what is situation out there?

[stevecanada]

I don't know what is happening but nobody has posted in details that what is the situation of Jobs and life in Edomonton, Calgary Alberta. Especially how is the technology consulting Market?  People posted AVR stuff in details but nobody has posted about these things:

-How long it took you to get Technology job?
-How expensive is the life in both cities?
-How expensive are the cars and other means of transportations?
-Is Transportation system, Highway etc as good as here in United States?
-What is the overall level of satisfaction in Alberta after immigrating?
-Comparing with Taxes and cost of living, are there any extra savings or just normal as in US?
-Are there any business opportunities with good prospects?
-Overall Information technology consulting market?  
-How is housing market and commercial real estate prices?

[monteiromarcosb]

steve,

I'm still in waiting for my AOR, so my perspective is from outside Canada. But I have done some homework.
The unemployment (general) in Canada is about 8.0%. Most of the jobs being created are in the services sector, manufaturing and natural resources. Alberta has seen an increase in unemployment in last month edging the rate to 6.9%. This is still way compared with the unemployment in the USA edging 11%!

The cost of living in Edmonton and Calgary are comparable to those of the big cities in the USA or Canada. Compared to Texas (which has one of the lower costs of living in the US) Edmonton and Calgary have a higher cost of living. Housing can be expensive too. But all this can be offset by higher wages paid in Alberta.

Public transportation seems to be very dependable and quite affordable. Car issurance is more expensive and I heard that buying a new car in Canada is more expensive compared to the US. The Canadian infrastructure is comparable to the US's. Good roads and so on.

I also would like to hear from those who have already settled in Alberta. I think their opinions would be a good thermometer for those waiting to move. By the way, are you in Texas? I'm in Central Texas, 40 min North of Austin.

If I find out more information I'll let you know.

[stevecanada]

Thanks mont...

[mani001]

Apparently once people settle down there they hardly comeback and share there experience. This may be due to their priorities are changed and rowing a different boat now.  Anyway ... No news is good news .. 

[stevecanada]

Apparently once people settle down there they hardly comeback and share there experience. This may be due to their priorities are changed and rowing a different boat now.  Anyway ... No news is good news ..  

Mostly used AVR and came back in USA then who will write Alberta experience?

[ingegarcia]

-How long it took you to get Technology job?
N/A I got a job while I was in US... then I moved to Edmonton,,,

-How expensive is the life in both cities?
Rent is similar to USA. Public transportation.... hmm US doesn't have this .. you don't pay in health insurance and my company gives me HSA account for 600CAD. in Food some products are 100% more expensive like milk, chicken. However there are places like dollarama where you get very good products in 1 dollar.. it is 100% better place than dolartree... and believe me many people come to buy to these places,,
In general is a little more expensive but prices in 50% of the products is the same. I guess this depends in your diet... Clothes is almost the same..

-How expensive are the cars and other means of transportation?
81 CAD per month in monthly pass (BUS, LRT)... I go to work in downtown every single day using it because parking is too expensive.. anyway I save money in gas, millage, etc. In general canada is a little more expensive because you pay more taxes...


-Is Transportation system, Highway etc as good as here in United States?
Public transportation is 100% better in Canada.. US does not have public transportation (I know they do but it is really bad).... In Edmonton the highways and routes in general are very good. But US has a better highway system.

-What is the overall level of satisfaction in Alberta after immigrating?
100% happier.. I have a job, I am permanent resident...my wife can work.... and I am living in a beautiful apartment, close to the mall and shopping centers... I am living the Canadian dream...
Negative side.. thinks are a little slower here.. if you come here thinking that people are going to treat you better b/c you are coming from US then you'll be disappointed.

-Comparing with Taxes and cost of living, are there any extra savings or just normal as in US?
More taxes than US... while in US I paid 16% taxes, here in Canada I pay 30%. Extra savings depends on your expenses... I would say that in US you get more money to save but... freedom is priceless... if your driver is the money then stay in US...

-Are there any business opportunities with good prospects?
I've been here for 2 months so I have no idea about this...

-Overall Information technology consulting market?  
Overall is good as a matter of fact there are many IT consulting companies here in Edmonton...

-How is housing market and commercial real estate prices?
Apts around CAD300K in downtown (very good place and beautiful building/apt), that's what I've seen in the ads..  

I hope this helps

[stevecanada]

Thank you very much ingearcia! Exactly this time of explanation I was looking for. Now you said people won't treat you better just because you think you are coming from US, because of your race? Is that true? Or they want to show that we don't care who the hell you are whether from US or from anywhere else. What did you feel?

[ingegarcia]

I never said anything about RACE ...... so please don't put words in my comments that I never said.  (BTW If I misunderstood your comments please disregard my comment).

