The Saskatchewan Thread

Faith

For discussion, questions and chat of all thing Saskatchewan

againstthetide

Many here?
Me, my wife and baby are living 160 Kms north of Saskatoon in a little town of 500 people

leechris007

Going to Regina in two weeks.Heard bad things and good things about the place.Just have to see it for myself.

Son

Going to Regina myself in about two weeks.Staying in the cathedral area for a few nights.Have to do a few safety courses then will be looking for a job so may have to move elsewhere,will just see what happens.

Son

Handy little map ...... Thats a good site too for info

http://www.saskimmigrationcanada.ca/interactive-map

leechris007

Son wrote: »

Going to Regina myself in about two weeks.Staying in the cathedral area for a few nights.Have to do a few safety courses then will be looking for a job so may have to move elsewhere,will just see what happens.

you should get work there but if your stuck let me know because the company im getting a job from are flat out they are plumbers ,refrigeration,air conditioning and etc.there could be labourers wanted.

Sam Swarek

Son wrote: »

Going to Regina myself in about two weeks.Staying in the cathedral area for a few nights.Have to do a few safety courses then will be looking for a job so may have to move elsewhere,will just see what happens.

i lived in the cathedral while I was there, probably the best part of the town if there is such a thing. try Leopolds tavern just around the corner from the cathedral prob the best bar in the city but youll pay 10 dollars for a pint there. stay out of o hanlons, its a kip.

Son

leechris007 wrote: »

you should get work there but if your stuck let me know because the company im getting a job from are flat out they are plumbers ,refrigeration,air conditioning and etc.there could be labourers wanted.

Thanks will do

I will see what its like first,do you know where your staying,must be good to have a job to walk into straight away

Son

Sam Swarek wrote: »

i lived in the cathedral while I was there, probably the best part of the town if there is such a thing. try Leopolds tavern just around the corner from the cathedral prob the best bar in the city but youll pay 10 dollars for a pint there. stay out of o hanlons, its a kip.

Thanks I'll make a note of that.Does sound expensive alright,plus they give tips ontop of that don't they.I doubt I'll be doing much drinking anyway when I get there,want to keep a fresh head on me till I start working.

The cathedral area looks alright on google maps,although I think the house Im staying in was built in early 1900's,its quite close to the north central area which looks a bit run down,well more run down than the rest of the place.

leechris007

I have no accommodation sorted,trying to get something in the south of Regina because they said ill be working near there.ya i couldn't go there without a job i have only 3000euro on me.

JONJO THE MISER

Lived there years ago when there was no Irish people there.
I liked it although it has a bit of a bad rep, lived out near the golden mile, nice area.

Sam Swarek

leechris007 wrote: »

I have no accommodation sorted,trying to get something in the south of Regina because they said ill be working near there.ya i couldn't go there without a job i have only 3000euro on me.

it doesn't matter where you live in Regina, your no more than 25-30 mins max from anywhere in the city, but you do need a car for Regina, public transport is practically non existant plus you don't want to be waiting outside for a bus in minus 50!!

Sam Swarek

Son wrote: »

Thanks I'll make a note of that.Does sound expensive alright,plus they give tips ontop of that don't they.I doubt I'll be doing much drinking anyway when I get there,want to keep a fresh head on me till I start working.

The cathedral area looks alright on google maps,although I think the house Im staying in was built in early 1900's,its quite close to the north central area which looks a bit run down,well more run down than the rest of the place.

are you sure it is the cathedral you are staying in then and not somebody telling you it is the cathedral when it is north central? they are not that close really to eachother to confuse them but stay well clear of north central its known as the hood - full of Indians / native americans - gangs, hookers and junkies, north central is a complete shi.thole - anywhere near the stadium basically.

Son

Yeah I've checked it out,maybe they just look close on a map.

Will be heading out next week.

