW of the city centre. There is an old heritage street with bars and restaurants along it.

MAntC1

Hello guys,I'm interested to know is there much construction work going on in the Vancouver area?Most people who want to work in construction seem to go to Calgary or Edmonton.I'm trying to make up my mind which part of Canada to go to and I'm curious to know what opportunities would be like for a construction worker in Vancouver?

Thanks
MAntC1

Faith

We looked at flights this morning. Think we'll head off around the 17th of August. Getting very excited and scared now!

Do people cycle much in Vancouver? It's a handy way to get around without a car, but I can't tell if the city is very hilly or not.

AmyPL

This is all second hand information as I've never been there, but the few people I know who have moved to Vancouver have pretty much all said there's a big cycling culture there and a decent infrastructure. I've noticed looking at places on craigslist, etc- a lot of them specifically mention bike storage or bike lockers.

A good cycling infrastructure/culture was one of the reasons it appealed to me as a city. Cycling is my favourite way of getting to places!

I was looking at flights this morning too (staving off the Monday blues at work ) though I'm probably a bit premature. Prices vary hugely, I don't know if it's because I'm looking so far in advance.

Faith

Excellent, I might get a bike over there so! Or maybe they have something similar to the Dublin Bikes scheme.

I looked at flight prices a few months back and they've stayed pretty much the same, so I don't think it fluctuates too much. Flying from Cork via London to Vancouver in August is coming out at €550 - €600 pp one way. The same trip return in October is €650!

I've read on another thread that most rentals start (come on the market?) at the beginning of the month, so we'll have a week or so to settle in and familiarise ourselves with the area before finding a place. We'll definitely be competing with the students though

circular flexing

This is a good map for cycling in Vancouver

http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/map-cycling-vancouver.pdf

There are a few separated cycling lanes in downtown which are really good and I would try and stick to them as much as possible. A lot of other streets have painted bike lanes which are also good. The cycle lanes a long the seafront can't be beat.

There's no bike sharing scheme yet though there are plans afaik.

jilln

Hi all,

Myself and my boyfriend are moving over to Van in mid-Sept. Can't wait!!

Does anyone know of any good hostels to stay in whilst looking for accommodation? Thinking something less backpacker-y and more for other people in similar situation (new to the city etc), would be a good way of meeting people...

Oak2014

jilln wrote: »

Hi all,

Myself and my boyfriend are moving over to Van in mid-Sept. Can't wait!!

Does anyone know of any good hostels to stay in whilst looking for accommodation? Thinking something less backpacker-y and more for other people in similar situation (new to the city etc), would be a good way of meeting people...

You should check out the Moving to Vancouver website. They have a house where they rent out rooms for new comers.

jilln

Ah amazing thank you!!

Lorzy_

jilln wrote: »

Hi all,

Myself and my boyfriend are moving over to Van in mid-Sept. Can't wait!!

Does anyone know of any good hostels to stay in whilst looking for accommodation? Thinking something less backpacker-y and more for other people in similar situation (new to the city etc), would be a good way of meeting people...

I'd suggest staying at the Hi Vancouver Downtown hostel on Burnaby St (the street I now live on). Its on a nice quiet St in the West End area of downtown with a 2 min walk to the beach. I didn't actually stay in that one when I first came here because it was booked out so I stayed in their other one on Granville St in downtown which was great, near everything and great free breakfast.

Faith

Been doing a bit of investigation into rent prices in Van. Average rent for a 1BR place in Kitsilano seems to be about CA$1400 - less than €1000. That's comparable to, or cheaper than, Dublin prices and far cheaper than, say, London. I thought it would be way higher the way people go on about it!

Anyone who is there/was there: What areas would you and wouldn't you recommend? Primary concerns are proximity to amenities and safety.

kronsington

How about a Boards Vancouver meet up soon lads??

Faith

Faith wrote: »

Been doing a bit of investigation into rent prices in Van. Average rent for a 1BR place in Kitsilano seems to be about CA$1400 - less than €1000. That's comparable to, or cheaper than, Dublin prices and far cheaper than, say, London. I thought it would be way higher the way people go on about it!

Anyone who is there/was there: What areas would you and wouldn't you recommend? Primary concerns are proximity to amenities and safety.

