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Confused.. Why Canada?

Confused.. Why Canada?

Old Nov 4th 2007, 3:46 pm
  #76  
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Default Re: Confused.. Why Canada?

Originally Posted by mc_dub
I managed to be able to sit on the porch with my hat, scarf and gloves on chatting with friends and having a good time when it was -20, also managed the commute without being late once to work the entire winter.
Sounds painful. I am not risking hypothermia sitting on my porch in -20 and no Canadians do that. If they saw you doing that in the middle of the winter on your porch bundled up, they would think you are mad. Enjoying the winter is one thing, putting yourself through pain is quite another.

I've done it in Scarborough, Etobicoke, downtown.
Those are the worst areas of town. I would be careful next time if I were you. I don't go to Scarborough or Etobicoke in the day time, let alone at 3 AM.

I don't know what that says about you or your neighbours but I knew and was welcome at least 6 houses in each direction by the end of my year there and my group of friends has people of various backgrounds and ethnicities. Maybe it's just easier to inter-mingle at a younger age?
I don't think so. It seems to be the norm in most places. I have seen that with my friends as well and no one knows their neighbours. What do you mean "younger age"? I am talking people in their 30s here. Though my neighbours are of all ages.
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Old Nov 4th 2007, 3:49 pm
  #77  
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Default Re: Confused.. Why Canada?

[QUOTE=raine66;5507485]
Originally Posted by bazzz

Kent - just part of greater London really. House prices are out of the league of anyone who didn't buy in the past 15 years.[/QUOTE]


Not true we bought in Kent in January 2002, granted we paid what I thought was alot at the time for a 3 bedroom semi $130,000, but sold it in 2006 for £202,500 nice profit.

erm.... I think you just proved the original posters point
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Old Nov 4th 2007, 3:52 pm
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Default Re: Confused.. Why Canada?

Originally Posted by AdrianTO
What am I missing? Why Canada?

Castor canadensis.
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Old Nov 4th 2007, 3:54 pm
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Default Re: Confused.. Why Canada?

Originally Posted by PeterF
I eventually bought a tiny 2 bed flat in South Ealing at almost double the cost of the 4 bed house I sold.
South Ealing and Harrow are both great areas. I haven't been to Harrow for a while, but Ealing seems the same to me, with a couple of more expensive bars.

What I miss, no local pub for socialising, town centres with with life, here they are dead as the malls and de-centralised shopping areas have killed the town centre.
And this is one of the things I hate about N America in general. The town centres are depressing places and there is no place where you see a lively gathering of people. You have to either go to the mall or in the case of Toronto to a few streets downtown. But, that is about it.
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Old Nov 4th 2007, 3:55 pm
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Default Re: Confused.. Why Canada?

Originally Posted by Hart50
Typical for a Torontonian to equate Canada with Toronto. That is why the rest of your fellow Canadians like you so much. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way to sunny Spain.
And I've been trying to think of something at this level to say for two days, I must be losing it.
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Old Nov 4th 2007, 3:55 pm
  #81  
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Default Re: Confused.. Why Canada?

We seriously considered moving to Italy from the UK several years ago, but for the following reasons decided against it:

Too expensive - the lifestyle/property/business we wanted would have meant having at least the same debt level as the UK, if not higher (and we weren't looking to move to a major city).

Language - we speak reasonable Italian, but certainly not to a level that we'd be able to conduct business. It would restrict our options (and therefore income) for a number of years until fluent.

Economy - not the most stable.

Location - we wanted hot, dry summers and easy access to winter skiing. That was unfeasible mostly due to the cost of areas that attracted us.

Moving around Europe doesn't necessarily provide easy solutions, more cash in your pocket, or the opportunities that Canada does. Moving here has ticked most of the boxes that we considered important. I no longer have a commute, my debt v asset ratio has altered hugely, the climate suits us better, crime is far less obvious, people are friendlier (less insular) and most importantly, we're happier.
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Old Nov 4th 2007, 3:58 pm
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Default Re: Confused.. Why Canada?

