Eastern Canada....
 

So.... incase we do not make it all the way back to the UK after all and decide to try out the East Coast of Canada first ;) ....can anyone give us the lowdown on living in any of the Eastern provinces please ?

Newfoundland, NS, PEI or New Bruswick all sound intriguing.....

.....I guess the first question to ask is how easy is it to get jobs doing things like Project Management/Arts Admin and Car Sales or to work as a Musician?

It sure looks like housing is a hec of a lot cheaper than in Alberta now....is this still true ?

Any feedback on the relative merits of all these places and towns you'd recommend where one could find work (we aren't fishermen material !) would be greatly appreciated....we're just beginning our research on this one.

Squidlet :)

Re: Eastern Canada....
 

Hi, Atlantic Canada as a whole is having to re-invent itself -

It mainly employs persons in these industries -

Fishing, Timber, Oil refinement and in the summer months Tourism.

Atlantic Canadians are extremely friendly and aware of World issues (in comparison to US persons).

At present Alberta draws many persons westward - almost like a 19th century wagons west mad rush - Alberta`s economy has been boyd-up by the discovery of crude in sand deposits.

Consequently, a lot of homes in Atlantic Canada are empty - and it is a "buyers" market - in the west of Canada, it`s a "seller`s" market.

At present - the Atlantic Provincial Governments all run great Nominee Programmes for Immigrants to here.

Check them all out.

My wife and I came here - to NB - stating we would enter the tourism industry - we bought a house and it is a licensed B&B.

We also go out to P/T work - so we are set up here nicely!

We DO NOT regret coming here - although I will point out - a lot of our friends do live an almost "hand to mouth" existence, which is not terrible I know - but Canada is NOT the "Shangrala" - that it first appears to be!!!

Re: Eastern Canada....
 

Hi,
Are things really that bad for people in the area- ' hand to mouth existence'?
Why don't those people come up with solutions for their problems? Noone can possibly enjoy living like that!

Louise

Re: Eastern Canada....
 

If you do some research on Atlantic Canada, you will find that traditionally the eastern provinces were sustained quite nicely on the fisheries and logging. With the decline of the fish stocks in the Atlantic, a good number of those whose livelyhood depended on the seas is gone or very near gone. When there are no fish to catch, there are no jobs for fishermen. No fish no jobs for the women who worked in the canneries. Same with logging. Where things were done my men with saws, now machinery does a great deal of the work.
The people of the east coast (vast generalization here) are not as interested in the same things as those in western Canada. They are not as materialistic in there wants and needs. You see very few people in St. John's or Moncton driving around in a Lexus SUV. Not because they can't afford it, but because they don't care. The "hand to mouth" existance that steve of 5-0 wrote about is in fact not a terrible thing to have. For the most part the 'down homers' are happy, friendly people who would give the shirt off their backs to anyone in need. And yes, a lot of them do in fact enjoy living like that.
I think you would find a huge difference in the people from Alberta and the people from anywhere east of Quebec City.

Re: Eastern Canada....
 

Hi there, here's a good website about PEI immigration including jobs:
http://www.gov.pe.ca/immigration/
That's where we are very much looking forward to living!

Re: Eastern Canada....
 

Hi Squidlet
Well it sounds by your posting you are already in Canada. The east coast of Canada is a great place to live, very friendly people, moderate climate...close to the sea all around! The winters are great, damper than Alberta. Quite a few have chosen NS or PEI as there place to immigrate to. I have been here years and have lived in several other province but much prefer NS. You must remember it is smaller than the rest of Canada and doesn't have the population so you may have to look for the job you want or start your own. Not everyone is a fisherman! Check out the job site for NS or PEI.

Re: Eastern Canada....
 

Hand to mouth!!!!
Empty houses!!!

What can I say to that without being rude?

Re: Eastern Canada....
 

We are hoping to make the move to NB.
We have made friends out there who are NB born and bred. One is a lift and Fairground ride inspector (works for the govenment). Both his sons work in IT and his married daughter is going back to school to study accountancy. Another friend works in a call centre. Yet another has his own mechanics (mending cars) business and buys and does up houses to sell along with his wife as well.