I'd recommend looking for somewhere temporary first, that rents month to month so you can move once you figure out where you're working. If you're thinking of working in UBC then Kitsilano would be a great choice. If you're working downtown then living near the Commercial/Broadway skytrain station is ideal. Both are safe areas and fun places to be in general!

kronsington wrote: »

How about a Boards Vancouver meet up soon lads??

I'm up for that!

kronsington

Lads I'm just wondering has anyone sort any time at the Moving to Canada International House? It's a nice place but there's 10 people sharing the one gaff. If I can, I'm going to try stay there for a little but I'd say I'll be looking for a place again soon

Faith

Are there any good/useful facebook groups for Vancouver?

Oak2014

Faith wrote: »

Are there any good/useful facebook groups for Vancouver?

"Whats the craic vancouver"
"moving to vancouver"
"Vibe vancouver"

There are probably way more but thats all i can think of

Scruffy19

Oak2014 wrote: »

"Whats the craic vancouver"
"moving to vancouver"
"Vibe vancouver"

There are probably way more but thats all i can think of

"Irish in Vancouver"

HisDudeness

Hi all

Me and the missus are moving to Vancouver in late August/Early September

I read some where that the best time to move over in terms of finding accommodation is the end of the month, as the start of every month is where rentals start.

Does the time you move over make much of a difference accommodation wise?

Thank you all in advance!

Oak2014

HisDudeness wrote: »

Hi all

Me and the missus are moving to Vancouver in late August/Early September

I read some where that the best time to move over in terms of finding accommodation is the end of the month, as the start of every month is where rentals start.

Does the time you move over make much of a difference accommodation wise?

Thank you all in advance!

Ya most rentals start at the beginning of the month. Sept is a busy time to come as the students are back to Uni but ye will find something!

HisDudeness

Oak2014 wrote: »

Ya most rentals start at the beginning of the month. Sept is a busy time to come as the students are back to Uni but ye will find something!

Thank you! Would it then be better to arrive early August? The first week of September would be a much better time for us. Or could we get something sorted before we head over?

Apologies for all the questions, getting nervous now!

Oak2014

HisDudeness wrote: »

Thank you! Would it then be better to arrive early August? The first week of September would be a much better time for us. Or could we get something sorted before we head over?

Apologies for all the questions, getting nervous now!

You shouldn't accept a place without seeing it first. If you come in Sept, you could spend a few weeks in a hostel and then lease a place from Oct 1st. But you could also be lucky and find that a place is vacant and move in straight away too. No need to be nervous at all!!

HisDudeness

Oak2014 wrote: »

You shouldn't accept a place without seeing it first. If you come in Sept, you could spend a few weeks in a hostel and then lease a place from Oct 1st. But you could also be lucky and find that a place is vacant and move in straight away too. No need to be nervous at all!!

Okay that's put me at ease for now, thank you kindly!

Oak2014

HisDudeness wrote: »

Okay that's put me at ease for now, thank you kindly!

no worries. goodluck!

MarkJD

Howdy.

Looking to get the opinions of people that might have been to both Calgary and Vancouver. Myself and the future wife are flying out on the 29th of July. Im getting a relocation with work but we will be both on the WHV. Iv to spend 3 weeks in Toronto to meet the new team members etc as head office is there. Originally that was to be our base but as bodies are short out in the west for customer visits im needed out there. Its been a bit of a rollercoaster because we spent a good bit of time researching Toronto. Then when the promotion / move was offered I was told it was then Calgary (3 weeks ago) so we have been researching that and overall happy with that city as well with the one major downside being the longer / harsher winters but still not the end of the world for us.

Then this week iv been told that i will have the choice of it being Calgary or Vancouver. Getting married in 2 weeks time and spent so much energy into looking into Calgary im not fussed about Vancouver atm. Its a big decision for us to make. Pros and Cons to both cities. Leaning towards Calgary atm as the only major downside i can see is the weather.

Appreciate anyones thoughts / tips / advice.

sambuka41

MarkJD wrote: »

Its a big decision for us to make. Pros and Cons to both cities. Leaning towards Calgary atm as the only major downside i can see is the weather.

Appreciate anyones thoughts / tips / advice.

