AdrianTO

I actually came to this site looking for information about living in Spain or Italy.

I am a Canadian citizen living in Toronto, and I am trying to get out of here. But, I see a lot of people wanting to come here.

I spent the last winter around the Costa del Sol. And the lifestyle is so much better. People are more relaxed, they enjoy their leisure. Spend time with family and friends.

Here people live a commuter lifestyle, not much different from the UK. In fact, people have less vacation time here. And even then, a lot of people don't take all their vacation because of work commitments. They spend hours a week commuting. Everybody I know here doesn't have a life.

So, I am amazed that so many people are going through so much trouble to move here.

Why? What am I missing? Why Canada?

bazzz

Dude, you should move out to BC. It's totally freakin' awesome out here.

FACT: There is more to Canada than Toronto. Also, it's a lot easier to move somewhere where they speak roughly the same language as you.

Elaine B.

You've opened a can of worms here! I shall sit back and read with interest

I moved here (actually Montreal to start with) 8 years ago with my Canadian OH that I met in Belfast (he lived there for 12 years). It seemed like a good idea after a few too many beers. We just got on a plane with no jobs to go to no immigratrion documents, we did zero reasearch and the only thing we organized was my OH mums couch to sleep on.

gotoronto

Hello there

I lived in T.O. for a year and lived in London, UK for a number of years. I hear what you are saying about T.O., but these things you highlight are much worse in the UK. Reasons that we want to leave here are manifold: people are unhappy and unfriendly/rude, the weather is bad (constant rain), housing is not affordable, food is bad, the binge drinking/pub culture in the UK, public transport, prices in general, crime rates, clone towns (too many Tescos), boring place, everyone is chasing the money. Oh, and London is simply too overcrowded!

Whilst some of these issues will certainly not be resolved by moving to T.O., I personally think they are much less serious over there. In addition, the people are nicer, the culture is more to my liking, standard of living is better, Canada is much more modern, Canada is cleaner, the food is better, house prices are lower and of higher standard, I miss my friends over there, it's a better place to raise kids. Canada is also very international. I lived in many places around the world and I found Toronto offered all my favourite things from different countries in one place.

I am sure everyone has there own reasons for wanting to move... and I don't think any country is the promised land, every country has its pros and cons. But I was happy in T.O. and I am certainly not happy here.

gotoronto

Oh, and yes, as bazz says - there is more to Canada than Toronto... you have a beautiful country full of breathtaking nature and scenery. And a whole other country below you with lots of diverse holiday destinations on offer (when you do get to go on holiday). :-))

airbornesapper

Toronto.....where is that....?

raine66

Like Elaine, pulls up a chair sits back and waits.

Actually I am kinda with you here lived in TO for 10 years went back to UK for 5 and just returned 1 year ago, I dunno but I still don't feel settled.

raine66

Well considering your on the Canada Forum, can we assume Jamaica.

AdrianTO

I think you are looking at Toronto through rose tinted glasses. I would have to disagree with you that these things are much worse in the UK. I lived in London for 5 years in the early Nineties and have lived in Toronto for over 10 years, so I think I can make a good comparision.

Unless you live in a small town, you are going to find the EXACT same thing here.

The weather in Toronto is horrendous from November to at least April or May. It gets cold in London, but it is never as cold as it gets here.

Toronto is getting more an more expensive. A 2 bedroom condo, close to where I live is around $300K and it is not even on the subway line.

You must be joking. London is considered one of the culinary capitals of the world. London has more Michelin starred restaurants than Toronto could ever hope to have.

Toronto crime is getting worse every day. Vancouver and B.C isn't much better. Why? We are right across from the US and guns, drugs and gangs are flowing across the border.

Here a downtown consists of Canadian Tire, Walmart, Tim Hortons, McDonalds. Ugly, depressing, deserted downtowns with punk kids hanging around.

It is exactly the same here. They work all day and go to their little houses in the suburbs at night. They have NO LIFE.

Whilst some of these issues will certainly not be resolved by moving to T.O., I personally think they are much less serious over there.

Again there is no way that this is true.

The houses are nothing better than drywall boxes. The quality of construction is CRAP. Trust me. Hollow walls, cheap fittings. In a couple of years, your house is falling apart. I have owned a house here for years. And the quality of construction is very poor.

I really don't think you can compare London to Toronto. They are not even in the same league. London has been the center of the finance and culture for centuries. The amount of cultural pursuits in London are absolutely staggering. And London is going to grow and become even more important as time goes on. With India and China rising, those companies are looking to London as their financial center, not New York.

rwin

I bet people in Spain and Italy are leaving those countries for the same reasons.

Except for the wood frame, drywall houses (I guess - what are houses in Spain and Italy built out of?)

Dorothy

Although I don't live in Canada anymore, I was born in Oakville and lived in Burlington for 11 years before moving to Australia. My husband worked at Yonge/Sheppard for those 11 years, so we know about the commuter lifestyle.

I think it's difficult for someone to see their own country through the eyes of another. I didn't fully appreciate Canada until I left. Since being in Australia I have found so many little things I miss, such as the smell of the leaves in cottage country in October or an iced cap from Horton's. Stupid things that I'm sure you take for granted. I know I did.

If you want crap construction, you should try over here! When we were talking to our builder they were trying to impress us with the amount of insulation they use. A whopping R2.5 in the roof space and R1.5 in the walls. Wow! 2 sheets of newspaper in the attic instead of the 1 they use in the walls. The windows are single pane and so ill-fitting that even with them all closed up tight the blinds blow in the breeze from the spaces around the edges. It's not just this house, but all 3 of the houses we've lived in here.

Yes, Toronto is a hole but Canada is the second largest country in the world. Toronto is not the be all and end all in the country. If you want a more relaxed lifestyle why not try the east coast? Or one of the smaller cities such as Winnipeg or Edmonton? As much as you think Spain is going to be paradise, you will still have to work, pay your bills, and all the other crap you do in TO. We have found our little corner of paradise in Western Australia, but day to day life still goes on.

I think you should take another look at what you have before you go slagging it off. The immigrants I see who make it are the ones who leave their country not because they hate it but because they are looking for something different.

airbornesapper

Sun dried animal droppings made into bricks.

May as well be given that in Spain they allow the repossession of your property at the drop of a hat leaving you with little of the land you may have purchased or in the worst case take the lot.

Oh yeah...nice place....not....

airbornesapper

Thanks for the steer...but to be sure I googled it...turns out toronto is in the USA. Who would have thunk it...

http://kids.swaminarayan.org/news/us...nto/photo1.htm

You live and learn...

AdrianTO

I don't necessarily want a more "relaxed lifestyle". I want a "richer lifestyle". The ability to do things I can't do here.

The one big problem with all your suggestions is that is TOO DAMN COLD! I am tired of freezing my butt off for 6 months a year.

I don't necessarily think it is going to be paradise. Luckily I work from home. So, even in Toronto, I don't have the commuter lifestyle. But, my idea is that, if I can work from anywhere, why confine myself to Toronto?

But, you are right ,that sometimes you don't see things other do. That is why my post. I want to see why so many people want to move here. Maybe I am missing something.

Crasher Dai

There is a lot more to Canada than Toronto. It is a shame that 90% of new imigrants settle within 50 miles of Toronto or Vancouver. This means you have to compete with gazilions of other imigrants including our Asian cousins who will work 18 hrs a day for peanuts so the pay is depressed. Look at Alberta....Jobs galore, good pay even for entry levsls or menial jobs, great scenery & people who are much more friendly than those in Toronto where they would rather shoot you!