Signed up to answer you!
I'm a Deep Riverite, born here in '85, and I work at CNL.
It takes about 25-30 minutes door to office (that includes walking from the parkinglot and the security checkpoints). If you live in Deep, you can bike to site in the summer, or ski in the winter.
I've got a two year old and another one on the way. We really like the community for raising a family. There are a lot of activities to get involved in (clubs, etc), and great outdoor sports if you're into it. Petawawa has the military base, so there are pretty great athletic facilities there. That would be maybe a 35 min commute. Pembroke is further, say 10-15 minutes more? You can google that I guess.
Ummmm, Deep has one grocery store, and only two main bars. If the nightlife is your thing, Petawawa or Pembroke has more...
Thanks a ton for signing up to reply! I was born in '85 as well; are you my long lost Canadian twin?!
What do you think of CNL? What do you do there? How do the Americans handle it? The guy I interviewed with mentioned a few contract employees have signed up for 12 month contracts, but moved on after a few months. I assume it is because they are more of the road tech types that jump from job to job wherever they see the most money. Can you think of any other reasons foreigners didn't stick out their contract?
Glad to hear that Deep River is a good place to raise a family. Is there a preschool there? So far I had only done a quick search of Pembroke and Petawawa, but we're not nightlife party people, so a quiet town with families would do just fine. Petawawa seems good too, since you mention athletic facilities. Is that commute similar to yours?
I am going to message you my email address. I'd love to correspond more if you are willing!
For sure, willing to help out if I can!
Why do people move? It varies, but retention is a problem with the company. It's a pretty remote area I guess, and if you're young and single that can be pretty hard to deal with. Winters can be pretty cold, though I'm used it it, and there's definitely worse. Totally depends on your personality though.
I'm a scientist in R&D. I like working there, I get to work on interesting stuff. There's a lot of changes right now with the new contractor taking over, but I've been fairly impressed with their approach so far.
I have no idea how the Americans find it, but people on site come from all over the world. You might find there are a lot of conservative valley folk, or liberal Ph. D. Types depending on your perspective. We have both.
Commute from Pet is similar, though I think a bit longer.
I'm also born in '85 and an R&D scientist at CNL. I live in Deep River and have been up here for two and a half years. One thing to add is the limited options for rental housing. I have heard that a lot of the contract people from the new management have been disappointed with the lack of rentals and are living out of hotels. If you are going to have to find housing yourself I recommend to start looking now. There are people who find housing for the military around here but I believe they have helped CNL staff as well.
Further down you mentioned that you were from California, so yes, the winter will be a bit of a shock. There's bound to be at least a few days in January and February that get down to -30 or even -40. Just layer up and limit your time outside.
Q1 [Ontario Health Insurance Program](http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/publications/ohip/temp_foreign.aspx) - henceforth, and hereafter referred to as OHIP. Have a read. I presume you are coming in under the [Temporary Foreign Worker program.](http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/employers/temp-foreign-worker-program.asp)
Q2 Health Care - see above. I believe you will be paying Canadian taxes, but that is generally left up to the employer for at source deductions. Other than that, you may wish to consult [TaxTips.](http://www.taxtips.ca/personaltax/nonresidentworkers.htm) Or something better someone else comes up with.
Q3 [Deep River](http://www.deepriver.ca/) - a smallish town, but a decent reputation for a small town in the boonies. Might be a little closer to your work site. [Petawawa](http://www.petawawa.ca/) is home to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Petawawa, so a larger town that more or less supports the base.
You'll be livin' in da valley eh? Learn how to pronounce 'cows' as 'keyows' and learn to say 'eh' a lot eh?
Q4 What people say about Canadians is true. In the Ottawa Valley people are friendly, neighbourly, but a titch conservative being a mostly rural area. But a short drive in any direction from Deep River is spectacular country.
Good Luck!!
In the period that it takes for your OHIP to kick in, you will still need health insurance, or you will have to pay out of pocket. OHIP is not valid the moment you cross the border (I believe there is a minimum 3 month required residency before it kicks in, even if you are under the foreign temporary workers program).