Is there anywhere that I could print out my CV around cathedral or downtown? Googled it but couldn't find anything

Sam Swarek

there isn't a downtown / city centre as such in Regina, there is a small shopping centre and the rest is a CBD more or less in the "city centre", there's 1 or 2 shopping centres, 1 in the south and 1 in the east end of the city - things aren't too handy to get to in Regina, due to the fact there is no city centre per se. what I found was that corner shops were non existent more or less, all garages and 7/11s.
you might find an internet café somewhere but prepare to be looking for a while and walking if you have no car!!
email cvs? I didn't think too many companies accepted hard copies these days?! unless its bar / service / shop assistant type work.
do you have a job lined up or what is bringing you to regina?

leechris007

What are the people like there?would they understand what we are saying?

stevie1122

I know someone from Ireland who lived in Regina for a while, A Canadian national who lived there for a year and another Irish guy who was there for 3 weeks and left they all said it's the worst place they have ever been to. If your young and are looking to have a good social life going out to bars etc I would avoid the place all together from what I was told some of the most rural places in Ireland have a better social scene.

It's also full of farmers / rednecks / Cowboys mostly cereal farms and things like that. A lot of people are "not very open minded" as someone put it to me. It also has the highest crime rate in all of Canada I have heard some bad stories about Montreal so I can only imagine what this place is like if it's worse.

I was also told the stores open very strange hours a lot of those close early and don't open at the weekend which means if your working 9-5 it can be difficult to get things done.

If your married with children and haven't much interest in going out and like sitting around doing nothing the place might suit you but other than that I would avoid it.

Sorry as well if my post is putting a downer on anyone who is already planning to go over there but hopefully it will also help some people who are thinking of going their and not sure what it's like avoid it. It's just because the way I have seen the place advertised here in Ireland is completely different from what I have been told the place is actually like. Even just search for moving to Regina in google and you will see 95% of the results have nothing but negative things to say about the place.

And also public transport is suppose to be non existent and the winters are very bad they were one of the places this year that had -40 around Christmas.

Sam Swarek

stevie1122 wrote: »

I know someone from Ireland who lived in Regina for a while, A Canadian national who lived there for a year and another Irish guy who was there for 3 weeks and left they all said it's the worst place they have ever been to. If your young and are looking to have a good social life going out to bars etc I would avoid the place all together from what I was told some of the most rural places in Ireland have a better social scene.

It's also full of farmers / rednecks / Cowboys mostly cereal farms and things like that. A lot of people are "not very open minded" as someone put it to me. It also has the highest crime rate in all of Canada I have heard some bad stories about Montreal so I can only imagine what this place is like if it's worse.

I was also told the stores open very strange hours a lot of those close early and don't open at the weekend which means if your working 9-5 it can be difficult to get things done.

If your married with children and haven't much interest in going out and like sitting around doing nothing the place might suit you but other than that I would avoid it.

Sorry as well if my post is putting a downer on anyone who is already planning to go over there but hopefully it will also help some people who are thinking of going their and not sure what it's like avoid it. It's just because the way I have seen the place advertised here in Ireland is completely different from what I have been told the place is actually like. Even just search for moving to Regina in google and you will see 95% of the results have nothing but negative things to say about the place.

And also public transport is suppose to be non existent and the winters are very bad they were one of the places this year that had -40 around Christmas.

I'd have to agree with everything said here, I lived there for 6 months and ran out of the place a complete and utter hell hole. The people are very backwards and clannish, there is literally f'all to do in the place plus it is very costly to live there. The winters are unbearable, it was in the minus 50s the day I was leaving and the summers are so warm and humid. The place is full of rednecks and farmers, people who work in the oil refinery, it's that type of a town, full of Indians who are dog tough, dodgy all carrying knives and looking for trouble. I tried to get into the Canadian thing as much as I could while there but the place and people were so boring and uninteresting I just gave up. They have no sense of humour or wit, boring as planks and couldn't understand a word I said, I've never felt so out of place in my whole life. Any of the irish I knew hated the place too and were only hanging around until something better came along or they had enough money to get the hell out of the place.
I'm sorry to rain on anyone's parade but that's my view of the place, I had travelled and lived abroad before then and I'm still away from Ireland but that place is easily the worse place I was unfortunate enough to step In. The only reason I went there is that I was recruited by a company before I left who had offices across Canada and there was where they sent me, it was obvious they couldn't get anyone else foolish enough to agree to go there! And don't even get me started on the CFL and the fcukin roughriders, that's a whole different ball game.

