vcole:
Someone asked abiut drivers license and frsc abstract in Alberta. Can't remember the moniker. I didn't use an frsc letter or abstract for my DL here. Just my Nigerian license was sufficient.

@ajujuju2, you'll be fine dear. I am able to cope with everything else but home schooling is not one of my strengths. I have adjusted my monthly expenses to include the cost of child care. My toddler goes to a dayhome now. The 4 months he was home with us was h-e-l-l. I mean I love my son but he is that child who lives for the great outdoors and social interaction and can drive you crazy when he's home daily. He goes there at about 8am till 5pm with varied hours sometimes dependent on my availability.

Speech delay is very common among children of new immigrants, so dayhomes also helps with child speech development. He/she gets to interact with other kids. It also helps in boosting their immune system before they start kg or post kg.

Winter is coming....

vcole:
Calgary yesterday. It was so windy. I had to go downtown early in the morning and I don't think I've ever "cussed in my mind" as much as i did yesterday.
@salford1, please when do you change to winter tires? October or November?

vcole:

Okay. I was a bit indecisive since the weather predictions for the rest of the week look okay. However I'm considering changing them this weekend. Do you have separate rims for your winter tires?
I think I'm gonna pay for a park and ride reserved spot from November. I don't think I wanna drive long distances during winter just yet. I do have the portable jump cable and power bank in my boot. It's super handy and easy to use.

Yes...my winter comes with their own rims. it cost a little more if you are switching rims between sets of tires.
Park and rides is excellent especially when you work or move around the down town areas. Calgary has a lot of free park and ride lots.

vcole:

I don't quite agree though. Rent is more expensive in the UK at least in London. A 2 bedroom townhome in Essex is in the £1200/mth range and this usually doesn't include utilities. Heating in d UK is way more expensive. A 2 bedroom townhome in SW Calgary is circa $1500/mth with utilities. Transportation in London is also more expensive. A month transit pass in Calgary (bus and train) is circa $101/mth. In London a monthly bus and tram pass is £81.50 for about zones 1-6. I don't believe that pass covers travel on the tube and rail. It also doesn't cover travel out of those zones.

Wouldn't equate London to Calgary, maybe to Vancouver or Toronto, and then Calgary to probably Manchester or Nottingham . A one month bus pass in Notts is abt £50, £40 for students, and a 2bedroom in a good neighborhood is in the range of 400-600£.

@vcole...
Please I will need some orientation from you as I am planning to settle down in Calgary too.

The kind of house to take at the initial stage?
The kind of work available because I was told one might not be able to get professional jobs at the beginning because of Canny work experience.
And any other useful info...

God bless you Bro!

vcole:
Calgary yesterday. It was so windy. I had to go downtown early in the morning and I don't think I've ever "cussed in my mind" as much as i did yesterday.
@salford1, please when do you change to winter tires? October or November?

Adiahabasi:
* living .
Things are far cheaper in the Uk as compared to Canada even when the £ was stronger than 1.65 cad. Comparatively, rent is cheaper, food is cheaper and transportation is also way cheaper.

Wooow where in the UK may be I should move back.

Decent one bedroom is like 800 pounds that like 1300 cad compared to 900-1000 in canada

Bus pass zone 1-4 is 180 pounds that 300 cad.. compared to 120 in canada

Fusion23:


Wooow where in the UK may be I should move back.

Decent one bedroom is like 800 pounds that like 1300 cad compared to 900-1000 in canada

Bus pass zone 1-4 is 180 pounds that 300 cad.. compared to 120 in canada

Londoner....
Mind the gap

yokus:
Na wa o. This una Canada no be beans oo. Im in Halifax for a short Vacation & my sis' car started making this wierd sound- we went to the Mechanic and mhen, i almost fainted on her behalf when the Man said $900cad to change 2 brake pads... jesu- my chwest.
It is beautiful here though.

