Planning on moving to the Canadian Mountains, but don’t know where to start? Whether you’re coming from Oslo or Ottawa, our guide will help you get your new life in the mountains underway. Split into three parts – where to work, where to live, and how to get there – we hope this guide helps you make your dream a reality!
Where to Work
(aka how to find your dream job in the mountains!)
Luckily, finding a job in the Canadian Mountains can be relatively easy. The transient nature of these towns means that there are constantly new job opportunities becoming available, whether you plan on being here for a season, or a lifetime, or for any length of time in between!
Canada's mountain towns mainly rely on the hospitality and tourism industries to bring tourists in, so the majority of work you will find available are for hotels, restaurants, retail and experiences around these towns. Don't have any experience in these fields? No problem. Most companies are willing to train you as long as you have some working experience and a positive attitude. Many of these businesses also require support and administration staff to remain organized along with supervisors and managers to help run the business, so if you have some experience in these industries already, you may consider applying for a supervisor position.
We hope you consider working for our Fairmont Hotels & Resorts when you are searching for your dream job. The Fairmont resorts located in the Canadian Western Mountain Region (Fairmont Banff Springs, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and Fairmont Chateau Whistler) are largely regarded as some of the top employers in these towns. They offer high quality staff accommodations, stellar travel perks and with these hotels having over thirty different departments, there’s plenty of opportunity to find that ‘right’ job.
Interested in working for Fairmont's Mountain Region? Learn more about each of our hotels in our Which Fairmont Mountain Resort is Right for You blog.
Where to Live
In these mountain towns, finding housing can be extremely competitive, and good accommodation is in high demand. Many employers in these towns will offer staff Accommodation; essentially housing that is owned and operated by your employer and because of that, you get subsidized rent and a pretty sweet couple of minutes commute to work (no more traffic or endless transit rides!).
“Staff accom” can vary in quality and in price and can range vary from 1920s cabins (Parent Trap vibes, anyone?) to ski-in, ski-out apartments, and everything in between. Check out the staff accommodations Fairmont Resorts offers in Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and Whistler to get an idea of what's available.
When looking for a job in the mountains, we highly recommend taking into consideration the quality of staff accommodation offered as this will be your new home for the foreseeable future. It's important to note that if you are coming with friends, most employers will only let you live in staff housing together if you are all working for the same employer. Nothing worse than moving here with your besties only to realize that you can’t be roommates!
How to Get There
When it comes down to actually getting to these mountain towns you have two real options, by car (if you live in Canada and have your own) or by plane. We recommend the first option if it's available because this will allow you to pack all the necessities you will need to live out here (like your skis and snowboard). But if this isn't an option, most people fly into one of the major cities close to these mountain towns and then take a bus from the airport into town.
Once your in the town, most people rely on public transportation or road bikes to get around. The public transportation systems in Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and Whistler are quite robust and most towns offer a free bus pass for locals. There are plenty of bikes available for sale when you get into town so you can always purchase one once you've settled in.
Bonus Tip: Maximizing your Paycheque
So you’ve landed our dream job and have arrived at your budget-friendly staff accommodation - curious how to spend your paycheque? Here’s how to have a load of fun whilst also managing to save some money (student loans, anyone?).
A gig at the Fairmont has the added benefits of offering some awesome perks that help maximize your paycheques on fun things (i.e. your skill hill pass!) rather than bills. Many of their hotels offer one free meal per working day (no more having to pack lunch - yes please!), unlimited coffee and tea, free dry-cleaning for uniforms, and the ability to borrow things like mountain bikes, camping gear, and even board games for a chill night in with friends. Their hotels in Lake Louise and Jasper even have staff-only pubs with discounted food & drinks, while the Banff, Jasper & Whistler hotels all offer discounted passes on their world-class golf courses. Plus, we haven’t even mentioned the discounts on other Fairmont hotels, restaurants, stores and spas!
If you’re working in a permanent full time role, you also get access to health benefits on medical, dental, vision, mental health, massages and more. If you’re not going to be in a full time role and you won’t have access to these benefits, you can still apply for provincial health insurance which will help you save money from any unfortunate medical bills.
Thank you for reading our Guide to Moving to a Canadian Mountain Town, we hope to see you in the mountains soon!
Ready for an adventure? Visit FairmontMTNJobs.com to learn more about what it's like to live, work and play in Fairmont's Mountain Region.
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