In 98/99 (back when I was a regular forum poster) I did a season in Whistler working night audit. A year later my brother did the same thing. Now 18 years later my two cousins are on the same pilgrimage. The both have job interviews with the mountain this Saturday. The problem is they found out there is a staff housing crisis this year, and there is no room for them. And there is a waiting list of 300 people. They now have to figure out if they can find a season long private rental, or go elsewhere in Canada - maybe Big White, Fernie, Lake Louise etc. Can anyone help with how to go about finding private housing in Whistler, or suggest what other resort to consider for season work? Appreciate any advice - the boys are in Whistler staying in a youth hostel ahead of their interviews on Satuday. It will kill them if they get jobs but can't stay because of lack of staff accommodation.
There is no real answer to the housing crisis - It is the worst it has ever been. There was a line of 70 people for a bedroom being rented within a house. I have heard there are issues at other resort too but don't quote me. Whistler is certainly not the place to be this season if you haven't lined up accommodation already.
Look up the whistler season group - lots of accomodation offered on there. Also in Jan more becomes available as all the uni studes are gone
Always lots of turnover right after new years, lots of places dump the people who proved themselves to be dead wood during the busy holiday season.
My son is also there now , and says the same thing . He has just moved into a hostel until he can find something .
Whistler is way to crowded and to much chaos these days IMO. Great spot for a 2 week skiing holiday. Working would suck IMO. Id definitely look at another less populated option. Banff is the first obvious one. I did a season at Lake Louise in 06/07. And it was terrific. Weekends were busy naturally (no way near Whistler buys though), but week days skiing was so awesome (out of Holiday period) no lines what so ever, even mid-week powder days were quiet. Its a much more real Canadian experience IMO. Every second person in Whistler is an Aussie these days and these folk give Aussies such a bad name the way they behave. So my suggestion is save Whistler for holidays, but look inland for the working/skiing experience. Banff, Lake Lousie, Big White, Sun Peaks, Sunshine lots of options
45 minutes. Pemberton is another option. It is closer (30m). It is the other side of whistler, which means further from Vancouver. Much less touristy. Lots of locals who work in Whistler live in Pemby.
It really depends how old someone is and what they want out of their season. For someone young that enjoys partying as well as skiing there's no better place than Whistler. There's plenty of time in someone's more senior years to ski in places like Big White and Sun Peaks.
Thanks for all the comments guys. The boys in 8 days the boys managed to pick up mountain jobs and private housing. Three of them rented a 1 bedroom unit (split over 3 levels) in Whistler Cay for $800/each per month. It's a short walk to the centre of Whistler Village, which is a probably better than staff for location. Oh, and benchives - the dogs settled in well. We moved onto 2.5 acres of bushland, so they chase possums and wallabies instead of moose and squirrels.
