Canada Looks Good

[arrie]

So I've been pondering about what to do.
We have finally closed our family transport business, yet work does not seem to come chasing after me here in good oll RSA.
A pilot friend of mine from Hong Kong visited here this weekend, and he suggested I look at opportunities in Canada.
So I did some research, it seems there is quite a need for truck drivers in Canada. I'm hoping that can be a foot in the door, and maybe a year or so down the line I can start up a business myself.
But would this be possible?
I was looking at the district called Ontario, seems quite a bit of opportunity to start there.
I'm wondering what the Canadian nationals on this forum think about the Ontario area?
There is quite a lot of work around Timmins, but how's the climate?
For me, the London/St.Thomas area seemed fair, but I'm over here in sunny RSA. Some comments will be appreciated.

thanks guys

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I've never been to Canada, but it's a beautiful wild country - however, how used to snow are you?.

 

[arrie]

I've lived in a city sort of the the centre of RSA for 26 years, and twice we had very light snow. Major fun with the rear wheel drive car at the time.

But, yes, I'm not use to heavy snow of any sort, but from climate maps I've seen, it seems the southern parts of Ontario is not that big on heavy snow either, but driving a heavy vehicle can possibly take you into such areas.

I hope torben, audioguru etc. can provide a bit of handy info.

 

[3v0]

That is between Hudson Bay and the Great Lakes. Expect a lot of cold and snow in the winter. But you can learn to live with that. It is all a matter of what you can put up with till you get used to it.

Think engine block heater for the car in winter. Parkas with fur. Snow boots for the ladies.

You should check the weather data to be sure.

Grow Zone 2A low -50F aprox -44C. A greenhouse would be a good idea if you want to grow plants.

You may also want to check to see if the truck driving jobs pay well enough to bother with. Cost of living etc.

 

[Space Varmint]

Yeah, it gets cold up there but I'm sure if you put your mind to it you will make it just fine. Don't forget, a little prayer can go a long way as well.

 

[3v0]

Windsor Ontario is a lot warmer at 6A -25C/-15F. Just over the border from Detroit. I have not been there in 10 years but when I was it seemed like I had jumped back in time about 20 years. I liked it.

 

[killivolt]

Canada's Expanding Strip Mining Oil Sand.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_production_in_Canada

Driving for big oil. They plan a 30% increase.


Also, summers in alaska drivers needed for the touring industry. The Bus drivers here will go up and make about the same amount of money they do in a year in a few short months about 4 I think.

kv

 

[arrie]

That is between Hudson Bay and the Great Lakes. Expect a lot of cold and snow in the winter. But you can learn to live with that. It is all a matter of what you can put up with till you get used to it.

Think engine block heater for the car in winter. Parkas with fur. Snow boots for the ladies.

You should check the weather data to be sure.

Grow Zone 2A low -50F aprox -44C. A greenhouse would be a good idea if you want to grow plants.

You may also want to check to see if the truck driving jobs pay well enough to bother with. Cost of living etc.

From stats I've seen this looked like the warmer area.
I still need to get a bit of info about cost of living, it pays around CAD20 per hour it seems. I would like to end up starting my own business eventually as well, just do not have enough cash to enter as entrepreneur, you need CAD400 000 to do so, and at exchange of about 7.62 vs. ZAR, you'll need a wad of rands for that.
Will have to build it up.

 

[arrie]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_production_in_Canada

Driving for big oil. They plan a 30% increase.


Also, summers in alaska drivers needed for the touring industry. The Bus drivers here will go up and make about the same amount of money they do in a year in a few short months about 4 I think.

kv

One Canadian website said something about 90 000 drivers required in next 5 to 10 years.
Sounds to me like good business opportunity.
I'll mainly go into goods, not quite happy with transporting people, have seen too many ugly accidents locally, and survival rate low, better take my chances with goods.

 

[arrie]

Windsor Ontario is a lot warmer at 6A -25C/-15F. Just over the border from Detroit. I have not been there in 10 years but when I was it seemed like I had jumped back in time about 20 years. I liked it.

Hi 3V0,
What are these zone refs you give, 2A and 6A, etc?
I tried looking on the net, but with little luck.

 

[3v0]

Hi 3V0,
What are these zone refs you give, 2A and 6A, etc?
I tried looking on the net, but with little luck.

They are plant hardiness grow zones used to determine what plants you can and can not grow.

**broken link removed**

EDIT: They do not tell the entire story but are a place to start.

 

[arrie]

They are plant hardiness grow zones used to determine what plants you can and can not grow.

**broken link removed**

EDIT: They do not tell the entire story but are a place to start.

Oh, lovely, I'm on that exact site, but looking at the weather maps, funny, it seems to differ quite a lot compared to the week's forecast from weather sites.

It seems that British Columbia and Alberta is quite warmer near the Southern regions. I'll have a look at transport opportunities in this area as well.

