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How to Start Your Life in Canada: Banks, Apartments, Phone, Jobs – Complete Guide for Newcomers - YouTube
Channel: Lashan
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So you've finally, after weeks and weeks
maybe months of planning and hard work, you've
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stepped foot in Canada, visa in hand
and the whole country at your fingertips.
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You've made it. You've moved here. Now
what?.. That was me 15 months ago and now
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I'm here to help you make those crucial
first steps after you've touched down
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and gotten your visa. We're gonna go
through... everything - From the important
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first things to do just when you arrive,
what phone carrier to go with, apartments,
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banks, driver's license, learning
languages and how to get a job. Some of
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these things are a bit more complicated
than if you were just a Canadian citizen
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like the driver's license, banks and
language parts, so this video will hit all
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the points an expat needs to know. If
you're just beginning your journey and
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you haven't gotten your working holiday
visa yet, I've explained every little
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detail to do with that in part one of
this series right... here (top right) so give that a
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watch first and come back. This is How to
Move to Canada part two, so if you found
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this video helpful hit subscribe for
more guides coming up, and if you have
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any questions feel free to ask them in
the comments section down below, or check
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out the Moving2Canada Facebook group
I've linked in the description. They'll
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probably be able to answer your
questions faster than I can. Again just
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disclaiming that any recommendations in
this video are based on my own personal
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experience, and this video isn't
sponsored in any way. And I wish it was. (Who wouldn't)
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so let's go. Social Insurance Number (SIN) The absolute number one priority after touching
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down in Canada is getting your social
insurance number you will need this for
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anything remotely important like
applying for a bank getting a phone
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number etc so you need to get this as
soon as possible so you're able to go do
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everything else you're able to get your
social insurance number at any Service
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Canada office arriving in Toronto it's
right at the airport why I said just
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start the immigration and if you come in
a Montreal Montreal has them in the city
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I've linked a site in the description
that will help you find the nearest one
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Museum when you do go there make sure to
bring your passport and your wife
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Spanish as these will be your quiet no
photocopies allowed phone how are you
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gonna find an apartment without a number
to reach you now to cual your
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expectations right from the get-go
Canadian phone plans are garbage
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horrendous absolute bollocks whole
telecom industry in Canada is
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monopolized by the big three who don't
compete amongst themselves so they can
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keep prices
hi they're all ridiculously expensive
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they give you very little for your money
and the prices vary from province to
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province for example Ontario and BC are
quite pricey with Quebec being more
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affordable and Saskatchewan being very
very cheap this is because those
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provinces have actual competition with
Saskatchewan having a province brawn
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telecom called sasktel if you decided to
move to Saskatchewan then definitely go
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with them Sasuke for everywhere else
don't even bother checking the p3 del
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Rodgers Telus
them and also avoid Fido at all Kong
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they are the worst I went with them when
I was on exchange here four years ago
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and they were awful I paid $50 plus tax
for one gigabyte won it was nothing and
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when I tried to cancel my month-to-month
plan at the end of April they ended up
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canceling my plan a day before they said
they were going to and then also
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proceeded to try and charge me for the
entire month of May when they won even
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dreamy service avoid like the place
okay so actual options definitely bring
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your own phone and stick to simile
montemagno plans it doesn't lock you in
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and lets you keep costs down I recommend
going with Kudo I've been with them
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since I arrived the service is good and
I currently pay $49 plus tax so total 56
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dollars for six gigabytes of data
unlimited calls and unlimited tax
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including international it's been more
than enough for me and if you use my
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referral code right here you'll get $50
off your next bill there are cheaper
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subsidiary of Telus so they have good
coverage and they're available pretty
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much all over Canada for Ontario there's
also freedom mobile which is another
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low-cost carry so check that out and
pair and see what works for you yeah
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it's way too nice to be in here doing
this video let's go outside let's go
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outside
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this is Bella this is much better I can
do this alright let's go let's continue
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so apartments this is a topic so massive
I'm gonna do a whole video dedicated to
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the subject but the main site you needed
no rentals is qgg CA ki j IJ a dot CA
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this is basically the gum tree of Canada
for any Australians watching or the
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Craigslist of Canada for an Americans
Craigslist also exists and is worth
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checking out as well but most people put
all this stuff on Kijiji this should
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also be apartment and house made
Facebook groups for your city I've
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linked the Montreal ones down below now
those are places where you can find
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apartments but what about inspecting
them and deciding whether to move in let
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me give you just a couple bits of advice
based on my own personal experience ah
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DC or her shows a apartments our ground
floor apartments I personally avoid
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these as if you live in a built-up areas
such as Montreal where housing is
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densely packed in every building is at
least three stories basically no light
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enters the apartment apart from the
rooms with south-facing windows I've
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been known for two months and I can
confirm the common areas were almost
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completely dark it's dark gloomy and
depressing avoid it the same goes the
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basement and half basement apartments
before moving here I didn't even know
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these existed and still don't know why
they exist why why would you do this to
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yourself the same goes for bedrooms with
no windows don't do it don't do it we
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actually do have a windowless bedroom in
our apartment we just use this for
