I live in the U.S. but i am looking for a change of atmosphere, somewhere more eco-friendly and Calgary seems like a place i would love to be.
the city is sooo beautiful i saw it on Google Earth, can anybody tell me if it is easy to move over there, what are the procedures a foreiner must do before deciding to move to Canada, i am planning on becoming a nurse but i don't drive, i prefer public transportation, speak fluent English and not as good Spanish. Are there alot of hospitals in Calgary?
2006-12-19 06:59:11 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Travel ➔ Canada ➔ Calgary
i apologize that my question is actually a bunch of questions, i am just so happy that i realized i wanted to move to Canada!
2006-12-19 07:00:25 · update #1
It usually takes between 18 and 24 months for a permanent resident visa to be processed.
See these Web sites:
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/dixiex2/calgarycity.htm
http://www.familyimmigrationvisascanada.com/?gclid=CLio7vyqn4kCFTwHQgodHHTkUQ
https://www.immigrationexpert.com/register.asp?type=1&fid=100036&q=Emigrate%20To%20Canada
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/
http://www.migrationnews.com/canada/faq.asp
Good luck!
2006-12-19 07:11:38 · answer #1 · answered by Zantha 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Calgary is a beautiful city. It is a major center with lots of money from the oil industry, so everything is new and clean looking all the time. There are a number of hospitals there, including a brand new children's hospital. They always need nurses. Public transportation is okay - you need to be sure to stay closer to the center of the city or near the C-Train, because further out in the suburbs the bus service is really poor (the city is expanding faster than the public transportation system can handle). Immigration policies just take time - as long as you are patient and follow the proper procedures, there should be no problems (I don't know what the exact procedures are, but Canada always welcomes immigrants, especially in professional fields). The only language you need in Calgary is English - no Spanish or French there, really.
The only bad thing about Calgary is the low vacancy rate and high housing costs. The economy is booming, so everyone wants to live there.
Calgary is awesome - good luck!
2006-12-19 21:33:26 · answer #2 · answered by jar 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Calgary is a great place to live if you can handle chaotic weather patterns. Lucky for you the medical field is struggling for staff! In Calgary there are 2 childrens hospitals, and 3 regular hospitals. They are all very accessable via public transportation. I would advise you to look in the Calgary Herald and Calgary Sun Classifieds online just so you can become familiar with the prices of accomadation. In calgary the NE is a little scary in some areas, probably the quadrent of the city in which has the highest crime rate. SW being the best, most trendy. The
NW is huge and a great place to live and the SE is a pretty big mix. Be careful if you move to far out in suburbia, its harder to achieve public transportation, the closer to the core the easier to get around. There are plenty of jobs if you can find accomadation that suites you. I would recommend taking applying for a few jobs prior to moving and who knows they may even help you out. Usually the states steal canadian nurses because the pay is higher in america. In canada most of the health care is public however there are a few privatised clinics, hospitals etc. its a city of about 1 million people. Great place to live.
2006-12-20 01:26:41 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The west is booming right now, lots of work. If you can't make a go of it in Calgary, Edmonton is only a few hundred miles north from there and it's a bigger city. Probably more job opportunities. Calgary is a beautiful town, though. If you really get stuck, you can always seek out the centre of the universe - oops, I mean Toronto - and see what work is available there. The Greater Toronto Area has a population of about 4.5 million. No French necessary.
Don't go to the Maritimes. I moved here in '98 for family reasons. No work here at all, low population, no money here.
2006-12-21 08:23:21 · answer #4 · answered by Me in Canada eh 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have to agree with Canadian Goose that Calgary is vastly over rated. It is also the least Eco-friendly place in Canada. The housing situation is bad and there are lost of creepy homeless people everywhere. Me and my husband got sick of it and moved to Europe for a bit but we are going to try Toronto next. I grew up in BC and it is the most beautiful place in the world. You would probably fall in love with Victoria on Vancouver island. It is so pretty and the close to the rain forests.
My advice though would be to study nursing in Canada as it is probably cheeper and a nursing degree in Canada will get you further. We have a nursing shortage so they would almost certainly throw a visa at you. If you go to school in the US then you will have to find out if you can work as a nurse in Canada with an American degree.