LWKMD . Jesu! . The bad part is that cos I'm not too used to the rate, when I see prices I will b eager, until I check Google for d naira rate... then I go humble... lolz. Meanwhile my first kid started school. He's the only black kid in the entire school, so when I go and drop him off in the morning I feel "different". Fortunately he made a friend in about 3 seconds...lol. the white kid follows him everywhere.. meanwhile d younger one who is 3 11/12 yrs old and can already read and write, is seriously asking to b taken to his own school. For now no job yet so me and madam take turns at babysitting him at home when anyone needs to go out. When I went to rbc to open an account the guy I met was telling me the new comers account package was only free for 6months. I immediately corrected him ooo. After checking the website the guy agreed to do the 6 months first (according to him that's the max on the system) then after 3 months he would renew it to 6 months again to gimme 9 months. I said we shall see. Na to read for the drivers license important pass now. Cos the cabs here Don open office for my head. Lol. Cos the town is small a 10 minute cab ride can take 1hr by bus cos they are so few and the waiting time is long. abc mouse has been a great help keeping the Lil man peaceful sha. But all he seems concerned about is getting enought tickets to buy pets...lol. all training is good abi? Let me get ready to go pick up d one in school joor. I hear that they will not hesitate to call child services if they close and you don't come and pick up your kid on time. I no get power to speak English abeg. It is well

Adiahabasi:
Wouldn't equate London to Calgary, maybe to Vancouver or Toronto, and then Calgary to probably Manchester or Nottingham . A one month bus pass in Notts is abt £50, £40 for students, and a 2bedroom in a good neighborhood is in the range of 400-600£.

my 3 bedroom semi detached in manchester...same as town house in canada was £500 per month. This was back in 2009. I don't know if the cost is higher. I dont remember how much i bought bus passes again. Just checked..its now £65 for adult monthly pass.
Calgary can be compared to Manchester population wise. Manchester has about 500k more people though.

Adiahabasi:
Wouldn't equate London to Calgary, maybe to Vancouver or Toronto, and then Calgary to probably Manchester or Nottingham . A one month bus pass in Notts is abt £50, £40 for students, and a 2bedroom in a good neighborhood is in the range of 400-600£.

I agree with you on this. In Newcastle where I stayed, you can get a very comfortable two bedroom apartment for £450-£500 monthly and Bus and train Monthly pass could cost as low as £60 a month. Can't say about Canada living expenses since I'm not there yet.

vcole:
Someone asked abiut drivers license and frsc abstract in Alberta. Can't remember the moniker. I didn't use an frsc letter or abstract for my DL here. Just my Nigerian license was sufficient.

@ajujuju2, you'll be fine dear. I am able to cope with everything else but home schooling is not one of my strengths. I have adjusted my monthly expenses to include the cost of child care. My toddler goes to a dayhome now. The 4 months he was home with us was h-e-l-l. I mean I love my son but he is that child who lives for the great outdoors and social interaction and can drive you crazy when he's home daily. He goes there at about 8am till 5pm with varied hours sometimes dependent on my availability.

Thanks sis. God is your strength.

@vcole. We'll be landing in Calgary in 2 weeks. Just to clarify on the driver's license, you went with your Naija DL, wrote the test, passed and was issued ur license?

Oyin15:

If you're in Ontario then you get health cover after 90 days/3 months. You will need to bring these documents with you to any Service Ontario location:

1. A completed Registration for Ontario Health Insurance Coverage form which you will get at the office
2. Three separate, original (not photocopies or printouts of electronic documents) identification documents:
A. one that proves your Canadian citizenship or OHIP-eligible immigration status (e.g. Canadian birth certificate, Permanent Resident Card )
B. one that proves you live in Ontario (e.g. Ontario Driver’s Licence, income tax assessment)
C. one that supports your identity (e.g. credit card,passport from any country)

In bold font are the readily available materials to get you registered.


Thanks @ Salford 1 and Blackbuddy and all the seniors in the house for always being helpful . In addition to this i just did my Ontario health card and they accepted our lease agreement as proof of residence so the docs submitted/shown were passport, PR card and lease agreement

PR Card? I thought that came after about 8-10 Weeks. Is one allowed to use COPR?

vcole:
Someone asked abiut drivers license and frsc abstract in Alberta. Can't remember the moniker. I didn't use an frsc letter or abstract for my DL here. Just my Nigerian license was sufficient.

@ajujuju2, you'll be fine dear. I am able to cope with everything else but home schooling is not one of my strengths. I have adjusted my monthly expenses to include the cost of child care. My toddler goes to a dayhome now. The 4 months he was home with us was h-e-l-l. I mean I love my son but he is that child who lives for the great outdoors and social interaction and can drive you crazy when he's home daily. He goes there at about 8am till 5pm with varied hours sometimes dependent on my availability.

