How do I go about moving across the country.

Question

I am 16 and very eager to move out. I just got back from visiting relatives in Kamloops B.C. - I have been talking with my mother about moving there at the end of the month (possibly two) and she is very serious about it, as am I! I am getting a job tomorrow and will be working 24/7 (my friend went to tim hortons, they hired her in a day and she was allowed to work whenever she wanted for as long as she wanted!) I have many questions!!

1. Will they rent an appartment to a 16 year old?

2. How does the guardian ship work? I have an aunt who will live down the street from me and is willing to help me anyway she can. How do I go about doing this?

3. Can a relator help me find an appartment?

How can I make this work!! HELP!!

Answer 1

1) Probably not.  Maybe with your aunt acting as guarantor.

2) I agree that, with mom's permission, you don't NEED a guardian.  But having the aunt there is probably good.

3) Realtors' can help sometimes, but they won't work that hard for a rental, they don't make any money off them compared to selling a house.

One last item about TH:  It's a good company, but like all quick service establishments, they pay minimum:  $8 per hour in BC, and they might even pay you the 500 hour 'training' wage of $6.  And they will NOT allow you to work 24/7, sorry.  They MAY let you work 40 hrs per week if you are reliable and efficient, but certainly no more than that.  No QS place is going to pay overtime for their staff, and that's the law above 40 hrs in BC.

So keep in mind that you MAXIMUM weekly wage will be $320, and could be $240 (for the first 500 hrs) or even less.  That might seem like a lot to you, but start doing the math on apartments, heat/light. food, transportation, etc etc.

Answer 2

1.  No they probably won't rent an apartment to a 16 year old.

2.  I don't know about guardianship, I don't think you need one, but perhaps your aunt could be a guarantor for your apartment lease or you could live with your aunt.

3.  Yes realtors help with rentals, but you aren't going to be at the top of any landlords list - they do things like employment history and credit checks.

Tim Horton may let you work a lot of hours, but the pay is close to minimum wage and the tips suck.  Have you considered staying in school and going for something better?