JONJO THE MISER

Its not all that bad, when i first went there i thought what the hell am i doing here but it grew on me and i ended up loving it, there are some pretty good pubs there for a social life and also a casino.
As for crime, it really is only in a small defined area, i used to walk all the time at night in the city centre and never had a problem.
Ive lived all over Canada and i can tell you there are a lot worse places than Regina.

el diablo

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Its not all that bad, when i first went there i thought what the hell am i doing here but it grew on me and i ended up loving it, there are some pretty good pubs there for a social life and also a casino.
As for crime, it really is only in a small defined area, i used to walk all the time at night in the city centre and never had a problem.
Ive lived all over Canada and i can tell you there are a lot worse places than Regina.

Where do you believe is worse than Regina? (besides the territories up north).

Sam Swarek

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Its not all that bad, when i first went there i thought what the hell am i doing here but it grew on me and i ended up loving it, there are some pretty good pubs there for a social life and also a casino.
As for crime, it really is only in a small defined area, i used to walk all the time at night in the city centre and never had a problem.
Ive lived all over Canada and i can tell you there are a lot worse places than Regina.

First off, there is no city centre?! I'd love to know the names of those pubs?
I found all the pubs to be soul less dives, no atmosphere in them at all, certainly they aren't pubs in the sense of what an irish person expects a pub to be - no atmosphere and an aul juke box blaring in the background or a sh.it country and western band.
There's north central and the warehouse district are all fairly rough and dodgy at night, those two areas cover quarter of the city pretty much. I never had any hassle but I never felt safe either, granted I never went walking there at night either.

Solasdeas

I have to agree with all the negatives re Regina and Saskatchewan in general. Even people that live here asked me why did we pick Regina as it such a kip. One lady from here said that their license plate should read 'Welcome to Saskatchewan, sorry you're here!'. Canada is such a big and beautiful country, there are way better places to move to. We are getting out of here in June and moving to another province within Canada. The cost of living is very high here too considering there is feck all to do. I just wish we knew this before we moved to Sask.

Loulou13

We live in saskatoon and it's pretty ok place to live, it can be boring unless your into outdoor activities. But you know no matter where you go it's what you make if it. It's a very family orientated place so if you have kids it's a good place to be. A lot of people I have spoke to here would not live in Regina!
There is lots of jobs here and a booming economy, there is a lot of Irish here! If you don't settle in Regina you could always move here!

pilgrim pat

Hi folks is there anyone on here looking a ford technician job. and if you know of any finish carpenter jobs i would like to know about that to ,thanks

Son

Been here a few days now,weather is good anyway.Anybody else here or coming soon?

Leechris007..... did you make it here?

Have most things sorted now,just one or two things,buy a car and job hunt after that

pilgrim pat

Hi i am looking about getting out there asap ,i might have a job in swift current, i was also thinking about Regina the i saw some people dont like it can some one tell me why ? what sort of a job are you looking for son ?

pilgrim pat

just read your comments on Regina thanks for the warning . whats swift current like there doesn't look like much about it

Solasdeas

More reasons to avoid Saskatchewan, Regina and Saskatoon are in the top five most dangerous cities in Canada. Look up the Macleans.ca website

Loulou13

Solasdeas wrote: »

More reasons to avoid Saskatchewan, Regina and Saskatoon are in the top five most dangerous cities in Canada. Look up the Macleans.ca website

I live in saskatoon and it's not anymore dangerous than any other city in the world. Most trouble is on the west side and this is caused by native gangs fighting with each other. If you avoid alphabet city you will be fine. (avenue p, avenue s etc) We are here 2 years and I don't feel unsafe!

EI-DOR

I was in Fort Saskatchewan 3 weeks ago. Stayed there for a week while doing High Pressure training with CEDA International. Was up in Fortmcmurray for 2 weeks working before the whole lot of us got layed off the shutdown job for Syncrude. I'm now back down in Edmonton trying to sort other work out!!

Hamstrings59

pilgrim pat wrote: »

just read your comments on Regina thanks for the warning . whats swift current like there doesn't look like much about it

Swift current is an absolute backwards dump, nothing there and in the middle of nowhere literally, your about 3/4 hr drive from Regina / Saskatoon. Avoid avoid avoid

Son

pilgrim pat wrote: »

Hi i am looking about getting out there asap ,i might have a job in swift current, i was also thinking about Regina the i saw some people dont like it can some one tell me why ? what sort of a job are you looking for son ?

