relocation to Calgary, Alberta

Hi Andrea_1970,

Welcome to Expat.com!

[Moderated]

Andrea_1970 wrote:

Dear All,

I am new to this forum and I am glad to be one of the members. I am Italian so please forgive my poor english skills
I need your help to make my decision with my family to relocate to Canada.
I am married and I have two kids, 12 & 10 yrs old, I work civil engineer and I have 20 yrs of experience as a construction manager and project manager, I have engineering degree (BSC).
I have an offer from a company in Calgary to work as a Project Manager but I do not know whether their offer is a good offer with regard to the market in canada or not?
They offer me annual salary CND $ 130,000+relocation allowance+benefits like medical and pension scheme, etc,..
Can you please advise, is this a fgood offer for some one with my experience?
I have another question, what will be the expected monthly expenses for some one like me with a wife and two kids? We wish to live in a house/flat of 3 b/r?
I appreciate your feedback and support and thanks in advance.

To get an idea of the housing market, you can go here: www.mls.ca. Depending on if you want to buy or rent, you can find both at the website I've provided.

Calgary is a great city, and western Canada is growing rapidly. Vancouver is very expensive, but Calgary is great. I have family from Montreal that have moved to Calgary, and they love it! I will warn you though, it does get COLD in the winter.

As far as the offer, $130,000 CAD allows you to live comfortably. I'm not in the engineering field, so you may want to do more research on that, but you will definitely enjoy your life.

As far as the city, you're a short drive from the foothill's of the beautiful rocky mountains. Your children will love the area, as it is catered towards families.

Life in Canada is much different from Europe; people come here to work hard and make money (and trust me, you will make much more than in Italy). The international experience is always an added benefit. From what I can tell, you're English seems fine, but after living in Calgary, you will be 100% in the language. I'm not sure if that's a benefit to you, but it will be for your children in the future.

I know my information has been a bit scattered, but I hope my tips have somewhat helped you. If I can suggest anything, it would be to join LinkedIn, as there are many groups of people in your situation seeking similar information. Hopefully they can help as well.

- Caylen