calgary info and university help for uk resident

[married2mm]

Hi,

As the title says,I'm in the UK.

Dd is 99% sure she wants to take up the offer of a semester at Calgary university.

I have typical mom worries,like what will she eat,will she make friends etc.

but also,with her being so far away,what the student accommodation is really like,how far from campus,how much money she will need,and so on.

We are going to wdw in the summer,we will be buying cell phones there,would dd be able to use in Canada also?

Calgary itself looks lovely,so I don't have any fears of her being there,just being so far away from us- and obviously missing her.

All that said,I am genuinely happy for her,and realise it's a great opportunity.

 

[Fivers]

Hi there! I'm from Calgary, and went to University of Calgary for a few years. Hopefully I can help!

I have typical mom worries,like what will she eat,will she make friends etc.

I found the students at UofC to be very friendly, I made lots of friends in my first year! Is your daughter going for the Sept-Dec semester? If so, if she is able to participate in the orientation right before the semester starts that would really help her make friends in the same program that she's in.

As for food, the campus has lots and lots of choices of where to eat, and there are also two grocery stores very close by.

but also,with her being so far away,what the student accommodation is really like,how far from campus,how much money she will need,and so on.

If she is living in residence (which I presume she would be) the residence buildings are right on campus. It's a decent size campus (takes about 15 minutes to walk from one end to the other) but everything is easily accessibly from residence. Living there would also give her lots of opportunities to meet people!

We are going to wdw in the summer,we will be buying cell phones there,would dd be able to use in Canada also?

This I'm not so sure about, I would expect that she could though, especially if she got a pay as you go plan, which would probably be the most cost-effective. Hopefully someone with more knowledge can chime in here!

Calgary itself looks lovely,so I don't have any fears of her being there,just being so far away from us- and obviously missing her.

I know that feeling! I've lived my whole life in Calgary, but after 4 years of not knowing what I wanted to do at UofC I changed majors and went to University of Toronto for 4 years. It was scary, but it was also one of the best experiences of my life! I met so many great people, and learned a lot of independence living away from my parents. I don't regret my decision at all! If you haven't used it before, Skype is a really great way to keep in touch, and still be able to 'see' her.

If you want any more details feel free to PM me, I would be more than happy to help!

 

[donkthemagicllama]

Another Calgarian and and U of Calgary grad here...

Regarding cell phones, anything that works on AT&T in the USA will work in Canada (assuming it's not locked to AT&T). Make sure you get an unlocked phone, though, some are locked to the carrier that sells them. Verizon/Sprint CDMA phones still work, although the Canadian carriers have mostly switched to HSPA and will drop their CDMA networks eventually.

Calgary is a great city, although the winters can be long (it's *still* snowing here as I type this). 1 hour drive to Banff and the rockies. I work with a few UK transplants (Aberdeen mostly), and they are quite happy here.

The U of C campus didn't get built until the late 60's, so it lacks the grand old buildings you might expect from a university, but it's still really nice with lots of trees and open spaces and I found it to be pretty friendly (I was in Engineering). I never lived in residence ("rez" as everyone calls it [or at least they did 10 years ago, yikes, I'm getting old!]), but I often regretted it, as they seemed to have lots of fun. There's a C-Train station on campus that makes it pretty quick to get where you want in town, and a pretty major indoor shopping mall (Market Mall) near campus.

Any questions, ask away, I think there's quite a few Calgarians that frequent this board.

 

[married2mm]

Hi guys.

Thanks very much for your assistance so far.

Dd would indeed be there for Sept-dec,not sure of exact dates as yet.

Thanks for the offer to pm- i may well take you up on that,once the 1% seed of doubt has passed,and she's definitely going.

 

[ABCanada]

From Edmonton, north or Calgary, so you will get better advice from the Calgarians on UofC specifics. Having dropped DD, 17, off in the UK last Sept for University I can comment on some of the costs.

Obviously out of pocket costs will depend on her accommodation arrangement but my impression is that the UK costs are a bit higher so she should be able to get by with the same or a bit less in Calgary. She will likely need a bit for travelling since she will want to visit Banff, Lake Louise, etc.

The one thing that will be more expensive is cell service. The Canadian plans are much more expensive so she will need to adjust her usage. We use an unlocked Canadian iphone in the UK and purchase a card and pay as you go plan there. I am assuming she could do the reverse. I do not think a US pay as you go plan will work here and I believe you need a US billing address for a regular plan on the US phone. I am certain the students will be able to advise her on the best plan when she arrives.

One thing to watch for is the airfare. A return ticket, both legs, is often less expensive than a one way ticket. If she is planning on retuning home immediately after exams she will not know the last day of exams when she books the flights. Change fees can be $250 plus any difference in the ticket price. This is still considerably less expensive than two one ways but be prepared if you want to change a flight. The charter airlines, such as Air Transat, sometimes have one way fares that are not that much more than half a return so they may be worth checking but you will need to do this both ways. I think both the Icelandic and Irish airlines have reasonable one way as well but they do not fly out of Calgary so she would need to connect. (In Dec I would avoid any flights with connections in eastern Canada or north eastern US, for some reason they often get snowed in just before Christmas.)

Calgary is a very friendly city and its proximity to the mountains is hard to beat. It sounds like a wonderful opportunity.

Skype will make it bearable for you.

 

[Fivers]

Hi guys.

Thanks for the offer to pm- i may well take you up on that,once the 1% seed of doubt has passed,and she's definitely going.

Please do! I know how scary it is to move somewhere not knowing anyone, and not really knowing where anything is or how to get around!