The adventures of a South African family living in Canada
Conrad and Nicky moved to Canada at the end of 2019 and share their thoughts on starting a new life in Calgary. When did you move to Canada and what made you choose Calgary? We came in November 2019 and moved to Calgary because of the lifestyle and living costs of Alberta compared to other... Continue Reading →
Wayne and Leanne moved from Pretoria to Calgary in early 2020 with their two kiddies. They share some of their family’s first impressions of life in Canada. When did you move to Canada and what made you choose Calgary? We departed O.R Thambo International Airport on 17 January 2020 and arrived at Calgary International on... Continue Reading →
Tarryn, a 20-something South African expat who moved to Calgary in 2019, shares some wonderful insights about her life in ''Cow Town". When did you move to Canada and what made you choose Calgary? I left my home in Johannesburg and landed in Vancouver on 24 April 2019. Long story short, my whole life and... Continue Reading →
Hi, we’re Ivor and Catherine, the authors of Cape Town to Calgary. We've loved sharing our journey with you thus far, and have decided to add a new section to the blog called Expat Stories where we can share lots more perspectives on life in Canada from other expats. As an introduction to this new... Continue Reading →
Below is a break down of the cost of living in Calgary. Everyone has a different perspective of the cost of living in the city based on their own budget and lifestyle, and this is based on our own experiences as a South African family of four living in Calgary. It should give you a... Continue Reading →
When you arrive in Canada as a new immigrant there is so much admin that needs to be sorted out, and it can be quite overwhelming in such a strange city where you don’t know how things work and where to go. But we can honestly say that getting our admin done has generally been... Continue Reading →
This week we said a sad farewell to all our special people and our beautiful Cape to finally begin the long journey to Calgary. It’s been a crazy, busy, emotional, stressful, but exciting, time. We have had a good life in South Africa and we know that we are giving up a lot for the... Continue Reading →
Canada is such a huge country and there is such a great variety of options when it comes to deciding where to live. We’re fortunate to have permanent residence without being tied to a provincial nomination, and we therefore have the choice of living pretty much anywhere we want in this great country. We’ve spent... Continue Reading →
How the immigration process can feel like climbing through the dark and narrow cavern of a cave. A few years ago, my brother-in-law introduced me to an infamous cave in Kalk Bay, Cape Town, known as Ronan’s Wells. This is not any old cave as the name suggests, but a cave that literally squeezes the... Continue Reading →
Finally, the day we had been waiting for arrived this month - we received our "golden email" requesting our passports to finalise our permanent residence application. After a long 16-month wait, the limbo is finally over and we can officially start planning our big move to Calgary. I don't think I'll ever forget the moment... Continue Reading →
Cape Town to Calgary 