Canada is an opened country as well as US so race is not an issue. What I feel is that they don't care where you come from at least in all the processes related to getting PR card, SIN, healthcare card, driver license (DL), bank account, credit card, renting an apt, etc. As I read somewhere Canada is a country of laws so they follow them to the letter.

If you come with job it is easier to have the doors opened for you (BTW this is the hardest part!).  You could potentially rent an apt just with deposit+rent or get credit card with job offer letter (just in some banks).
Once you step on Canadian soil your credit history in USA is in the past. You have to start Canadian credit from scratch. Though I was told by an insurance company that your driver record in US helps because you can get better rate, and I also read that some car dealers might give you better rate.  This doesn't apply to me as I am currently "carless" and I am not planning to buy a car in the near future. I have other short term plans but I'll think about it maybe in 1-2 years from now.
I found that Canadians are opened, friendly, polite and respectful. So you usually don't listen a despective WHAT?? even if you have a funny accent. But still you can find all kind of people.
You find many races, many accents and many people coming from many places all around the world so the minorities here just look like the majority
BTW by slow I meant to say that all the processes are slower. Almost everything requires an appointment. From getting a bank account til viewing apartments. If you are lucky they can attend you without appointment but it is more the exception to the rule.

Hope this helps...

Thank you very much ingearcia! Exactly this time of explanation I was looking for. Now you said people won't treat you better just because you think you are coming from US, because of your race? Is that true? Or they want to show that we don't care who the hell you are whether from US or from anywhere else. What did you feel?

[stevecanada]

"Carless"This is great and also make sense because extremely well setteled in US will probably not hang out on immigration forums. I have seen some people on H1B that there life is so great that they don't care about any green card.

I agree about this habbit of "What". I think the reason it is more commonly practiced in US is because people are not aware of foreign accent here in US as in Canada. Because the huge amount of foreigners which will be hispanics, do not speak english as much so that's why Americans are not used to.

In some places "What" is used as jargon to insult especially if it is Indian IT folk because when white man is working as Apartment Community Manager making 34000$ per year and an Indian Professional with salary slips of 83000$ per year, enters to rent an Apartment, White Man has no other way to compensate his inferiority complex but to make fun of "Accent".

The slowness of thier life can be seen in immigration processes whether AINP or CIC. Do Canadian die late (I mean slowly) or quickly? I mean what is the average life expectancy of a Canadian?

[kv_ajay]

Hi Ingegarcia,

I am looking for answer on following question. I think you went through similar experience (from your previous posts) so just wondering if you can comment on this
"Guys,

Do you know any case when you have the PN from Alberta and application is with CIC, then one gets an job offer from employer located in Alberta. So you apply for work visa, how long it should take ?
I discussed with AINP people, according to them they can issue a letter for CIC stating that person is already nominated and should not be subject 'labor survey' or labor market condition. But i think you have to go through medicals. Not sure..
so how long it should take for CIC to issue work permit ?

Just want to know if anyone went through this ?

Sincerely,"

It seems that you were in the middle of your CIC process when you got your first job offer and that in turn gave your PR by NY consulate. What I was wondering is what is the timeline ?
Is 2 weeks enough for this process?  Do we need to do medicals ?

I never said anything about RACE ...... so please don't put words in my comments that I never said.  (BTW If I misunderstood your comments please disregard my comment).

Canada is an opened country as well as US so race is not an issue. What I feel is that they don't care where you come from at least in all the processes related to getting PR card, SIN, healthcare card, driver license (DL), bank account, credit card, renting an apt, etc. As I read somewhere Canada is a country of laws so they follow them to the letter.

If you come with job it is easier to have the doors opened for you (BTW this is the hardest part!).  You could potentially rent an apt just with deposit+rent or get credit card with job offer letter (just in some banks).
Once you step on Canadian soil your credit history in USA is in the past. You have to start Canadian credit from scratch. Though I was told by an insurance company that your driver record in US helps because you can get better rate, and I also read that some car dealers might give you better rate.  This doesn't apply to me as I am currently "carless" and I am not planning to buy a car in the near future. I have other short term plans but I'll think about it maybe in 1-2 years from now.
I found that Canadians are opened, friendly, polite and respectful. So you usually don't listen a despective WHAT?? even if you have a funny accent. But still you can find all kind of people.
You find many races, many accents and many people coming from many places all around the world so the minorities here just look like the majority
BTW by slow I meant to say that all the processes are slower. Almost everything requires an appointment. From getting a bank account til viewing apartments. If you are lucky they can attend you without appointment but it is more the exception to the rule.

Hope this helps...

