Help for new immigrants in Calgary

[mifmis]

Hello All,

I have benefited a lot from this forum. I moved to Calgary 3months ago. Though I haven't settled fully but staying comfortably with family. Willing to help new immigrants who are planning to come to Calgary and don't have anybody here.

Cheers,
mifmis

 

[canpuneet]

Hi Mifmis, That's a really kind offer. I am planning to relocate with my wife & kid in Aug. Can you PM me your email ID and we can touch base...

 

[trinatocanada]

Hello All,

I have benefited a lot from this forum. I moved to Calgary 3months ago. Though I haven't settled fully but staying comfortably with family. Willing to help new immigrants who are planning to come to Calgary and don't have anybody here.

Cheers,
mifmis

Pay it forward

 

[tran]

Nice gesture from you. It would be most helpful to those who intend to land in Calgary
if you can give some feedback on the current situation over there. The job market, climate,
environment, education for kids, housing, etc. Thanks

 

[BZ Mom]

Hello All,

I have benefited a lot from this forum. I moved to Calgary 3months ago. Though I haven't settled fully but staying comfortably with family. Willing to help new immigrants who are planning to come to Calgary and don't have anybody here.

Cheers,
mifmis

That was so nice of you. Which neighborhood in Calgary (NE, NW, SE...) are you staying? What are would you recommend?

Thanks!

 

[mifmis]

As I had a friend who was already living in NE, I choose this area. If you are coming from Asia or Middle East, the NE would be ideal to start with. Because the cultural shock is less and the community and shops are easily accessible. The weather is not so welcome if you are coming from a tropical region. But it is lot more sunny even in winter compared to Toronto, less snow compared to Montreal.

Schools are pretty much same as other Canadian cities. Housing rent and living expenses are v much similar to Toronto, so expect this to be on higher side apart from Vancouver. City is nice, less congested, less traffic, access to Down town is good.

 

[mifmis]

Missed about the job. Might be better than Toronto, because of Oil industry boom in recent years. But the recession has affected like other North American cities. Might depend on your field, if you are in Construction, Oil, Chemical related Alberta is a good place.

 

[tran]

My understanding is that NW and SW are the better quandrants in Calgary. And, NE quandrant is a bit
on the rough side. Did you rent or buy? Thanks

 

[alizehsyed]

hello mifmis and all others members,

mifmis,its very humble and kind attitude of yours to help others.i really appreciate.me and my husband also have plan to come calgary after few months as new immigrants from asia, pakistan.i need your kind advices about job and home searching.whats the range of prices of accomodation on rent?we need studio apartment at first.where should we rent apartment so we can do job searching easily and can find markets and job place near to home.i am petroleum geologist and my husband is mechinal engineer.i know unless or untill we studied there in canada further then we can find a job in oil idustry?though i have 5yrs experience in pakistan of oil industry, what you say?whats about the other jobs, odd jobs?can we get that easily as compared to toronto?further any kind suggestions and advices from your side and other members are welcome, waiting to hear.thanks

 

[mifmis]

Hi,

NE is not that rough as you read in the reviews, might be closer to Downtown. any area SE,SW,NE closer to Downtown is rough. This is common in any City I suppose. Its better to start from a place where you have your friends/well-wishers nearby, because the initial 4-5 weeks will be v challenging mentally & physically.

Regarding jobs in Oil/Mech industry, I don't have enough information to comment. But the general opinion here is the Job market is lot better compared to same time last year. Getting the first job is always a challenge if you are new to that place. I have meet many people who are in the job of their profession, though they struggled initially. If you have perseverance and patience I am sure you will get what you want. Also it is important to be aware of the Employer's expectation, like do some Certification related to your field, apply for the Canadian credentials etc. Getting the odd job is easier compared to Toronto.

For the rent you can browse the website calgary.kijiji.ca, which is v useful to rent and also to buy your initial stuffs. I booked my basement and bought some stuff before coming here using this site. I would recommend to start with the basement (I am still living there with my 3 kids) because it is cheaper, if you have a good land lord they are first people to help you as they are nearby you, you don't have a contract hence you can move once you are familiar with the location or nearer to your workplace. The best place it depends upon your choice, but would recommend closer to the Transit station. you can refer the website for the transit map calgarytransit.com/route_maps/route.html

Hope this information is useful.

Cheers..!

 

[maverick_stallion]

Dear Mifmis,

I am planning to move to edmonton initially can you pl guide me about banking jobs in Calgary what kinda jobs are available and what qualif are required for the same. I am also targeting financial analyst jobs in oil sector. I have prior exp in corporate finance and banking side although my basic qualif is civil engg and mba finance. pl help me out.

Looking fwd to a positive reply at the earliest at your end.

 

[mifmis]

Friends,

It is v difficult to comment on Job prospects, as it needs lot of R&D before commenting and I don't want to give any wrong information. In general the job prospects across industry seems to be good and expected to be robust in next few months.

Regards.

 

[BZ Mom]

As I had a friend who was already living in NE, I choose this area. If you are coming from Asia or Middle East, the NE would be ideal to start with. Because the cultural shock is less and the community and shops are easily accessible. The weather is not so welcome if you are coming from a tropical region. But it is lot more sunny even in winter compared to Toronto, less snow compared to Montreal.

Schools are pretty much same as other Canadian cities. Housing rent and living expenses are v much similar to Toronto, so expect this to be on higher side apart from Vancouver. City is nice, less congested, less traffic, access to Down town is good.

Thanks Mifmis. Your info is very helpful. Actually, I have a former co-worker from my home country who lives in NE. Most probably, we will be looking for a place near her.

Best of luck for your life in Calgary...

 

[marf]

Hello mimfis, really appreciative of your help.
In regards to finding out houses, i have searched houses over kijiji and craigslist but very difficult to get a good landlord who will willing to rent out for over seas immigrants. My wife recently got PR and we are expecting to land sometime mid July in NE close to falconridge.
Are you aware of such landlords who are willing to rent out basements?
PM me your email address...
thanks mate.

 

[mrprice]

I am planning to go to Alberta ( calgary or Lethbridge) what do you think? I absolutely have no body there but I prefer Alberta on Ontario depending on my own web research. I am fromthe middle east. Would you pls advice regarding lethbridge?