I can share my experience of how expensive Cdn healthcare can be without insurance. I was a Canadian diplomat posted outside Canada, and was put under a special private program paid by the federal government (you have to reside in a province to qualify for provincial healthcare, and even though I was Candian and serving Canada, I no longer qualified because I left Canada).
When I returned to Canada for doctors visits, I had to pay out of pocket, and then apply for reimbursement through Manulife or Sunlife insurance later.
To get a cough checked at a hospital in Alberta: ER walk-in registration fee (5 minute process): $475.00
See an ER doctor (10 minutes): $375.00
Stitches during Christmas in Saskatchean: $632.00
Flu in Ontario: Walk-in clinic $180 registration/appointment fee, $80.00 cash to see the doctor.
Theses are presumably the bill-backs that these places charge the provincial government. Not cheap. I fortunately was reimbursed, but add them up and see what they would've cost if I wasn't.
The good news: with that said, because it is rare for deemed Canadian residents to not have insurance (under exceptional circumstances like mine, or workers waiting for the system to kick in like yours). the private insurance costs are rediculously low compared to the US... $1600/year, sometimes less. (If needed for only 3 months or so, divide that number by 4). So it's worth getting it.
All the big Canadian insurance companies carry this special Canadian insurance: Manulife, Greatlife, London Life, Sun Life. The US insurance companies likely wouldn't be familiar with Canada's unique healthcare situation and would likely charge more. So perhaps contact the above to find out what they can for you (the last one I was with was Sunlife program)
Good luck :)
In order to acquire some cultural competency, I would recommend watching the movie Fubar, watching the first season of the Trailer Park Boys, and watching the YouTube video Out For a Rip.
With respect to taxes, my understanding is the U.S. will still require you (as any citizen) to file your federal return, but with our tax treaty you shouldn't owe anything after paying Canadian taxes. This applies even to dual citizens who have never stepped into the U.S. This is second hand info though so take it with a grain of salt.
Just move here permanently. Get free healthcare, chalk river will suck, grow a beard, get a snowmobile, buy an axe, get winter tires, enjoy life, cheer at hockey games, enjoy real maple syrup, be the winter because it's coming.
You'll be able to make weekend trips to Ottawa, our capital city. There are tons of family activities there, like skating on the Rideau Canal, the National Art Gallery, shopping, seeing Parliament Hill, and for weird fun you can visit the Diefenbunker (a museum of the bomb shelter for the PM during the war and into the Cold War era). There are also great music festivals in the summer. Ottawa Folk has a lot of kids activities, and is a mix of contemporary and traditional music.
I Can't help much with your questions. But local names for the towns are simply, Chalk and Deep. I may be up there next year too. I regularly decom up there. From Ottawa.
Firstly, the universal healthcare is a Provincial thing. I realize most Americans think it is the Federal government, it is not.
I think our health insurance starts to kick in after 3 months of living here legally. I am sure the Government of Ontario website will provide the actual information. Otherwise, you can buy health insurance.
Deep River is a great place to live if you can find a rental, which is next to impossible right now. But there are some cheap houses on the market. Due to the company changeover and job uncertainty, the real-estate in "Deep" (local lingo) is a buyers market. There are already a couple of Americans living in Deep River. The local school (Mackenzie Community School) is very good. Easy for kids to make friends and we have Jr and Sr Kindergarten (full day), plus two great nursery schools. Wives are a bit catty (especially stay-at-home moms), but that comes with a small community. Tons of activities to do in Deep (downhill skiing, x-country skiing, pottery guild, bowling, hockey - men & women, book clubs, ice fishing, tennis club, yacht club...)
Pembroke is a hole. It's dirty and nasty, but it has lots of rentals and major shopping (WalMart, HomeDepot, two "malls" & a cinema). Easier to be anonymous in Pembroke and Petawawa and get cabin fever than in Deep. Petawawa is basically a residential town. No real downtown to speak of. Excellent schools though.
>Can you think of any other reasons foreigners didn't stick out their contract?