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storage but imagine sleeping in here you
don't know when to wake up it's soul
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destroying I did it not in this room but
in like another apartment for two months
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don't do it do not do it I thought I
could handle it for a few months but I
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couldn't sure there are huge savings on
our DC apartments compared to
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higher-level apartments but the effect
it has on your well-being insanity is
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not worth it especially for windowless
bedroom stick two bedrooms with windows
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and upper level apartments ideally third
floor if you live in Montreal because as
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you
see we get roof access and it's dope
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sunsets from here are pretty sweet and
just uh I know it's a nice thing to have
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roof access this whole white thing is
something I've never had to deal with in
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Australia because even at ground level
there's like everywhere but in Canada
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light becomes precious in the winter and
the price premium is what if you're in
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Montreal it's still dirt cheap anyway
you can save money in other ways other
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things worth mentioning electricity is
called hydro in Canada so ask if that's
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included or not as bills can vary
dramatically between summer and winter
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which can be dollars and cents in the
summer and up to hundreds and hundreds
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of dollars in the winter this has been
nice there's been pretty nice don't you
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think
I needed this let's continue this
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downstairs okay so moving on thanks this
was a very frustrating process when I
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did it so another crappy thing about
Canada it is the norm to charge a ten to
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twenty dollar monthly fee for a debit
account yes the banks charge you money
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to access your own money this is a great
country isn't that great also as a new
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arrival you're automatically ineligible
for pretty much every bank account in
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Canada don't even think about going to
tangerine I tried and it was way too
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much of a hassle and to meet the
requirements it'll cost you more than
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any fees you'll save what you need to
get is something called a newcomers to
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Canada account these are accounts where
the general requirements such as a
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Canadian driver's license
work history bank check are waived
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and you get a debit account for free for
the first year after that you need a
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minimum balance of like three to four
thousand dollars to waive the fee a
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bunch of different banks often newcomer
accounts but the only month worth
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looking at are the ones from the Bank of
Montreal BMO and CIBC they both offer
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their debit accounts for free for one
year and Bank of Montreal also offers a
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credit card where you can get four
percent cashback for the first four
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months up to $125 and then it's one
percent cashback after that it's not
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worth going with any of the airline
points airline miles credit cards in
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Canada as they don't offer good value
compared to the cashback ones
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transferring your money from home to
Canada so I'm assuming you didn't
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I hope you didn't bring all your cash in
your luggage on your way to Canada and
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most your money is still in your home
country in your bank account and you a
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transfer that without losing too much in
fees so the best method of doing this
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will vary from country to country but
for Australians what I recommend is
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applying for a city bank plus debit card
before you leave Australia this is the
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ultimate debit card for travelling as
there are no fees and you get an
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exchange rate very close to the actual
exchange rates I have been using this
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card for all of my travels for the past
four years and haven't had any issues
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with the bank and when you do have issue
say if you lose your card or anything
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the customer service is fantastic super
quick and very helpful one time an ATM
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ate my card and they send me one within
a day or two super quick and I'm not
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even paying any fees for this service
it's great when you want to move your
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money into Canada or when you're just
traveling in general you transfer the
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money from your Australian bank account
to the city bank account and then take
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that Citibank card go to an ATM in
Canada withdraw the cash from the ATM
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and then deposit the cash into your
Canadian bank account all you pay is the
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withdrawal fee from the ATM and that's
it the best way to get the most money
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from you money other options I've had
recommended quite a lot for other
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countries include transferwise when you
do this process it also helps quite a
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lot to keep an eye on the fluctuating
exchange rates I generally found that
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the exchange rate would always spike on
a certain day of the week for me that
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was Tuesday I don't know if that's an
actual thing or if it changed but that
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was what I experienced driver's license
so if you have a driver's license from
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your home country and it's recognised in
Canada link below you'll be able to
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drive on it for the first six months
without doing anything at all after that
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you'll have to apply for a Canadian
driver's licence or exchange your arms
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the first thing to look for is if your
country has an exchange agreement in
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place with the province you're moving to
yes that's right not with Canada but the
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province it's best to treat each
province as its own separate country
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just for your own sanity or Australians
we have an exchange agreement with
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Ontario but not with Quebec great right
makes so much sense so provided you have
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an Ontarian address you can exchange
your
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Australian license for Ontarians if
you're someone who paid for a 10-year
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license back home don't worry you'll get
it back after you leave or you can
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request a new one without paying for it
again when you write back home if you're
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in a province with an exchange agreement
with your country you'll have to do a
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driving test links for those below
languages in mostly Canada
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you only need to speak English to get a
job in Quebec you'll need to be at least
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at professional watch proficiency /
bilingual for pretty much any job
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especially graduate roles only
exceptions being in IT and the video /
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entertainment industry if you can find
work somewhere you're eligible for
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heavily discounted French language
courses at these french language
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learning centers around Montreal one of
