British Columbia

[Spoons]

Alrighty, so this posting might get heavy, but it is needed to explain where I am right now. If you don't feel like reading, look for the bold text which is where the question is.

To start the story off, I went to U of C for Engineering, found out it REALLY was not for me, and tried to transfer. Long story short, I got kicked out. Wasn't my fault, but I'm not going to explain it.

Never the less that is where my life took a turn. I found myself stuck at Futureshop at a job that doesn't challenge me and is not enjoyable. As much as I try and research, use my tools, and become a better salesperson, my job in the end still sucks.

Continuing on with this, I started to get more and more depressed with where I was in life, and the more I tried to push trying to find what I wanted to do as a career for the rest of my life, the harder it was to figure out what to do.

This is when I started seeing a psychiatrist where I just talk about random things, whatever is on my mind.

His suggestion. I need to find myself. I have lived a pretty sheltered life in a sense that I have never visited anywhere, nor been anywhere exotic. I need to learn more about me. Traveling to any exotic lands is out of the question, but I have ALWAYS loved BC.

Lazy people start here: So this takes me to my journey. I have started saving money and January first, New Years Day, I embark on my journey. I am heading west on the Trans Can, and where it takes me is where it takes me. I know this is a very wish washy approach, but like I said, I am VERY VERY bored with my life. I don't want to know whats going to happen the next day. I have the backing of my parents if shit hits the fan.

Now my journey is supposed to be random, but it could be swayed with job opportunities. My question to you guys is there anyone with any work opportunities at any ski towns or resorts. Whistler would be awesome for the Olympics, but I'm sure these are just hoop dreams.

I have sales experience with an outstanding sales record to prove. I also have much experience working on ski hills (I worked for COP in the Rental Shop, as well as Customer Service).

It's just a shot in the dark, but help would be appreciated. Like I said, either way this is happening, but it would be nice if I had a job waiting for me.

Thanks Beyond

[HaganDazs]

Thats too bad you can't travel abroad. Doing that for a while really gives you perspective on things.

Working the Olympics will be tough, because applications happened months ago. But you can always look for work at a bar/pub while the Olympics are going on, I would assume there is demand while its really busy.

Maybe try Revelstoke, Big White, Silverstar, Red Mountain, Fernie, etc?

[kaput]

.

[Antonito]

It wouldn't be finding a job during the Olympics that would be hard, it would be finding accomodations. Whistler is full unless you know someone or are willing to pay a huge premium, and they are effectively cutting off commuting for the duration of the Games. The buses that are going to be carting workers up there are looking at 3 or 4 hour commutes even without the usual public traffic.

I would stay the hell away from Vancouver during the Olympics in general unless you have some connections, it's going to be a nightmare here.

[Sugarphreak]

....

[mekeni]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
Get a 1 year work visa for somewhere like Australia, Japan, Korea... ect. and stay at hostels and work local jobs. Committing to something like this would be a much more rewarding experience.


:werd:

[Spoons]

Originally posted by kaput




You really are confused!

I worded that wrong sorry.

I meant more job opportunities that sway my decisions, not necessarily guaranteed.

I do kind of want to stay in Canada though. It would be great to go abroad, but it's not entirely viable.

As for the backing of my parents, I will keep that in mind.

[sxtasy]

I say do it. But as stated, get the idea of your parents backing you or having a job waiting out of your head.

The more you are out of your element the harder you will work and you will find more creative ways to make money. Its part of the excitement I guess.

[Spoons]

Now only problem is loans and debt. Would you suggest still doing this if I am in debt?

It isn't much, only about 2000 credit, and then my student loans.

[Dumbass17]

^^you only live once

fuck it all:D

[sxtasy]

well 2000 credit sounds pretty easy to deal with. Not sure what your student loan obligations are. I think one of the worst things you can do when you are young is have bad debt hold you back from doing what you want to do.

Try to work through it without pulling a Banerjee lol.

[Ajay]

Do you mind if I ask how old you are?

I agree with the others on here that suggest you only live once so you might as well enjoy it. It does sound like you're thinking a little too much about this "finding yourself" thing. You need to just throw caution to the wind.

Knowing your parents will help you out if need be is nice but at the same time it can cripple your mentality going into it knowing that mom and dad will have your back. I think you need to pretend that it's just you.

Since you said you've never been anywhere exotic or traveled a lot I would suggest getting out of Canada for the time being. Experiencing a new culture might just be what you need.

[revelations]

Head west, far west, like west coast of Vancouver Island west - its a booming place right now, Tofino/Ucluelet etc.

Surfs up pretty much year round (must wear wetsuits though).

[Spoons]

Originally posted by revelations
Head west, far west, like west coast of Vancouver Island west - its a booming place right now, Tofino/Ucluelet etc.

Surfs up pretty much year round (must wear wetsuits though).

