Calgary to Victoria or Van

[Matt4x4]

Ya, hey, hmmm ya im sick n tired of the big city lifestyle so I am going to head on over to Victoria. Probably stay in Van for awhile. Westjet to van then ferry it over to Vic. I've just lived here in Calgary for far to long over 30 years. Its been suggested and so taken to heart that I should live in a small town, like Kelowna (pop. 100,000) Victoria has a population of 300K, Vancouver who knows, 3M+. The whole reason for the Van stopover is for job prospects, it is a change (a geographical cure so to say, for all you Bill Wilson folks)

I am after-all just a"un-skilled laborer" with a telecommunications diploma and an electronics diploma (grad. 2001), but sine the Nortel blowout in 2001, im just a labourer. But my goal is a small town, and a change is a change no matter what you call it. I need some help, any help would be greatly appreciated. I can find suitable places to live whether it be a hostel, boarding house or apartment (or a dream of mine is a sailboat 30' liveaboard, either anchored out or $300/month dockside service) or heck even a place like Mclean Creek I'd be happy. I am scared to change, I should have left 5 years ago, but I know this city like the back of my hand so that why I stay. Is there any chance for good employment out in Van or Vic, construction, rig dogging or otherwise. I am thinking about going back to college for instrumentation technology because it complements my tech degrees in telcommunications techology and electronics technician. I know some of you out there are up on the scene. So I'm done with Calgary, Edmonton and Rig Dogging....just need some practical advice on where to go IN VICTORIA AND/OR VANCOUVER.


Thank You


Thanks

[binare]

I suggest you go visit for a week or two first. Any where within 2 hours of Vancouver will not give you a small town feel and you'll soon be begging for Calgary again. Victoria aint any different. You'll get paid less in BC, have a higher cost of living and fight tooth and nail for your job. I LOVE the West Coast don't get me wrong. But I love snowbaording, wheeling, hiking, camping etc. more. You may think those things are easier, closer, more accessible out there. They are not. From Vancouver your 1.5 to 2 hrs just to get Hope in bumper to bumper traffic just to catch a sniff of being away from the general population... you'll keep driving and realize youve now spent 2.5 to 3 hours to "get away from it all" and the light will shine. You'll realize at this point "damn... Maclean was 30 min away!" do you like Snowboarding or Skiing? Enjoy the 2.5hr shipshow getting to and from Whistler... local hills blow... don't bother. It takes me about the same amount of time to get to Kickinghorse from here as it does to Whistler from Richmond (across the river from Vancouver) . We go out there several times a year to see the wifes side of the family. We've been offered free rent while I look for work, I'm still here. I'd much rather be there buuut it just doesnt make sense to take a 15 dollar an hour paycut... pay twice for a house what I can get here and spend half my day stuck in traffic. Not to mention the taxes, price of gas, booze etc. Victoria... I cant say enough about wrong that place would be to live. Just go visit, you'll hate it before your off the damn ferry. Then you'll either take the hour long bus ride or the 45 minute drive to Victoria in bumper to bumper traffic where youll realize it just cost you about 100 bucks to drive there, and itll cost you that everytime you hit the main land and come back.

Just go talk to any of the Vancouverites who move here in droves, they'll tell you why they are here, and why you don't wanna go. Beautiful place though, and the weather rocks!

[cLAY]

If you get your Journeyman Instrumentation ticket you can work in Fort Mac and live where ever you like. Company I work for pays for my camp costs and flights to either Calgary or Edmonton. Lots of guys live in BC and either drive or fly to Calgary for their flight to camp. I do 7 days in, 7 days out. Some are 6/6 others 14/14.

[binare]

All your Journeyman ticket says is "I can work by myself and train apprentices. If you are an apprentice working AND doing schooling in Alberta, you can live where you want, as long as your registered here in Alberta... exactly the same for a Journeyman. Your Interprovincial will let you take your journeyman ticket from province to province. You can have your ticket and have failed your IP. If your schooling and apprenticeship is done in BC, it will all be only recognized in BC until you get your IP... even if your a journeyman. The only one not recognized in BC from here is the Masters program, BC doesnt have one anymore.

[cLAY]

Actually it means a lot more than that. It means I'm certified to work on the equipment that I'm ticketed for. For me being a HD mechanic that means I can legally work on the brakes on a bus or the steering on a truck. To work in a designated trade on any of the sites in Fort Mac you either need to have a Journeyman ticket(either IP or Alberta) or be a registered apprentice. I had to show my red seal when I went to get my security pass for getting on site.

My point was simply that if you are thinking of getting your ticket in instrumentation, go for it! There are lots of jobs in that trade in Alberta(BC too actually) and just because you work in one place doesn't necessarily mean you have to call it home. If you wanted to work in Fort Mac and live in BC you could.

[binare]

Actually it means a lot more than that. It means I'm certified to work on the equipment that I'm ticketed for. For me being a HD mechanic that means I can legally work on the brakes on a bus or the steering on a truck. To work in a designated trade on any of the sites in Fort Mac you either need to have a Journeyman ticket(either IP or Alberta) or be a registered apprentice. I had to show my red seal when I went to get my security pass for getting on site.