Good luck
2006-12-23 05:01:08 · answer #5 · answered by Constant_Traveler 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Make sure you understand how the healthcare system in Canada works (mostly public ie. government-funded) as opposed the American system (mostly private eg. hospitals as a business). The province of Alberta is divided up into healthcare regions; each region hires independently of the others. You could Google "Alberta healthcare regions" to find websites. Those websites usually have job postings, which will help you to assess what skills and qualifications they are looking for in their personnel. If you aren't already a nurse, you will need to research colleges and universities, funding for tuition, etc. as you would when going to school anywhere else. Make sure that the qualifications you DO have will be accepted here BEFORE you move.
To find out more about Canadian immigration rules, check out the Canadian government site. It will have links to all sorts areas. You'll soon find out that Canada is quite a bit different than the US in that is there is a good deal more government intervention in many areas. I would also check out the www.gov.ab.ca, which is website for the provincial government. It will also have information about moving to Alberta.
The one thing to keep in mind is that althought the Alberta economy is really hot and there are a lot of jobs here, there is very little affordable accomodation. For anyone considering moving to this province, make sure you have some kind of permanent place to live (ie. apartment) BEFORE you move. Our newspapers are full of stories about people who are living in tents on the riverbank (in -15 Celsius weather) or in vacant lots or homeless shelters because they came out here to find work, found work, but could not find an affordable place to live.
2006-12-21 18:38:17 · answer #6 · answered by strangeways88 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I personally hate,despise Calgary. It was nice 20 years ago, but it has gotten out of hand. No, it is not easy to find a place to live there. I have heard stories of pple who have had to wait 2 years to get a house built..they had the money; but there was such a waiting list. Ditto with apartments. There are none. There have been stories of pple coming from the Canadian East to get a job, but have to live in shelters b/c there is no housing for them. Alberta is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo overrated. Seriously. Cost of living is crazy and its so busy. There are alot of hospitals. Sounds like you have a good job..doctor perhaps? Then you should get a sign on bonus of 15-20K. A decent 4 bedroom house, wouldn't go for any less than 300K. But even with a really good job, good luck finding a place to live. Also, b/c there has been a big boom in the oil industry, there has also been an increase with depression, drug abuse, pple going crazy with their money and crime.
If you really want live there, there's also other small towns around it, like Cochrane or Oshtosh (????). But overall, Alberta will is one of the most expensive places to live in Canada.
Other towns in Alberta that are not as decadent or expensive include:
Medincine Hat
Red Deer
Lethbridge
Good luck. Its a bunch of right-winged "cowboys" and is not tolerate of pple of color, i don't care about what anybody says. Probably one of the least progressive parts of Canada. Good luck.
Fort McMjurray is way up north; probably needs doctors, but is a Fronteir town, that like sin city. Lots of drugs, decadence, depression and no women.
2006-12-21 14:35:03 · answer #7 · answered by C 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Try to research Calgary before picking up and moving there, and visit if you can. I'm sure they need nurses there (and if not, we need them in British Columbia, plus it's warmer here.) You won't need Spanish if you move to Canada.
2006-12-19 15:44:36 · answer #8 · answered by gracel313 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The economy in Alberta is awesome right now. It should not be hard for you to find work, and the pay is quite high right now because workers are in short supply. However, with high wages comes high cost of living - real estate and renting is quite expensive.
2006-12-21 09:54:44 · answer #9 · answered by ontario ashley 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
EEW CALGARY...are you insane?
I live in Edmonton and the only beautiful canadian place is of course BRITISH COLUMBIA!
you will love it there, my goal is to move there soon!
I have also lived in Windsor Ontario.
But Calgary kinda sucks, its dirty and blah.
Try Campbell River BC, Kamloops, Nanaimo...but NOT calgary!
2006-12-23 02:45:42 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
you might want to visit it up close before you decide. crowded, and god help you if you get a flat while driving around nanton or claresholm after 4pm........ you'll be stuck at the side of the road, everything closes and drivers around there are rather rude in that they dont pull off and ask if you need assistance.
2006-12-21 18:09:05 · answer #11 · answered by nanabooboo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