Vcole of life. Thanks for shedding some more light on the Alberta licence. Can you share your experience?

Blackbuddy:


You're welcome Ma and yes, rent/lease agreement or building purchase document can suffice for proof of residence. What I listed are just examples and not exhaustive, all the best ahead.

When you say "Permanent Resident Card", do you mean the actual card or will the COPR suffice? Do you have to wait till the card is ready?

and for the proof of address, does it have to be something in your name? what if you are staying with family for the first few weeks and so will not have any lease documents as at then? what is the best way to go about getting a proof of address? apart from Driver's Licence.

I've a question. I've a friend who says he will have to spend 1 million naira, that's almost $3,000 to apply for visa ...like visit visa or any visa to canada, from Nigeria? He said this is the cost of paying agents to process the applications to Canada and what they told him. I told him he doesn't need to use an agent but he says its better. Is this true? Are y'all spending that much to process your application to canada?? This isn't about me ooo, I'm already overseas. Just want to get a clearer picture of what he's saying. He says he doesn't want to spend that much and lose money in case his application is rejected so he's asking me to sponsor him instead.

Ok, ill speak to her bout it.

Rkly1
@pauloverdi- lol, he cant wait to start school too.
post=61078874:


Hi dear, Pls I plan coming to Halifax by December, I need a decent and affordable accommodation. Please could you ask your sister to help me on this? Many Thanks.

Yooku:


Please don't forget to add Canadianfly to the group as well

Yes o

laborel:
@vcole...
Please I will need some orientation from you as I am planning to settle down in Calgary too.

The kind of house to take at the initial stage?
The kind of work available because I was told one might not be able to get professional jobs at the beginning because of Canny work experience.
And any other useful info...

God bless you Bro!

Na wa. This assumption that everyone is a "bro can come off as quite distasteful. Being male is not the default human gender oh. I'm female.

As regards housing, it all depends on your preferences, family size and budget. I live in the southwest of Calgary and chose it prior to arrival because it has good school districts and I have a growing family. On getting here, I really do like my community and I have no regrets. I live in a 2 bed/2 bath condo and I pay $1200/mth with utilities and underground parking inclusive. This fell right into our family budget for housing which we made prior to arrival. So you have several options. Check rentfaster.ca and kijiji.ca A condo, basement apartment, townhouse, single home I'll recommend you go with am option that you know you can afford for about 6 months with your savings just in case getting a job becomes a nightmare.

As regards jobs, my experience thus far is that there are jobs; even in Alberta which is still officially in recession, you only need to be willing to do them. The chances of a new immigrant with foreign qualifications landing a job in their professional field, soon after migrating similar to what they had from their home country, anywhere in the world and not Canada alone, are slim. There are persons who have been successful at doing that but they are few and far between. I do not say this to discourage you but I say this to encourage you to be flexible and open to opportunities while on your path to achieving your "Canadian career goals"

That being said, what I have found here (as opposed to my experience and observations in the states and England - no offence to anyone currently resident in these countries) is that there truly is dignity in labour. Nobody looks down on you if you are doing a "blue collar" job. Also I've realised that even people who work at so called menial jobs here earn enough to live okay. I mean minimum wage paying jobs which is about the worst you can earn, right? You can't be homeless at those jobs. You would earn enough monthly to put a roof over your head, ride on transit to and fro work, place food on your table and clothe yourself. You won't drive a Mercedes or have dinner at earl's every Friday or wear Calvin Klein clothes but you would live okay and if you keep your head in the game, you would work your way up to where you want to be.

I apologize for this long post. I hope it turns out useful.

trishachi:


When you say "Permanent Resident Card", do you mean the actual card or will the COPR suffice? Do you have to wait till the card is ready?

and for the proof of address, does it have to be something in your name? what if you are staying with family for the first few weeks and so will not have any lease documents as at then? what is the best way to go about getting a proof of address? apart from Driver's Licence.

Your cell phone bill or credit card statement or bank statement can be used as proof of address.

