saskatoon whats it like

[carpenter dave]

i know im picking your brains people but im sat here thousands of miles away ,weve had a look at saskatoon and the area looks nice .we have 2 daughters 14 and 15 ,can anyone tell me what the schools are like and is the area as nice as it looks.hows the employment for carpenters ,and do people resent immigrants you can be honest i can take it on the chin :?:

 

[Ron in Regina]

I hit a couple of your points in your other Thread. I'll quote them over here too.

Dave, the Prairies (compared to almost anywhere) are booming. By that I mean
southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan, & Alberta. The weather will be a shocker.
I can't describe it in any way that will truly translate into reality for you, so I just
won't bother beyond Summer is (usually) hot & Winter is (always) very cold.

Rental Vacancies in Saskatoon (& Regina where I sit) are well under 1% last
I heard. A two bedroom Apartment (if you're lucky and it's not nasty) will be
over $900 and most likely more.

Saskatoon is growing so work as a Carpenter is an easy guarantee. The Schools
I can't comment on, but Hazmart on this Forum could answer that question for you.

 

[Ron in Regina]

This I pulled from http://forums.canadiancontent.net/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=1033942 and Cannuck is describing southern Alberta.

The Chinook Winds would help to moderate the Temperature too.
Chinook wind - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It depends on where your relations live and whether you are willing to move within Alberta. I'm from the southern part of the province and there is still a serious labor shortage. You could easily get 5 jobs today in Medicine Hat (10 if you have a class 3 and 20 if you have a class 1). The south is more of a natural gas producing area whereas the north is oil. I've heard the north has slowed but I don't know anybody that has been laid off. If you can, do yourself a favor and stay away from Calgary and Edmonton.

It's not just oil and gas either. There are help wanted signs all over and as for wages, I know farm laborers that are making $18-$20/hr plus a company truck.

 

[eh1eh]

OK, but what is Saskatoon really like? My daughter is considering going to university there. The crime rate is higher than Toronto. Will she be safe? Why is crime so high there. I thought Toronto was bad. I have lived there and now live near, I always feel safe in the city, except for a couple of areas. WTF.

Can anyone from there address this Saskatoon anomaly???

Just wondering. I know statistics aren't always to be believed.

 

[carpenter dave]

Thanks ron its nice to know people can offer advice ,its a big move for us but im certain its the right one things arent that good in england as ive mentioned before on the forum ,we worry for our kids ,the youth over here [not all] are more and more aggresive and knife crime is on the rise every day we just want a better life for them cheeres for the advice dave

 

[Hazmart]

Hiya eh.
As a single women I can tell you that I am not uncomfortable walking around most areas of the city at night alone. I've done it many times. Saskatoon has a bad crime rep unfortunately. My window in my Jeep was smashed once but not broken into and that is the only cime that I have personally delt with.
I lived in the North end, east side and downtown areas. I have had friends that lived in the nicer areas of the west side and they haven't had issues either.
I actually worked on the west side and would come in at all hourse for emergency calls and never was concerned.
I think that Saskatoon is beautiful and it is home to me! I love it!

 

[carpenter dave]

i can only comment on what weve looked at weve looked at north east saskatoon a new build area called willow grove which looks to be near town centres and ammenities i appreciate all comments ,as ive replied to ron were just looking for a better life for our kids ,its pretty bad in england at the moment re the violence amongst the youths there seems to be no respect for life anymore its so cheap

 

[eh1eh]

Hazy. Sweet. I had a feeling the stats were misleading. I live in Oshawa, ON and actually have had my car window broken, for the change in the console. Really though it's a lovely city.

Carpenter Dave. I hope you come. Canada is awesome. A freind of mine came here about 7 years ago for the reasons you are citing. She hasn't regretted her move.

 

[carpenter dave]

that sounds good enough to me cheers dave

 

[carpenter dave]

there are some parts of england that are steeped in history and beautiful but in the most you wouldnt want to live here i hope we are successful and some one hire me cant wait to start our new life cheers dave

 

[Hazmart]

Willow Grove is a nice new development. It will be quite nice when it is done. There are nice parks and all in the plans and it is very close to the co-op and Extra foods and a bunch of small business oh and Boston Pizza as well for the nice after work Friday drinks!
Other new areas are Rose Wood (the newest) and Stonebridge both with good ammenities nice and close!

 

[carpenter dave]

cheers hazmart well look them up , just as a matter of interest what time is it there its 11pm here

 

[Hazmart]

right now, just nearly 4pm.

 

[Cannuck]

As a single women

Could you post some pics? I promise I won't show them to my wife.;-)

 

[Hazmart]

Could you post some pics? I promise I won't show them to my wife.;-)

What, my avatar isn't good enough??8O;-)

 

[Ron in Regina]

Don't Do It!!! That's how he ended up with pictures of me!!!

 

[carpenter dave]

thats early its pitch black here [verydark]

 

[Toro]

Why do you want to move to Saskatoon? I'm from Saskatchewan, my wife is from Saskatoon and I went to University there.

First, the good.

- For a small city, there is a fair amount happening. The University gets some good speakers and there are a lot of good concerts at SaskPlace.
- People are friendly.
- You can get anywhere in 20 minutes.
- Lots of lakes, especially 2+ hours north of the city.
- The city is booming.
- There may be large amounts of oil a few hours west of the city, which will cause Saskatoon to grow even more.
- Crime is localized. You are fine in most parts east of the river. The north around Lawson Heights and Sherwood Heights is nice. Even Montgomery Place way on the southwest part of the city is good.
- Best pizza in the world is at Vern's Pizza. And I've had pizza in Rome and Turin! Great pizza elsewhere. Lots of good restaurants surprisingly, especially if you like Asian.
- For the most part, the people are highly educated.

And the bad.
- Its still a small city. You can go batty there.
- It is a 20 hour car ride to a major city.
- Home prices are too high. There will be a major bust one day when home prices will fall 30-40% from the highs.
- There are some dodgy areas. South of 20th St from the river pretty much to Avenue W are areas you don't want to walk at night. 22nd Ave W has really deteriorated.
- It gets to be -40C there. It is really, really ****ing cold. On one day when I was still living there, the wind chill took the temperature all the way down to -85C. The wind is horrible. The winters are brutal.
- Not very cosmopolitan. Very provincial feel to it.
- Long history of bad economics. The economy is very cyclical as it is heavily reliant on commodity prices. That is good now but may not be again in the future. The province was almost bankrupt a generation ago.
- High taxes.

I never thought I would ever move back to Saskatchewan. Most of my friends who had any ambition felt that they had to move away. But my wife and I are toying with the idea of buying a place and spending the summers up there when we retire.

 

[Toro]

Eh1eh

Have your daughter live by campus. She'll be fine there. Its a great University town. I had a blast.

Nutana and Grosvenor Park are especially good. Anywhere north of 8th St between Broadway and Preston. There are also a lot of students in Sutherland but that is a bit further away.

Some students live across the river. City Park north of 25th can be pretty dodgy. Downtown is generally okay but I think it is more expensive.

She shouldn't be living more than a 15-20 minute bus ride away. If she can walk to campus, that's even better. The school has a very vibrant University scene. The closer she is to it, the more likely she is to enjoy it, assuming she is a typical student.

 

[Cannuck]

- It gets to be -40C there. It is really, really ****ing cold. On one day when I was still living there, the wind chill took the temperature all the way down to -85C. The wind is horrible. The winters are brutal.

I've been told that when it gets that cold, your words freeze when you speak and you have to wait until spring to be heard.