New members of the Canada forum, introduce yourself here

Kia Ora,

from the land of the long white cloud and flightless bird. My wife and i arrived in Kamloops less than a month ago, we've made two earlier trips here both in winter and summer months, looked at some properties. It's a nice place here, cost of living compared to Vancouver is better. Generally the people here are very courteous, find you have to engage people first otherwise very friendly folks. Even the bus drivers are nice. Great places to eat here too...very important to stave off winter hunger. Lots of adventures to be had here. Beware kiwi's, Canadians concept of distance is similar to Australians where to drive for 3hrs is "to just head down the road aye". It's a big country.

my wife has a tenured appointment here at Thompson Rivers University. I'm goofing for a bit but I'm a New Zealand qualified industrial/instrumentation electrician. Love this snow, bought our first Canadian snow shovel and gave it heaps yesterday...neighbour said my enthusiasm will soon fade, suspect he's right.

Hello Willib64,

As a former Vancouverite for many many years, I'm pleased to welcome you on behalf of everybody here at Expat-blog.

Having been to Kamloops on a number of occasions I can say you chose a wonderful little city to live in. Much more laid-back lifestyle, lower COL, and surrounded by natural beauty.

Yep, we Canucks sure do have a very different concept of distance. We think nothing of jumping in the car to tootle off for a 150 mile (or more) jaunt down the road just for lunch or dinner. Funny how that is so uncommon in other countries. Here in Brazil for example many people have never ventured outside the city where they were born and you talk about traveling across town in places like São Paulo and people ask, "What are you nuts or something?" 

Thanks for your glowing comments, I'm sure the folks there in Kamloops appreciate your sentiments. I know I sure do.

Cheers,
James        Expat-blog Experts Team

PS:   Love the profile photo of Colonel Hogan and Sgt. Schultz.

Welcome to Canada Willib64

Thanks James, nice to be here in Canada.

hie um couurage from zimbabwe  pliss help me i would love to come and study in cannada,,my number both on wattsapp  is +263776606182

Hello ceeblazer,

We strongly recommend that our members DO NOT post any personal / identifying information (telephone numbers, e-mail, FB account, Whatsapp, full name, etc.) in our public forums for obvious reasons of personal security. There are all kinds of people out here on the internet who will use that information for illicit purporse.

Personal information should only be passed in private messages and then ONLY to someone you have come to know reasonably well and believe you can trust.

Cheers,
James    Expat-blog Experts Team

Hello everyone
My name is Thembi, from the Eastern Cape, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, I came here 3 months ago, I m still adjusting to cold weather , I miss South Africa so much , that's why I joined this forum , hoping to find some friend , I can share experiences with .
Love and Light

Hi Thembi

My wife and I would like to move to Canada. Did you make use of an immigration agency? If so, what is their name? We have had some drama with scammers.

I hope you don't freeze your butt off! The eastern Cape is much warmer. We lived in Port Alfred for two and a half years.

Kind regards

Eric

Hello Eric,

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has a warning on their website about fraudulent "Immigration Consultants/Agents". Actually even the legitimate ones do very little that you can't do for yourself for free on the CIC government website.

www.cic.gc.ca/english

If you do use a consultant/agent or immigrations lawyer there are some basic precautions to take. Get the consultant's Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council - ICCRC registration number and check the following site to see if they are registered and have any complaints. If they don't have a number or have complaints walk away.

http://secure.iccrc-crcic.ca/search-new/en

Lawyers are regulated provincially so you should check the Law Society of the province in which the lawyer practices. Usually the Law Society webpage will have a search feature which allows you to verify that the person is a practicing lawyer and licensed through the Society. Just Google "Ontario Law Society" or whatever province you wish.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

I must say that the information you give is very helpful.
So far it as clarified a lot, it is invaluable!

Thank you very much.

Hi everyone
I am a mauricien, 28 yrs of age and will probable be in Alberta by April. I got a job and I am waiting for my work permit.  If someone can tell me how life is ne Alberta, cost of living and any vital information that i will need to know before in settle in. I will be in westlock.
I will also need a cars, if you know where I can get second hand car please advice, my budget for a car is 5000$ not more. Also an appartment, Price etc...

My real name is Andrew, Now I am doing business about restaurant online.

Hello,

My name is arif. I'm a student at canadian foreign language school in quebec. This is my first time to come in canada and it would be a pleasure if somebody would help me adapt with the people n situation around here. Anyway, it's nice to have lots of friends here.

Selamat Datang Arif to Canada and to the forum. There's a forum member by the handle name @Abdel. He's based in Ottawa and knows Bahasa Indonesia.

