If you’re someone from the Internet, or someone I know, and interested in doing a working holiday in either Australia or Canada, feel free to email me – whp@splash.theducks.rog (correct the typo) and I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.

The basic process:

• Apply for WHP Visa via http://www.whpcanada.org.au
• Once approved, book plane tickets
• Sell/store/give away all of your stuff
• Tidy up paperwork for things at home (Power bills, car rego, etc)
• Start looking for a job in Canada
• Book initial accommodation
• Make your way to Canada, with proof you have $4000 to support yourself. We weren’t asked, but you might be. We took a C$5000 bank draft from our Australian bank to a Canadian bank plus bank statements
• As soon as you get there, sort out an address to get things posted to
• Apply for Social Insurance Number + Card. This gives a piece of government notarised paper with your address on. They mail out the card in a week or two
• Open bank account
• Get a cellphone account (you can use a Canadian SIM in an unlocked Australian phone)
• Get job, get paid
• Optional steps: Get driver’s licence by passing a knowledge test, then a practical driving test. Easy hints – cyclists are assumed to be insane (and are), and the yellow line down the middle of the road means it’s 50km/hour limit)
• Have fun!

Some things to know about banking in Canada as a newcomer

• If your Australian bank card has a Cirrus or Maestro logo on it, you can use it in an Canadian bank machine (they call ATMs ABMs – Automatic Bank Machine). You should assume you will be doing this for about a month, even if you get a job
• Some banks, I’m looking at you HSBC, won’t give you an account if you don’t have a job (or if you didn’t have an account with them in another country).
• Best bet is probably the one your Australian bank drew the draft on. Deposit the bank draft, and some cash withdrawn from your Australian card to cover bank fees
• Most banks will also put a 7 day quarantine on your account for the first month, meaning it takes 7 days for any deposits to be validated
• Most banks in Canada don’t personalise Automated Bank Machine (ABM) cards, so you’ll probably get one of those straight away. As well as some more official looking paperwork with your name + address on them.
• You might even get a few counter cheques, but of course, don’t use them until your draft has cleared, or until you start getting paid and your pay has cleared.
• Once you’ve had a job for about a month, and two pay cheques, there’s a good chance you could apply for a Canadian credit card, which is helpful for paying bills over the phone, etc
• If you’re not sharing a house with a Canadian, you will probably need a cheque book ($30-40) for rent, bill payments etc. In comparison to the Australian BSB/Account details to enable easy peer-to-peer transfers into accounts only, the equivalent numbers for Canadian accounts allow withdrawals, so aren’t used much

Some things about applying for jobs in Canada:

• Canadian employers are required to say “Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority”. My understanding is that generally they mean it.
• So unless you have a pre-arranged job, or a reasonable amount of experience, or prepared to work for minimum wage ($8/hour in BC) maybe this isn’t the place to come.
• For more professionally oriented jobs, instead of addressing selection criteria specifically, you cover it more generally in a cover letter

I’ll update this post as I think of more to include…

Much love to all, except Air Canada, for the inflight announcements at full volume which almost popped my eardrums.

16 days to go!

Now I get an email saying this:

As a valued KrisFlyer member, I am writing to inform you that as a result of a commercial impasse with Flight Centre, Singapore Airlines airfares might not be available for purchase through Flight Centre retail outlets.

Singapore Airlines is still committed to giving our customers great value fares. Singapore Airlines has agreements in place with other major travel agents, and our flights can be booked as per normal through all other travel agency groups, or online at singaporeair.com.au

Whatever the reasons, it doesn’t mean I’ll change travel agents, it means I’m more likely to change airlines. The fact is that aside from Travel Centre (and their offshoots) and STA Travel, there aren’t any other major travel agency groups that cater to my market segment in Australia. And as for the fares on singaporeair.com.au, they are laughably expensive compared to prices on the same flight through travel agents.

So well done Dale, Singapore Airlines Passenger Marketing guy, I hope this standoff is going to be worth it.

The weeding of belongings continues, but I still need to arrange storage for a few cubic metres of stuff. Hmm!

Now things are quieter. Staying at mum’s place in North Perth, and going to have a much more relaxing weekend than last week. Still have to sort out issues of storage for some items, and disposal of others, but at least we still have a month to do that.