I'm in the same position!! We're just back from a holiday in both cities and have to decide, we have friends living in both and their advice was Vancouver if you can get a job and decent place.

Calgary is a big enough city, it has pretty much anything you need socially, but there is seems to be a lot more going on in Vancouver. Calgary is in a boom, it feels like Ireland at the height of it, its tough to get decent accommodation at the minute but its much cheaper than Vancouver for accommodation.

You are definitely more in need of a car in Calgary, its very spaced out and public transport is ok but a car is big bonus. Everyone drives in Calgary, plus petrol is insanely cheap. In Vancouver if you can get relatively near a skytrain you are ok, you can get by without a car.

In terms of people, Vancouver is a bigger city, its much more multicultural, I think 1/3 of population is Asian, big Chinatown area. Van has a big outdoors lifestyle and with better weather you can still do most activities throughout the year, as long as you don't mind rain.
Calgary is full of white cowboys who look like they belong in Texas!! There is a really macho men attitude there, they love their sport (Hockey) (think the attitude would get on my nerves after a while :P ).

Weather wise Calgary is def colder, but not as cold as Toronto because the type of snow they get is very dry. BUT in saying that my friend said it gets to about -30 degrees for a few weeks around Christmas. They get these Chinook winds (?) which warm the place and melt the snow so its not as permanently cold as say Edmonton.

What does your wife to be work as? The wages are mean't to be higher in Calgary as they are really working to encourage people to move there. With the oil industry booming they are looking for people with skills particularly in health care to move there.

Best of Luck with your decision.

MarkJD

sambuka41 wrote: »

I'm in the same position!! We're just back from a holiday in both cities and have to decide, we have friends living in both and their advice was Vancouver if you can get a job and decent place.

Calgary is a big enough city, it has pretty much anything you need socially, but there is seems to be a lot more going on in Vancouver. Calgary is in a boom, it feels like Ireland at the height of it, its tough to get decent accommodation at the minute but its much cheaper than Vancouver for accommodation.

You are definitely more in need of a car in Calgary, its very spaced out and public transport is ok but a car is big bonus. Everyone drives in Calgary, plus petrol is insanely cheap. In Vancouver if you can get relatively near a skytrain you are ok, you can get by without a car.

In terms of people, Vancouver is a bigger city, its much more multicultural, I think 1/3 of population is Asian, big Chinatown area. Van has a big outdoors lifestyle and with better weather you can still do most activities throughout the year, as long as you don't mind rain.
Calgary is full of white cowboys who look like they belong in Texas!! There is a really macho men attitude there, they love their sport (Hockey) (think the attitude would get on my nerves after a while :P ).

Weather wise Calgary is def colder, but not as cold as Toronto because the type of snow they get is very dry. BUT in saying that my friend said it gets to about -30 degrees for a few weeks around Christmas. They get these Chinook winds (?) which warm the place and melt the snow so its not as permanently cold as say Edmonton.

What does your wife to be work as? The wages are mean't to be higher in Calgary as they are really working to encourage people to move there. With the oil industry booming they are looking for people with skills particularly in health care to move there.

Best of Luck with your decision.

Hey thanks for the big reply and the run down of both cities. Thats great that you got to go visit both cities im sure it will help with the decision. There has been talk of trying to get us out for a night or two in each city over the initial 3 week period while in Toronto but im hesitant to whether that will happen or not.

Pretty much all you said is what iv read generically about both places on line and from others so good to see it matches up and is fairly accurate. Interestingly i used to play ice hockey in my teen years so im going to try get back into it. Never really watch it so it wont bother me that much. Iv read up on these Beer Leagues and they sound good and good ways to meet people / go out for beers.

Weather isn't a huge factor for us we dont mind the cold so much but people say until you have lived through it you cant really say which i appreciate. Will definately be getting a car. Already started looking into Lease options for some vehicles. She has a Social Care Diploma and just completed her Psychology degree. Didnt do her medical as part of the WHV so not sure she can fully use those but just wants to get into some form of work. She has been working in Sales / Retail for 7 years with good data entry experience so looking to get into office type job or things like that. Just seems Calgary will have more of those type jobs popping up. I like the idea of paying less Tax and having more to save each month. Being so close to the US we will definitely look to get away as much as we can.

