Some questions about living in Calgary‏

[basti]

Hello,

We are from Germany and we have got immigration visa to Canada (to Alberta), it means that we are newcomer.
We have a little girl who is seven years old.
I have a master's degree in natural resource management (remote sensing) and my wife is pharmacist.

The application was targeted Alberta.
Do I have to land the first in Alberta?. Or can I land where I want in Canada?
We have interested to live and work in Calgary. But we do not know anybody who lives in Calgary. After a few months we are planning to fly to Canada.
I would like to ask a few questions:
• Is there any German school in Calgary ?
• Can we rent an apartment, even though we are in Germany?
• Where can I find cheap apartment?
• Where can I find a cheap Cell Phone / Telephone contract or internet line?
• Where can I first insured for health insurance?
• Can we get an insurance at first in public health insurance?
.

We are afraid that we cannot find a job in Calgary within two months.
If I cannot find a job after two months, and I have no money for a living then what do I have to do?
I think the System of living in Germany is different in Canada
Would you advise us please what we have to do before the flight to Canada
In advance I thank you for your help and friendliness.

 

[steaky]

I suggest you and your wife should not cut the ties in Germany (especially your wife's job in Germany) and just come to Canada for a short while (a week or less) to complete the landing formalities. During that short stay, you guys can sort out the schooling system, housing situation and living costs. Public health insurance is available for newcomers can be apply at any AHCIP registry agent locations across Alberta.

You land at the first port of entry to Canada. For example, Vancouver is your first port of entry to Canada and you have a connecting flight from Vancouver to Alberta. You would be landing in Vancouver.

 

[on-hold]

Hello,

We are from Germany and we have got immigration visa to Canada (to Alberta), it means that we are newcomer.
We have a little girl who is seven years old.
I have a master's degree in natural resource management (remote sensing) and my wife is pharmacist.

The application was targeted Alberta.
Do I have to land the first in Alberta?. Or can I land where I want in Canada?
We have interested to live and work in Calgary. But we do not know anybody who lives in Calgary. After a few months we are planning to fly to Canada.
I would like to ask a few questions:
• Is there any German school in Calgary ?
• Can we rent an apartment, even though we are in Germany?
• Where can I find cheap apartment?
• Where can I find a cheap Cell Phone / Telephone contract or internet line?
• Where can I first insured for health insurance?
• Can we get an insurance at first in public health insurance?
.

We are afraid that we cannot find a job in Calgary within two months.
If I cannot find a job after two months, and I have no money for a living then what do I have to do?
I think the System of living in Germany is different in Canada
Would you advise us please what we have to do before the flight to Canada
In advance I thank you for your help and friendliness.

- there is very likely a public school that is part-German, but it will be for English students, not fluent foreign children.
- apartments are going to be expensive, look at the article below
- after you rent an apartment, change the utilities into your name immediately and request that they send you a bill as soon as possible (phone or bank account are also acceptable). Take the letter, your landing papers, and your identification and apply for Alberta Health Insurance. As soon as you apply, you are covered (maybe even before you apply if you are a true resident). It'll take a couple of weeks to get your card.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/calgarys-oil-boom-threatens-to-bust-the-middle-class/article15372581/

Why are you moving to Calgary? If you don't have a strong reason, consider Northern Alberta also. The employment market is good in Edmonton also, and renting is easier and cheaper. Both cities are good to live in. Calgary is the corporate centre for the energy industry, but Edmonton is the industrial centre -- if you don't find a job here (which is hard to imagine), one of you can take a temporary job as a labourer up north and make good money while the other settles in. If you are healthy you can get day labour from temp agencies that pays 16 dollars an hour. There are public schools in Edmonton that have strong German programs (again, German as a second language, not German immersion).

 

[AAL1984]

If you're German why move to Canada or Calgary? Job market is hard for new comers and there are lots of layoffs going on in energy sector. US is producing much of their own oil now due to Balkan fields creating less demand for Canadian oil, further there are severe capacity constraints in terms of getting oil to market.

Germany is far more of an advanced economy and country than Canada. You will notice road and public transit infrastructure to be much more poorly designed compared to Germany which as I said before is far more advanced than Canada.

Please don't cut all your ties with Germany , you many want to go back. Only positive aspect of Canada is you can drive to US , healthcare is also good but German system is superior.