I know very few people there but none of them are fishermen or loggers, but they all make a living.
People so often make sweeping generlisations about the Atlantic provinces, but they are definately worth a look.

Penny

Re: Eastern Canada....
 

Why not NB? Why does everybody ignoor it? :p

There are quite a few of us on this forum either there already or heading in that direction.

Penny

Re: Eastern Canada....
 

Hi Dotnron,
Thanks for clearing that up. I thought 'hand to mouth' existence was not knowing whether or not you and your family were going to eat tomorrow- poverty stricken. Pardon my ignorance. I need to come to Canada quickly! Oh, by the way, would you recommend the atlantic provinces? We are seriously thinking about settling there. We are both teachers.

Louise

Re: Eastern Canada....
 

Penny, sorry I missed the NB off.....I love New Brunswick and done alot of travelling there and would live there if I had to....it is a great place. I happen to think that the whole Atlantic Provinces are wonderful places to settle and call home, and if you can use a little brain power and some perserverance and I am sure most will find jobs or start their own. People are friendly.

Re: Eastern Canada....
 

I have lived in Canada all my life and have lots of family in the maritimes. I have visited New Brunswick too many times to count and can honestly say that if we weren't moving to Australia then it would be either NB or PEI for us. If relaxed lifestyle and friendly people are what you are after, then yes I would recommend the east coast. There is so much to do down east. In the winter there is snowmobiles and cross country skiing, etc. In the summer there are festivals and countless beaches along the coast. Mind, the water is pretty cold, but when we were there last we walked along the PEI shore for hours every day. If you get a chance to, drive up the NB coast to the Gaspe region of Quebec. Some of the most beautiful scenery in Canada is there. Not a great deal of English spoken, but if you can read a little french, you should be fine. My husband and kids don't speak a word of french, and when we stayed there last they were fine. Mind you, I was usually there to translate!

Re: Eastern Canada....
 

Thank you so much for all your advice so far everyone, the Atlantic provinces really sound fabulous and fascinating....we came to AB for a specific reason which does not apply so much anymore so we are free to head more in a direction that would suit us and everything you are saying makes us both think we would fit over there better than here.....

One way we have created a bit of income here is to take in foreign lodgers who are over here learning English (from Japan and Korea)...do you think this kind of opportunity exists in the Eastern provinces? Do you have a lot of EFL/ESL schools ?

Is there much of an artistic/music community in any particular town/city? Do you have Music festivals in the summer ? I am just sounding out the kinds of things that go on that would work with our skills....my husband is a rock n roll musician (not a fiddler, sorry I don't even know who Anne Murray is, someone mentioned her on another Post !)...

Do many people run Youth Hostels ? I am amazed at the prices of land and houses over there, it seems like it would be fairly easy to buy an 11 bedroom building (for us it would be with a biggish mortgage as we haven't made a lot over here in AB !) and then seasonally stuff it with visitors to help pay for it ! Am I living in dreamsville ?

Thanks folks, your replies have been really hepful to us.

Squidlet :)

Re: Eastern Canada....
 

I tell it like it is - compared to the great nanny state of the UK.

People need to be made aware that life here is wonderful - but NOT cushy!

To those who have yet to arrive -

Canada is a country where - persons and companies donate products to small town charity stores - people in a community register and are means tested - those who pass can enter and feed and cloth their family for free.

Just want people to know the things that go on here, that`s all.

It is a very friendly place to live, but to stand tall, you have to do it for yourself - more so then in the UK!

Canada may be (according to the UN) the best place to live, but the line between poverty and self sustaining - is more easily found/seen here, then in the UK.

Again, my wife and I are happy we are here - to all the newbies on the way!

It is very much a case of "Buyer Beware!"

If your plans to settle in Canada, involve immediately going into debt - then if you are outside a provincial capital city - RUN YA FINANCES WITH GREAT CAUTION - as the economy is very, very fluid!!!!

Re: Eastern Canada....
 

Sorry wasn't having a go, but sometimes it seems like the land that time forgot.

Thank you for your response. :D

Penny