Landing in Calgary - which location is best?!

[anjun]

Hey!

Our move to Canada is coming up quickly. We are landing in Calgary.
Need some advice on renting on airbnb, is it legit? Better than hotels/motels?
Anyone landed in YYC to give us some advice on transportation from airport to our accommodation. We have a 4 year old... do cars come with car seats/boosters? Or do we provide our own?
Where is the best place to find accommodation in Calgary? Downtown? Northwest/Southwest/east??? We want to be close to the C-train and close to shops in walking distance.. until we can find a apt to rent..
Any other advice/tips would be appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[steaky]

Vacancy is high, so you would easily find a place to live for long term.

You have to check with rental cars companies whether provide child seats.

 

[lieudefroid]

Hey!

Our move to Canada is coming up quickly. We are landing in Calgary.
Need some advice on renting on airbnb, is it legit? Better than hotels/motels?
Anyone landed in YYC to give us some advice on transportation from airport to our accommodation. We have a 4 year old... do cars come with car seats/boosters? Or do we provide our own?
Where is the best place to find accommodation in Calgary? Downtown? Northwest/Southwest/east??? We want to be close to the C-train and close to shops in walking distance.. until we can find a apt to rent..
Any other advice/tips would be appreciated!
Thanks!

Airbnb is mostly legit, no problems with it. You can also use calgary specific rentfaster.ca site and search for "short term rentals". Mayfair, Checker are the popular cabs here. Call their numbers and enquire if they give child seats or if you need to book in advance. The downtown areas are closer to all amenities, look for houses around 14 Ave or 17 Ave. Macleod trail also has lots of shopping places, look around Bonaventure Drive as well. I prefer NW and Downtown for Indians since NE is closeby for Indian grocery stores and temples etc. Do not go far SW or SE and it becomes a big long drive to the NE. I am presently in Calgary and immigrated last year.. please send an email to aecslayout AT gmail DOT com. I'll reply and can help you a bit.

 

[justinline]

I had good as well as bad experience with airbnb. If you are planning to come alone, I would say go for airbnb. If with family then I would say look directly for hotel or motel. Cost will be more but no surprises. If you are planning to rent a car, booster seat cost extra. Not all locations have it available.

For start stick close to downtown..... Beltline, Mount Royal. I lived there for a while, with economic downturn there is lot of vacancy so should be able to get a good price. If you donot have credit history they may ask for 3-4 months rent upfront with deposit.

 

[anjun]

Thank you for your response.
What do you think about the financial district in Calgary? Jobs in banking primarily corporate/credit field.

Airbnb is mostly legit, no problems with it. You can also use calgary specific rentfaster.ca site and search for "short term rentals". Mayfair, Checker are the popular cabs here. Call their numbers and enquire if they give child seats or if you need to book in advance. The downtown areas are closer to all amenities, look for houses around 14 Ave or 17 Ave. Macleod trail also has lots of shopping places, look around Bonaventure Drive as well. I prefer NW and Downtown for Indians since NE is closeby for Indian grocery stores and temples etc. Do not go far SW or SE and it becomes a big long drive to the NE. I am presently in Calgary and immigrated last year.. please send an email to aecslayout AT gmail DOT com. I'll reply and can help you a bit.

 

[lieudefroid]

Thank you for your response.
What do you think about the financial district in Calgary? Jobs in banking primarily corporate/credit field.

Local knowledge, qualifications, connections and experience are important. Job market is a bit tough now and you might have to compete with locals who have graduated from UoCalgary, Mount Royal etc and might have MBA, CPA, CSC and CFA qualifications. If you can get such qualifications fast, it will help. I work in downtown and things are getting better than last year.. we added new jobs in January.

 

[shazfa]

Local knowledge, qualifications, connections and experience are important. Job market is a bit tough now and you might have to compete with locals who have graduated from UoCalgary, Mount Royal etc and might have MBA, CPA, CSC and CFA qualifications. If you can get such qualifications fast, it will help. I work in downtown and things are getting better than last year.. we added new jobs in January.

lieudefroid,

You talked about MBA, can you tell from your experience which university has better reputation for MBA in Alberta ? is it Uof A or Calgary University ? and how much MBA's are making in Alberta province.

Thanks.

 

[lieudefroid]

lieudefroid,

You talked about MBA, can you tell from your experience which university has better reputation for MBA in Alberta ? is it Uof A or Calgary University ? and how much MBA's are making in Alberta province.

Thanks.

I'm not the right person for these questions. Since I don't have experience in recruiting and working with HR here, so I don't know the reputation of UoA. Haskayne is quite well known in Calgary but as I said getting jobs are not easy and 2016 MBAs are still in the market looking for jobs and moving to Vancouver and other cities. I am not a career advisor or anything but I wouldn't invest so much money into MBA course fee when job prospects are lesser. I think you have to do more research calling Admissions and Placements office of these universities. Hope this helps.

 

[lieudefroid]

Thanks for the info.. If you don't mind me asking what kind of company do you work for?

sorry, not divulging personal info in the forum and I also can't understand how this piece of individual information will be useful to you/anyone since many industries operate in downtown Calgary, mainly Banks, Insurance, Oil firms, Retail and Hotels.. alongwith Public Sector.

 

[issac1990]

Airbnb is mostly legit, no problems with it. You can also use calgary specific rentfaster.ca site and search for "short term rentals". Mayfair, Checker are the popular cabs here. Call their numbers and enquire if they give child seats or if you need to book in advance. The downtown areas are closer to all amenities, look for houses around 14 Ave or 17 Ave. Macleod trail also has lots of shopping places, look around Bonaventure Drive as well. I prefer NW and Downtown for Indians since NE is closeby for Indian grocery stores and temples etc. Do not go far SW or SE and it becomes a big long drive to the NE. I am presently in Calgary and immigrated last year.. please send an email to aecslayout AT gmail DOT com. I'll reply and can help you a bit.

Hi,
I am planning to arrive in calgary with my 6 month pregnant wife. Can you please suggest a neighbourhood with easy access to C-train/ hospitals? Our connection flight to calgary is from Montreal. Do we need to submit any documnents during transit at Montreal? Your input ll be of great help.
thanks

 

[steaky]

Hi,
I am planning to arrive in calgary with my 6 month pregnant wife. Can you please suggest a neighbourhood with easy access to C-train/ hospitals? Our connection flight to calgary is from Montreal. Do we need to submit any documnents during transit at Montreal? Your input ll be of great help.
thanks

It's really not difficult to google out the info.

 

[issac1990]

It's really not difficult to google out the info.

Oh that was really helpful.. i never knew...

 

[Bs65]

Hi,
I am planning to arrive in calgary with my 6 month pregnant wife. Can you please suggest a neighbourhood with easy access to C-train/ hospitals? Our connection flight to calgary is from Montreal. Do we need to submit any documnents during transit at Montreal? Your input ll be of great help.
thanks

If you are arriving in Canada to take up PR then of course you complete your initial PR landing immigration/customs at the first POE , that being Montreal for you so make sure you have 2/3 hours between the connection. Assume you know this anyway but just in case.

 

[issac1990]

If you are arriving in Canada to take up PR then of course you complete your initial PR landing immigration/customs at the first POE , that being Montreal for you so make sure you have 2/3 hours between the connection. Assume you know this anyway but just in case.

Yes i do have 3 hours. I contacted immigration services and they also said the same. Thanks for the reply.