[ellenmelon]

hi everyone,

most of you know me as the girl that lived in ireland but that is now back in NZ. i have dual residency for both countries and could easily live in the EU but at some point in the future i would love to live and work in canada for a bit. it's always been a place i would love to visit for a decent length of time. i won't have a degree that is really useful or would be where a large gap of workers is (i'll have a bachelors in performing arts management so theatre/stage/events/production management) but would love to do a bit of an OE so would work anywhere really. is that possible? i'm going to do a epic google search right now but if anyone has any links, tips or comments i would welcome them. i'm not planning on going for the next couple of years so i have time to investigate etc.

thanks all! xx

[ellenmelon]

I kind of answered my own question during my google search...because I am between 18 and 30 I am eligible to apply for a Working Holiday Visa which will give me 12mths to work and live in Canada! Sweet! They also have an extension programme if I wanted to stay a little longer.

Any other tips on places to live, cost of living, random factoids etc would be interesting anyway...Thanks again!

[kanatakiwi]

I kind of answered my own question during my google search...because I am between 18 and 30 I am eligible to apply for a Working Holiday Visa which will give me 12mths to work and live in Canada! Sweet! They also have an extension programme if I wanted to stay a little longer.

Any other tips on places to live, cost of living, random factoids etc would be interesting anyway...Thanks again!

West coast (Vancouver Victoria, Vancouver Island, ) much milder winter than anywhere else in Canada. Unless you are into skiing then you will want to go to places like Banff and Whistler (both full of Aussie and Kiwis) I think Banff has a highly sought after performing arts program.

[ellenmelon]

West coast (Vancouver Victoria, Vancouver Island, ) much milder winter than anywhere else in Canada. Unless you are into skiing then you will want to go to places like Banff and Whistler (both full of Aussie and Kiwis) I think Banff has a highly sought after performing arts program.

Cheers for replying.Vancouver and around there looks pretty appealing and you're not the first person to tell me that the winters are a bit milder there. i'm not particularly bothered about ski-ing (my cousins are going to do a season next year and work) so might steer clear of that area! (especially with all those kiwi's and aussies :) ) I'd be the same if I lived in the UK..I wouldn't move to Shepherds Bush if I lived in London! Anyway, thanks again.. :)

[kerrijeansmith]

Yeah, we're in the greater Vancouver area and there's nowhere else here I could live with these crappy winters. Good luck!

[Tui2too]

(from someone not on the 'b'est coast) yea its cold here in Ontario, but we get ALOT of sunshine! I would not want to be living in the Maritimes right now with their early winter! If you have any canada questions you can always pm me! I did my degree in theatre a hundred yrs ago, but never used it. Good Luck!

[beanbeanz]

I'm from Ontario and I have to agree with the sunshine bit that Tui2too mentioned. It may get very very cold...but the sun still shines, not too much of the gloomy overcast greyness that was this chch winter.

[globetrecker]

Cheers for replying.Vancouver and around there looks pretty appealing and you're not the first person to tell me that the winters are a bit milder there. i'm not particularly bothered about ski-ing (my cousins are going to do a season next year and work) so might steer clear of that area! (especially with all those kiwi's and aussies :) ) I'd be the same if I lived in the UK..I wouldn't move to Shepherds Bush if I lived in London! Anyway, thanks again.. :)

Vancouver or Victoria, British Columbia are the places I'd choose (as a fellow Canadian). It's really the only fair weather place, to be honest:) It can get pretty rainy (think: Seattle, Washington). Canada is a great country, you will enjoy it. Just wish the weather was better ...

[Leanne]

I agree that the west coast would be a good choice. It's beautiful there.

[ellenmelon]

(from someone not on the 'b'est coast) yea its cold here in Ontario, but we get ALOT of sunshine! I would not want to be living in the Maritimes right now with their early winter! If you have any canada questions you can always pm me! I did my degree in theatre a hundred yrs ago, but never used it. Good Luck!

I'm not dismissing anywhere at the moment don't worry :) Just feel a pull towards Vancouver..thanks for the offer of more info I'll take you up on it soon! :)

[ellenmelon]

I'm from Ontario and I have to agree with the sunshine bit that Tui2too mentioned. It may get very very cold...but the sun still shines, not too much of the gloomy overcast greyness that was this chch winter.

I can deal with crisp and clear no problem, thanks for the heads up! That's unfortunate that you had grotty weather in ChCh..I remember some beautifuly clear winter days when I lived there but the weather everywhere has been a bit out of wack lately.

[ellenmelon]

thanks globetrecker and leanne! the west coast is winning in the "where will ellenmelon go first" poll :)

[catlin987987]

I live in edmonton, ab. It does get cold up here, -30 winter(January) to +35 in summer (August).

I know that there is VERY little work in alot of the eastern provinces(ont, Quebec and the martimes).

Manitoba(hole of canada), and Saskatchewan hav the most work but they have the worst winters.

