Can anyone share the experience at Edmonton, AB?

[loveucanada]

Dear all,

I landed at Toronton on Dec.29, 2010 and left Canada 36 hours later. I received the Maple Leaf Card on Feb. 28, sent by my Toronto friend. I'm going to leave for Edmonton, AB on March 29. I don't have any experience with Edmonton, never visited there before, and don't have friends or relatives there. I welcome the words from anyone who landed and/or works/lives in AB. Thank you!

LoveUCanada

[Neel09]

Hi

I live in edmonton. I moved here from US in december 2010. I like edmonton, its very pretty and at the same time "veryy" cold. But i got used to it now. Edmonton is not "very" expensive. You can get choices of apartments but i heard north side of the city should be avoided if can. Oil sands in alberta is booming which means more opportunities of employment depending upon ones field of expertise.

Its good to hear you coming to edmonton. I am sure u will enjoy. If you need any information let me know, i will try to give you whatever i know or have experienced.

[loveucanada]

Hi Neel09,

Thanks for your posting! I can't wait to see Edmonton. May I ask where you lived in the States? I've been in Indiana for a few years. We got 0/F in winter for several days or weeks. What I'm concerned is not the weather but the job market. I'm under NOC1111 and hope to find something related to accounting or auditing. I'm a US CPA and plan to take CA test in the fall. Could you share anything on your job hunting? Thank you!

BTW, I rented a place at South part of the city. :-)

Good luck!

[Neel09]

Hi,

I live in the south side of the city too just near to the whyte avenue ( 82 avenue) where you can find all the bars and clubs:) I lived in US for a long period of time. I lived in many places in US. I first came to florida to do my MBA then went to texas to do my MS in civil engineering. Then i have worked in texas, las vegas and california. I lived in madison, WI for sometime but even that winter was better than what we had here this time. I was working in Austin, tx before i moved to edmonton with a new job in december 2010.  So austin and Edmonton are on the opposite horizon in regards to the weather. I am a licensed Professional civil engineer from US and i work here in the same profession.

I think job opportunities are not bad at all in alberta. I did not have to search much for jobs. I got called for an interview to edmonton from texas and was being offered the job in 2 weeks of time. They acknowledge US degree and credentials so thats always an edge for people coming from the states. Being an oil rich province with booming oil sand constructiions Alberta is surely a good place to hit for jobs. I dont have much informations about the jobs of accounting but i am sure its not going to be too hard. You can always sign up with some staffing services. But the good news i heard is in this summer manyy jobs will be created in alberta.

Wish you all the best in Edmonton and hope we can meet.  There is another person who came from US and started to work in edmonton. I am going to meet him too. It would be nice if we can make a network. I also believe that networking has to do a lot with job leads too.
Are you bringing your car here?

[loveucanada]

Neel09,

It's great for you to have a job offer before you landed in AB. Hopefully, I will be able to find a job soon after my landing. As for the car question, I have given my car to one of friends in the States as a gift. I guess I won't consider buying a new one until the winter is coming in Oct or Nov. I checked the bus schedule and got that Edmonton has a very convenient public transportation system. I think I can handle my daily life with bus and subway. (God! In the US if you don't have a car, you feel like you don't have feet. LOL)

Did you have any Canada organization to evaluate your US designation? I'm thinking I may have to have someone verify my US degree and license.

[loveucanada]

Oh... one more thing, Neel09: Did you get your AB driver's license? I have a full G from Ontario, which I got during my initial landing. I haven't checked the website yet for exchanging AB license. Can I exchange it with my ON license? Or, do I have to wait until I have the first-month bank statement? Another question is whether you signed up yourself with the medical care (card)? I couldn't get my medical card when I was at Toronto. I was told that I have to stay there for a while to show them that I want to be a "Permanent ONTARIO Resident." I actually only spent 36 hours in Toronto, you know. How about the situation in AB? Can I apply for the medical card soon after I land in Edmonton? Thank you!

[Neel09]

Hi

I did not do any evaluation of my US degrees. Its all considered North American so it was fine. I have heard about some institutes here that evaluate and do bridging programs but dont know how much they charge. It must be pretty expensive.

 Yes, the public transport looks reliable as i saw many people using the bus service unlike US. I drove here for mayb 20 days on my US license then changed to Alberta License.If your US driving license is old enough like 3 years i think it should be fine to change it to a fully previledged Alberta license. If you already have license from toronto it should be fine just change it to alberta license with address proof. Mine expired last august so i had a renewed US license so i had to show them online print outs of my old US driving history. The driving record also helped to reduce my car insurance.  They look for some kind of address proof in DMV to give drivers license.   If you are on the lease where u will be staying be sure to take a lease paper. If you are not on the lease, get the letter from bank when you open your account. My car insurance letter worked as address proof in DMV luckily. The bank person will also call some person from your place where you will be staying to check the address. Actually i landed in edmonton last june for 2 days and went back to US so i did not establish any residency that time.

You are entitled to get a Alberta health card from the same day you establish your residency in alberta. There is no wait period here. There also you need an address proof. I went for health card after i got my drivers license so it was ok. Orelse take a bank letter for address proof. Once you apply it, u will get the card within one week. I have a AAA card so i was able to apply for health card through AAA/AMA office on saturday which was convinient for me. Its pretty easy process.

Let me know when you arrive and when you need any help. You can email to my id and i will give you my phone number to contact.  If you dont mind me asking, where you are originally from? And whats your name?

[Edmontonian]

Edmonton is a great place to live.  If you're looking for engineering and manufacturing jobs in the oil patch, Edmonton is the place to be.  Calgary is more white-collar jobs since that is where the corporate headquarters are.

I am from the U.S., and I experienced a bit of price shock when I came to Alberta.  Nonetheless, things are not too expensive when considering the salaries and the overall tax burden. 

I find that you can live in a nice building downtown for about $1100 per month.

I my B.Sc. and J.D. were from the U.S., but I got my LL.M. in Canada.  Once I completed the exams to practise law in Canada, I never had a problem getting a job in Alberta. 

Welcome.