1st time season! Banff or Fernie?!

Hey guys,
So my girlfriend and I are taking a career break this October and have decided to finally fulfill my dream of doing a ski-season :D she's also pretty keen on ditching our life in the desert and becoming ski bums for 6 months...We arrive in Calgary on the 5th of October...so i guess our decision will depend a little on how hard it will it be to get accommodation and jobs in Banff vs fernie..

Had our minds pretty set on Banff but the more I look into fernie the more confused I get! We are both turning 30 this year (got a bit sidetracked with uni and work haha) so we aren't looking to get wasted every night or party like its 2004...we want to be surrounded by likeminded 25-35 year olds who are keen on partying but also want to go on road trips, to try all that the mountain winter life has to offer.

So a few questions:

What else is there to do around fernie when you're having an off day from the slopes? Are there just as many nice locations to roadtrip from fernie as banff?

Looking for some comparisons on the lifestyle of each...I've heard Banff has a lot more English and aussies and we were looking for a more "legit Canadian experience" (I'm Aussie and she's English haha). Thoughts?

Banff is obviously bigger and has more to do but just how quiet is fernie? Banff has 3 ski resorts with a lot more skiing area, could you get bored of fernie over the course of a whole season?
I'm an intermediate boarder and my gf is a beginner...is fernie suitable?

How much more expensive is Banff? We have saved quite a bit but don't want to be working too much to support our lifestyle in Banff.

Any randoms thoughts and ideas about which place and why would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure we are going to have the experience of a lifetime no matter where we pick :D

cheers guys!

Hi Wedore87.

Sorry cannot comment about the suitability of Bannf vs Fernie, but I just want to remind you that the Canadians are pretty strict about who can and cannot work out there. You will need to ensure you have all the correct paperwork sorted before travelling. It is not uncommon for the Canadians to turn people round on arrival if they think you are coming to work and don't have the correct permits. Hate to see you put straight back on a plane on arrival. Good luck.

Main issue with Bannf is that slopes are so far away and the public transport is so poor. Depending on the type of work you get this might severely impact the amount of skiing you get done. No doubting is a great town but from a ski perspective it is more akin to living in Geneva and nipping to the slopes for the afternoon. Perfectly possible but a bit of a faff.

Transport isn't as big an issue for us as we've saved our asses off to buy a car....hoping we can land a job in town for 2 days a week or so...

My main concern is that fernie will be too quiet or that the hill isn't big enough to keep you going all season..have you been to both?

I've been to Fernie (twice) and it's not a big ski area, certainly not by European standards. Small town, a couple of miles from the ski area (a few hotels, lots of houses, but not much else). Quite lively in town but I have serious doubts whether this would suit you, on or off the hill, for a season. Oh, and lots of Australians there for the season.