 

[basti]

Hello guys
I would like to thank you for the help and Disscusion
I have no problem if I live in Calgary or in Emdonten or in another region.
I am at a loss where is the best place to live and work in canada
If I cannot find a job after two months, and I have no money for a living then what do I have to do?
in Germany there is a social system that supports unemployed.
Is there the system in Canada

Thanks for Comments

 

[AAL1984]

Hello guys
I would like to thank you for the help and Disscusion
I have no problem if I live in Calgary or in Emdonten or in another region.
I am at a loss where is the best place to live and work in canada
If I cannot find a job after two months, and I have no money for a living then what do I have to do?
in Germany there is a social system that supports unemployed.
Is there the system in Canada

Thanks for Comments

You must bring enough savings , there isn't system like Germany. There is EI but people pay in to that, so you have to work first.


Find a job before you come or bring enough savings for minimum 6 months. Calgary is Not cheap, rents groceries are high.

If you run out of money you can lose your house and end up in charity shelter, don't get to that point. Arrange a job or bring enough savings.


Why do you want to leave Germany?

 

[MyCanadaPlan]

Hello guys
I would like to thank you for the help and Disscusion
I have no problem if I live in Calgary or in Emdonten or in another region.
I am at a loss where is the best place to live and work in canada
If I cannot find a job after two months, and I have no money for a living then what do I have to do?
in Germany there is a social system that supports unemployed.
Is there the system in Canada

Thanks for Comments

Hi Basti,

If you would like help with preparing your resume for Canada before you arrive you can visit mycanadaplan.com - we provide services to help anyone who is pre-arrival to Canada, sorting out housing, employment, language practice, and other integration matters. We have a free 30 minute consultation via Skype to start, and all services are meant to save you time, stress and money. If you are able to prepare for the Calgary labour market now, you will find a job sooner in your new city.

Best of luck

 

[on-hold]

First of all, Alberta has the best job market in Canada -- you are coming to the right place. Ignore people who blather on about places that are more 'advanced' than Canada, it's a silly designation. You will find a job to survive here; whether you succeed after that is unknown, however.

I worked in an employment agency -- people come in from all over Canada looking for work: college students from Ontario, old labourers from Nova Scotia, hippies from British Columbia. YOu can get a job shoveling dirt in northern Alberta that pays 35 dollars an hour, and offers overtime. I met a construction worker form Ireland who said that Alberta was famous in Ireland -- one of three places in the world where you can get off the bus and get a good job. Perth was another, and I forget the third.

To work in construction, you must have safety tickets -- even other Canadians don't know about these. You can do some online before you get here, especially CSTS. To even step foot on a construction site, you must have this. Also WHYMIS, maybe First Aid, maybe H2S alive, depending on what you want to do. If you want to do construction work, ask what union you need to join -- they will help you find a job.

The worst thing you can do is show up without enough money. YOu need to spend a lot at the beginning -- and perhaps you can't rent a place to live without a job, meaning you will be burning money in a hotel. Do not come with two months, six months is necessary. Every day I would see pathetic people -- Ontario students who had come here and spent all their money, they would stay with friends and find out that they didn't have any safety tickets for getting a decent job. Alberta is very easy to survive in, but you can't be stupid about it. Not having enough money to get started is stupid.

 

[basti]

Hallo on-Hold,

thank you for your nice comment.
we can't support ourself for 6 months and in this case what can we do?
If we cannot find a job after two months or 3 months , and we do not have money for a living, then what do I have to do?
In Germany there is a social system that supports unemployed until they can find a job.
Is there this system in Canada?
Are you living in Edmenton?
Regards

 

[Line.a]

Hello,

We are from Germany and we have got immigration visa to Canada (to Alberta), it means that we are newcomer.
We have a little girl who is seven years old.
I have a master's degree in natural resource management (remote sensing) and my wife is pharmacist.

The application was targeted Alberta.
Do I have to land the first in Alberta?. Or can I land where I want in Canada?
We have interested to live and work in Calgary. But we do not know anybody who lives in Calgary. After a few months we are planning to fly to Canada.
I would like to ask a few questions:
• Is there any German school in Calgary ?
• Can we rent an apartment, even though we are in Germany?
• Where can I find cheap apartment?
• Where can I find a cheap Cell Phone / Telephone contract or internet line?
• Where can I first insured for health insurance?
• Can we get an insurance at first in public health insurance?
.

