Q: I'm planning on moving from Calgary AB to Vancouver BC (couple hour flight - 12 hr drive) I plan to be there by Sept 1st. I would like to have a job and a place to live set up well before I begin lugging my things across the province, but I have NO idea what to do and in what order. I plan to go to Van Aug 1-7th to look for a place to live, it will be during the August long weekend so I'm not sure if I will be able to find a place if everyone is off on vacation. I would also like to find a job then, but would not want to start until mid Sept. If it comes down to it, I can come back to Van late Aug to look for a job for a couple of days. I would like to know that I have a job lined up in order to begin paying rent when I get there - need to be making @ least $16/hr - thoughts on where I can find a job? I just wondered if people had some advice as to how I can go about all of this. I will be taking my cats with me and leaving my bf here..it's all just a little bit overwhelming.
A: Well BC Day long weekend is a pretty bad time to look for an apartment and in the weeks just after that you'll be competing with all of the college and university students who will be moving back to the city for the fall semester. If you're not skilled in a specialty or have no career field, finding a job for at least $16/hour when you're not here to be available for interviews at a call will be next to impossible. I expect you're used to Calgary where there are job postings everywhere and all businesses are short staffed, but it's not like that here and you can expect just above minimum wage for most entry level jobs. I work for a company that has two offices in Alberta and people from Van are constantly traveling there to fill in. My advice would be to have at least 3 months living expenses on hand when you get here and then start looking for a job. Three months expenses would be about $4000. On top of that, finding a place that will allow cats will limit you greatly and you will have to expect to pay a large sum for a pet deposit.