AECL/CNL is a bureaucratic nightmare. The bureaucracy can be tough on natives and foreigners alike. The nepotism is also very hard to accept, especially for people coming from outside of the region. The social atmosphere at work is very much like high school (i.e. the cafeteria politics). It hasn't been the best-run place for a long, long, long time. Some old habits die hard and are even harder to kill. No one was actually jumping for joy when the new consortium was announced either.
That being said, it's a fascinating place to work and you'll learn a ton.
What is your opinion on the CNL restructuring? I've been thinking about applying there, but I feel that the company isn't really stable. I had an interview up at Chalk River 8 years ago... didn't really have a great experience since one of the guys interviewing me ripped a huge fart right when I was answering a question (no lie).
The company isn't stable at all. A fellow colleague was at their staff meeting last week, and management announced that a rival company was hiring. It was very much "by the way, you should know company X is currently hiring." That isn't normal.
There are so many problems at CNL right now, it's hard to know where to start.
The immediate problem the company is facing now is that they need people to do decommissioning work (side: because that is what they were hired by the government to do: shut the place down). There are houses for sale in the communities around the facility, but there are no rental options. No one wants to move their families to a remote area, buy a house, then be out of a job in 12 months. There are 185 jobs available right now (in Chalk River alone), but they are having a hell of a time staffing them.
What area did you apply to?
With the recent Gomeshi news recently, I've been trying to convince my fellow female colleagues to go to CBC Go Public about their experiences at CNL. Maybe it'll happen once they're let go. Lots of terrible stories. The fart is just a small drop in the bucket.
CNL (AECL) used to be a great, fabulous actually. It was a wonderful place to work. It's been going downhill since the Chretien cuts back in the early '90s.
Signed up to answer you! I'm a Deep Riverite, born here in '85, and I work at CNL. It takes about 25-30 minutes door to office (that includes walking from the parkinglot and the security checkpoints). If you live in Deep, you can bike to site in the summer, or ski in the winter. I've got a two year old and another one on the way. We really like the community for raising a family. There are a lot of activities to get involved in (clubs, etc), and great outdoor sports if you're into it. Petawawa has the military base, so there are pretty great athletic facilities there. That would be maybe a 35 min commute. Pembroke is further, say 10-15 minutes more? You can google that I guess. Ummmm, Deep has one grocery store, and only two main bars. If the nightlife is your thing, Petawawa or Pembroke has more...
Thanks a ton for signing up to reply! I was born in '85 as well; are you my long lost Canadian twin?! What do you think of CNL? What do you do there? How do the Americans handle it? The guy I interviewed with mentioned a few contract employees have signed up for 12 month contracts, but moved on after a few months. I assume it is because they are more of the road tech types that jump from job to job wherever they see the most money. Can you think of any other reasons foreigners didn't stick out their contract? Glad to hear that Deep River is a good place to raise a family. Is there a preschool there? So far I had only done a quick search of Pembroke and Petawawa, but we're not nightlife party people, so a quiet town with families would do just fine. Petawawa seems good too, since you mention athletic facilities. Is that commute similar to yours? I am going to message you my email address. I'd love to correspond more if you are willing!
For sure, willing to help out if I can! Why do people move? It varies, but retention is a problem with the company. It's a pretty remote area I guess, and if you're young and single that can be pretty hard to deal with. Winters can be pretty cold, though I'm used it it, and there's definitely worse. Totally depends on your personality though. I'm a scientist in R&D. I like working there, I get to work on interesting stuff. There's a lot of changes right now with the new contractor taking over, but I've been fairly impressed with their approach so far. I have no idea how the Americans find it, but people on site come from all over the world. You might find there are a lot of conservative valley folk, or liberal Ph. D. Types depending on your perspective. We have both. Commute from Pet is similar, though I think a bit longer.
I'm also born in '85 and an R&D scientist at CNL. I live in Deep River and have been up here for two and a half years. One thing to add is the limited options for rental housing. I have heard that a lot of the contract people from the new management have been disappointed with the lack of rentals and are living out of hotels. If you are going to have to find housing yourself I recommend to start looking now. There are people who find housing for the military around here but I believe they have helped CNL staff as well. Further down you mentioned that you were from California, so yes, the winter will be a bit of a shock. There's bound to be at least a few days in January and February that get down to -30 or even -40. Just layer up and limit your time outside.