TheWatcher212:


Vcole of life. Thanks for shedding some more light on the Alberta licence. Can you share your experience?

merrymum:
@vcole. We'll be landing in Calgary in 2 weeks. Just to clarify on the driver's license, you went with your Naija DL, wrote the test, passed and was issued ur license?

Yes I landed with my Nigerian license. It was to expire this October while my husband's had already expired. Both were the frsc biometric licenses. We wrote the knowledge test and passed and then submitted our licenses to obtain the gdl exemption which took 3 weeks after which we took the advanced road test and obtained our class 5 licenses.

Fusion23:


Wooow where in the UK may be I should move back.

Decent one bedroom is like 800 pounds that like 1300 cad compared to 900-1000 in canada

Bus pass zone 1-4 is 180 pounds that 300 cad.. compared to 120 in canada

Typical Londoner .Try the East midlands.
@ Vcole, like how much should we budget for day home? Toddler 2.5yrs old. Just thinking, don't churches organize creches or day homes at a relatively cheaper cost? Or what other cost effective alternative(s) are available?

vcole:


Yes I landed with my Nigerian license. It was to expire this October while my husband's had already expired. Both were the frsc biometric licenses. We wrote the knowledge test and passed and then submitted our licenses to obtain the gdl exemption which took 3 weeks after which we took the advanced road test and obtained our class 5 licenses.

Ok i want to get this very clearly... To get your license in Canada, ALL YOU NEED IS YOUR VALID DRIVER'S LICENSE FROM FRSC, BETTER STILL, THE BIOMETRICS ONE THEY DOING NOW?

Adiahabasi:
Typical Londoner .Try the East midlands.
@ Vcole, like how much should we budget for day home? Toddler 2.5yrs old. Just thinking, don't churches organize creches or day homes at a relatively cheaper cost? Or what other cost effective alternative(s) are available?

I'm just here with my mouth agape over this "east Midlands life. £500/mth for rent

Dayhome fees range from about $820-890/mth dependent on your provider. Daycare fees for his age range between $1100-1200/mth dependent on your daycare centre. However if you and your spouse are both working or both schooling or one partner is working while the other is schooling, you can apply for the child care subsidy in Alberta for approved dayhome agencies or daycare centres which for your child's age would pay $437/mth for a dayhome or $547/mth (it's 5..something sha not sure of that 4) for daycare centres.

All child care services are regulated. So even if a church owns a daycare centre (I know of none thus far), it would still be subject to the regulatory conditions for providing child care and would function as a business seeing as they would have staff and all. There are private dayhomes who have their licenses to operate a dayhome and meet regulatory requirements but are not "approved" that just means that they are not licensed with the government of Alberta and as such do not qualify for the child care subsidy program.

Cost effective....you can enroll your child in a preschool which for his age is twice a week for 3hrs/day. Costs about $265/mth on the average. You can apply for a stay at home parent childcare subsidy for an approved preschool which would knock if $100/mth from your fees.

Oyamade:


Ok i want to get this very clearly... To get your license in Canada, ALL YOU NEED IS YOUR VALID DRIVER'S LICENSE FROM FRSC, BETTER STILL, THE BIOMETRICS ONE THEY DOING NOW?

The biometrics license started in 2012/2013 if I'm not mistaken. My information is for the province of Alberta. I do not know how it works in other provinces

Fusion23, wura27 I see you. How mar-kate?

vcole:
Fusion23, wura27 I see you. How mar-kate?

Longest time ,how is the family.

Fusion23:

Longest time ,how is the family.

We are aiii. How's it going at your end?

Good good.... Night crawler tinz. Trying to read up on all I've missed

I see your weather has changed. Trust u'r good....

vcole:
Fusion23, wura27 I see you. How mar-kate?

Hi,

You can read up or ask your questions here- https://www.nairaland.com/3999848/canadian-express-entry-federal-skilled

Incline:
I've a question. I've a friend who says he will have to spend 1 million naira, that's almost $3,000 to apply for visa ...like visit visa or any visa to canada, from Nigeria? He said this is the cost of paying agents to process the applications to Canada and what they told him. I told him he doesn't need to use an agent but he says its better. Is this true? Are y'all spending that much to process your application to canada?? This isn't about me ooo, I'm already overseas. Just want to get a clearer picture of what he's saying. He says he doesn't want to spend that much and lose money in case his application is rejected so he's asking me to sponsor him instead.