First month in Canada on PR

[sonea]

Hi there,

At first, I would like to appreciate your work through out this thread for helping newcomers to Canada.

May I ask what about car insurance cost in Edmonton. I've heard about Ontario, where car insurance very expansive for newcomers.

Thanks.

Car insurance is expensive throughout Canada but don't go directly on showroom to get a new car it will be financed in $200 and insured in $300 so trust me we've been through this

Get a second hand car (www.kijiji.com) then go for only basic/third party insurance it should be around $80 to $100 go for toyotA avoid hatch back .. Keep it going like this for 1 year obviously be v careful not to claim insurance in this time then after a year u will get no claim certificate and ur insurance will drop gradually u can upgrade to comprehensive insurance or upgrade to a zero meter car. just keep in touch with your insurance companey they will give u quotes for insurance. We have insurance with a company it's something as west (don't remember what) insurance companey which was the cheapest one we found for 3rd party coverage and for breakdown coverage my husband has bmo card coverage they charge him $3 a month and cover for car breakdown anywhere in Edmonton he is getting this discounted rate as he is bmo employee normal customer gets this type of cover in $75 a year or if u want broader area breakdown cover u have other packages

In short you have to search a lot you get everything if u search properly. some people get NOC from the country they were residing before coming here to reduce car insurance but it doesn't always work specially for Asian countries u can try that too but what I told u is tried and tested

 

[phdmaker]

Car insurance is expensive throughout Canada but don't go directly on showroom to get a new car it will be financed in $200 and insured in $300 so trust me we've been through this

Get a second hand car (www.kijiji.com) then go for only basic/third party insurance it should be around $80 to $100 go for toyotA avoid hatch back .. Keep it going like this for 1 year obviously be v careful not to claim insurance in this time then after a year u will get no claim certificate and ur insurance will drop gradually u can upgrade to comprehensive insurance or upgrade to a zero meter car. just keep in touch with your insurance companey they will give u quotes for insurance. We have insurance with a company it's something as west (don't remember what) insurance companey which was the cheapest one we found for 3rd party coverage and for breakdown coverage my husband has bmo card coverage they charge him $3 a month and cover for car breakdown anywhere in Edmonton he is getting this discounted rate as he is bmo employee normal customer gets this type of cover in $75 a year or if u want broader area breakdown cover u have other packages

In short you have to search a lot you get everything if u search properly. some people get NOC from the country they were residing before coming here to reduce car insurance but it doesn't always work specially for Asian countries u can try that too but what I told u is tried and tested

Thanks sister for detailed reply.

Actually, I will be flying to Edmonton in August with my family (Spouse & two little cute sons; 4y & 1y old). My first priority is to take admission in chemical diploma program in NAIT which will commence in Sep-13 because I'm professionally Industrial Chemist. So, managing expanses with family during studies would be difficult as my wife can't work as to look after our little baby. My friend lives in Edmonton, he also immigrated with his family back in 2010 but I don't know how much he can help me in settling in Edmonton.

Would like to be in touch with you in order to learn from your experiences regarding settlement.


Best wishes.

Salman

 

[sonea]

Thanks sister for detailed reply.

Actually, I will be flying to Edmonton in August with my family (Spouse & two little cute sons; 4y & 1y old). My first priority is to take admission in chemical diploma program in NAIT which will commence in Sep-13 because I'm professionally Industrial Chemist. So, managing expanses with family during studies would be difficult as my wife can't work as to look after our little baby. My friend lives in Edmonton, he also immigrated with his family back in 2010 but I don't know how much he can help me in settling in Edmonton.

Would like to be in touch with you in order to learn from your experiences regarding settlement.


Best wishes.

Salman

thanks bro,

i will give you details you don't have to worry about studies and all it will be good for you in edmonton in sha allah .. i will inbox you more details later as i am leaving right now and if you don't receive my message today please remind me by sending a PM

 

[Trick]

you don't want to blow up your savings without a job, do you?

you can't enter straight in your profession even if you do get interview calls they take upto 2 months to decide (online application->telephone interview->face to face interview) and sometimes the start dates are a few months ahead .. so why not try for a part time job to earn some money towards your basic expenses while you wait for your desired job call!!

Something u said is common sense,Which everybody doesn't have.Most of the people would like to save money even if we they have ample.I would like to save even though I have ample money.

 

[ItsBeenLongNow]

thanks bro,

i will give you details you don't have to worry about studies and all it will be good for you in edmonton in sha allah .. i will inbox you more details later as i am leaving right now and if you don't receive my message today please remind me by sending a PM

Well thanks for the great contribution Sonea, just one question for you, how are the local community and their attitude towards the new immigrants?
are the new immigrants felt welcomed?
thx

 

[SanRoque]

Thank you Sonea for the great reply. I can't imagined there are still people like you who just there and giving all this sorts of information without any reward or something in return.

My wife will be happy to know that there's a big shopping mall in Edmonton. We're living here in Auckland, NZ so basically if you have been here you know what kind of life we have. Just want to live in a biggger city and explore other possibilities like travelling. If we move to Canada it is cheaper move around like exploring North and South America and Europe compared here in NZ that we're living in an island so far away from the mainland.

Hope I can we can get in touch once we finally settle there by next year, just finishing my contract here.

How much is the rent for a 2 bedroom house? We are a family of 3 and my son is 14 years old. Just concern about his schooling and wants to prepare him in going to university.

Cheers.