My point was simply that if you are thinking of getting your ticket in instrumentation, go for it! There are lots of jobs in that trade in Alberta(BC too actually) and just because you work in one place doesn't necessarily mean you have to call it home. If you wanted to work in Fort Mac and live in BC you could.

Im a Red Seal Electrician so this question is out of curiousity only. For a HD mechanic.. can an apprentice work on those brakes and what not under the supervision of a journeyman? For us... there is no rules as to what an apprentice can or cant do... just needs to be supervised and the journyman is responsible for the work... so to speak. Not the same for Mechanics? Again... im just curious. For instrumention and electrical... Thats just what it means. We cant even pull permits here in Alberta, only a master can but I can pull one in BC with my red seal. Even JoBlo home owner can do more to his house then I can here.

[cLAY]

To work in a designated trade on any of the sites in Fort Mac you either need to have a Journeyman ticket(either IP or Alberta) or be a registered apprentice.

Same as your trade, apprentice can work on anything a journeyman can as long as he is supervised. No such thing as a master in our trade.

[w squared]

To get back on topic, here's what to expect:

Vancouver is literally three times as crowded as Calgary. They are convinced that they are the center of the universe. The cost of living there is astronomical - mostly due to real estate prices being through the roof. Victoria - I've never been, so I won't comment on the city itself.

What I will say is that if you're frustrated at not being able to get a good job in Alberta, then you're going to want to start beating yourself over the head with a pipe wrench when you get to BC. It's probably easier to get a good job in Alberta than it is anywhere else in Canada. Because there are so many opportunities tied in to the energy sector here, the trickle down in to all other segments of the job market means that someone who's really got their poop in a group and is willing to work their way up has more opportunities in Alberta than anywhere else. To be blunt - if you're not being successful here in Alberta, then job prospects are reeeeaaaalllly gonna suck when you get to BC.

If you want to live in a small town, why not pick a small town in Alberta? Or do as Clay has suggested, get a fly in / fly out job lined up in Fort Mac (you will hate the working conditions, but love the money) and then you can live anywhere you want that has a reasonable commute to Calgary or Edmonton. Fernie, Sparwood, Blairmore, Canmore, Golden...all of those little mountain towns that people pay to vacation in are less than a 4 hour drive to Calgary. Commute out of Edmonton, and another pile of options open up to you.

[Tyn Pow]

My younger brother went to U of Vic and I spent a few times hanging out there.  The entire island is amazing, especially north and west of Nanaimo.

Victoria is kinda unique though - the demographics will blow you mind....everybody is either a student or a senior.  So if you're retiring or going back to uni I'd say right on!

[Marco]

X2 on Wsquared comment.  i live in cochrane which is small and close to eveyrthing i like to do, and work in the oilfield. I would go visit and tour around a bit first before you pull the trigger on leaving this province for work.

[skyhy]

I'd just like to add to this topic as I know what it's like in BC, I moved here about a year and a half ago and I'd lived in Kelowna for 2 years before that and in Salmon Arm for 5 before that. BC is awesome, especially the interior and around the Okanagan. BUT. There is no work there, at all, especially labour and unskilled jobs. Unless you're top of your field it's not going to happen. I work in IT and I had a very hard time finding a job in Kelowna. I got an offer from Telus after I'd moved away but it's still extremely expensive to live there. Kelowna and Vancouver have some of the highest costs of living in Canada. Don't get me wrong, I'd move back in a heartbeat if there was a well paying job waiting for me because it really is the best place in the world (I think anyway) but you have to get really lucky to afford it.

TL:DR, If you don't already have a job waiting for you there, don't do it (Speaking from experience)

[Evil-Jeep]

Shyhy hit the nail right on the head. As a recruiter in and around Calgary for the past 10 years, I have seen so many applications and resumes from people in the BC interior looking for work as an unskilled labourer. Currently I am running an ad in the Calgary sun as I am looking for labourers, welders, Pipefitters and an electrician. out of 45 resumes I received over the weekend for labourers 27 were from people in BC 10 of those were from Kelowna alone.

I have also gone thru the process of offering jobs to people who left Calgary, couldn't find work in the interior, are completely broke and can't afford to get their family back to Calgary when they finally decide Calgary was a better option.

[Graatch]

hello

   I can confirm the work situation in B.C. sucks.  I am a Red Seal J-Man Sheet-metal and i went back to Kamloops area with a job in hand and promises of more work to come. First I took a 10$ an hour pay cut just to have the privileges to work in B.C. then the job i went back for lasted a total of 8 months and directly after that they said "Oh sorry um theres isn't any more work for ya here's you layoff slip". Even with my 10 years construction background i couldn't find a General labourer job.  I ended up working in a beer store for the summer to make ends meet and just recently (3 Weeks) got back to Calgary.  Ill go visit but not work in B.C. again until the wages meet the cost of living

I love B.C. I was born in Kamloops raised in Merritt (3 Hrs away from Van) and i would rather work here in Calgary or even Edmonton rather then short change my self again.

[Spinalguy]

The OP has not been online since 1 hour after posting, i am thinking all this great advise is wasted :laughing:

[Immortal]

Maybe he went back........ in?

http://forum.calgaryjeep.com/index.php?topic=9336.msg53251#msg53251