them being the Santos on TV which gives
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you a two month intensive French
language course for $70 very cheap for
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both languages the most important thing
is your speaking ability and for that I
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highly recommend going to language
meetups
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this is a great way to practice and also
to meet some new friends mundo lingo is
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one of the most well known language
meetups with meetups in Montreal and
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Toronto although it is basically a
networking event it's great for practice
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if you're just starting out and just
want to practice basic conversation it's
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basically a language meetup at a bar
well it's good for basic practice after
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a while you might find yourself
repeating the same stuff over and over
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and over again bonds your TV on dude
let's get you paid for car light well
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Quattro atom energy I'm already at it
says the rides that there are and while
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that's good for basic just networking it
becomes less practice and more rote
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memorization and repetition once you're
at that stage I highly recommend going
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to language meetups in your area like
the ones on meetup calm I found them to
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be way better for actually testing your
skills once you get to a higher level as
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I've gone into really deep conversations
that have challenged me linguistically a
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lot more often at these events compared
to mundo lingo which has a lot of people
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who just do the rounds with kind of like
shallow surface level conversation it's
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also a lot more quiet than a noisy bar
it helps comprehension
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ate a lot jobs so this is something I'm
struggling with at the moment check my
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previous video basically you can try to
find a graduate job in Canada
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it's gonna be extremely extremely
difficult HR will routinely throw away
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your CV because your degree is in
Canadian and you have no Canadian work
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experience even though your degree might
be from a better University than the
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ones you're competing with and your
overseas experience is valuable just to
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cut down on the amount of applications
to go through sounds great right
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that isn't discrimination at all Canada
is so nice
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the main websites to go through are
indeed see a job you like oh is quite
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good monster and Linkedin angellist is
also good if you're looking for startups
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but really if you want a job in your
field it's easier just to know somebody
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this is the same in pretty much every
country on planet earth but in a foreign
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country you have everything going
against you so you're gonna need to pull
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every single string to make this work
you need to work hard and try and meet
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as many people as you can as soon as you
touch down right off the bat make
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friends with your roommates friends if
you have any definitely have roommates
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if you move to a foreign country go to
meetups like mundo lingo others Omnicom
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and also go on to LinkedIn find the
companies you want to work at and
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personally reach out to employees not HR
but actual employees and awesome art for
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a coffee do whatever you can to grow
your network and say yes to every
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opportunity that comes your way why not
to get yourself killed of course but
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saying yes to every opportunity helps a
lot when you're new to a country this
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goes for jobs but also life in general
one very important note with job
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applications if you're here on a working
holiday visa do not mention it on your
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job application the red flag all they
need to know if they ask is that you're
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legally allowed to work in Canada just
say you move to Canada and in any
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interview say you intend to stay here I
actually do intend to stay here so it's
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not issue for me but if you're on sudden
just keep your lips sealed and don't
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mention it most employers won't be
willing to hire and take the time to
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train you if you're gonna leave up to
two years unless if you want just a
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service retail job or work in the ski
fields this is an extremely uphill
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battle and you're gonna need to do
everything right to make it work last
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thing permanent residency this is
something that you'll need to do if you
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intend to stay in kind of beyond the
length of your working holiday visa if
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you have enough points for Express entry
through thing
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like a full-time job and a university
degree process can be as quick as six
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months I will do a video on this in
detail after I've done it myself just
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like the honeymoon for Canada part one
oh now I've just got a link in the
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description for the official info well
that's it hopefully you're ready to get
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your life started in Canada it's that
like button if you found this video
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helpful I'll be doing more in depth
videos on things like finding an
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apartment in Montreal which is really
complicated and weird and confusing so
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I'll break it down how to get a job and
the permanent residency process from A
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to Z so definitely subscribe so you
don't miss out on those by the end of it
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I want this town 11 everything you need
to know about moving in Canada and I
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think I'm getting that I'm making
progress let me know your thoughts and
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questions in the comments down below and
I'll see you in the next video there's
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one last thing before you go I'd like to
announce that I finally started selling
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photo prints it's something I've been
wanting to do for ages but I wanted to
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make sure I got it right I had found a
photo lab that I'm super happy with and
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I'm honestly so stoked about how well
these turned out it's so sharp and the
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colors are so accurate there's gonna be
over 20 different prints off the sale
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shipping internationally in both 8 by 12
inch this size and 12 by 18 inch so
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basically a 4 and a 3 in your choice of
either Mac or metallic archival photo
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paper I personally love the metallic
just because of how rich and how deep
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the colors and the blacks are as soon as
I pull this out of the case and saw it
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for the first time I was just like yes
yes a hundred times yes I put a ton of
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time into these videos I think the loss
how to move to Canada video took over
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fifty nine hours yeah a ton of time so
if there's any photos on the Shonda Co
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slash store that take your fancy I would
really appreciate the support thank you
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