 

[natasha963]

You get medicals coverage as soon as you get your medicals cards you have to apply for them on day one right after u land there is no hospital charge I myself am expecting and didn't give a single dime as yet for any test or US you just have to choose a family doctor and they redirect you to the gynocologist sometimes it takes around a month to get your first appointment with the gyne but depending on ur condition they put u on priority as u said u'll be 7 months I think you'll get everything done quickly I've chosen grey nuns hospital this is one of the best hospital in Edmonton they give u semi private room after delivery which is free but u if u want private room it will only cost u $40/ day In normal delivery cases they only keep u in hospital for a day otherwise they will moniter your condition. You have to purchase medicines on ur own expense like prenatal vitamins and so on but if u have a proper job they will provide u with medicals insurance or if u are enrolled in university grant program or if ur on low income u get insurance from Gov of Alberta.

Secondly for ur husband language is the key to success along with skill I think if he has time right now he should join language courses in India to at least get some language skills before coming here otherwise it will be hard for u guys as u can't work in this condition and ur husband will have difficulty finding a job in such circumstances

Can u tell me about your family composition like kids and all so that I can guid you accordingly ??

This is really helpful. I will hv my hubby join a language school. We do not have any kids yet, onl the two of us plan to move to Canada for now.

 

[sonea]

Thank you Sonea for the great reply. I can't imagined there are still people like you who just there and giving all this sorts of information without any reward or something in return.

My wife will be happy to know that there's a big shopping mall in Edmonton. We're living here in Auckland, NZ so basically if you have been here you know what kind of life we have. Just want to live in a biggger city and explore other possibilities like travelling. If we move to Canada it is cheaper move around like exploring North and South America and Europe compared here in NZ that we're living in an island so far away from the mainland.

Hope I can we can get in touch once we finally settle there by next year, just finishing my contract here.

How much is the rent for a 2 bedroom house? We are a family of 3 and my son is 14 years old. Just concern about his schooling and wants to prepare him in going to university.

Cheers.

a 2 bedroom house can cost you something between $1300 to $1700 per month depending on the location although an apartment will cost you less like $1100 plus they ask for deposit money which is usually equal to one month rent you can check kijiji.com to get idea about house and apartment rentals

make sure the property is bed bugs free which is becoming a major problem in edmonton

 

[sonea]

Well thanks for the great contribution Sonea, just one question for you, how are the local community and their attitude towards the new immigrants?
are the new immigrants felt welcomed?
thx

everyone here is an immigrant except for natives (who you don't see much around) so no one really bothers about who you are and where you came from, i moved from England and i experienced real racism over there but here mostly people are friendly and helpful

 

[ItsBeenLongNow]

everyone here is an immigrant except for natives (who you don't see much around) so no one really bothers about who you are and where you came from, i moved from England and i experienced real racism over there but here mostly people are friendly and helpful

Thanks for the input, what part of city would you suggest in terms of South Asian community
and what do you think is the scope of IT professionals there in Edmonton

Regards,

 

[sonea]

Thanks for the input, what part of city would you suggest in terms of South Asian community
and what do you think is the scope of IT professionals there in Edmonton

Regards,

South side is mostly populated with south Asian community.

IT has good scope here as Edmonton is growing at a fast pace so all technical fields have scope here

http://manpowerab.com/shaw_edmonton.html

You can check this link out if this type of job is right for you to get started..

 

[coolguy2010]

Hi Sonea,

Would like to know about Finance/Accounts jobs.....we are planning to land in August in Toronto.

South side is mostly populated with south Asian community.

IT has good scope here as Edmonton is growing at a fast pace so all technical fields have scope here

http://manpowerab.com/shaw_edmonton.html

You can check this link out if this type of job is right for you to get started..

 

[Anvaller]

Yes, I can and I am doing it right now.. I am in hotel management and currently negotiating a contract on General Manager level for a well known hotel chain. Money is the least of my worries, it is not the reason why I move to Canada. So circumstances are different for for all of us.

Okay so Mikenz, did u think money is the least of everyone's worries before making the earlier comment "I never understood why anyone would take a survival job"? It seems to me that u just wanted to brag about how money is not ur own problem... U can not assume that everyone is a millionaire like you, what works for u as a millionaire wouldn't work for majority others who are just managing a limited fund until at least they are able to find a reasonable job.. I shouldn't be telling u this, should I? Cos u stated right there that circumstances are different for everyone and yet claimed u never understood why anyone would take a survival job.

 

[mikenz]

Okay so Mikenz, did u think money is the least of everyone's worries before making the earlier comment "I never understood why anyone would take a survival job"? It seems to me that u just wanted to brag about how money is not ur own problem... U can not assume that everyone is a millionaire like you, what works for u as a millionaire wouldn't work for majority others who are just managing a limited fund until at least they are able to find a reasonable job.. I shouldn't be telling u this, should I? Cos u stated right there that circumstances are different for everyone and yet claimed u never understood why anyone would take a survival job.

I am not going to argue with you.. Why should I? The point I tried to make is simple, have enough money aside when immigrating to anywhere so you can look around for a suitable job and don't have to rush around.I never claimed to be a millionaire as you say, I just did my home work during the three years I have been waiting for my PR to come through. I don't feel the need to discuss this any further. Good luck to you, no hard feelings.

 

[phdmaker]

Anvaller & Mikenz, guys please calm down.

We are here to share our personal experiences/thoughts for the benefit of others. Everybody is free to live on his/her own way & that is not good to point specifically someone who differs in one's opinion.

For instance, I can't live with passing time without work, so I will definitely opt for survival jobs till I gets back in my profession even if I've had ample amount of dollars back in my bank account. So, everyone thinks in different way as everyone's circumstances are different from each other usually.

Cheers.