Whistler, next summerm advice required.

counterculture

Im looking into spending next summer over in Whistler, for obvious reasons, im going to take a working holiday visa, but im hoping i can save enough cash to cover accomodation, food, bike hire and lift passes, by next may, my intended departure time. but im not averse to taking a bar/mcdonalds/cleaning job to subsidise my stay if required.

have any of you done a similar trip? know of any employers?know where to look for cheap accomodation? even understanding how duty works and how to get away with paying it, as i may buy a bike while im there but obviously dont want to get humped with tax bringing it back.

all advice would be brilliant and greatly appreciated.

cheers folks

cee

are you thinking about hiring a bike for the whole summer?????

if so, just buy an bike you want and it will still be cheaper....buying stuff out there only attracts tax if it is still new when it leaves the country....

imagine buying a pari of shoes....if they are still on the box when you leave, they can charge you tax. if they are on your feet, then they can't.....

buy it, ride it, bring it back (or sell it)

paul.skibum

I know people who work for various rafting and zip line co's in Whistler - there is quite a bit of work around but you need to be applying in March time to get the jobs as that's when all the skibums (see my name - this is how I know) start thinking about summer.

Check the visa situation - BUNAC will work but there is not really a working hols visa system in the same way as in Oz. I go to Canada each winter on a sponsored visa by my employer due to being skilled (apparently).

You may find "cool" jobs like working in bike shops etc hard to come by as a hell of a lot of people return there every year. Also as a warning accomodation is pricey and can be hard to come by depending on how particular you are. A lot of the seasonal staff both winter and summer live in nearby Pemberton to keep costs down but even then its pricey.

IMHO it is worth considering places such as Kamloops, Vernon, Kelowna and the like all of which have good trail networks and uplifted bike parks but may be more affordable if not quite on the same mecca status. (Kamloops = Matt Hunter's home territory and featured in Collective/Seasons/Roam - Vernon/Silver Star feature on YouTube and Pink Bike). That said, if you can afford it a season in Whistler is gonna be worth it.

delcol

gotta agree with paul accomodation in whistler is silly, especially next year as it the olympic year so for the duration of that prices will double.
this year the mountain laid off alot of staff (ski season) and hardly took on any for the bike season (working bare minimum) i was there for the first two weeks,
the further out of town you live the cheaper it is,
there are loads of bars cafes and the likes of subway and mcdonalds who always seem to advertise jobs,.

as for purchasing a bike over there you may find it not that much cheaper than the uk things in whistler are priced at a premium it's kind of a rip off, especially the beging of the season, you may be better taking a trip to squarmish or vancouver.
it's a different story at the end of the season (end of sept begin of oct) the sales are on and there's a lot of new and ex rental bikes up for sale,. you can be real cheeky and haggle..

if you can and are lucky try getting a job on the mountain as you will qualify for staff accom and it's about the cheapest there is..

are you going on your own? if there's a few of you you could split the cost of renting a house or condour for the summer season.

GHill

cee wrote:

if so, just buy an bike you want and it will still be cheaper....buying stuff out there only attracts tax if it is still new when it leaves the country....

I believe (not 100% sure of the exact dates) that unless you have owned it for three months before return then you will owe tax (VAT + import duty IIRC) on it.

delcol

only if your caught coming through customs, if you don't get pulled you won't pay..

if stuffs used then they have to prove you purchased out there..

grumsta

Can't you claim Canadian sales tax back if you take it out of the country?

delcol

yes only on purchases over a certain value, i can't remember what that value is.

paul.skibum

You cant reclaim the tax anymore - the facility no longer exists. Stopped it a couple fo years back I think - I certainly havent been able to on ski gear purchased recently.

delcol

they still had the form there at the airport when i left to come home in may,..

i don't know how it works as i never done it... i don't mind surporting the canadian goverment if they let me into the country for a few weeks...

paul.skibum

I came out two years back and asked at the airport - they gave me the form but then told me that I couldn't actually apply for it (I forget the reason). Last year they still had the forms but said it no longer applied to overseas residents or something - pretty much all UK people I work with experienced the same response.

I never successfully applied either although soem friends who came visiting did manage to get cash back in Vancouver airport once to spend in the airport.

warrerj

We had to get it checked in the the airport and apply when we got home last year whe we bought new snow boards.

rich_e

Although Whistler is expensive, the accommodation is a lot cheaper in the summer.

If you get in there early, you can usually find that landlords will be willing to rent out apartments for the whole summer season, because it's a guaranteed rent, rather than every now and again... Where as in Winter there would be no problem keeping them full.

Both the summer seasons I did, I was able to stay super close to the upper village, rather than farther away in Alpine Meadows during winter.

canada16

I lived around that area for 20 years.

Get bar work, eveyone tips and you get good money. I cam out every night with 100 bucks in cash.

There are always people with signs on their windows saying room for rent, just get out there and look around. lots to do.

counterculture

im planning on saving close to 3 grand for living costs with maybe 1500/2k to put towards a bike, depending on price, , it means living like a pauper for the next 6 or 7 months, but well worth it.

i know my capabilities so i know i dont NEED a top of the line bike, although im aware ill improve with a trip like this but i kinda like the idea of buying the bike, using it, bashing it up and bringing it back in a non-new looking way.

as for jobs, im more than happy to do bar work, good way to meet people/ pretty much any paying work to subsidise my stay there, i dont intend to work in a bike shop, pretty much as the hours will be 9-5, no good if you wanna be biking, plus the knowledge isnt there.

hopefully gonna talk a mate or 2 into coming over to share cost of living and ive got a friend of a friend who lives and works there who would be good for a few weeks digs, to set help us get sorted out.

also if anyone on here fancies it and cant get enough people together then feel free to get intouch, like minded people doing like minded stuff, biking, birds and beer, cant go wrong.