Vancouver Island Travel Forum

Hi all,

Myself and my grilfriend are planning to spend a year in Canada as of jan 2007. We don't know too much about Canada but we are gradually being lured towards Vancouver Island at the moment. I've been reading up on VI through VT but still have questions I hope some of you could shine some light on..

I'm Irish (24) and been working as a civil engineer (looking for outdorr type work to get me away from computer) and my girlfriend is english (23) and been working in a Bank as has experience with childcare and music teaching. We would like to try spending sometime on VI and hopefully get jobs we both enjoy with a decent wage..

Can enyone tell us what the climate is like... the local industries... would we enjoy it... or should we be thinking of somewhere completely different in Canada... I was lured towards VI because its got so much coastline, mountains, forestry and cities.. A mixed bag.. am i right??

thanks to you all

You'd better investigate the legalities and other formalities of working in Canada.

I would choose the city of Vancouver, you have everything that you mentioned plus the mobility to see the US and Canada without having to take an expensive ferry ride to the mainland. Vancouver is probably one of our favorite cities.

Mike

Vancouver is great, but I wouldn't see you accessing the outdoors as much if living there. Cost of living is higher.
Aside from the issues of getting your working papers in order, I would definitely recommend Vancouver Island. I would also suggest Nanaimo. It's a good sized city with access to so much outdoors. Climate in Nanaimo is similiar to Victoria. Very little harsh weather. Some fall storms (spectacular time to view the ocean, especially Long Beach between Tofino and Ucluelet), and one or two snowfalls in the winter that usually are rained away the same day. A white Christmas is rare. A very nice ski resort, Mt. Washington is just over an hour north of Nanaimo.

I disagree about not accessing the outdoors as much if living in Vancouver. Vancouver's surrounded by beaches, forests and mountains (aka: skiing, hiking, boating, diving, skiing, snowboarding, etc). Most people spend their free time in the outdoors in Vancouver. You're no worse off here than elsewhere.

Carmanah, you really think most people in Vancouver spend their time outdoors? I don't agree. I think those that make it a priority, have the luxury of time, transportation, location, traffic, cash, etc., do access it regularly. But that's definitely not most.

I suppose it depends on your definition of accessing the outdoors. For myself, that means going for a walk along the beach after dinner. Spending a Saturday afternoon hiking through a forest for a few hours with my dad. Spending a long weekend on a nearby island. Being able to go boating for a Sunday afternoon with some friends. While it's true that Vancouver's cost of living is really high (and believe me, I'm not liking that), the free time I have in Vancouver (evenings and weekends) is no different than if I were to live in Victoria or Nanaimo, or elsewhere. I'm not arguing Vancouver's the place to move to, but I don't see Vancouver as being a place that lacks access to the outdoors... that's all.

Good luck finding work on Vancouver Island. We've got thousands of university grads making $8/hour in restaurants and stores. The stronger the American dollar, the worse the local economy. There is ZERO work for people without working papers, so get that sorted ASAP.

In terms of your job hunt, check out http://jb-ge.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/Search_en.asp?ProvId=10&Student=false and http://workingtorontojobs.canada.com/js.php The latter is the classifieds section from Victoria's main daily newspaper, and the former is the government's somewhat random collection of job postings from all over the place.

If you've got the papers, you could expect to come to Victoria and make minimum wage ($8/hour), or a little bit more. To make "a decent wage" you'd either have to stick around long enough to advance within a company, or go somewhere else. Try the oil rigs.

It seems that you can get a temporary Canadian work permit from the Canadian government. http://www.canada.org.uk/visa-info/worker/e_stuwor.htm

I agree that it would be difficult to find good-paying work on a temporary basis. In a few fields, employers are running short of qualified people because of retirements, but this only applies to specific skills.

If you're good at service work (bartending, food service) there are places where a good person can make reasonable money in tips, and where the employers expect a certain amount of turnover so might take a chance on a temporary employee. An Irish accent doesn't hurt either when it comes to charming the customers! (I know it's not outdoors but it's away from the computer!)

Gotta go. More later on the climate. Actually, climates.

Another thought about work: If you want to see aspects of this area that are as different as possible from home (i.e. wilderness) you might consider looking for employment on a salmon farm. It's not skilled work or highly paid, and some of your co-workers might reflect that fact, so to speak, but the work is outdoors, on the ocean, often in remote areas, and sightings of orcas and eagles etc are quite routine. In many areas, if you were to take a boat to the shore, walk ten minutes into the forest and fire a shotgun, no-one would hear it.

I won't delve into the environmental arguments pro and con, this isn't the place for that. One company operating out of Powell River is at http://www.targetmarine.com/employ.php I would think it quite likely they would consider a civil engineer who wants a years' work for the experience, because I understand that they sometimes have problems attracting and keeping motivated people.

Powell River is a reasonably sized community, large enough that your wife should be able to find work of some sort.

Climate: Shaped by the prevailing winds from the southern Pacific coming up against the Coast Mountain range. Mild as to temperature, but extremely varied in regard to rainfall. The weather station that records the most rainfall in North America is at a hatchery on Henderson Lake, on the north side of the Alberni Inlet on Vancouver Island. The same Vancouver Island mountains that produce that localized excess, produce a rain shadow on the leeward side. The beneficiaries are the Comox Valley and the Sunshine Coast from about Powell River south.

There is another, larger rain shadow caused by the Olympic Mountains in northern Washington State. This very pleasant local climate includes Victoria, the southern Gulf Islands, the southern part of Greater Vancouver, and a narrow coastal strip up the south-east coast of Vancouver Island. A few localized areas on some of the islands actually have cacti.
The more heavily populated areas of Vancouver Island lie more or less in this area. The north and west parts of the island generally have very heavy winter rains, spectactular rainforests and very thin populations.

Homeowners - including us - in some parts of the more settled areas are plagued with garden-devouring deer in the backyard. In the north and west, there are fewer deer because of the cougars. There's real wilderness here, and lots of it. Much is only accessible by boat or float plane.

Vancouver Island also has North America's highest waterfall, Della Falls. It's reached by a boat trip followed by an overnight wilderness backpacking trip. http://www.britishcolumbia.com/trails/?id=13

If you want to see "Canada" the Pacific Coast lacks the "Canadian winter", of the prairies or Quebec for example. But if you want to spend a year in a place unlike anywhere in Europe or the British Isles, where true wilderness still exists on a large scale, it's a good choice.

BillJx

Thanks all,

Very well infromed of Vancouver Island now.. and yes it sounds fantastic. I know a brother of a friend who spent some time working on a Salmon farm in northern area of Vancouver Island.. I think. He said he had an amazing time there. Must go back and tease his memory some more on that one..

For the record .. to you all.. im in the middle of obtaining a one year work and travel visa.. I should know in the next few weeks if im succssful.. so will be legal to work which should help. from what ive hear and read.. work seems to be pretty hard to get with the competition from fellow travellers and influx of immigrants etc ..

If money were no object I reckon I would spend most of my time exploring Vancouver Island .. but since money doesnt grow on trees we may be restricted to what we work as and where we do so.. a friend has suggested Edmonton due to its current oil/gas boom.. but im not totaly keen, i may have to try the Edmonton VT pages to try and settle my thoughts some more.

I do apprecite all of your replies and opinions and its helping to paint the picture..

Thanks