First thing I'd say is that if your concerns are all over whether you are going to meet people, I wouldn't worry too much. I'd describe it as being a bit like when you first go to University (if you have been), most people are there for the same reason, so regardless of age, or where you are from, everybody shares one thing in common.
If you go out there at the start of the season, around the job fair time, it's almost a guarantee you will meet people, as there are no tourists. Pretty much everyone staying in the staff housing accommodation, private accommodation and all the hostels is going to be there for the season. A job will also bring you an instant circle of new friends.
Saying that though, I would like to point out one thing about Whistler, it's a small Village, but it can feel like a City. Reason being is that it's a very popular place, for people coming up from Vancouver on weekends, tourists from all over the world and of course thousands of people doing a season. It's very different to doing a season in the Alps where it's a much more tight knit community. In a French resort you are likely to know many of the other Brits and you will know people working in shops and the bars. Thats why I said in one of my earlier posts that Whistler is a lot different in Summer because it's so much quieter. Anywhere else in Canada, you might have a unique quality about you as a Brit, but in Whistler everybody is from somewhere else (especially Australia) so you are just like everybody else, it's very multicultural.
Which Instructor Course is guaranteeing you a job after completing Level 1?
Also if you have to find housing in the middle of the season, you aren't going to have the same kind of choices as at the start, especially if you end up wanting to rent somewhere with the people you've made friends with on the course.
If wanting accommodation for the season and guaranteed friends is one of your prime worries, it is possible to book accommodation in advance before you get to Whistler. There are a number of companies, including some British ones, which you can book a season with.
They tend to have some well equipped, large properties for big numbers of people with amenities like hot tubs, TVs, games consoles etc.
The only real downside to them is the the value for money.
You will be paying at least £3,500 for the season rental and that will be in a shared room, with possibly more than one other person.
This is obviously far more than what the rent would be if you just turn up in Whistler and find somewhere.
I actually stayed in a Seasonaires property during my second season in Whistler. I knew it was far more expensive, but at the time I was originally supposed to be leaving, but at the last minute decided to do another winter and accommodation by then was thin on the ground, so I had little choice. I stayed in nine different places in my time in Whistler and the property they had was by far the best. There were eighteen of us, mostly Brits and nearly all were there for the season, aside from a few which were beds for people doing a couple of weeks here and there. A few people worked, but I was quite glad not to be this time.
So that's one option available to you.
But honestly, when I went out there, I arrived in Vancouver with nothing more than three extra nights in a hostel and a small amount of money. There was a point when I first got there, still jet lagged where I was like "What the hell am I doing here? I'm miles away from home, with only enough money to last a couple of weeks".
After that though, everything just somehow fell into the right place and it still remains the best experience I've ever had. I'm hoping I might finally get back out to Whistler for a couple of weeks holiday this year, as it's been a while since I was last there.
If you go out there at the start of the season, around the job fair time, it's almost a guarantee you will meet people, as there are no tourists. Pretty much everyone staying in the staff housing accommodation, private accommodation and all the hostels is going to be there for the season. A job will also bring you an instant circle of new friends.
Saying that though, I would like to point out one thing about Whistler, it's a small Village, but it can feel like a City. Reason being is that it's a very popular place, for people coming up from Vancouver on weekends, tourists from all over the world and of course thousands of people doing a season. It's very different to doing a season in the Alps where it's a much more tight knit community. In a French resort you are likely to know many of the other Brits and you will know people working in shops and the bars. Thats why I said in one of my earlier posts that Whistler is a lot different in Summer because it's so much quieter. Anywhere else in Canada, you might have a unique quality about you as a Brit, but in Whistler everybody is from somewhere else (especially Australia) so you are just like everybody else, it's very multicultural.
Which Instructor Course is guaranteeing you a job after completing Level 1?
Also if you have to find housing in the middle of the season, you aren't going to have the same kind of choices as at the start, especially if you end up wanting to rent somewhere with the people you've made friends with on the course.
If wanting accommodation for the season and guaranteed friends is one of your prime worries, it is possible to book accommodation in advance before you get to Whistler. There are a number of companies, including some British ones, which you can book a season with.
They tend to have some well equipped, large properties for big numbers of people with amenities like hot tubs, TVs, games consoles etc.
The only real downside to them is the the value for money.
You will be paying at least £3,500 for the season rental and that will be in a shared room, with possibly more than one other person.
This is obviously far more than what the rent would be if you just turn up in Whistler and find somewhere.
I actually stayed in a Seasonaires property during my second season in Whistler. I knew it was far more expensive, but at the time I was originally supposed to be leaving, but at the last minute decided to do another winter and accommodation by then was thin on the ground, so I had little choice. I stayed in nine different places in my time in Whistler and the property they had was by far the best. There were eighteen of us, mostly Brits and nearly all were there for the season, aside from a few which were beds for people doing a couple of weeks here and there. A few people worked, but I was quite glad not to be this time.
So that's one option available to you.
But honestly, when I went out there, I arrived in Vancouver with nothing more than three extra nights in a hostel and a small amount of money. There was a point when I first got there, still jet lagged where I was like "What the hell am I doing here? I'm miles away from home, with only enough money to last a couple of weeks".
After that though, everything just somehow fell into the right place and it still remains the best experience I've ever had. I'm hoping I might finally get back out to Whistler for a couple of weeks holiday this year, as it's been a while since I was last there.
