Tips for a newcomer! (Hydro, cell, car buying, settling down)

[kaisin82]

Hi guys, I'm very new to the forum and found the people here very friendly so i thought it might be a good idea to join the forum.
I'm from Singapore and visited Calgary in 2006, fell in love with this place, love the vibe and the people so after a long wait and preparation, I'm finally moving over 13000km to Calgary in a couple of days time!

Would need advice and tips from everyone here, with regards to the following

Which are the companies/programs to go for/avoid:

-Cell phone plans (not many people to call but would prefer that it includes data plans, i have my own iPhone)
-Hydro (1700sqf house, 2 pax) ->does hydro include water and gas? I'm totally new as you can see
-Car ( what are the brands or models to avoid. Budget $8000-$15000)
-Home internet plans (any tips or plans to go for)
-any other stuffs i should look out for?
- oh yah , would it be possible to ship stuffs from those taboo sites from china? any agents in calgary or canada?


Any tips or suggestion to save money in these areas?

[kaisin82]

no replies? did i post under the wrong section?

Hi guys, I'm very new to the forum and found the people here very friendly so i thought it might be a good idea to join the forum.
I'm from Singapore and visited Calgary in 2006, fell in love with this place, love the vibe and the people so after a long wait and preparation, I'm finally moving over 13000km to Calgary in a couple of days time!

Would need advice and tips from everyone here, with regards to the following

Which are the companies/programs to go for/avoid:

-Cell phone plans (not many people to call but would prefer that it includes data plans, i have my own iPhone)
-Hydro (1700sqf house, 2 pax) ->does hydro include water and gas? I'm totally new as you can see
-Car ( what are the brands or models to avoid. Budget $8000-$15000)
-Home internet plans (any tips or plans to go for)
-any other stuffs i should look out for?
- oh yah , would it be possible to ship stuffs from those taboo sites from china? any agents in calgary or canada?


Any tips or suggestion to save money in these areas?

[Shwa Girl]

no replies? did i post under the wrong section?

Hi new SC member.
Maybe people were looking at the new flyers and missed your thread

[lizzie bargain]

Hi I live in Calgary. We have found it best to have one plan with Enmax called Easymax-this covers electricity, gas to heat our home, water and sewage charges, and garbage pickup. You can choose to pay a fixed contract rate or floating rate for gas and electric. We have selected floating for our gas price and fixed for our electric.

For cell phones try Wind Mobile-$38 per month for unlimited text and data

Consumer reports rates cars and sometimes too so does Moneysense magazine(you can look up online)

For home internet, cable TV and home phone if you want one try to avoid a locked in contract-we have a month to month with Shaw. Telus is the other biggest provider here-perhaps phone both when you arrive and see who has the best deal that meets your needs.

We do have stuff sent here to our mailbox from Deal Extreme in China. Please feel free to PM me if I can answer anything else for you. Welcome to Calgary!

[kaisin82]

Canadian telcos are charging exorbitant prices for their mobile plans! I'm keen in Wind Mobile,I'm keen in Wind Mobile,I'm keen in Wind Mobile, I will be in sage hill, checked the coverage for wind mobile and it says variable. Does it mean that it's not covered? I know it's a long shot but anyone using Wind and tried calling/texting in sagehill or variable regions in Calgary

I know dx.com is free shipping, so is focalprice.com. I used them in Singapore but i found the delivery to take so long despite the shorter distance between china and singapore (Singapore is not in china), So i can't imagine the delivery time for China and Canada. I have been using aliexpress.com which is pretty reliable and way better, which u guys might want to check it out. Was thinking of getting furniture from Taobao. My friend has his entire apartment furnished by buying on Taobao and they looked nice! What are the furniture stores to look out for in Calgary?

Lizziebargain>> I will definitely look into Enmax Easymax. Just as a gauge, how much are u paying for hydro?

Hi I live in Calgary. We have found it best to have one plan with Enmax called Easymax-this covers electricity, gas to heat our home, water and sewage charges, and garbage pickup. You can choose to pay a fixed contract rate or floating rate for gas and electric. We have selected floating for our gas price and fixed for our electric.

For cell phones try Wind Mobile-$38 per month for unlimited text and data

Consumer reports rates cars and sometimes too so does Moneysense magazine(you can look up online)

For home internet, cable TV and home phone if you want one try to avoid a locked in contract-we have a month to month with Shaw. Telus is the other biggest provider here-perhaps phone both when you arrive and see who has the best deal that meets your needs.

We do have stuff sent here to our mailbox from Deal Extreme in China. Please feel free to PM me if I can answer anything else for you. Welcome to Calgary!

[lizzie bargain]

We pay approx $200 per month( summer) to $300 per month( winter) to Enmax using Easy Max-this covers electric, gas, water, sewage and garbage and recycling pickup-our house is approx the same size as yours and we have 2 adults and one teen.

For furniture I probably would not go to the Brick or Ashley but suggest you check out IKEA down in South Calgay. There are also many high end, expensive furniture stores in Calgary too.


Not sure about Sage Hill( very new area) but my brother uses Wind Mobile a little south of your new home in McEwan Glen and my daughter uses it in the SW with no problems.

[Ciel]

Wonder if "variable" is code for "your location might be on the edge of reception area" or "depends on terrain/weather." Brother has a calling plan for Canada/US/International and texting but no voice mail with Wind Mobile because he said it cost too much (Blackberry phone).OP, depending on where you live, hydro and water are usually provided by separate entities unless the municipality might be providing both the hydro and water/sewer services. In Hamilton, ON, the City uses Horizon Utllities for billing both services if both are provided from same source but there are more hydro providers as a result of amalgamation, so there can be three other hydro providers in Hamilton.Hope you have snow shovels, winter clothing and good gloves for the days that snow visits Calgary. It can happen outside of winter! Get acquainted with Canadian Tire, Home Hardware and Home Depot stores for general merchandise (light bulbs, ice melter, paint, cookware, home repair needs, storage shelving).You received good advice for car buying-research Consumer Reports' auto reviews. Magazine publishes annual auto issue in April and usually has a few vehicle reviews in each monthly issue. You likely need to get a library card from your local branch to access online digital resources. http://www.calgarypubliclibrary.com/...ibrary?s=94Red Books are quarterly? guides on average values for specific model years of cars in the last 5-7 years. They are considered reference books, so in library use only. Blue Book are guides for older cars. Not sure what the Alberta Ministry of Transportation says about any used car buying fees or even winter car tires.http://www.servicealberta.ca/1763.cfmDriver's licence requirements:http://www.servicealberta.ca/1671.cf...de.pdfCanadian Automobile Association memberships are useful if you ever need a tow or have locked keys in the car. Membership benefits can include discounts on attraction tickets. http://ama.ab.ca/