Originally Posted by AdrianTO
Sounds painful. I am not risking hypothermia sitting on my porch in -20 and no Canadians do that. If they saw you doing that in the middle of the winter on your porch bundled up, they would think you are mad. Enjoying the winter is one thing, putting yourself through pain is quite another.



Those are the worst areas of town. I would be careful next time if I were you. I don't go to Scarborough or Etobicoke in the day time, let alone at 3 AM.



I don't think so. It seems to be the norm in most places. I have seen that with my friends as well and no one knows their neighbours. What do you mean "younger age"? I am talking people in their 30s here. Though my neighbours are of all ages.

Actually, I was the only non-Canadian sitting out there and sometimes there would be up to 10 of us playing cards, having a drink or just sitting talking and not all that uncomfortable when bundled up.

i know they're the worst areas of town, that's why I mentioned them. I have friends and family in both and often used Scarborough to get downtown depending on train/bus times but I know how to act and handle myself in places that have bad reputations. Not hanging around strip malls being my first and best tip!!

Well I'm in my mid 20s, most of the neighbours are between 30-60 and they all know each other, have gone to some peoples' cottage, helped build a new fence with others, cleared the driveway for a few of them and so on but I will say it's a lot easier to be a good and friendly neighbour when you're not in an apartment building as there's less you can do to accidentally p!$$ them off
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Old Nov 4th 2007, 3:58 pm
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Default Re: Confused.. Why Canada?

You certainly started an emotive topic! People have moved around the world ever since we found a way to do so. It is a sense of adventure, trying something different, going into the unknown. Now though we have the luxury of traveling and finding out more about each place before we move. What appeals to one may not appeal to another, each individual has their own reasons.

When one grows up, or spends a long time somewhere, it is easy to become blasé about it and not recognize what it has to offer. There are more people moving into Britain than out, however does this mean it is better? Better for some and not others perhaps.

We moved to Canada as an adventure, we thought a change would be good and fancied Canada. Europe held no appeal to us whatsoever. We have been fortunate and have done and continue to do many things we think would have been unlikely in Britain or other parts of Europe. Many Europeans I believe still think of Canada as a bit of a frontier, somewhere still to be explored. We just don't have to catch our own food anymore and birch bark canoes have been replaced by the Greyhound.
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Old Nov 4th 2007, 4:04 pm
  #84  
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Default Re: Confused.. Why Canada?

Originally Posted by Venus
So I could ask you the same....why Spain? Don't get me wrong is my country and I love it...for holidays and visiting my family but not to live there. Yes it might seem the perfect place if you look at it from a tourist point of you, I also love Marbella, Murcia, Costa del Sol when I go on holidays but the reality is that Spain has problems like any other country. The level of unemployment is very very high, they have a lot of problems with housing and imigration and also terrorism.
I guess the advantage I have is that I don't have to look for a job. So, it really is like being on holiday most of the time. I work, but from home and on my own schedule.

As much as I love being Spain I don't want my children to grow there, I don't particulary like their education system either.
.
What don't you like about the education system in Spain? While I was there, my brother was there with his family as well and sent his 5 yr old son to the local Spanish state school. He spoke no Spanish. But, he was very happy in the school, made friends, the teacher was very attentive and he learnt a lot. My mother who was a teacher in Canada compared the study materials and said that the level of education was higher than Canada in many cases. The schools here, specially in large towns are a mess. Discipline problems are horrendous and the teachers are afraid to discipline the children.
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Old Nov 4th 2007, 4:09 pm
  #85  
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Default Re: Confused.. Why Canada?

So what gives?
Mostly the fact that that growth is concentrated at the top end of the earnings scale. the gap between rich and poor is growing rapidly. A large portion of the growth is driven exclusively by house prices because we cant build enough houses to keep the supply anywhere near the demand. Its now so bad that if the government created some means of delivering the houses quickly it would have a huge negative effect on the economy.