I have thought about that. I LOVE Tofino. I have also been considering moving out to Tahsis (Small fishing village).

I am 20 years old. I know I am still young, but like I said, the most exotic place I have seen is Vancouver, and I haven't even really seen all of it. Since I can't do exotic, I will do adventurous.

By backing of my parents, I mean 1) They are cool with this, 2) I have a home waiting for me, not like I have no where to come back to.

They already said they won't bail me out financially, they know what I want to do.

Like I said, January 1st is almost a hoop dream. I am only going to embark on this once I know I am ready to do so.

[msommers]

Go work up north. You'll find yourself pretty quickly, or someone will just tell you :rofl:

There is a french program where you go to Quebec to learn french, I think it is paid for by the government. I'll talk to the two people who have done it if you're interested.

I'm with everyone else man, BC is going to be a clusterfuck. See if you can get a visa to teach english somewhere in asia maybe?

Someone once told me the best way to figure out situations like this is pretend you're 50 years old, and imagine looking back on your life of things you wish you had done. Think about it, genuinely think about it. Once you figure that out, figure out a plan of how you're going to do it, the obstacles that will more than likely come with that. Helped me out anyways.

Best of luck

[barmanjay]

I feel for you spoons

I was in your position about 15 years ago

Felt like I was going no-where, didn't like where I was living, how I was living or the direction my life was going.

I went across canada on a budget and came back (3 weeks).

I ended up on Vancouver island,.. as north as you can go - Port Hardy.

I started over,... litterally (living at the back of a fish processing plant in a chevy van, then 16 ft camper trailer, then to an apartment and etc)

Had alot of self-revelations, got into alot of trouble, made some interesting carreer choices, made some good friends,.. and bad ones.

Keep your composure. It's easy to get lost and not find your way back - mentally

Now I'm here 15 years later and very satisfied/content with my life now.

[HaganDazs]

You usually need a uni degree to teach English abroad.

If you aren't comfortable doing anything exotic, have you considered Australia? Its another commonwealth nation, its pretty much Canada but with warmer weather and different accents. And its easy to get a visa since you're Canadian. Tons of people work there for a year or two, and the same thing for Aussies coming here.

But I guess you've already made up your mind on staying in Canada. Just go to the Okanogan and work at the resorts during the winter, then wineries in the summer (like around Oliver, tons of granolas there in the summer)

[revelations]

OP if youre the outdoors type, you could also look at something like tree planting, or being a survey assistant.

Tree planting is GRUELING work but you meet the most interesting people and the money is pretty good if you can keep up.

[Spoons]

Originally posted by msommers
Go work up north. You'll find yourself pretty quickly, or someone will just tell you :rofl:

There is a french program where you go to Quebec to learn french, I think it is paid for by the government. I'll talk to the two people who have done it if you're interested.

I'm with everyone else man, BC is going to be a clusterfuck. See if you can get a visa to teach english somewhere in asia maybe?

Someone once told me the best way to figure out situations like this is pretend you're 50 years old, and imagine looking back on your life of things you wish you had done. Think about it, genuinely think about it. Once you figure that out, figure out a plan of how you're going to do it, the obstacles that will more than likely come with that. Helped me out anyways.

Best of luck

Honestly snowboarding has been so much apart of my life, when I put myself into the shoes of a 50 year old me, all I can think is, "Fuck, I didn't snowboard nearly enough."

Whistler is just hoop dreams, but I applied for one job on the resort that I am perfect for. Whistler would be a place I would need a job before going, just because it is ridiculously expensive. Honestly, I'm just going to go somewhere close to a resort and snowboard day in and out.

For sure though, find out about that Quebec thing, that sounds awesome.

Barmanjay... EXACT feelings right there. I just need to go get lost.

[Jlude]

Best fo luck to you spoons.

I did this very thing when I was 18... just hopped in a car and ended up in Calgary (started in New Brunswick).

I plan on doing something similar next summer. Gonna take a month off and take a tour of Europe.
It'll be great to see the sights, but I'm mostly going to refind myself.

Subscribed. Interested to hear how your story plays out.

[Jlude]

Originally posted by Spoons

Barmanjay... EXACT feelings right there. I just need to go get lost.

Sometimes you have to get lost, to really find yourself.

[97'Scort]

You're a little late for ski-town work this year. Most places start hiring at the end of summer, not much available now. Most resorts are really feeling the hit from the tourism drop this year too, and are hiring less.

As for work, there is a good amount of tourism jobs in Victoria as well. If you find yourself out my way hit me up, we can at least grab a brew.

Also, if you get the opportunity, you can check out Trail/Rossland. Red Mountain is nearby, and it's in a great spot (worked there last summer for Teck). If you can score a job there, the rent's cheap and there's lots of fun to be had.