Pat..... I've only been here a few days but its pretty nice where I am staying in the cathedral area,i've walked everywhere I needed to go.The people are very friendly,of course theres a few oddballs around but I doubt you'll have much hassle.I got the bus today to an industrial area but there was no footpath to walk on if you need to travel out past the downtown area a car would be handy,you can get around on the bus too,they come every 20-30 mins,something like that.It taken me about a week to get set up,I saw some hiring signs up today in the industrial area so you could definitely get something temporary until you get set up.Im a mechanic but looking to get a job in the oil & gas area.
Oh yeah the weather has been fairly sunny/hot so no complaints there.

I think it all depends what your expecting or where you come from as to whether you will like it or not...for me I can up sticks and move somewhere else if I don't like it.I came here for work,not to live it up

againstthetide

Poor old Saskatchewan is getting a bit of a hiding here!
Me and my wife and toddler have been living in Saskatchewan for the last 18 months and are liking it a lot.
We live in a little town of 600 people beside a big lake.
We are 3 hours from Regina and 2 hours from Saskatoon and 1.5 hours from Prince Albert.
People are firendly and the cost of living is way better than Edmonton where we moved from.
Cost of daycare is super low at 3.25 an hour and is very very good
I can't say we miss much about the city beside convenience of having supermarkets close at hand, we need to drive 30 minutes to find a big supermarket beyond our local coop
We live on the edge of a park with the lake so lots to do in summer and lots of events on in the town in winter.
I can see if you were single and looking for parties it would be a bit of a drag but not insurmountable.
We are almost done with PR now our plan had been to stay here to get PR and then move elsewhere but now we like it so much we can't see ourselves living anywhere else.
Winters are cold yes but not that bad once you get used it. You can dress for the cold so it's not a massive issue either.
Snow gets cleared quickly around here as well so never an issue in winter.
I got stuck one over the two winters and got pulled out of the ditch by a friendly local within 10 minutes.

PR is relativly quick here if you apply through SINP so even if you don't like Saskatchewan it could be worth sticking with it for the year to 18 months til you got PR and then look elsewhere

Hamstrings59

Son wrote: »

Pat..... I've only been here a few days but its pretty nice where I am staying in the cathedral area,i've walked everywhere I needed to go.The people are very friendly,of course theres a few oddballs around but I doubt you'll have much hassle.I got the bus today to an industrial area but there was no footpath to walk on if you need to travel out past the downtown area a car would be handy,you can get around on the bus too,they come every 20-30 mins,something like that.It taken me about a week to get set up,I saw some hiring signs up today in the industrial area so you could definitely get something temporary until you get set up.Im a mechanic but looking to get a job in the oil & gas area.
Oh yeah the weather has been fairly sunny/hot so no complaints there.

I think it all depends what your expecting or where you come from as to whether you will like it or not...for me I can up sticks and move somewhere else if I don't like it.I came here for work,not to live it up

Your only there a few days, give it time! At least your there for the good weather, I wouldn't wish that winter on anyone!
Oil/gas, it's mostly potash in Sask, Alberta for the oil and gas. Good money to be made as a heavy diesel mechanic, try get to the mines and make as much money while you can stick it out.
You will definitely need a car to get around Regina, public transport is v unreliable plus when winter hits you ain't gonna be standing outside for a bus, but your there at a good time of year to get settled and sorted before October (winter). Have a look at saskjobs.ca

pilgrim pat

i have heard some bad things about Regina but i am still thinking about going to Saskatchewan is Saskatoon a better city

Hamstrings59

pilgrim pat wrote: »

i have heard some bad things about Regina but i am still thinking about going to Saskatchewan is Saskatoon a better city

I wasn't in Saskatoon but it is meant to be better, if only slightly, than Regina, Saskatchewan is a very grim and cold place, if you can avoid it please do for your own sake, you might get on "grand" there but I can't see you actually liking the place, so if you have another option with Canada, try it is my advice.

pilgrim pat

I here things about how cold cretin places are, but its Canada and i think its all going to be much the same, i would just have to deal with that ,i think i would rather live in a large city so i would have more work options and plenty to do on my days of , i would like to live beside a lake close to a park ,its work i am going out there for so i would have to see when i get there if i can get a job offer

el diablo

pilgrim pat wrote: »

I here things about how cold cretin places are...

