What to plan for when moving to Whistler?

J

Jaskittin

Active member
I am super sick of college and I am planning on taking next year off to ski bum. Whistler has some major appeal, especially because I am 19, and I just need to know some details because I have never been there. I am just wondering about the price and ease of finding housing, the minimum budget for food (and partying) and any other associated costs that I could be overlooking. I am kind of just planning on saying fuck it and rolling up there, but I don't wanna fuck myself over by not knowing what the expenses are going to be. Any and all information would be majorly appreciated.
 
Start dealing crack and pimping immediately if you wanna be able to afford anything in Whistler.

 
most importantly find a place to live BEFORE you get here. seriously. i work in the Tourist Information Center and about 15 people a day roll up with no where to go and then people ask us to find them accomodationg.

secondly, prepare to be REALLY poor. there is tons of work so dont worry about finding a job, but prepare to have no money at all. your rent will be expensive and you will most likely have a small room with another person. if you want to work for the mountain you can get into staff, but its hard and you have to apply early.

thirdly, food and booze are like 2times more expensive up here than say in vancouver or squamish, but you can usually find someone who is going that way to get you things like toilet paper and all that.

other than that, good luck.

its really not that hard if you plan it wisely. if you are coming for winter, look for a place to live in like august because once october hits you will be totally screwed over. if you are coming for summer you will have much better luck.

anyways

see you here if and when you come.
 
The overall goal is to ski as much as possible. I should be able to roll up there with about 3500 us dollars. I don't know how far that will get me, but I was going to try to keep work to a minimum haha. Are there decent paying jobs? Overall, I am just trying to find somewhere that has amazing skiing and good social/nightlife. I am totally willing to be poor for 7 months if it is worth it. I live in a super sick skiing location right now, but I need to get out of Montana for a while. Where should I look to find housing prior to getting up there?
 
www.piquenewsmagazine.com
http://www.squamishchief.com

those are the two local newspapers and will give you the best bet for both jobs and housing... expect housing to be like $500-$900 a month.

$3500USD wont get you far it will be about the same in CAD. it might be worth it to change it before you come unless its in the bank because they will give you the daily exchange rate.

yeah... well paying...yeah some places. the hotels mostly. you can get paid a fair amount working at the fairmont... best thing for cheaper places to live is work for WB and get into staff housing so then you dont have to pay for a pass and you also get to meet TONS of people..

yeah

thats all

sorry if i made this a link...i dont know how to fix it :)



 
If you don't plan on working very much, $3500 will be gone very very quickly. You'll need considerably more money or you'll have to work fairly regularly.
 
$3500 and how it will last after ONE MONTH:

Rent: $750 (budget high)

Damage Deposit: $350

Food for the month $500 (just your household groceries)

You wanna have fun? AT LEAST $700-$1000

Early bird ski pass: until end of september $1200

so basically your first month eats up all you funds.

get here in July and you can land a construction job $18/hr. You work hard, get in shape and make some bank because it doesnt get any cheaper. 9 years in whistler and i could never make enough money to take the whole winter off. You better be good at washing dishes.
 
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If you plan on going out to bars/clubs and drinking (which I'm sure you will, all newbies do...)

Plan on spending 75-150$ a night minimum, more if you're trying to pick up chicks, not including your cab fare home. Beer are approx. 6$, mixed drinks around the same, before tip and cover.

If you go out ONCE a week and spend ~$80 a night (which is nothing) thats 320$. Most newbies will go out 2, 3 even 4 nights a week at that rate, it'll cost you. 700-1000$ a month on drinking is pretty accurate.

If you like your party drugs, it only goes up from there....

Personally we just do lots of house parties and BBQs, its more fun and a fuckload cheaper.
 
you need to learn how to pre drink.

if you are smart about your booze its cheap. 26oz of something. 22-30dollars. 1 drink at a bar cuz your already shitfaced, 5$ (buy whatever is on special). 0 drinks for girls, 0 dollars(fuck buying girls booze. they can afford it themselves cuz we all know they cant really do things and you dont need to buy liquor to pick up a girl) cab split with the girl, 3$. so to me it looks as tho spending 30-40 a night for everything is pretty simple. maybe you dont want to be too drunk you so only drink half a 2 6 so theres a couple nights for not too much.

learn booze skills
 
Those aren't figures that I'd spend at the bar. You missed the point completely. My roommate works at garfs, and I've been around long enough to know most of the bar staff. IMO bars in Whistler are really overrated anyways, the scene gets old after a few years.

Those are figures for anyone else going out, and I'm pretty sure I have my "booze skills" down by now. Pretty sure I havent spent more than 20$ in a bar all season, especially since all the comps I went to either had open bar or were sponsored by beer companies.

Ask anyone else at the bar sometime how much they spend, I'm pretty sure anyone who lives in whistler for a season can tell you they probably were blowing 500-1000$ a month on partying for the 6 months they were here.

The point in my earlier post, which you clearly miss, was that most new-commers to town aren't that conscientious about their money, and if you've ever lived in Whistler sept-nov there really isn't anything to do BUT drink, unless you have a sled, suckas.

Try more reading, less "watch-me-slam-a-2/6, and "fuck getting laid, chicks are stupid anyways".

I can tell you right now that most girls in whistler don't pay for drinks, now where do you think they come from?
 
