Squamish/Whistler mags: housing question(s)

[filthyfrenchbum]

I'm planning on moving up the sea-to-sky very soon and was pretty set on Squamish as a first choice. A good friend and I have found a wicked 3 bedroom house in garibaldi highlands, which is way cheaper than Whistler and away from the party crowd, but here's the kicker: I don't have a car. Keep in mind that I will have to work (most likely in Whistler since there are no jobs in Squampton) and ski there as much as possible (aka a daily commute). Now there's a Squamish public transit bus that runs 1 block away from the house and the greyhound, but that sounds expensive and very time consuming to do daily.

So, do you think it'd be hard to find a ride share to Whistler pretty much daily or hitchhike, or am I getting in way over my head? My roommate has a truck but at this point he doesn't know where he's going to work either so I can't rely on him for that...

I'm starting to rethink all this through and I know it's getting very late to find housing in Whistler so I'm wondering what to do...

PS: If you happen to know anybody with a room in Whistler, shoot me a pm...

[nortonwhis]

they are planning on cutting back public services that run from squamish and whistler due to budget cuts. i think there are 4-5 a day at present, but cant remember how many they are dropping. they are also planning on raising the fare.

i know people who do it everyday without a car but they come up with people they work with etc. really depends on how much you want to ride and if you want to be there for 745am ready to go. i couldnt do it, hell i probably couldnt even do it from pemberton...

oh and you are right about housing getting short, busloads of aussies are appearing as i type

[rrmiller]

Don't do it. If your priority is snow, bite the bullet and live in Whistler. It's filling up but it is also the best RENTERS market in years. Rainbow and Cheakamus crossing have opened up alot of space. There are tons of places available.

You'll spend more $$ up here on rent but how much time and money will you spend commuting? How many days will you miss because its not worth the drive up? How many days will you miss because the highway is closed because some doofus crashed because they didn't have snow tires?

[endure]

I went through the same contemplation and decided on Whistler; best decision of my life. The extra cost/potential crappier living environment is made up every day you ski right to your doorstep. Sure you could work out getting to whistler every day, but simplicity is what ski bumming is all about

[Shaggy]

I can't imagine doing the daily Squamish commute - You're going to live in Whistler, but sleep in Squamish and spend a great deal of time on the highway. Also, you are pretty much shit out of luck if you end up getting a night job, since none of the transit options (commuter or greyhound) run much past 9:00pm or so..

As others have said, the tide has turned for rentals in Whistler. There's still pages of listings in the Pique.

The new problem now is jobs, and I suspect that many of the Aussie hordes that are arriving this year will end up unemployed this winter. W/B now does most of it's seasonal hiring via travelling overseas job fairs, and thus doesn't hire 100's of seasonal staff on the spot like it used to.

[filthyfrenchbum]

Alright, signed a lease with a good friend yesterday, going to be living at a wicked awesome (but pricey...) 2br in Emerald starting next week.

Now, I've dropped off resumes anywhere I could around the village (shops, restaurants, hotels), talked to a number of managers, and they all said to keep coming by until November rolled around and things would pick up.

Any other ideas of where to apply?

[nortonwhis]

now is a pretty brutal time to try and find work. most places are keeping bare bones amount of staff, if they are even open at all. And it will get worse for the next month before it gets better. keep trying though, sometimes people leave unexpectedly, thats how i landed my current job.

g/l

[t.odd]

Alright, signed a lease with a good friend yesterday, going to be living at a wicked awesome (but pricey...) 2br in Emerald starting next week.

good call, commuting sucks balls....I love living 5 minutes from work and 2 minutes from the c-side gondy

[Shaggy]

What type of work are you looking for?

[filthyfrenchbum]

Anything really, although I'd obviously like to do something where I can ski as much as possible, at least in the mornings... I had an interview at escape route yesterday that went quite well, so hopefully that works out.

Got some retail, sales, customer service, and general construction labour experience and a degree (not that I'm expecting it to help).

[Braap]

If you have any accounting background with your degree get a night audit position, you can ski all you want during the day and the pay is decent.

[khyber.pass]

Anything really, although I'd obviously like to do something where I can ski as much as possible, at least in the mornings... I had an interview at escape route yesterday that went quite well, so hopefully that works out.

PM me.

D00d.

[filthyfrenchbum]

Alright, I'm all moved in to a rad place, got an interview for volly patrol soon, and I'm ready to have a rad season...

Now, I just need a rad job (or any job) so I can afford all this.

Kinda scary to be jobless here. I got rent money to last me til the end of December but the sooner I find work the better, so if anybody's got any idea about places hiring (I know things will pick up in 2 weeks but I want to beat the aussie rush), don't hesitate to hit me up

[nesta]

hey FFB, what happened with your interview at the Escape Route? Do you know who's interviewing you for volly patrol? I might be able to pull a few strings for you. Please tell me you aren't as filthy as your username suggests!

[Graham]

Judging by the face paint still on FFB's face yesterday morning (with his mother bidding him farewell to Whistler, begging him to wash it off), he's every bit as filthy as his name suggests.

However. If there is one hard working, dedicated dude, it's FilthyFrench.

[StopMakingSense]

If you have any accounting background with your degree get a night audit position, you can ski all you want during the day and the pay is decent.

Worked wonders for me in Tahoe with an audit posistion, best gig at the resort.

[filthyfrenchbum]

No accounting background, so no dice on night auditing. Sounds like a sweet job though.

Nesta, PM sent

[curtisbb]

But surely there must be some way for "Interdisciplinary Studies" to translate into Accounting!

[todug27]

someone hire ffb. Great guy, very hardworker.... and you can get to chase him around the hill all winter.

[Shredhead]

I didn't have much accounting. I liked the relief audit job a little better, left some social time. 2 nights 11-7 and three nights 3-11. Still plenty of time to get into trouble getting off at 11.