O Canada!

I've lived in Van for ~5 years now.

Honestly it all depends on how your body copes with the cold, I'm very hot blooded, always warm and can't deal with summers in Brisbane (born and raised) anymore.
Some people here, especially immigrants from warm climates dress like Eskimos when it gets < 10 deg

I get by with a light jacket or hoody most of the time. I'd say get a good shell jacket with no insulation for the water/wind proofing, and just rock something warm underneath when you're in ON/AB.
One thing that got me though were shoes, it rains a hell of a lot here (which is great if it's cold enough and means snow on the mountains) but when you're down in the city soggy shoes and socks suck so get some decent shoes. Outside of summer it pays to carry an umbrella around with you too if its even remotely cloudy (or duck into a dollar store and grab a <$5 one).

I've been boarding at Sunpeaks in -27 and I got away with bball shorts + shell pants on my lower and tshirt + long tee + hoody + shell jacket. Was a bit nippy on the lifts but it was totally fine when boarding.
Worst I've done was -37 + wind chill in Banff, and to answer someone's question earlier, it doesn't feel much worse than say -20. It just gets dangerous to your health when it's that low, you need to keep your skin and extremities protected otherwise you'll end up with frostnip/frostbite. LCDs no longer work properly at that temperate which I found fascinating, they are super slow and sluggish to change what they are displaying.

Cell phones if you're BYO unlocked: Fido, Koodoo (I'm with Fido, piggybacks on Rogers so coverage is great)

Banks: Scotiabank, CIBC (https://www.cibc.com/ca/chequing-savings/newcomers.html - have deals for new/temp residents) or you can look at a credit union which generally has no account fees like TD or Tangerine (ING) obv harder if you like to use ATMs etc but I rarely do these days, just goes on the plastic

As someone said as a newcomer it'll be hard to get a CC upfront, you'd likely have to pay a deposit to start with for a tiny limit until you build credit score. You should be able to get Visa Debit easily enough though.

As far as gear goes, there's a bunch of places that have sample sales etc where you can pick up 10-15k outerwear for ~50-60 a piece as long as you're ok with previous seasons styles/prints etc.
Gloves for like $20. That'd be your best bet for cheap snow gear. When I was working in the snow I'd hit this up every winter for new cheap stuff: http://www.ilovesamplesales.com/eventscalendar.html don't think it's listed yet, but it used to be held in North Vancouver.

 

Even if you're putting together your kit in Iceland, brands like 66Deg North will have all that you need for outer wear. Iceland has a wicked climate too.

 

i probably wouldn't buy a winter jacket in Australia, i would just buy it in canada as the jackets are more suited to Canadian temps. even in november it hasn't started snowing yet!

 

Hey all, my trip is creeping up quickly.In just over 2 weeks we will be landing in Toronto.

A question for the expats about health insurance. The visa states we need it for the duration of our stay however I've also read that a resident of BC where we will be based can apply for government cover after 3 months.

We will be doing a couple of weekends of snowboarding but when I add that into the policy the costs go up considerably. Also I only seem to be able to get 12 months maximum policy length.

What did you guys do? Get travel insurance for the first few months and apply for BC government cover? Or did you purchase 2 x 12 month policies? At this stage we aren't even sure if we want to live for 2 years but would like the option.

 

I had 1yr cover going in, and got the Ontario cover as soon as i could (check the details, may need full time employment to qualify). Wasn't checked in Vancouver when getting visa though.

Id just go with the 1 yr, then cancel and get refunded the pro-rata if you get the provincial cover approved

 

when i arrived i needed 2 years to get the full visa, if they saw one then the visa would only last as long as the insurance does.

I am pretty much just over 2 months out of my visa expiring and it's been a fun ride here

 

tax time..again!

 

anyone know of places that can do tax on weekends?

 

Hey guys, just wanted to say i've successfully applied for and received Canadian PR via Express Entry for Skilled Workers.

The whole process took about 9 months and tbh was a pain in the ass haha.

While it's all still fresh in my mind, feel free to pm me if you have any questions! Or ask here, it's just that i don't browse OCAU as frequently as i used to.

Cheers.

 

Congrats! I knew it wouldn't happen for me with my timeline being very small. I hope I can apply when I am back in Australia. I might ask for your help in a few months.

 

I've been here for 2 and bit years now and my work permit (Skill migrant) expires in October this year. I work for Microsoft and HR tell me that I'm "On the list" to get my PR but I haven't heard anything yet, little bit concerning.

 

will be seriously missing canada when i leave

it's been an awesome 2 years and i can't believe i even made it till the end: so glad i came!

 

Me too, in some ways at least. I made some good friends and fell in love with the mountains. Last year I went hiking or scrambling pretty much every weekend, and if we had decided to stay here I might have taken a bit of a crack at proper mountaineering. Nothing beats the feeling of being above the clouds, up near the glaciers or looking down at a lake more than a mile below you and knowing that's where you started your climb that morning

But home is where the heart is, and I've just booked my flight back. Humidity, here we come

 

By the time I leave I'll have over a year of permanent work experience so hopefully I can apply when in Australia cos I was just getting used to the place.

EDIT: I want to do my 2015 tax now but can't since the paper forms don't come till the start of feb and i leave in march so

 

Anyone thinking of heading over to the Canadian Grand Prix (June 12)?

Toying with the idea... Need to do some research on hotels, how far away the GP is from the city etc.

 

google maps is the answer!

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Ci...2!3m1!1s0x4cc91ae0e99de82f:0xe0144f3fc885389b

 

I went when i was living in TO. Stayed near the Uni (just across the river from the track). Was just a cheap motel type place, but clean and tidy. Access to the track is easy via the subway and a short walk, so you can really stay anywhere close to a subway.

 

i wish sydney's city planning was much better...like toronto where it's a nice grid and not the tangle of threads it is!

 

This is where we stayed

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Hô...s!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0xc52fa43c33e9b314

As i said, pretty cheap, and actually close to the track too (1 station on the subway) but out of town and not really much in that area

Was in 2011 though, so who knows if its changed! (The epic rain delay race that Button won the last lap)

 

since i am leaving canada in early march, would one still have to pay tax for 2016 even though i am not in the country any more for only 2 months worth of work?