Our packing continues unabated. Unfortunately the nice NZ couple didn’t end up renting this place, and they haven’t contacted me about furniture, so we’re now going through and arranging with everyone that they still want what they have claimed.

Let me or Elizabeth know if anything grabs your fancy.. we need it all out of here, pretty much this weekend. If you’re interested, but not at the price posted, feel free to make cheeky offers

Cash on collection or EFT or PayPal before. Collection would be somewhere around 10 May 2009 for “essentials”, but other stuff may be available earlier. Make an offer if you don’t like the price.

Photos of many items in this photo set : http://www.flickr.com/photos/theducks/sets/72157617749370598/

contact us at theducks dot org or via facebook if interested

• Confirmed Claim – Anil – Dryer (1987) – $50
• Claimed – Alexa – Washing Machine (1985) – $50
• Taken – Freestanding Dishwasher (2005) – $300
• Claimed – Lionel – Large Fridge + Freezer (1987) – $200
• Claimed – Jen+Chas – LG Microwave 53x39x32 (2004) – $75
• Taken – Michael Fineberg – Beige Sofa-bed (198x) – FREE
• Taken – Amy+Dave – 2+3 seater brown couch set (2005) – $350
• Confirmed Claim – Zoe – 1.75m Officeworks Bookcase (2003) – $25
• Withdrawn – Loaned – Sony low-end surround sound Amp (2004) – $150
• Confirmed Claim – Davyd+Steph -Sony DVD + HDMI player (2007) – $50
• Withdrawn – Loaned – LG 42LB9DF 42 inch full-HD LCD TV (2007) – $1400 (Manual)
• Confirmed Claim – KatG – Queensize bed frame + matress – $250 Similar to this one
• Confirmed Claim – Helen M – White laminate (with wood effect handle) 4 drawer chest – $25
• Available – 2 x pedestal fans – $10 each
• Claimed – small fan – $5
• Available – 2 x room lamps – $10 each
• Available – Black tubular single bed – $50
• Claimed – Generic grey computer desk with hutch – $40
• Confirmed Claim – Helen M – IKEA – 4 x 4 Expedit birch bookshelves – $125 (RRP$200)
• Confirmed Claim – Helen M - IKEA – 4 clear and 4 red plastic Lekman cubes – $125 (RRP$230)
• Confirmed Claim – Zoe –  IKEA – Mikael Corner Desk – $75 (See here)
• Claimed – IKEA – Mikael 140cm desk with glass top – $75 (See here)
• Claimed – IKEA – Aneboda Bedside tables x2 – $25 each (like this, but in birch)
• Claimed – IKEA – Aneboda chest of drawers – $50 (Like this)
• Claimed – Steph M – IKEA – Lack Coffee table – $25 (Like this)
• Claimed – IKEA – Flarke TV stand – $10 (Like this)

Tech Stuff

• Available – Linksys WRT54GL x 3 – $60 each
• Taken – Apple Laserwriter 16/600 (1995) – $50
• Claimed – Canon ip3000 printer with ink – $75
• Available – Canon LiDE80 Scanner – $50
• Available – Billion ADSL 711 Ethernet Modem (2002) – $40

Why are you leaving? For Alex, we are spurred on by his rapidly expiring elligibility for the working holiday program (31 in 2010), so it was now or never. He’s done a fair stint at UWA, and made some great friends, but now feels like a bit of a change. For Elizabeth, similar reasons and, a desire to see more of North America.

Where are you going to live? Vancouver, British Columbia. Alex loved his time in Ontario, but remembers winter.

What about your jobs in Perth? Alex is resigning from Arts, since it was only a contract, and Elizabeth has a 12 month leave of absence from ITS.

Can I have your stuff? We’ve already started getting rid of everything we don’t need (there’s an unsurprising lot of it). Freecycle is awesome. We’ll take over all the clothes we might need during the course of a year, and store the rest back in Perth. If there’s anything you want, let us know (email us at theducks dot org ) – the TV and digital piano are spoken for. This post outlines the status of most of the things we have on offer.

What are you going to do for work? We do like working for Universities, so we’ll try picking up some IT work at UBC, SFU or one of the others there. Failing that, look for us as TV extras.

Isn’t this all just Alex’s idea? No, as hard as it may be to believe, it was a joint decision.

Couldn’t you just move to Melbourne? Well, yes, but that seemed too easy.