Hi all! I am new to the blog I have being living the better, and I mean the better part of my life in Canada and I am loving it! Ask any questions that has to do with Toronto, in fact, Ontario and I will be more than happy to help. Please note I am not an immigration consultant (they take from you when in most cases you can do it on your own for less and in the same time frame as the say). Hi all again!

Howdy folks, hubby and our 5 kids moved to CA in Jan 2014. Hubby grew up in Edmonton/UK and I in AU. Kids were all born in AU.. Much to get use to now that we are IN CA = wouldn't change that for anything!... all our 5 kids are aussies and hubby and I have been together/married for eeons now... pedal forward some 10 years and here we are living our dream. 

Our kids ages range from 7yrs (eldest) to almost 2yrs (youngest) as at Jan 2015... well the youngest is 2 in March 2015!

Would like to connect with some families in SE calgary from AU and with kids too -- the more the merrier IOO (In Our Opinion)...

We ain't bogans, or hooligans, professional christian family here folks :-D

Cheers

Hi to all! I'm happy to be a member of this group. i don't live in Canada..... yet)))) But i want to move there. My fiancee and i are looking for a job there, and our goal is Vancouver.
My fiancee is an iOS Developer and I'm an English/Chinese teacher, translator, interpreter.
We are both Ukrainians, but currently living and working in Turkey.
Hope to find friends and meet soon

Iam Linda of Kenya Nationality and not married. Working for a public university in administration. would like to study and work in canada. I have no idea how i start.

Hi i am a ugandan citizen living in kampala. My name is frank martin luzige. I want to be a driver, i have the passion  in it and anybody whose willing to help me i will be humbled and grateful i want to rebuild ma self, put ma pieces together can come back stronger than ever. God bless u all

Jane Svider wrote:

Hi to all! I'm happy to be a member of this group. i don't live in Canada..... yet)))) But i want to move there. My fiancee and i are looking for a job there, and our goal is Vancouver.
My fiancee is an iOS Developer and I'm an English/Chinese teacher, translator, interpreter.
We are both Ukrainians, but currently living and working in Turkey.
Hope to find friends and meet soon

Welcome Jane!
There are lots of Russians and Ukrainians in Toronto. Also, lots of public and private schools that hire teachers. There are lots of New Canadians from China who have yet to learn English and I know that classes are being offered extensively, especially in communities like Scarborough (Toronto) and Markham (just North-North East of Toronto). There are 100,000 immigrants to Toronto every year, many of which need help learning English.

You might want to contact some of the schools to see if you can teach English as a Second Language (ESL) there.

Kathomi wrote:

Iam Linda of Kenya Nationality and not married. Working for a public university in administration. would like to study and work in canada. I have no idea how i start.

Hi Linda,
Here are some steps for you to consider:
1. Decide what you want to study (if you don't know go online at some of the Canadian university/college websites and see what they offer
2. Find out what you need for admission. For example, you need a study Visa, school transcripts, etc. You can find out about your requirements for the visa here - http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/study.asp
3. Apply for your school program admission - you have to co-ordinate this with some government paperwork and it is usually explained on the school website. This takes the longest of all the steps because it has to be done months in advance. School usually starts in September or January for the universities and colleges. For private schools, depending on the programs they can start several times a year.
4. Create your budget for your school and living expenses so you can prepare
5. Make arrangements ahead of time to set up your Canadian bank account so you can pay for school, transfer money, set up telephone/internet etc. That way once you arrive all you have to do is sign the paperwork and show your Identification.
6. Find a place to live (I can help you with this)
7. Make your list of what you'll need to take with you
8. Know the different contact numbers for government services, etc so that you'll have them in case you ever need them.
9. Study a map of the city you're going to and how to get around the city (public transit, taxi, etc.)
10. Book your flight(s)
Then it is a matter of registering at the school once you arrive to let them know you're here and they usually give you a student guidebook that gives you useful information as a student.

Please be careful because there are a lot of shady 'immigration consultants' and usually they can't do anything that you couldn't do yourself. The exception is if you're dealing with personal circumstances involving a criminal record or other complexity.

There are also a lot of people out thee offering you to find a place to stay. Be careful dealing with 'landlords' who really may not be landlords or are scammers. It is safest to deal through a real estate representative that is licensed and registered with the government. They will help protect you by preparing the lease agreement plus help in making the payment and getting into your rented premises. I can help you with this.

Thank you very much for the info, Minaudo! I will surf the internet and send my CV.
Have a nice day!