We are afraid that we cannot find a job in Calgary within two months.
If I cannot find a job after two months, and I have no money for a living then what do I have to do?
I think the System of living in Germany is different in Canada
Would you advise us please what we have to do before the flight to Canada
In advance I thank you for your help and friendliness.

Not sure if someone has already mentioned it, but if you're from Germany you'd really appreciate this shop i think!
It's called Edelweiss and it's in the western portion of the city just off 16th ave. Google Edelweiss Calgary they got plenty of german bread, cheese, meat, candy, chocolate and what not! Feels like home going there

 

[on-hold]

Hallo on-Hold,

thank you for your nice comment.
we can't support ourself for 6 months and in this case what can we do?
If we cannot find a job after two months or 3 months , and we do not have money for a living, then what do I have to do?
In Germany there is a social system that supports unemployed until they can find a job.
Is there this system in Canada?
Are you living in Edmenton?
Regards

I am living in Edmonton -- it is a good city to stay, not too expensive, lots of work. I understand how you feel, I also immigrated with a child, it is very difficult to land somewhere new. If you are that worried about fiding work, I recommend that one of you come alone, first. That person will find work, rent an apartment, and the rest of the family will follow.

Yes, there is a system to support unemployed people in Canada, it works very well. Unfortunately, you are not part of it, because when you land, you will be 'never-employed', not 'un-employed'. To join it you have to work for 6 months.

You are also thinking too much. Here is what you should do.

1) do your CSTS online in Germany. Buy work boots and working clothes.

2) land here, rent a room (not an apartment) in someone's basement).

3) On your first day, open a bank account, get them to send you a letter

4) Go to a temp agency and start doing day labour work -- it will pay ~16 dollars/hour, which is more than enough to live decently on; this might be harder to find in winter, when there is less construction, but I think it will be possible.

5) When the bank's letter gets to you, go apply for health insurance.

6) Because you're working as a day labourer, you can take time off whenever you need to do stuff, like look for a permanent job.

7) Have the rest of your family follow.

Basically, everyone who wants to work in Alberta can work, why would you be different? Whether you find the job you want is a different question, but you can survive here.

 

[basti]

Dear on Hold,

I would like to ask you:
Why should I apply for CSTS online.
is it necessary to get a job in Alberta (Edmonton)?
My wife applied for immigration, so I am not allowed to land alone first. it stands on immigration paper, it means that either my wife can alone land or all family.

I found out that most jobs in canada require canadian experience. Getting this experience will take some time, maybe few months.
My question is : If I cannot support myself more than the 2 - 3 months, and I couldn't find a job, what shall I do?
The problem is that we can't support yourself for 6 months in the beginning.

Much Thanks for your response
Best regards

 

[scylla]

I found out that most jobs in canada require canadian experience. Getting this experience will take some time, maybe few months.
My question is : If I cannot support myself more than the 2 - 3 months, and I couldn't find a job, what shall I do?
The problem is that we can't support yourself for 6 months in the beginning.

You should bring enough funds with you to support yourself and your family for six month.

 

[on-hold]

Look, basti -- you keep asking what you will do if you can't find a job. The answer to this is simple, if you can't find a job, you will spend all your money and become homeless or return to Germany. You are immigrating, if you don't find a job your immigration fails. Why repeat that question over and over again? There is no situation in which you are successful here without a job.

Also, immigration requires you to have money for 6 months, there is no 2-3 months.

CSTS is necessary to work in construction in Alberta, these are the best jobs that can be gotten quickly.

 

[buliwyf]

I know this is irrelevant, but I loved Germany more than Canada haha. The people are nicer (or maybe because I'm a tourist), public transit was 1,000x better, food and drinks are cheaper, taxi's were Mercedes Benz, Yogurt was awesome. I would put Canadian beer with German beer together there at the top though...

If I speak German and given the opportunity, I'd emigrate to Berlin with the blink of an eye. But I guess "The grass is always greener.."

Anyway, since there's 3 of you in your family, you would "legally" require about $17,500, which should let you survive jobless for about 3-6 months, depending on how much you spend on a day-to-day basis.