aussie hunter and wife wants to travel/work in canada/ Alaska?

[ozy clint]

Just want to ask you guys a few questions. What are the hunting opportunities like for a foreigner? Do you need to hunt with a guide or a local every time you go hunting? Any restrictions on hunting and travelling with trad gear? When are the seasons for most of your game over there? Ok that is the important stuff now i better ask some work questions. I am a boilermaker/welder but i prefer farm work (guiding would be cool, he he!)my wife is a nurse. What are the chances of rocking up over there and finding work? And what would we expect to get paid? What is the cost of living like? Thanks for any info.

[b.glass]

I live in Indiana. We have whitetail deer in the fall. Turkey in the spring and most counties have them in the fall also. It is a dream for me to hunt out west. Elk, moose, turkey, hogs, javlina, bear. If you must have land owner permission to hunt if you don't have your on land. It is getting harder to find a place to hunt for free. There are lots of opportunities to hunt with quides out west.
As far as job ops. in your area I can't offer much info. But I am a nurse and can tell you that your wife should have no problem finding work. Pay varies. In this area, experienced RNs get upwards of $20.00 plus an hour depending on whether you work in a hospital or nursing home or whatever and what hrs you are willing to work.

[b.glass]

Sorry, read your post again. Don't know nothing much about Canada or Alaska! I think you need a quide in Canada.

[Canadabowyer]

Ozy, if you could enter Canada as a legal emmigrant, work for both of you would be easy to find here in British Columbia and you could hunt as a resident after 6 months I believe. I think it is easier for emmigrants from Commomwealth or former commomwealth countries to enter Canada.Both your occupations pay well and the cost of living isn't to bad if you stay out of the major cities.B.C. has some of the best hunting in the world and the seasons are long and the bag generous. If you enter as a tourist or visitor you can't work legally and you would require a professional guide to hunt any big game.As a visitor you can hunt small game like grouse and rabbits without a guide but the licence is $180.00 Cdn.There may be a way for you to get work permits if your occupations are in demand and I think they are right now but you would have to contact the Canadian counsel in Australia to find out for sure.I live in the center of B.C. and it is a big,wild,beautiful,friendly place that any bow hunter will surely love. Wolves,Grizzlies, Mtn. Lions, Moose,Sheep,Goats, Deer we got em, but no hogs or Turkeys much to my regret I would love to hunt Turkeys.Bob

[ozy clint]

yeah we are looking at getting work permits now. so for the first six months, does all hunting have to be with a guide? we can't afford that. i may have an opportunity to hunt with an outfitter there in BC. pay full $ for a goat and get an elk, b/bear hunt cheap if i stay there and play skinner/packeroutter/do this, do that boy. and maybe guide for him in NZ. but this wont be until 2010 cause his goat tags are booked till then. how much do you pay for a reliable car? something you could tote a bit of gear with. camping gear, etc. thanks for your help bob. where's the alaskans?

[shikari]

A very close friend of the family Immigrated from Australia to the U.S resently he is a professor of neuclear physics at arizona state and his wife is a nurse in the post pardom dept in the hospital in Mesa Aarizona,She did have to pass some qualification tests before getting employed in the U.S.Her pay is excellent and so is his,Alaska I have been told has a lot of demand for welders on the oil rigs and many of the different but tough industries there.
Hope this helps.

[stickandstring]

I currently live near Washington, DC, since moving here from Sydney in 1986. Life was pretty cruel at first and it took me about 5 years to get established. Until you have an employment history and credit rating, finance is difficult to get. Also, health care is extremly expensive, however, your wife being a nurse should be able to pull some strings. Good stuff is mortgage interest is tax deductible and consumer items in general are cheap. You can save lots, particularly if you have kids.
Anyhow, hunting is full on and game plentiful where I live in Virginia. I have access to places to hunt within walking distance of my house. Deer season starts in September and finishes in March. Turkey, bear, coyotes, squirel and grouse are also availble not far away. You have 4 distinct seasons which I like too. Hope this helps in your decision. There are plenty of jobs in the DC market.

[Canadabowyer]

Get work permits,come in the spring and by hunting season you are eligible for resident hunting and have had time to figure out where to go.I have an old Subaru stationwagen that I drive all over the place and you could probably pick one up for $3000-$5000 thats decent.A warning!!! Be sure any hunting,guiding etc. you get involved in is strictly legal with required permits.Because B.C. is so big and remote there are a very few "illegal guides" around and getting involved with them can be very expensive if caught.There was one fellow near here that was taking Europeans on cheap bear hunts and it cost his clients $30,000 in fines. Best of luck and I hope you get to experience the best that B.C. has to offer.  Bob

[Bowshot]

Ozy, check out  www.mywildalberta.com  for info on the requirements in Alberta. Lots of work available for you and your wife in your professions. BC has goats, grizzly's and more species of the Mtn sheep, Alberta has more generous archery only seasons and Antelope which are not available in BC. Lots of other stuff to hunt in both places. Turkey's are available in both provinces, over the counter in BC, on a draw system in Alberta, takes 2-3 years for a tag. I live in Alberta, my family is in BC and I hunt both places. Come up and look around before settling on a location. Like I said...lots of work available. BC gov't should have a web site with their info as well.

Terry

[Pete W]

You have a PM Ozy Clint.

[eidsvolling]

You will be a "nonresident alien" under Alaska law for at least the first twelve months you're there.  You will therefore be required to have a guide to hunt ANY species.  Plus you'll be required to pay substantially higher license and individual animal tag fees.  Here's the  License/Permit starting page.

British Columbia is a fabulous place, as is Yukon (fka "the" Yukon.)  If I had the chance to slide into either from the Commonwealth, I'd jump on it with both feet.

[Al Kidner]

Good luck mate on your quest.

With those trades behind you both nothing is stoping you from doing it. I have 2 kids and my wife and I thought very hard on moving to BC as well. Not much call for gunslingers in BC now-a-days though...lol.


AK.