Some tips before going to Vancouver pls

bluefirefly

Hi all,

Will be going to Vancouver with husband on IEC visa. We'll be staying with his relatives for around 1 month to seek our own place. Got a few questions to ask!

1) Which bank to open account with that has low fees.
What sort of proof is needed as we wont have our own place yet when we get there.

2) Are ALL deposits half of the monthly rent in Vancouver?

3) Whats the best place to look for furnished places in Downtown?

3) What mobile company do you use that has a decent data package? I looked around and most of them are bill pay and have like less than 1 GB data?Do they do prepay plans?

4) Should i bring birth certs along? in case we decide to apply for PR, is that needed?

thx!

circular flexing

bluefirefly wrote: »

Hi all,

Will be going to Vancouver with husband on IEC visa. We'll be staying with his relatives for around 1 month to seek our own place. Got a few questions to ask!

1) Which bank to open account with that has low fees.
What sort of proof is needed as we wont have our own place yet when we get there.

All banks should have some form of offer for new arrivals, usually free banking for 6 months. We were with BMO, had no issues. A lot of people I know (us included now) are with Van City who are a credit union but they have full banking facilities. You don't need any proof of address, just your passport, permit and SIN.

2) Are ALL deposits half of the monthly rent in Vancouver?

1/2 month is the law. It doesn't stop some landlords from asking for more though.

3) Whats the best place to look for furnished places in Downtown?

Honestly, you are better off just accepting that you will be renting unfurnished and then take a trip to Ikea. It's hard enough to find somewhere to rent here at the moment, why restrict yourself even more? I would say 95% of places are unfurnished here. Furnished places are more expensive too, so what you save on not buying furniture, you pay in rent.

3) What mobile company do you use that has a decent data package? I looked around and most of them are bill pay and have like less than 1 GB data?Do they do prepay plans?

Most plans here are month to month, which is like a bill but with no contract. The cheapest ones are from virtual operators like Wind and Mobilicity. However, the coverage for these networks outside of downtown is patchy at best. I have Rogers (work pays) and my partner has Telus and we have no complaints. Previously had Wind and had problems receiving calls. It is going to be more expensive than Ireland.

4) Should i bring birth certs along? in case we decide to apply for PR, is that needed?

thx!

If you decide to apply for PR, you'll need much more than your birth cert. Probably no harm to bring them.

fergusb

bluefirefly wrote: »

Hi all,

Will be going to Vancouver with husband on IEC visa. We'll be staying with his relatives for around 1 month to seek our own place. Got a few questions to ask!

1) Which bank to open account with that has low fees.
What sort of proof is needed as we wont have our own place yet when we get there.

We went with ScotiaBank, they provided free banking for 12 months for newcomers, they also have ATMs in every 7-eleven so no shortage.

2) Are ALL deposits half of the monthly rent in Vancouver?

3) Whats the best place to look for furnished places in Downtown?

I would agree with Circular Flexing, Furnished places are not that common and you will pay a premium, if you plan to live there for 12 months, getting an unfurnished with an IKEA trip will save month in the long run. There's also a huge Craiglist furniture section, so can get lots of second hand stuff if you have the time.

3) What mobile company do you use that has a decent data package? I looked around and most of them are bill pay and have like less than 1 GB data?Do they do prepay plans?

I went with Fido and found them great, coverage is decent and cheaper than the big brands (Telus, Rogers etc). I've heard mixed things with Wind as well.

4) Should i bring birth certs along? in case we decide to apply for PR, is that needed?

I wouldn't bother with birth certs, you only need copy of it for PR (if at all), so make sure you have a scan of it saved somewhere. If you have a driving license for more than 2 years you can convert it directly to a BC license.

It used to be the case (not sure if its still) that if you wanted to sign up to Car2Go or Zipcar/Modo car sharing schemes you needed a driver history report, Might be worth getting one just incase (and you think you'd make use of car sharing), not sure if its the same thing but could be this:
https://www.ndls.ie/driving-abroad.html#letter-of-entitlement-driver-statement

bluefirefly

Hi.

Thanks for the answers!

Fido seems to have a better price with data than the others i think.

Anyone used President’s Choice Financial for bank?I saw on a WH blog. you can draw money from CIBC and President’s Choice Financial. No banking fees at all?
Last time i went to Vancouver i saw loads of Scotia bank around.
Many asian blogs talks about CIBC , what do you guys think?

Kev_2012

bluefirefly wrote: »

Hi.

Thanks for the answers!

Fido seems to have a better price with data than the others i think.

Anyone used President’s Choice Financial for bank?I saw on a WH blog. you can draw money from CIBC and President’s Choice Financial. No banking fees at all?
Last time i went to Vancouver i saw loads of Scotia bank around.
Many asian blogs talks about CIBC , what do you guys think?

Fido are useless in Kitsilano. I ended up just biting the bullet and going with Telus. Much better coverage but you will pay for it.

Also, Fido aren't cheap anymore and I've heard nothing but bad things about Wind and their coverage.

Never used PC but I was advised to go with Van City and they were awful for transferring money so I closed that account. I ended up going with TD as they have tonnes of branches and ATMs around, they are open late on Thursdays and Fridays and some even open on Saturdays and Sundays!

I was paying $15 for unlimited banking per month and I think once you had a certain amount in your account at all times, the banking charges were waved.

el diablo

bluefirefly wrote: »

Hi.

Thanks for the answers!

Fido seems to have a better price with data than the others i think.

Anyone used President’s Choice Financial for bank?I saw on a WH blog. you can draw money from CIBC and President’s Choice Financial. No banking fees at all?
Last time i went to Vancouver i saw loads of Scotia bank around.
Many asian blogs talks about CIBC , what do you guys think?

PC Financial are a decent bank. I use their Mastercard and no problem with it. Also, Tangerine are a decent alternative to the mainstream banks. No monthly fees and decent rates on saving accounts.