From The Vancouver Sun

Small-town immigrants at financial advantage: study
Newcomers achieve income parity with Canadians faster in smaller centres
Meagan Fitzpatrick, Canwest News Service
Published: Saturday, January 26, 2008
OTTAWA -- Where immigrants choose to plant new roots in Canada appears to affect how much they earn, a new study on the economic integration of immigrants reveals.

The Statistics Canada report, published Friday in Perspectives on Labour and Income, says that most immigrants settle in the places where economic integration is slowest -- in large urban areas.

Even after taking into consideration their education level upon arrival, their ability to speak an official language, their admission class and country of origin, the study found that immigrants achieve income parity with Canadians much faster in smaller centres.

Sounds good, that's just another reason for us to move to a small town - but then I wouldn't live in a city for all the money in the world anyway! Even a small town will be way more built up than we're used to but think we'll need more amenities and people locally so we can integrate better. Very interesting though, thanks for that.

No way I could live in a city either, currently we live in a tiny village and ideally we will want to be 10 -15 mins from a small town community in Canada. So this os another couple for the country life thank you very much!!

Can't say about the financial side as yet because I haven't had to do very much in the work line yet, although I heard this morning that there is an interview pending soon.
Myself and Mrs Inse have lived out of town in the country side for many, many years now and the thought of a big town or city when we came to BC(last Sept) was not ever in the equation.
We live about a 10 min walk from the town yet we are only a 10 min drive from the mountain trails. There is next to no crime, the traffic is light, people extremely friendly and helpful and a great spirit of community. No one is interested in the size of your house, what car you drive or how much you earn etc, you can just be yourself.
There are all the services you need here and we haven't had the same problems as some other BEs seem to have had with doctors, we just walked into a surgery and were taken on straight away.
We have bought our house and are mortgage free, couldn't have done that in the city, For us quality of life has improved no end.
So, for me and Vera the small town thing is just perfect.

I couldn't stand the thought of living in a large city now, Kamloops is 80,000 and does us fine. No traffic, people are friendly, decent job, great friends and the kids love it.

Small towns =

80,000 people is a small town?!? In which case I want to live in a tiny town - think that a small one would be too much of a shock after being in a village with around 400 residents!!

I used to live in a small town, $150k got you a nice little bungalow, the we got discovered and our population continues to double and the weekenders in their BMW's and Land Rovers clog our traffic arteries, but where to move??

Mid Week is still OK, only a few of us on the hills, weekends, forget it, worse than 404.

I honestly dont see the point in emigrating to a large city in Canada, you might as well stay in the UK. Small town life is where the largest "cure" for the UKs ills is to be found if you ask me. And the large towns can still be near enough by when you want a dose of what a small town cant provide.

The trick of course is to find a decent job. It wont pay as much as doing the same thing in the GTA, but your housing costs and improved quality of life will make the financial difference a non issue.

'fraid we're through and through Townies.

I love the idea of country living re: peace and quiet, friendly community spirit et al but I always get bored. Maybe one day when I'm older?

We moved from a town of 100,000+ to a town of 100,000+. Suits us fine and is 5 minutes out into the farmland and some nice 'wee' towns for lazy coffee lunches etc.

I'm sure that there will be some along soon to sing the praises of big city living.

I'd rather pay more for the privilege of living in the city, couldn't bear being more than a half hour from one. I get withdrawal symptoms when I spend a weekend up in Peterborough!!

I suppose that depends on how one defines a big city.

I've heard on this forum that Canada really only has two maybe three big cities, Toronto, Vancouver and perhaps Montreal.

So living in a not big city, population just over a million.

I like to have the amenities of a city even if I don't take advantage of all of them. We enjoy hockey in an NHL arena but can no longer afford NHL prices so it's just as well we enjoy the junior brand of hockey.

I don't very often go downtown if I do it is for a meal or to a play. Very seldom have reason to shop downtown, being retired I don't have to put up with rush hour traffic.

Everything we need is in the northwest quadrant of the city which makes it seem like we are living in a smaller center.

I like big cities. I find London and New York to be inspirational. I like the availabilty of everything at any hour. Toronto I think is big enough to have many of the city problems; traffic, pollution, corruption, gun crime without the advantages of culture and excitement.

If immigrants reach financial parity more quickly in small towns I suspect some reasons for that might be that less immigrants move to small towns, those who do are more likely to have arranged employment and the Canadians in those towns are poorer.

All valid points I suspects. Also climbing the greasy pole in Canada is more to do with social networking, and in a small town people are more likely to get to know you than in some vast faceless city. The sooner you are accepted into a community, the easier it might be to job hop.

Having said that I still think the major component at work here is much lower housing costs, so any income goes further, and if you are lucky enough to bring equity with you, you are going to have a much lower mortgage to finance in a small town than a large city as a result.

Having come with nothing I still see the main benefit of being in a small comunity is the stress level and quality of life seems imesuarably better to me. But then I seldom pine for the delights a city like TO or NY can offer anyway.

I find the problem with small town, or rural, life to be the mileage racked up getting to and from the delights of the town. 450 miles this weekend just going out for Indian food, to the market and to a pub.

Thats why its not for everyone. I make my own indian now. Its a small price to pay in return for the other benefits.