Want to move out west, what's out there?

[Matty_54]

I'm getting sick of the city I'm living in, and I've got some pretty fond memories from living in Alberta while I was in the CF.

Any ideas on car audio/electronics shops hiring sales/supervisors in Calgary or Edmonton? I had a few years under my belt, and have worked on some fairly high end vehicles and put together some big installs.

Can any of you guys recommend busy shops to talk to?

I also put out a few resumes for working on the rigs, but oddly I got lukewarm responses. I guess because I'm out of province, but I thought they usually drooled over ex-army guys for entry level positions.

Anything else? Construction? I figure to live comfortably, I'd need to bring in at least $2500 a month take home, plus a part time job on top of that.

Any other suggestions?

[Honda EXR]

The job market here is insane! People are hiring for trades work like crazy. You'll have no problem bringing home $3000-$4000 a month if you work in the trades. look up some jobs at the calgarysun.com and the calgaryherald.com I'm sure you'll find something considering you were looking at working on the rigs.

[FiveFreshFish]

Lots of jobs. Very few places to live.

[carter_prelude]

for car audio...try visions...not sure if there is any custom places to work at...as for houses, as soon as its on the market its SOLD and not for very cheap either its nuts

[modded46]

As the motto for Alberta goes.....

We've got oil, we've got guns, we've got money.. And now we have to add we have Toronto housing prices.. weeeeeeee

[fast&dangr]

Originally posted by Honda EXR
People are hiring for trades work like crazy. You'll have no problem bringing home $3000-$4000 a month if you work in the trades.

Yeah and unless you are a Jman or at the very least a 3rd or 4th year, nobody will look at you. (OK, Maybe the filthiest non-union shops will.) There is no trades shortage, only a common sense shortage. Its tougher than ever to get into the trades. Good places don't want the hassle of training and shittier places hate training guys who end up bailing for something better the first chance they get (but what do they expect?) So industry and the government have come up with a brilliant plan - bring in boatloads of temporary foreign tradesmen so we don't have to train local people! What a freekin brainwave!

[carter_prelude]

^^ uh...its not tough at all to get into trades...:confused:

[NGRPLZ.NET]

Originally posted by carter_prelude
^^ uh...its not tough at all to get into trades...:confused: Not really bubba.. easy as pi.

[Sprinter]

Originally posted by FiveFreshFish
Lots of jobs. Very few places to live.

:werd:

Freaking expensive to live out here man

[khtm]

I love all the BS from people who've never lived any where else.

Try living in Victoria, for example, where a 6 pack of beer is 12 bucks...CHEAPEST. Or Vancouver where 10% of fully employed people live below poverty.

Regardless of the increase in rent and housing prices, Calgary STILL has cheap gas, NO PST, 10% flat provincial income tax, and last but not least CHEAP BEER. Plus our income is the highest in the country ;)

[fast&dangr]

sorry, I meant "real" trades. framing houses, resi electrical, laying bricks and other mindless grunt trades are dead easy to get into, yes. I'm talking millwrights and instrument mechs, etc. With no experience, you won't get indentured unless you work your first 2 years in a sweatshop for $12/hour.

[NGRPLZ.NET]

Originally posted by fast&dangr
sorry, I meant "real" trades. framing houses, resi electrical, laying bricks and other mindless grunt trades are dead easy to get into, yes. I'm talking millwrights and instrument mechs, etc. With no experience, you won't get indentured unless you work your first 2 years in a sweatshop for $12/hour. That's true.. but they rely on dummied up high school kids that dont know any better.

[Audio_Rookie]

I am a first year millwright apprentice making 17/hr and they are begging for people. I am actually going to be leaving soon to go into welding first year instead at 18/hr or I can go into cabinet making first year for 20/hr.....I dont know...

As a first year millwright all I do so far though is disassemble big ass oilfield equipment so the real millwrights can work on it. Your right, im not actually doing anything thats related to the trade im apprenticing. Im more like a heavy duty mechanic right now.

[whodiman]

Originally posted by khtm
I love all the BS from people who've never lived any where else.

Try living in Victoria, for example, where a 6 pack of beer is 12 bucks...CHEAPEST. Or Vancouver where 10% of fully employed people live below poverty.

Regardless of the increase in rent and housing prices, Calgary STILL has cheap gas, NO PST, 10% flat provincial income tax, and last but not least CHEAP BEER. Plus our income is the highest in the country ;)

I've lived in Vancouver and lived in Sask and now live in Calgary.

Buying a house is way more to buy in Vancouver. Buying an Condo is almost the same in the two cities. Renting is actually worse in Calgary because Calgary is one of the few cities in Canada with no rent control.

http://www.relocationbc.com/statistics-vancouver.asp
http://www.creb.com/public/hbuyer/hb-stats-residential.htm


Car insurance is deregulated making it potentially much more expensive. There are exceptions but in general it is more in Calgary

Dental prices are deregulated here. This means you can have %100 dental coverage and still pay $100 for a teeth cleaning. Here it's %100 coverage of the 2004 book price. So again you have to shop around.

As for alcohol, I've never bought beer from a store in Victoria. I found it hard to believe that 6 beer costs $12 but maybe that is the case but what I can tell you is that alcohol in a pub is bloody expensive. Most pubs (with the exception of your neighborhood dive) will cost you 5-8 for a pint. $8 will usually be something like Guiness.

My biggest pet peeve when I moved here wasnt' the fact I had to pay to get my car inspected, but was the fact I had to pay for the form to get my car inspected and then pay for the inspection.. Then they got me again when I changed my address again for my driver's license. Or maybe it's AMA that I am not liking right now.

it's a good thing the pay is way higher in this city than Vancouver.