Health care

OK health care here is expensive. Like everyone I purchased my health insurance before I arrived and I declared my pre-existing illness before I arrived so everything was in order. 3 weeks into my stay in Vancouver, I got ill and needed to visit a doctor. $120 and then my prescription was about $30. A few days later I was no better this time the visit was free. But as my condition worsened over the weekend I panicked. I have been in this situation back home in Ireland and hospital is usually where I end up so I was hoping this would not be the case. There is a great nurse helpline and its open 24 hours a day and free to call, the phone number for BC Nurse is 604-215-4700 or 811. They will ask for some details and give you great advice. Unfortunately for me she suggested I go to the emergency clinic which cost me $150. On Sunday morning I had no choice but to go to A&E. I would only recommend this if you are in a really serious situation or have broken a bone because it cost me $760. So I could put up with the bad pain or pay and I chose to pay. Now what I didn't know was that I should have asked for a medical report once I was finished. This will help speed up your claim with your insurance company. So every time you visit a doctor or specialist or hospital ask for a medical report for your insurance, I was admitted in November and I am still waiting on my payback from the insurance company due to the fact the hospital have not sent the reports.
I will say I got great care, maybe because the nurse was from Ireland but everyone apart from the admissions receptionist was lovely. I went to Vancouver General Hospital as it was recommended and luckily my wait was not as long as if I had been in Ireland.
So you can apply for a BC Care Card, its like a medical card and if you have this it means no more paying ridiculous amounts of money for hospitals and doctors.

This is what is on the website in relation to those on a working holiday visa:

I’m on a working holiday program – what do I need to send to apply for coverage?

Persons on a working holiday program need to have:

• a working permit valid for at least six consecutive months or more,
• must be staying in British Columbia for at least six consecutive months, and
• be working a minimum of 18 hours per week.

To apply for coverage, those with a valid working permit on a working holiday program must submit the Application for Enrolment form with both of the following items to determine eligibility:

1. Confirmation of employment in British Columbia with:
• a copy of your employment contract indicating full-time status or the number of hours worked per week, OR
• a letter from your employer stating the date employment started and expected to end, and indicate full-time status or the number of hours worked per week.
2. Departure date from British Columbia.

You can apply for this before the 3 months, I only found this out last week (I am coming up to my 3 month anniversary this Saturday).

I cant comment on if this works for dental care. 

Now for those needing a doctor, I have paid everything from $120 to $150 but luckily before Christmas I found a clinic that charged $60 and they actually did more for me than the others. Where is it you ask. 

Its Broadway Station Medical Clinic and they are located on 2516 Commercial Drive Phone NO 604-872-5377. Make sure you have photo ID when registering. 

There is alot of walk in clinics and it can be hard to get the same doctor but hopefully you wont be sick too much to need to visit them all that often.

Hope this helps.

Travel, grocery shopping, phones

Ok so I see some of the same questions being asked and I know I have asked the same questions myself. So I will try give as much information as possible or what I know.

Transit: Well there is the skytrain and the bus, both great ways of getting around the city (much more reliable than Ireland). As most new people to Vancouver wont take up driving for a while, its best to buy a monthly pass which allows you to travel on the bus and skytrain. The cost depends on the zone (map is broken into 3 zones) so zone 1 is $81, zone 2 $110, zone 3 $151. The cost of the ticket may also help you decide where you want to live.
www.translink,ca is a great website for details on the zones, fares, routes, bus times etc, and the bus is usually on time.

Shopping: It seems basic groceries are more expensive than Ireland and UK, so it pays to shop around. There is a variety of supermarkets, safeway has a club card that allows you to get the special offer price in the store so apply for this you get the card at the till. No frills is another store that has no name groceries with  brand names and is also cheap enough. I also find Walmart and Real Canadian Superstore offer great deals and are large enough to have a great selection of goods. They really could do with a Lidl and Aldi. There is so many fruit and vegetable stores around the city and its cheaper than the big stores. I also recommend Donald's market for good quality organic vegetables and good quality meat. For the meat lovers, it can be expensive. Chicken is pricey, and as meat products here are not as regulated as back home you cant always be certain what you are getting. I saw in one store recently that there was a warning sign saying fresh meat may be mixed with frozen meat. YUK! The larger supermarkets have good selections of meat at good prices. For the pizza lovers, a regular frozen pizza could cost anything from $8-$10 so its cheaper to buy a pizza from the many pizza places. You cant buy alcohol in these stores, it can only be bought in Liquor stores and does not come cheap.

Phones: I had my phone unlocked before coming over, which meant I only had to buy a new sim card. DON'T use the free one that USIT give you (if you are coming from Ireland) it costs a fortune. Most people probably used ready to go and bought about €20 of credit and received free texts or calls and maybe free Internet well that wont be the case here. The best deal I found was with FIDO. The initial cost was around $70 which included $40 credit. For $40 a month I get unlimited calls, texts and unlimited international texts (which is a must).I think Chatr offer something similar. Check out what deals are on offer. What I like about FIDO is that there is no contract, so if I decide to go elsewhere I can. I can buy the credit in London Drugs(pharmacy/store). Oh forgot to mention, this gets me caller ID. YES you pay for caller ID. You also have to pay extra for voice-mail and if you want Internet. So if you want voice-mail and Internet it will cost more than $40.