Hi Pat. What does this mean?

pilgrim pat

I have seen posts where people say saskatoon has a very cold winter i would think its very cold all over

Hamstrings59

pilgrim pat wrote: »

I have seen posts where people say saskatoon has a very cold winter i would think its very cold all over

No, coastal cities like Vancouver and Toronto, get down to maybe minus 15 at their coldest, which is cold but Saskatchewan is regularly in the minus 40s to minus 50s which is unbearably cold, believe me, it has to be experienced to be believed, there's also a high level of humidity in the cold weather so the air is so thick and cold it's so hard to breathe even, when your eyebrows, hair and the inside of your nose instantly freeze and your skin starts to burn with the cold you'll know what I mean! Canada is cold but there is massive differences in the level of coldness, it's such a massive country, it's bound to be.

ShooterSF

Hey folks. I've been living in Calgary since I moved over a but I've been looking more and more into residency and as a bartender Saskatchewan seems like my best bet with their Hospitality sector initiative. The only thing is the employer has to be already registered with SINP before offering the job but I'm having no look finding out how to know other than phoning up every job offer. Would it be worth my while coming over for a few days and hunting in person?

pilgrim pat

i have been talking to Anika Henderson from imagine immigration they are in swift current "very help full"

Son

Hamstrings59 wrote: »

Your only there a few days, give it time! At least your there for the good weather, I wouldn't wish that winter on anyone!
Oil/gas, it's mostly potash in Sask, Alberta for the oil and gas. Good money to be made as a heavy diesel mechanic, try get to the mines and make as much money while you can stick it out.
You will definitely need a car to get around Regina, public transport is v unreliable plus when winter hits you ain't gonna be standing outside for a bus, but your there at a good time of year to get settled and sorted before October (winter). Have a look at saskjobs.ca

Oil & gas is huge here,its called the Bakken shale formation,mostly around the south/east,I was in Estevan the other day and theres loads of pump jacks in the fields,loads of big companies have offices there,theres lots going on,jobs a plenty.I have interviews next week and I only started looking last Thursday.I have bought car now so getting around is easy,I like it here so far,its not a party town,it is what it is.

pilgrim pat

what sort of jobs do they have ? would they do lmo 's ?

MagicMarker

Very surprised by some of the posts here tbh.

I lived in Regina in 2008, and found it to be quite nice. Yes it's a small City and if you're planning on partying every night then it's not for you. But overall I found the people to be lovely and never once did I feel it was unsafe, and I lived in an apartment block in the "downtown" area that was full of Indians.

In saying that, unless you have a specific reason to go there then I don't see why anyone would choose the place.

pilgrim pat

i would'n want to go out every night ,but would like to go out at the weekends ,so is there a few good bars you would spend saturday night in ?

Hamstrings59

pilgrim pat wrote: »

i would'n want to go out every night ,but would like to go out at the weekends ,so is there a few good bars you would spend saturday night in ?

McNally is an "irish" bar but it's not irish at all apart from the name, good bar usually have live bands and full of cougars looking for 1 nighters. Stay out of o Hanlons it's a hell hole and you'll get fleeced. Leopolds tavern and the freehouse bar in the cathedral are good too but to be honest, a good night out in Regina is very hard to find but those bars are the best of a very bad bunch. Get in touch with Regina Gaels Gaelic football club they are on Facebook, a sound bunch of lads involved there.

Jamsiek

Loulou13 wrote: »

We live in saskatoon and it's pretty ok place to live, it can be boring unless your into outdoor activities. But you know no matter where you go it's what you make if it. It's a very family orientated place so if you have kids it's a good place to be. A lot of people I have spoke to here would not live in Regina!
There is lots of jobs here and a booming economy, there is a lot of Irish here! If you don't settle in Regina you could always move here!

I'm an unemployed civil engineer and living in Vancouver but I'm finding it very tough to find work here since I lost my last job. It's very frustrating here.
I had a job interview in Saskatoon on Thursday last and I think I'm going to get offered a job.
They flew me in and out on the same day so I didn't get to look around.
I'm told there is a good Irish population and growing so that's promising.
Good to here such positive comments about it.
I was getting worried up to then

Bear83

Anybody have an experience of Kindersley? Im starting a job there at the end of September.

Agent_99

I heard that saskatoon are looking for workers, Would Food Scientists be required in that area? OH is a plumber, thinking of moving over with the two kids.

Bear83

Im going there to work as an agri advisor. I got my job through Osborne Recruitment. Maybe contact them and ask would there be employment for Food Scientists over there