[ingegarcia]

Funny you mentioned that because I was actually a well settle H1B holder and never thought I was going to move anywhere else after 9 years... I had car, life in a good place, good job and was living the American dream. Everything changed because of my visa extension was almost rejected due to my company's lawyer and that the labor certificate took almost 3 years becasue of errors in the form. Anyway that's the past and I cannot change it... just learn from it

I know car doesn't make me better or worst, it is just a tool that I can potentially buy later but I just don't need right now. I'm happy with what I have and what I do

I would say that Canadians (immigrants, citizens, etc) remain active even at old age. I've seen many people older than 55 still working, and I am not talking about waving hands and saying hello at retailer stores but qualified jobs. is it less money for retirement or less people to replace the jobs? I cannot give an objective opinion about that becasue I just arrived here... anyway I found some interesting statistics about Canada vs USA
http://www.unitednorthamerica.org/simdiff.htm

"Carless"This is great and also make sense because extremely well setteled in US will probably not hang out on immigration forums. I have seen some people on H1B that there life is so great that they don't care about any green card.

I agree about this habbit of "What". I think the reason it is more commonly practiced in US is because people are not aware of foreign accent here in US as in Canada. Because the huge amount of foreigners which will be hispanics, do not speak english as much so that's why Americans are not used to.

In some places "What" is used as jargon to insult especially if it is Indian IT folk because when white man is working as Apartment Community Manager making 34000$ per year and an Indian Professional with salary slips of 83000$ per year, enters to rent an Apartment, White Man has no other way to compensate his inferiority complex but to make fun of "Accent".

The slowness of thier life can be seen in immigration processes whether AINP or CIC. Do Canadian die late (I mean slowly) or quickly? I mean what is the average life expectancy of a Canadian?

[ingegarcia]

Hi kv_ajay
The situation was similar but to be honest with you... you cannot speed the process with CIC. You still need to pass for medicals and they will check your documentation/police certificates, etc. So don't take things for granted.

for my case I was in the last step of the process waiting for the letter to request for passports and I spent time emailing and sending letters to CIC but I couldn't speed the process.
So I contacted Alberta and they send a letter to the consulate and a copy to me so I could process work permit/visa while I waited for the PR approval.
The letter took 3 weeks to arrive to my house and then I went to the consulate to request work permit (It is better to go personally otherwise your case will take a long time).

After than CIC review my work permit form and checked my PR case and then approved my PR in a few days but just because my case was in the last stage.

Anyway my job offer was turndown due to it took too long for me to get the work permit but eventually after 6 months I got the job because they got another opportunity for me

I hope this helps
-Juan

Hi Ingegarcia,

I am looking for answer on following question. I think you went through similar experience (from your previous posts) so just wondering if you can comment on this
"Guys,

[kv_ajay]

Hi Juan,

Thanks for prompt reply. I am not trying to speed up CIC process. When I contacted for a opportunity in Edmonton, I was told by recruiter that well we do not consider states candidates because it takes too long for them to get work permit.
Here I am just trying to know that if I get an offer and Alberta folks send letter to embassy about my case, then what will be the time frame to get work visa (Not sure what kind of visa it will be)...I can wait for my PR and CIC will take its due time, I understand that.
So question would be, since I have not medicals request yet, if they are going to issue me a work visa then would it take 3 months for them to get me through medicals or it will be sooner..since this is only work visa and not PR.

Sincerely,

[ingegarcia]

Hi kv_ajay
Can you post the timeline or your case? once AOR is received they'll send you the medicals and then it will take 1 month for them to review your case... in this moment if you have a job offer you can send it to CIC so they are aware of that.
I would definitely contact Alberta AINP and ask them for a support letter to get the work permit right away... and ask them to send the letter ASAP... priority mail or something like that...
processing Work permit/Visa in the consulate with letter issued by AINP takes less than a week if you go personally and talk to the consular officer... (this is where I made the mistake because I left my application in the consulate but I did not speak to the officer)

The recruiter said 3 months for work permit because usually it takes that long to get LMO.. this is like a LCA for your H1B..
This is not your case if you are nominated by Alberta... LMO is waived because the province already nominated you... with the nomination they are saying that you are what they want...
And in the interview you have to tell them that your work permit will be processed right away (as it is stated in the AINP website).

BTW in the AINP nomination letter... there is a phone number with the name of the officer which you can contact in case of a job offer letter... at least mine had that information. call him/her as soon as you get a job offer... so they help you... Do not contact AINP program 1800 number because some of the people who answer the phone do not have idea about H1B program and they mislead you.. again your best shot is the officer/phone number in your nomination letter

I hope this helps

[kv_ajay]

Hi Juan,

That definitely helps! CIC received my application on 12th March and they cashed the check on 30th March. It seems that processing time will be little bit longer considering all of us are applying around Feb-March time frame (at least 100+ members here).

I will start looking after 2 months from now, that will ideal time frame since I will receive my AOR at that time. I have family members in Edmonton but they got their work permit from India and had to go through medicals.

Sincerely,