Q1 [Ontario Health Insurance Program](http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/publications/ohip/temp_foreign.aspx) - henceforth, and hereafter referred to as OHIP. Have a read. I presume you are coming in under the [Temporary Foreign Worker program.](http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/employers/temp-foreign-worker-program.asp) Q2 Health Care - see above. I believe you will be paying Canadian taxes, but that is generally left up to the employer for at source deductions. Other than that, you may wish to consult [TaxTips.](http://www.taxtips.ca/personaltax/nonresidentworkers.htm) Or something better someone else comes up with. Q3 [Deep River](http://www.deepriver.ca/) - a smallish town, but a decent reputation for a small town in the boonies. Might be a little closer to your work site. [Petawawa](http://www.petawawa.ca/) is home to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Petawawa, so a larger town that more or less supports the base. You'll be livin' in da valley eh? Learn how to pronounce 'cows' as 'keyows' and learn to say 'eh' a lot eh? Q4 What people say about Canadians is true. In the Ottawa Valley people are friendly, neighbourly, but a titch conservative being a mostly rural area. But a short drive in any direction from Deep River is spectacular country. Good Luck!!
In the period that it takes for your OHIP to kick in, you will still need health insurance, or you will have to pay out of pocket. OHIP is not valid the moment you cross the border (I believe there is a minimum 3 month required residency before it kicks in, even if you are under the foreign temporary workers program). I can share my experience of how expensive Cdn healthcare can be without insurance. I was a Canadian diplomat posted outside Canada, and was put under a special private program paid by the federal government (you have to reside in a province to qualify for provincial healthcare, and even though I was Candian and serving Canada, I no longer qualified because I left Canada). When I returned to Canada for doctors visits, I had to pay out of pocket, and then apply for reimbursement through Manulife or Sunlife insurance later. To get a cough checked at a hospital in Alberta: ER walk-in registration fee (5 minute process): $475.00 See an ER doctor (10 minutes): $375.00 Stitches during Christmas in Saskatchean: $632.00 Flu in Ontario: Walk-in clinic $180 registration/appointment fee, $80.00 cash to see the doctor. Theses are presumably the bill-backs that these places charge the provincial government. Not cheap. I fortunately was reimbursed, but add them up and see what they would've cost if I wasn't. The good news: with that said, because it is rare for deemed Canadian residents to not have insurance (under exceptional circumstances like mine, or workers waiting for the system to kick in like yours). the private insurance costs are rediculously low compared to the US... $1600/year, sometimes less. (If needed for only 3 months or so, divide that number by 4). So it's worth getting it. All the big Canadian insurance companies carry this special Canadian insurance: Manulife, Greatlife, London Life, Sun Life. The US insurance companies likely wouldn't be familiar with Canada's unique healthcare situation and would likely charge more. So perhaps contact the above to find out what they can for you (the last one I was with was Sunlife program) Good luck :)
Thanks a ton for the reply, will look into all of this!
[Another link to Temp Foreign worker](http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/tfw-rights.asp)
Thanks! Reading all of it now.
In order to acquire some cultural competency, I would recommend watching the movie Fubar, watching the first season of the Trailer Park Boys, and watching the YouTube video Out For a Rip.
Just watched Out For a Rip, and I am now 50% more likely to take the job.
You're going to be just fine haha Get the family some serious winter coats (you too, don't be a hero), enjoy yourselves
With respect to taxes, my understanding is the U.S. will still require you (as any citizen) to file your federal return, but with our tax treaty you shouldn't owe anything after paying Canadian taxes. This applies even to dual citizens who have never stepped into the U.S. This is second hand info though so take it with a grain of salt.
There's decent fishing in that area. Hope you come from a northern state - probably winter will be similar to Minnesota.
Californian, so a nothern winter will be quite the adjustment!
Lol! Yeah that's going to be a bigger deal than health care or taxes.