Well partying really isn't that important to me. I am moving to ski, and smoking weed and skiing every day is more than adequete. The kid I was moving with just bailed. I don't know if I want to move up there by myself. For people that did. is it pretty easy to meet people and shit?
 
booze and food are not double the price here.. booze prices are regulated throughout bc at the government liquor stores.. food, a little more expensive than the city.. if you want to get a place be here before september 1st.. or do what ryan said, come work construction and you can make good coin..
 
booze is considerably more in whistler than it is in kicking horse. im just mad because a 40 of rum in nicaragua costs $7.

peter hunter knows how to pre drink. do not question him. my source, wsi before i left. his night went a lot better than mine.

most importantly, plan to get lots of stds
 
your an idiot

I usually spend $20 a night when I go out.. all I will pay for is a mickey before the bar and maybe one or two drinks at the bar.. If you know people then you usually dont have to pay cover.. which is only like $3 if you are a local. and fuck buying drinks for girls.. that shits hurting.. and the only good nights to go out are wednesday and thursday anyways.. bills and garfs.. everywhere else is so gay.
 
Actually, "idiot".. my roomate bounces at garfs, and I havent had to pay cover yet this season. Most long time locals don't. I've spent all of 20$ at the bar in the last month or two, because all the comps I went to had open bar, and it helps when friends bartend.

You took it completely out of context. MOST NEWCOMMERS TO TOWN DON'T KNOW THIS AND BLOW LOTS OF FUCKING MONEY AT THE BAR. I've seen it happen EVERY season.

There's sweet fuck all to do here in september/october until the mountains open and tourism picks up to drive the economy. Most of the working force that moves here (for the first time)early so they can actually find a place to stay end up at the bar 2-3 nights a week because they don't know anything else to do with their time. Try talking to any fresh off the plane aussie next september, if you can handle listening for more than 5 minutes...

Learn how to fucking read for once.
 
If you're new to town you probably don't know people, so you will be paying cover. And I've never paid $3 in Whistler ever. There is either no cover, or its usually $10+. Add in coat check and all you've got left for is one drink and a bit of change in your pocket left from that $20.

Ryan and Nadia know what they're talking about, Ryan may be a bit high on his estimates cause it can definitely be done for less, but chances are you'll end up at high anyway. Most people do.
 
actually, you did say "Plan on spending 75-150$ a night minimum, " which is why i called you an Idiot.

you can stop acting like you know everything any time now.. because.. you know.. everyone is exactly like you and your friends who blow all their money at the bar. yep.
 
I spent a month there for about $1500

Accommodation was $850

Bus rides added up to $200ish

Bought some skis for $220

I worked as a ski instructor for about 10 days - saved me at least $500 on skiing and made a few hundred $$

The rest was food, toilet paper, some new clothes. Spaghetti and vegetables are cheap.

Not partying saves lots of money. But most people like partying. Working part time for the mountain was a good deal for me.
 
Im kinda over the club/bar scene in Whistler now. It seems like its either full of first year aussies, or gangsta snowboarders or dirty, DIRTY skanks from the city. And while Im not one to turn down the opportunity to double bag my junk and slay some vancouver troll, I find its way more fun to have a house party with people that I wanna hang around and drink with rather than randoms.

Although it took me about 2 1/2 years or lliving in Whistler to realise this.

Foodwise, Walmart in Squamish is the balls.
 
from my personal experiences, whistler is cheap! Recognizing that you are becoming a bum (yes, ski bums are bums), whistler has many opportunities that are available because of the fact that whistler has this iconic image of being a clean happy place. Because of this, security is low, and people are not concerned with who uses what when. Most Hotels offer free breakfast to their guests. Pretend you are a guest. It isn't hard. Most hotels have beautiful hot tubs and barbecues and shower facilities for their guests too. Pre-drinking is essential. There is lots to do in October and September, don't worry you won't get bored. Anyone who gets bored in whistler is way to into skiing. There are many other sports to do. Rent is cheap if you want to be ghetto. You really don't have to spend more than 350$. Take some biscuits and pastries from the hotel breakfasts and you've got lunch covered. Pasta, subway and liptons sidekicks with some veggies makes dinner cheap. Partying at bars is stupid, but you can often fade into large groups past bouncers on busy nights. Total spending can be curbed down to around 800$ a month if you are crafty. 3500$ will last you a long time. Don't get a job where they own your ass through your pass. Being late for work and getting a 2 week pass suspension because of it is retarded.
 
dude

nadia would wail you to the ground before you could even think about making a move.

and shes right about the booze and shit. we both grew up here we know how it works so stop calling her an idiot and let her have her say...

and poster...move here on your own!! you will be must less inhibited and make friends easier!
 
Yeah its pretty easy to make friends in Whis. Ive lived there for 4 years since moving from overseas and Ive got a cool crew of friends, a lot of whom I met my first year.
 
I hate to bring up an old thread, but I have a question. What is the deal as far as americans moving to whistler/vancouver when it comes to visas? Do you need to apply for a temporary work visa if you want a job, and does that cover residence visa as well? To anyone who has done this before or knows, what do you need, legally, before moving up to canada for a while?
 
you need to prove that you are smarter or have more skills than a canadian so you can take one of our jobs, so.........

we also dont need any more jeffs here
 
Ok this is a small thing but as an american you should be aware of it;

SAVE YOUR LOONIES

i fuckin hate change and usually just toss it out or say keep it or forget about it, but by savin ur 1$ and 2$, I was able to grab a couple flatbread sammies from quizno's every week for a solid meal.

Other than that buy groceries in squamish / pemberton...

Crackside has the cheaper housing but you have to buy a bus pass which was about 60$ a month i believe when I went... I lived in the village which was sick as fuck, no busses or cabs for skiing or going out, just walked everywhere.

umm budget for necessary backcountry essentials if you're going that route

what else... make friends than can hook u up but don't rely on them to, especially if it puts their job in jeopardy.

also budget for breaking your skis
 
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