What should I pack?

Depends where in Canada you plan to live, and when you plan to arrive. Vancouver winters are pretty mild but an Edmonton (Calgary) winter can kill you if you're not prepared. If you're from a non winter-faring country (I'm from Australia) and if you arrive early on in the winter you can just buy everything from a good local store (Sears and Roots are pretty good), otherwise if you already have winter gear bring snow jackets, coats, gloves/scarf/beanie snow boots, thermal underwear etc. But as I said, depends on where in Canada you plan on living.. Reply to this

Hey there, well I live in Vancouver so it's not too cold down here, during the winter Whistler will be anything from -20 to 10 degrees so you have to be prepared for a mixture of conditions. The good thing about Whistler is that you'll be arriving in Vancouver first so you can buy your snow gear before you head to Whistler. I would only buy thermals from Australia (K-Mart have some but Myer and David Jones have the better ranges/quality, Kathmandu has some top-of-the-line thermals but they're more suited for hikers than everyday use).

I know that Sydney sometimes has off-season 50% clearances of snow gear, I'm guessing you're going to want to do some skiing up in Whistler so if you could get some decent ski pants/jacket/gloves it would be worth hauling to Canada, otherwise if you have enough money you can buy everything snow-related (including boots, which are the most important thing so that you don't fall on your ass every step you make) from Canadian Tire or Sears (K-Mart or Myer equivalents)

Also a word of advice - if you're going with a company that is 'helping' you to start up here, I would strongly recommend researching the company. We went through SWAP and whilst it wasn't really for us (we're 25 and weren't looking for jobs in hospitality/tourism) they were a good company to go with, you would meet a lot of people if you do their social things, and set you up with free internet/phone/fax so you can look for work, plus they also have a lot of job postings on their notice boards. However I've heard of some really bad first-hand experiences of other companies like Global Work and Travel Co who ripped them off and didn't keep to their initial promises etc etc, but who knows they could have been one-off experiences.
Reply to this

If you are considering purchasing your winter clothing in Vancouver I strongly suggest that you check out Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) or Taiga. The quality and prices are far superior to anything available at Canadian Tire or Sears. Reply to this

Yeah definitely recommend hitting MEC. A friend of mine took a bunch of us to one in Calgary before hitting Banff a couple years back. Found the staff to be very helpful plus the stuff was affordable - and this was when the Aussie dollar wasn't doing so well against the Loonie. Reply to this

Hi. I am from Winnipeg, on average the coldest major city in Canada. It is friggin cold here. But you will be out west, so who cares, unless you visit. That being said, My sister became an Ausie citizen and lived there for nearly ten years before coming back for a couple years. Her partner came with her and found 0 degrees to be so cold while the rest of us thought it was gorgeous. Being November it really is nice weather for this area. But my sisters partner, living her whole life in and around Balarat, found Vancouver and Whistler to be comfortable during the Winter Olympics. Several people on here have mentioned Mountain Equipment Coop, MEC and yeah they are right. Great gear at great prices. They also carry the Patagonia Clothing company. Considering you are from Australia you should look into Merino Wool for a base Layer. Its not cheap here but maybe it will be cheaper in Australia. You can go online and take a look at MEC equipment they have a great online catalog to look at. There are other stores here that carry other good cool and cold weather gear, obviously easy to find here. A great jacket to look at is the North Face Redpoint Optimus jacket. It is an amazing insulating jacket that is light and packs small yet keeps you crazy warm. Or, like someone else mentioned you can go to Sportscheck and they have all kinds of name brands at good prices, from Columbia, to The Patagonia Clothing company and many others.
The best part about shopping at MEC is their commitment to helping our environment. Of course the same can be said for the North Face and the Patagonia Clothing company.
You can either go online and research your brains out on what to buy and the best clothing and gear for western canada and make a decision or you can just arrive and head to MEC and their great staff will set you up quite well.
Pretty easy to find what you need here and not expensive.
Reply to this

Take clothes that are versatile, travel easily and that you’re comfortable in. For covering bare shoulders (or improvising a below-knee skirt over shorts) to visit churches (it's a rule); also, for warmth on planes and cool evenings, and sun protection. Reply to this