CanadaFilter: Moving Ottawa to West coast.

July 26, 2008 3:25 PM

CanadaFilter: Moving Ottawa to West coast.

Within the next two months, I'm seriously considering a move out west. I've already resigned. I visited North Vancouver for about a week a month or so ago. It had long been at the top of my places to go. Most of my time was spent in Stanley Park. The Lions Gate bridge was a serious pain in the arse, 4 major lanes merging into one? But that is a separate issue.

Currently I'm a software developer. Have been for at least 11 years. Most of that has been Windows development with C++, and MFC.

Everyone I've spoken to has warned me about accommodation prices in Vancouver. And to be honest, after my visit there, I'd probably want to wear my motorcycle helmet whilst driving a car.

Sorry, this is getting long, and a bit of a rant.

The real question, assuming I fly, does anyone have experiences shipping housing possessions.

Secondly, what's the best place to go to seek employment as a Windows software developer. I would think Vancouver, but, well as mentioned.. Anywhere else? I'd prefer near the coast.

Anyone have thoughts, or insight? I'm admittedly lost. Job leads would be helpful as well.

posted by hungrysquirrels to technology (7 comments total)

> does anyone have experiences shipping housing possessions

Shop around for a good long distance mover. You can save money by packing yourself, but pack carefully. A good mover will give you tips. They come over and give you an estimate, too. Get it in writing. I did two moves recently, one from 6 hours away. A full service move for a 2-bedroom house was close to $3000 but I got it for under $1000 by shopping around and packing myself. The local move was half that. Obviously a two or three-day move is going to cost much more. There are fuel surcharges now. Check out the mover carefully, as fuel costs are probably putting more of them out of business. That happened with my second mover, last month, and it was a horrible misery. Thankfully they didn't destroy the tools of my trade, at least.
posted by Listener at 4:28 PM on July 26, 2008

I'm afraid I can't speak to your two main questions, but in regards to housing prices: I lived in Vancouver for a long time, and it does not need to be an expensive place to live. I think the average prices you see bandied about are skewed by people who pay out the ass to live in high rises looking out over the water. Decently priced apartments are still definitely out there, and certainly the North Shore is affordable compared to Ottawa. You just need to look a little.
posted by vodkaboots at 4:32 PM on July 26, 2008

Just to echo what vb mentioned. As for a career, one of the better sites to start with is t-net. Check them out here
posted by Country Dick Montana at 8:36 PM on July 26, 2008

Two choices: a) long distance mover. It can be a bit expensive, but it's the unconventional way of doing it.

b) If it's just boxes (and not things like dining room tables) then have them loaded on palettes, and you can get them shipped across Canada for under $100 per palette.
posted by furtive at 9:37 PM on July 26, 2008

We moved to Vancouver in 2003 from London, Ontario and have just moved back from Vancouver to Waterloo, Ontario. We moved there with Atlas Van Lines for about $2000 for 1700 lbs of stuff (one bedroom apartment). Moving back was a full-service move (on the husband's new company) and I think was around $4000. The company that we used was Taylor Moving and they were fantastic! We would move with them again. FYI, we shipped our car with Hanson's they were about $1000 for a car, no issues and on-time.

You will love Vancouver - there is no better city in Canada. Prices are more expensive that Ottawa but not by a huge margin. North Van is a pain to commute into Vancouver because of the bridges. Consider living near where you will work. We lived in Kits while there and loved it, I would recommend anyplace on the west side of Vancouver as my first choice for coast living. A decent (clean, maintained, safe, comfortable) 1 bedroom rental should be around $1250 a month, a two-bedroom $1600-$1900. They can go much higher if you want granite counters, hardwood floors or brand new.

Message me if you have any questions. My contact info is in my profile.
posted by saradarlin at 9:46 PM on July 26, 2008

For clarification about shipment, it's a one bedroom apartment, and I'm willing to part with, say, half of the furniture which is sparse already. This has been anticipated for a year at least, I've unloaded some of the items which were a pain in the arse to move in.

As said I took a trip out there, to North Vancouver, to check things out for myself, previously the last time I was there was something like 20 years ago, and that was White Rock and Crescent Beach areas. My current interests drew me more to North Van as a destination.

Thanks CDM for the link, looks like it could be useful. I'll check it out further.

Keep any comments coming, all are appreciated.
posted by hungrysquirrels at 10:48 PM on July 26, 2008

It's been awhile since I've looked at housing there, sorry.

However - there is definately software development work - heck, we have a large campus there now and there are a ton of small/medium size software shops.

As well - in addition to online job searching - try local recruitment agencies.
posted by jkaczor at 2:30 PM on July 27, 2008