Are you swaying any particular way right now? What field of work are you in yourself if you don't mind me asking?

sambuka41

MarkJD wrote: »

Are you swaying any particular way right now? What field of work are you in yourself if you don't mind me asking?

You'd be hard pushed to get to see Vancouver in the first few weeks without flying there from Toronto, actually for Calgary too. Canada is just enormous, like seriously it goes on forever!! We drove from Vancouver to Calgary amazing scenery but I'm glad we booked accommodation on the way.

Yeah I'm in social care, also have a degree in psychology. The social care sounds like a bit a disaster over there!! Have a friend working in that area and its a bit dysfunctional, but where isn't?

I'm swinging towards Vancouver, mainly because I don't think I could hack the attitude long term, people are nice (they're Canadian after all!!) but its very much the attitude of use the land, get the oil and make the big bucks!! There are guys driving around with steel cows testicles hanging from the back of their giant pick up trucks!! :P It was a bit much for me. Due to the overwhelming white population we did encounter some racism, particularly directed at the first nations and the reservations.

But in saying that you are 1.5 hours from Banff and the best of the Rockies, those mountains undoubtedly the most beautiful place I've ever seen. (Vancouver is close too, same beauty).

If you play Ice Hockey you will be accepted instantly!! :P They are mental about it, there are lots of leagues and levels to play at so you'll have no issues there.

I think there is a good facebook page for the Irish in calgary https://www.facebook.com/groups/132443770140133/ My friend knows the lady who set it up, she supposed to be really helpful for getting started over there.

Despite it being more expensive I still think I'd like Vancouver better, you gotta get on with the locals and I think I'd like the multicultural vibe there better

Faith

We just booked our flights :eek:. Be arriving in Vancouver on the 16th of August. I feel excited and sick now!

Oak2014

Faith wrote: »

We just booked our flights :eek:. Be arriving in Vancouver on the 16th of August. I feel excited and sick now!

Exciting!!!! And the weather will be fab!!!

circadian

Great time of year to arrive BBQ weather.

Beats my rainy January arrival (practically rained until end of April that year)

ciaran67

circadian wrote: »

Great time of year to arrive BBQ weather.

Beats my rainy January arrival (practically rained until end of April that year)

Always starts July 1st and the clouds come back in October sometime.

Liam90

My Girlfriend and I really only want to stay in a hostel for the shortest time possible, so want to find a place as soon as we get there but is this a bad idea to do this before finding a job?

BFassassin

Liam90 wrote: »

My Girlfriend and I really only want to stay in a hostel for the shortest time possible, so want to find a place as soon as we get there but is this a bad idea to do this before finding a job?

Not really. That's what I did.
Just find a place with good transport links, then getting to work should be easy enough.
Places mainly start renting from the first of the month so coming mid month, staying in a hostel for a few weeks and finding a place in those few weeks is a good idea. Thats what i did at least.

sambuka41

Does anyone know if it's difficult to rent an apartment without a job? My OH will be going over first to get us a place but he may not have a job lined up straight away.

I know in London we had great difficulty getting a place without proof of employment (and proof of a certain level of wage income).

ustari

Question for those that have already arrived

What insurance did you go with and how much did they look at it or question you on it?

Reason being I have a letter from VHI stating that I am covered for a year that will automatically continue for a second year.

I am worried that it does not explicitly state 2014 to 2016 however.

Thanks.

sambuka41

ustari wrote: »

Question for those that have already arrived

What insurance did you go with and how much did they look at it or question you on it?

Reason being I have a letter from VHI stating that I am covered for a year that will automatically continue for a second year.

I am worried that it does not explicitly state 2014 to 2016 however.

Thanks.

I got mine with Go 4 Less and it stated the two years (the exact dates), and they checked it at immigration to be sure.

ustari

That's my worry in that it states the insurance must be for 2 years afaik but mine doesn't explicitly state that.

Think I will get Go4Less version instead.

mulbot

sambuka41 wrote: »

I got mine with Go 4 Less and it stated the two years (the exact dates), and they checked it at immigration to be sure.

how much is it?

sambuka41

mulbot wrote: »

how much is it?

€300 with no winter sports