 

[arrie]

Looking at BC and Alberta.
Going rates in these areas are CAD20 to CAD25 per hour.
Some companies also talk about CAD55 000 to CAD70 000 per annum.
What sort of life can one have for that in Canada?
I mean, will you have to live in a trailer park, or will you at least be able to afford a decent 3 bedroom house and everything a family would need?

 

[Torben]

Oh, lovely, I'm on that exact site, but looking at the weather maps, funny, it seems to differ quite a lot compared to the week's forecast from weather sites.

It seems that British Columbia and Alberta is quite warmer near the Southern regions. I'll have a look at transport opportunities in this area as well.

Hi Arrie,

If you're looking for a temperate environment, then southern Vancouver Island and the lower Mainland of British Columbia are probably your best bet year-round. It can get cold in the winters but usually not too bad and there is more rain than snow. In Victoria we joke that "winter" is really just not having to cut the lawn for two months.

Once you get over the mountains things can cool down quite a lot in winter, especially as you go further north (no surprise there). Winter driving in the mountains can be. . .erm. . .exciting. I like winter driving but I grew up in the north so I had lots of practice.

There are classes you can take in winter driving techniques and skid control etc which might be useful if you haven't done a lot of driving on ice. Road maintenance in Canada is quite good however, especially considering how much road there is.

If you really like excitement but with a big payback you could move to the far north and drive the ice roads.

In my experience (just a few visits while on tour) northern Ontario can be quite harsh in winter and nice in summer, especially if you like mosquitoes. If you move to Timmins you had better like (or learn to like) the music of Shania Twain.


Torben

 

[arrie]

Hi Arrie,

If you're looking for a temperate environment, then southern Vancouver Island and the lower Mainland of British Columbia are probably your best bet year-round. It can get cold in the winters but usually not too bad and there is more rain than snow. In Victoria we joke that "winter" is really just not having to cut the lawn for two months.

Once you get over the mountains things can cool down quite a lot in winter, especially as you go further north (no surprise there). Winter driving in the mountains can be. . .erm. . .exciting. I like winter driving but I grew up in the north so I had lots of practice.

There are classes you can take in winter driving techniques and skid control etc which might be useful if you haven't done a lot of driving on ice. Road maintenance in Canada is quite good however, especially considering how much road there is.

If you really like excitement but with a big payback you could move to the far north and drive the ice roads.

In my experience (just a few visits while on tour) northern Ontario can be quite harsh in winter and nice in summer, especially if you like mosquitoes. If you move to Timmins you had better like (or learn to like) the music of Shania Twain.


Torben

Thanks Torben.

As a matter of fact, I don't mind Shania that much (even have debut CD), I get rather irritated around house, hip-hop and r&b.
I think I'm looking more at Southern BC and Alberta now, Alberta seem to be the major player for crude and sand oil operations.
There are quite a few jobs advertised in those areas by jobbank, but not all have e-mail addresses etc.
So what sort of Canadian dollar does one need to earn to live "comfortably"?

 

[futz]

Looking at BC and Alberta.
Going rates in these areas are CAD20 to CAD25 per hour.

That must be the starting wage, right? It's not great money otherwise.

Some companies also talk about CAD55 000 to CAD70 000 per annum.
What sort of life can one have for that in Canada?
I mean, will you have to live in a trailer park, or will you at least be able to afford a decent 3 bedroom house and everything a family would need?

House prices in southern BC are sky high. Totally out of this world! At $55k/year you're probably a renter. Might be able to buy something crappy in a small town (no jobs), but in any bigger town/city, fuggedaboudit. At $70k/year, if the wife works and you maybe have a renter in the basement, you could buy a house.

If you move to Timmins you had better like (or learn to like) the music of Shania Twain.

Shania Twain - ew, gross. Great lookin woman, but I absolutely detest "country" music. It's crap.

 

[arrie]

I would not mind renting for a year or two.
Can you buy a house before having permanent status?
How about things like groceries, nappies, insurance, medical, vehicle instalments, school fees, etc?

 

[3v0]

It seems cost of living is directly proportional to popularity. Last I checked VC sucked in that regard.

If you can find a job a smaller community in a less popular climate can net you more money in the long run, even at a lower wage. Do your homework.

 

[Torben]

It seems cost of living is directly proportional to popularity. Last I checked VC sucked in that regard.

"VC"? It's true that the cost of living is quite high in Vancouver and Victoria, and as Futz noted, house prices are really high. They are on a downturn right now but are still not cheap.

If you can find a job a smaller community in a less popular climate can net you more money in the long run, even at a lower wage. Do your homework.

That's true in many ways but in many of the more remote areas some costs are higher--housing might be lower, but food, fuel, and so on can cost quite a bit more because of the effort needed to truck goods in (hey, there ya go, Arrie!). Heating can be more expensive too during the winter due to the often harsher climate. You also may need to buy more fuel because of the distances between places.

That said, I love the more remote areas of British Columbia. Even though I currently live out on the very edge of the Victoria metropolitan region, there is still a lot more development happening here than I would like to see.


Torben

 

[Mikebits]

And when you get sick of looking at pasty face Canadians, you can move to sunny San Diego... j/k