Couples and families are finding themselves working longer and harder for less in lifestyle terms not money terms. People have had enough, the desire for a work- life balance is overtaking the desire for cash which your only going to plough into a huge mortgage.

You don't like Toronto we get that, we all feel the same about the places we live. The people on this forum and no doubt the other forums spend a lot of time here researching, questioning and most spend a fair amount of cash visiting the places they want to spend their lives/raise their kids. I for one am more interested in the opportunities that my kids will get out of Canada than those I will. Just because you don't understand our reasons doesn't make them less reasonable, sensible or well researched. I wouldn't move to Spain under any circumstances but good luck to you. Not many people here are under much illusion about what to expect in Canada.
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Old Nov 4th 2007, 4:12 pm
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Default Re: Confused.. Why Canada?

Originally Posted by AdrianTO
South Ealing and Harrow are both great areas. I haven't been to Harrow for a while, but Ealing seems the same to me, with a couple of more expensive bars.
.
Harrow is no longer an area I would state as being great.

South Ealing (as opposed to Ealing) is good, just a shame the cost of keeping a tiny flat with little or no chance of upgrading as the price of 'real' houses spiral yet even further out of reach.

Mortgages are now being offered to groups of friends as single couples cannot buy.
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Old Nov 4th 2007, 4:26 pm
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Default Re: Confused.. Why Canada?

Originally Posted by AdrianTO
I guess the advantage I have is that I don't have to look for a job. So, it really is like being on holiday most of the time. I work, but from home and on my own schedule.
So I presume you work via the internet, you don't need face to face (in the same room) meetings with customers and have a client base.

Good for you.


I think you'll find people here are normal people who have to go to work. They don't have your nice position.

They do not have your option of being able to move to Spain and make a good living witout having to learn the local language.

Can't help feeling at times that your just here to rub peoples noses in it.
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Old Nov 4th 2007, 4:31 pm
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Default Re: Confused.. Why Canada?

Might be a bit harsh Peter, if that is the intent it's not going well! I've no interest in Europe or somewhere with a warmer climate, if I did I'd head to Oz or California or would have gone for that interview in Malaga. To quote the episode of the Simpsons that just uttered it "I guess happiness is wherever you find it"
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Old Nov 4th 2007, 4:46 pm
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Default Re: Confused.. Why Canada?

Originally Posted by PeterF
So I presume you work via the internet, you don't need face to face (in the same room) meetings with customers and have a client base.
Yes, I work via the internet and don't have clients that I need to meet face to face.

It gives me options. But those options are a headache, because with so many options, it is hard to settle on one. Moreover, I am still single and don't have a family or kids to drag around.

I guess maybe my perceptions are skewed by the fact that I don't have to look for employment where ever I move. The language on the other hand, I think if I moved to Spain, in order to fully integrate and get the most out of my experience, I would make every attempt to learn it.
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Old Nov 4th 2007, 4:46 pm
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Default Re: Confused.. Why Canada?

Originally Posted by PeterF
So I presume you work via the internet, you don't need face to face (in the same room) meetings with customers and have a client base.

Good for you.


I think you'll find people here are normal people who have to go to work. They don't have your nice position.

They do not have your option of being able to move to Spain and make a good living witout having to learn the local language.

Can't help feeling at times that your just here to rub peoples noses in it.

I don't think that's fair.

A lot of people work from home and they are normal people. They have just made different decisions about how to live their lives and those decisions have pros and cons.

I decided 15 years ago that I preferred not going to a job but working for myself from home. It suits me and it works for me. There is no gun pointing at people's heads forcing them to commute to a job.

Relating back to one of the OP points: "Here people live a commuter lifestyle, not much different from the UK."

Sometimes I shake my head when I read threads on here by people wanting to "start a new life!!!!" in Canada as they are sick of the rat race in the UK, yet they go about making decisions that re-create a similar way of living that caused them so much frustration in the UK ("Can someone recommen an area an hours commute from downtown?" ... and I wonder why don't they try changing how they live in the UK rather than moving to a foreign country? (I'm not referring to people that are 'pulled' to Canada.)
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