BC has relatively high taxes and standard of living for there pay rates

[Laura Lu]

I've heard that the Okanagan Valley in BC has a similar climate to NZ. Mild summer days, not overly hot, and mild winters, rarely freezing. I haven't been there myself, but it's what I hear.

[cani]

I've heard that the Okanagan Valley in BC has a similar climate to NZ. Mild summer days, not overly hot, and mild winters, rarely freezing. I haven't been there myself, but it's what I hear.

I grew up in the Fraser Canyon(still live here though not for long, I hope) and lived in Kelowna for a few years where they always had more snow than we ever had in the Canyon though we're north of them. Beautiful country both.

[PEI Bill]

I’m a NZer that left NZ in 1970 worked by way across Canada and settled in Toronto and London, Ontario. I’m a licensed tool & diemaker with a red seal and I also have an engineering degree. My Canadian wife wanted to try living in NZ but I was not all that keen to go back. It lasted a year and I was relieved to get back to Canada again. When we got back I landed a job with a Canadian manufacturer of aircraft gas turbine engines and was eventually transferred to their new manufacturing facility in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We then moved to PEI when I was hired as part of a team to set up a repair & overhaul facility for aircraft gas turbine engines. We have a house in Summerside where we spend the winters and a Cottage out in New London where we live in the summer until the snow flies. The last time I saw NZ was in 1984 when the family asked us to come home because my father was not well. We came for 2 weeks, as I had to get back to college.
In March we usually go to Cuba for 10 days to get away from the cold. I’m a Canadian now there is very little of NZ left in me. I’m a Pittsburgh fan, how could I not be with the kids all Nova Scotians and Sydney Crosby coming from just up the road from where we used to live. Right now I’m following the Jays. I love baseball. I don’t know what the All Blacks are doing.

[M-Squared]

PEI Bill. My hubby was in the same trade in the US, tool and die making. There's basically NONE of that here, so not a good profession to be in, in NZ. ;) The All Blacks were training in Porirua today, and will hopefully beat the French tonight (although they lost 22-27 to them this time last week).

[PEI Bill]

Hi M-Squared. Does Hubby miss toolmaking now he is in NZ? I am the manager of methods engineering and responsible for all aircraft engine component repairs. I still put my 200 hours in on the jig bores, universal grinders and the CNC horizontal machining centers to keep my license open. I purchased old De Vlieg built in 1968 and had it completely rebuilt along with a rotary tilt table and retrofitted as CNC machining center.
I was brought up in Linden and went to Manna College in Porirua then down to Christchurch and did 2 years at engineering school and completed the rest of the degree part time at various colleges in Southern Ontario and Montreal most night school. But for all of it I’m still a good old tool & diemaker. The last job I had in NZ was working on the original Manapouri power station for Utah mining & Construction. The US engineers told me to head for Canada or the US which turned out to be good advice.

[Cpt. Canuck]

I'm guessing from the dates in your post, Ellenlellon, that you've already made your move but I'll post this just for anybody else's sake. I live outside of Toronto in Milton but I'm originally from Hamilton, all in Southern Ontario. Toronto has a big theatre industry and is a major centre for television and film so someone in the performing arts could thrive here. The winters are cold but aside from the west coast where you can hardly call what they get winter at all, we have the mildest winters down in the Pan-Handle of S. Ontario. If you're only staying for one year it might not be a bad thing to experience a real Canadian winter. Alternatively the summers are Hot and Humid. It's a region of climactic exteremes, there always a reason to complain about the weather. This region is heavily industrial and there is alot of work, outside of the manufacturing sector (at the moment, but that could change relatively soon), for anyone with qualifications. Basically T.O. is worth a shot.

[ellenmelon]

I'm guessing from the dates in your post, Ellenlellon, that you've already made your move but I'll post this just for anybody else's sake. I live outside of Toronto in Milton but I'm originally from Hamilton, all in Southern Ontario. Toronto has a big theatre industry and is a major centre for television and film so someone in the performing arts could thrive here. The winters are cold but aside from the west coast where you can hardly call what they get winter at all, we have the mildest winters down in the Pan-Handle of S. Ontario. If you're only staying for one year it might not be a bad thing to experience a real Canadian winter. Alternatively the summers are Hot and Humid. It's a region of climactic exteremes, there always a reason to complain about the weather. This region is heavily industrial and there is alot of work, outside of the manufacturing sector (at the moment, but that could change relatively soon), for anyone with qualifications. Basically T.O. is worth a shot.

Hey there..Unfortunately haven't made the move yet :( Looking at 2011. Great to hear Toronto could be a goer, especially with the industry I want to go into. Thanks for commenting!! :)

[M-Squared]

Sorry PEI Bill, I have no idea if you're still checking this forum / thread and haven't been back in a while. Hubby is not a toolmaker here but was looking at a CNC job, but we have some health issues to sort out with him first. He is currently setting up his own business as a luthier. He's a musician and has done work on guitars for a while, so why not make a living at it? Plus he gets to work his own hours, and from home too! :)