Canada – one of the most divine and picturesque countries I’ve visited.
In 2017 I decided that Australia wasn’t for me anymore and 5 months later seen myself jetting off to the beautiful mountains of British Columbia to start a new and exciting life with adventures planted around each and every corner.
Getting a working holiday visa for Australians is pretty simple, I’m not entirely sure what it’s like for each country but you can easily find out on the Canada Immigration website.
I went through an Australian company IEP that guarantees you a job and (possibly) accomodation before you arrive in Canada, while this option can sometimes be quite costly it does give you peace of mind knowing everything has been taken care of for you and you don’t have to stress about arriving to a new country with no employment. I was lucky enough to be employed by Panorama Mountain Resort in British Columbia. A beautiful ski resort located in the Columbia Valley with panoramic snow capped mountain views plus some of the best ski runs Canada has to offer and fun around every corner.
There is a lot I wish I knew before I arrived in Canada so I have wrote a list of some handy tips that might be helpful to others wanting to experience what it’s like to call British Columbia home.
- Save, Save, Save! Canada is in fact very expensive and if you’re just working at a ski resort there’s a high chance you’ll be on minimum wage – minimum wage crossed with rent, groceries, bills and still being able to have a fun social life is a tough thing to juggle. While it’s most certainly do able I’d recommend taking over at least 8K to start you off, mainly if you want to travel while there, buy a car and maybe some snow equipment it all adds up very very quickly. Even meat and dairy in Canada is very expensive so take into consideration how much you’ll be spending on food as well.
- Travel as much and as far as you can! My biggest regret while being in Canada is not travelling enough. While I was lucky enough to be nestled in the mountains permanently I regret not travelling to cities such as Toronto or Quebec and Vancouver Island. Canada is a big country and there is so much to see and do! I travelled locally and my favourite town would either be Revelstoke or Jasper – they’re very different from each other but have some fun experiences to discover! So if you have the money TRAVEL!
- Travel Insurance, something a lot of people actually travel without these days because they think they are some invincible human being (insert eye roll here) getting sick in canada when you don’t have local health insurance can be very very costly! Most employers after a certain length of time can put you on the company’s health insurance plan which ideally saves a lot of money. So one of the most important pieces of information I can give you is please make sure you have some sort of insurance to cover any injuries (winter sports cover insurance) and general prescription medications.
- Get in the habit of tipping – most servers in Canada are paid minimum wage so rely on tips so they can live. For exceptional service which I received nearly everywhere, I would tip 18/20% I never tipped under 15%. Servers appreciate your gratuity more then you’ll know!!
- The sticker price is just the starting point – in Canada tax is applied at the checkout and not on the shelf sticker! Something to consider while doing your shopping!
- If you don’t need a phone plan.. DO NOT GET ONE! Phone plans in the mountains are absurdly expensive. I was on a plan for just 1gb of Data and was paying over $79 a month! Wifi is available almost everywhere – so if you want to save some pennies i’d suggest not going on a phone plan!
- There are in fact two offical languages in Canada! French and English – so every sign, grocery label, menu will usually be in both languages!
I loved Canada and everything I experienced while there. I hope a few of these tips help others wanting to take the leap and move to a new country! If i’ve left anything out please let me know by commenting below!
Passport Bucketlist 