[Spoons]

Originally posted by 97'Scort
You're a little late for ski-town work this year. Most places start hiring at the end of summer, not much available now. Most resorts are really feeling the hit from the tourism drop this year too, and are hiring less.

As for work, there is a good amount of tourism jobs in Victoria as well. If you find yourself out my way hit me up, we can at least grab a brew.

Also, if you get the opportunity, you can check out Trail/Rossland. Red Mountain is nearby, and it's in a great spot (worked there last summer for Teck). If you can score a job there, the rent's cheap and there's lots of fun to be had.

Oh yeah finding a resort job is a hoop dream. I have been looking at work though, TONS of jobs around whistler for the Olympics. I have been looking at Squamish and Pemberton as well, rent is cheaper and more jobs.

[freshprince1]

Spoons, good luck with your journey. Keep us up to date on how everything goes.

Don't stress out too much if you don't know what or who you want to be when you're 20, "...some of the most interesting people I know still don't know what they want to do at 40...". You're at the age where you realize how big the world is and need to find your place in it. Heading out on your own is a natural and good way to do it. If you feel that is what you want.

I took off for 2 years when I was 19, lived in underdeveloped towns in south eastern Philippines. I don't think it really matters where you go, but that you go out and tackle life on your own for a while. Not everyone needs to do this to find themselves, but it sounds like this might be something you could benefit from, especially with the relative safety of doing so from BC. The interior is a beautiful place, and isn't crowded like the Vancouver area. I say head for Kelowna or the Shuswap (i.e. Salmon Arm...etc). Should be big enough to have decent work for you, and it is gorgeous in the summer with lots of tourism. Try to get a job at the floating Gas Station inthe middle of the Shuswap, I always thought that would be fun, and you could party with the tourists in the local scene.

Living abroad, and then a post seceondary education was the right combination for me.

"...with all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful, and strive to be happy."

Good Luck:thumbsup:

[Ben]

When I said fuck it and decided to go and see the world a couple years ago, a lot of people made fun, told me I was a quitter and a loser and all that. Best decision I ever made. The places I saw and the people I met was unrivaled. Sure, I could have bought a mid priced German sedan with the money it cost, which is really important to a lot of people on this forum, but the experiences I had was worth exponentially more, if even at all quantifiable. If you have no major obligations (House/Family/Big Payments) I would haul ass abroad on a working holiday Visa to Oz, NZ, and then take advantage of all the epic flight deals to SE Asia/Pacific. Best time of my life, and as stated above, it took getting completely lost and without reliance on anyone but myself to find who I really was.


For Ski work, you're pretty much pooched for this season, ESPECIALLY out west with the Olympics, so many people from Canada, and even more so world wide are here on Visas just to work the Olympics. You might be able to find a shit job, but most of the good ones are already scooped up. As for living in a resort town, be prepared to have your eyes opened, WIDE, it's not the sunshine and rainbows everyone visiting thinks. Be weary of all the drugs, and parties, I know people who will never recover from that life, and it's easy to fall into it permanently.

Cheers mate.

[Ajay]

For all you people that decided to "get lost" how old were you? Younger? Older?

[sullygully]

I had just finised college at 23 when i decided to "get lost" from southern ontario to Banff. Which is where i still live to this day, 10 years later.

[Spoons]

Originally posted by Ajay
For all you people that decided to "get lost" how old were you? Younger? Older?

Well like I said, I am only 20. There's a point you hit where it seems needed for some. I know right now I am AMPED for January 1st and can't wait. I haven't been this happy and actually excited for something in a long time... I can't even imagine what the trip is going to do for me.

[Stuntmonkey]

Well considering I'm on my "working holiday" from New Zealand, and i'm STILL here after 2 visa extensions, I can tell you its a pretty cool thing to do.

I've traveled a bit, can't count the countries Ive been too and I need new pages in my passport.

I settled, a bit, here in Canada mainly because its awesome here. Sure, your government blows but which countries doesn't.

My advice would be to get on a plane, and goto the east coast of Australia. Its such a beautiful place, backpackers are plentiful, you will have an awesome time and meet so many awesome people.

Work is pretty plentiful in terms of waiting tables and shit, and if you're looking at it like you just work to do fun shit, then you'll have the time of your life.

Goto aussie, spend 6 months there, go up and down the coast, goto the whitsundays, get on a plane, goto fiji for a month.

DO it while you're young or you will regret it for the rest of your life.

I honestly believe every person who wants to be successful in life needs to do this, it gives you such a perspective on your own country and home that you will be a different person when you get back. IF you get back.

[msommers]

I talked to one of the girls I know who went on the French program, here is the link:

http://www.myexplore.ca/en/

Apparently it was insanely cheap (she thought only 150 bucks) and it wasn't course credit or anything. Not sure what your situation is about being eligible, but for others interested there it is.

[HaganDazs]

I think you have to be an active student to take part in that Quebec program?