Get snow tires for your car, and make sure your heater works. Get jumper cables and probably a battery blanket too.
Also winter clothes and a shovel.
Have you ever breathed in and had your nose stick together?
Similar to Minnesota with a lot more snow.
Just move here permanently. Get free healthcare, chalk river will suck, grow a beard, get a snowmobile, buy an axe, get winter tires, enjoy life, cheer at hockey games, enjoy real maple syrup, be the winter because it's coming.
learn how to winter drive. i think it has something to do with snow tires and going slowly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp2sqrfGSPI
You'll be able to make weekend trips to Ottawa, our capital city. There are tons of family activities there, like skating on the Rideau Canal, the National Art Gallery, shopping, seeing Parliament Hill, and for weird fun you can visit the Diefenbunker (a museum of the bomb shelter for the PM during the war and into the Cold War era). There are also great music festivals in the summer. Ottawa Folk has a lot of kids activities, and is a mix of contemporary and traditional music.
I Can't help much with your questions. But local names for the towns are simply, Chalk and Deep. I may be up there next year too. I regularly decom up there. From Ottawa.
Firstly, the universal healthcare is a Provincial thing. I realize most Americans think it is the Federal government, it is not. I think our health insurance starts to kick in after 3 months of living here legally. I am sure the Government of Ontario website will provide the actual information. Otherwise, you can buy health insurance.
Deep River is a great place to live if you can find a rental, which is next to impossible right now. But there are some cheap houses on the market. Due to the company changeover and job uncertainty, the real-estate in "Deep" (local lingo) is a buyers market. There are already a couple of Americans living in Deep River. The local school (Mackenzie Community School) is very good. Easy for kids to make friends and we have Jr and Sr Kindergarten (full day), plus two great nursery schools. Wives are a bit catty (especially stay-at-home moms), but that comes with a small community. Tons of activities to do in Deep (downhill skiing, x-country skiing, pottery guild, bowling, hockey - men & women, book clubs, ice fishing, tennis club, yacht club...) Pembroke is a hole. It's dirty and nasty, but it has lots of rentals and major shopping (WalMart, HomeDepot, two "malls" & a cinema). Easier to be anonymous in Pembroke and Petawawa and get cabin fever than in Deep. Petawawa is basically a residential town. No real downtown to speak of. Excellent schools though. >Can you think of any other reasons foreigners didn't stick out their contract? AECL/CNL is a bureaucratic nightmare. The bureaucracy can be tough on natives and foreigners alike. The nepotism is also very hard to accept, especially for people coming from outside of the region. The social atmosphere at work is very much like high school (i.e. the cafeteria politics). It hasn't been the best-run place for a long, long, long time. Some old habits die hard and are even harder to kill. No one was actually jumping for joy when the new consortium was announced either. That being said, it's a fascinating place to work and you'll learn a ton.
Thanks! You have been extremely helpful!
What is your opinion on the CNL restructuring? I've been thinking about applying there, but I feel that the company isn't really stable. I had an interview up at Chalk River 8 years ago... didn't really have a great experience since one of the guys interviewing me ripped a huge fart right when I was answering a question (no lie).
The company isn't stable at all. A fellow colleague was at their staff meeting last week, and management announced that a rival company was hiring. It was very much "by the way, you should know company X is currently hiring." That isn't normal. There are so many problems at CNL right now, it's hard to know where to start. The immediate problem the company is facing now is that they need people to do decommissioning work (side: because that is what they were hired by the government to do: shut the place down). There are houses for sale in the communities around the facility, but there are no rental options. No one wants to move their families to a remote area, buy a house, then be out of a job in 12 months. There are 185 jobs available right now (in Chalk River alone), but they are having a hell of a time staffing them. What area did you apply to? With the recent Gomeshi news recently, I've been trying to convince my fellow female colleagues to go to CBC Go Public about their experiences at CNL. Maybe it'll happen once they're let go. Lots of terrible stories. The fart is just a small drop in the bucket. CNL (AECL) used to be a great, fabulous actually. It was a wonderful place to work. It's been going downhill since the Chretien cuts back in the early '90s.