Must also mention about the tax: So tax is added at the till so be prepared to pay a bit more than the price you see in the aisles. Its annoying. Also if you buy anything in a plastic bottle you have to pay a deposit and recycling fee, you can get this back if you bring back the cans or plastic bottles to a recycling centre. You will see many homeless people with sacks of cans or plastic bottles as it gets them a few dollars. You can save them or throw them in the recycling bin. Up to you.

the following website has great information on the above topics for added information. Hope some of the above is of some use to people. Thanks for reading.

http://www.moving2vancouver.ca/

Recruitment agencies

I wanted to do a blog on Recruitment agencies for anyone looking for work before they arrive or while they are here.
I have applied to a good few agencies, go onto their website and register. Make sure you have your resume up to date, if you are applying to agencies before arriving in Canada make sure you have your resume(they don't call it a CV here)is in the Canadian format or they wont look at it. There are plenty of websites that will show you how to do it, make sure it is no longer than 2 pages. Also make sure you have a list of your references, their names, contact details, always include an email address because most of the agencies will email your referees forms to fill out, so make sure its ok with them for you to use their names.
Also most of the agencies will make you do some form of testing in Microsoft word, excel, outlook and maybe even power point so make sure you brush up on them. They will also test your typing speed and accuracy. Most agencies will let you choose which version you are comfortable with, but they no longer use 2000 version.
Always dress professional, they mark you on your appearance also, so for the men make sure you have a good pair of slacks/trousers and an ironed shirt and tie and for ladies, a nice pair of trousers or a skirt (make sure its not too short) a nice shirt or blouse.
If you have been called for an interview and testing with an agency, remember to keep in contact with them via email or phone and let them know you are available for work. And I mean keep in contact. Canadians don't have a good reputation for calling back when they say they will. I know most people are not used to having to pick up the phone and continuously call a place about a job but it will show you are serious. It works, I have had to do it on many an occasion and finally I get the call about a job :)
Now when you get the job, don't be afraid to accept something else, I have had a few contracts cancelled at the last minute and then I have no work.
Now I will list a few agencies that are based here in Vancouver, I am sure there is more, they may specialize in certain areas of work so make sure to do a search online yourself.

Just wanted to update this blog, I actually got a job working for a recruitment agency and wanted to give you some info on testing. Most agencies will do it so go to Microsoft.com for tutorials on Word, Excel and Outlook, it will help you.

Staff Systems
Miles
Expert Recruiters

If I have any more I will add them. Please feel free to leave  names of any agencies which you feel are also worth contacting.

Best of luck to everyone in the job hunt
Tracey

My first few weeks in Vancouver

I decided it might be helpful for myself and others if I write about my experience of living in Vancouver. I am not a writer, just a girl from Ireland who decided to try living and working in Vancouver for a year. I moved here in late October with my boyfriend. We knew no one when we arrived so it was just the two of us at the start.

We had to stay at a hostel for a few nights until we found suitable accommodation, this seems to be what most people do. The Samesun on Granville Street was our home for four nights and for me that was long enough. I thought it would be a great place to meet other people in similar situations as us, both most people were heading out to the ski resorts for work. 

Our aim at the start was to find suitable accommodation, this was a lot harder than I thought, places were either way too far out or dirty or in once case had a guy living in the living room separated off with a shower curtain.

We had hoped to find somewhere to live by the 1st of November as places start renting from the 1st of the month here. 

Eventually we found a place, not exactly where we had wanted to live but it would do for a few months. 

OK, place found to live, job would be next. My boyfriend found a job straight away, just a few days working for a warehouse sale for a large clothing store, and as soon as that one finished, he landed a retail job in a store not too far from where we were living. At least one of us was earning. 

I signed up for a few recruitment agencies and luckily I landed myself an interview, first thing they made me do was testing (brush up on your computer skills if you intend looking for work this way). They ensured me they would help find me some work, in the meantime I applied for loads of jobs I saw on the internet or in the swap office (if you come with USIT you can use the services of the Swap Office). 

The process of looking for work was a lot harder than I had anticipated. Luckily I received a call about a two week temping contract with a company only 5 minutes from home, it was a start. The people in the company were lovely and I was just glad to be earning some money finally. 

After the two weeks were finished I presumed the agency would have something else lined up for me but nothing so I was back looking for work again. I had more interviews and finally I received another 2 week contract. 

The tough thing about temping is its hard to really make any friends, you are only there for a short amount of time so people don't really make too much of an effort. A tip is to make note of email addresses for the boss and someone you get along with at the company and try stay in contact, there may be a job within that company in the future and this is how you will find out. 

Vancouver is really into networking, so its who you know that helps you get work here, ask your new friends if the places they are working are recruiting. 

Most of my friends here are from Ireland and we seem to always go to the Irish bars, no matter how often we try and change that we keep going back to the same places. 

Be careful with your money as its not cheap in Vancouver, B.C stands for bring cash not British Columbia. 

Register for a BC medical card as soon as you arrive, you have to be resident here for 3 months before its issued but it can take a while. It means you wont have to pay ridiculous amounts of money to see a doctor or if you are admitted to hospital. I have been to admitted to A&E and it cost $760. I was not too happy parting with that amount of cash. 

Not sure of what else to say at the moment, I am back at work tomorrow, another 2 week contract better than nothing. 

I will get together a list of recruitment agencies and post them soon, any questions just ask. 

Tracey

PS: Check  http://www.moving2vancouver.ca/ for loads of info on accommodation, jobs, where to shop and loads of other useful info. You can also post on this website if you are looking for accommodation. They have a great facebook page also.