Alberta_Rose

On the subject of university fees......I am trying to work out how much it wil cost my son to do a 4 year degree in electrical engineering at Calgary, and have the following table:

http://www.ucalgary.ca/awards/WhatsN...oks2004-UG.htm

Can anyone confirm that its plus or minus 7k $ a year? or am I reading it wrong?

Morw (a bear of very little brain......)

hot wasabi peas

You're right Morwenna, $7,000 a year sounds about right .

Glaswegian

When I started university all those years ago the English students (who had A levels) had been told by their teachers in England that their A levels were the equivalent to the first year of Scottish university. It came as an almighty shock to those students when they found out that it wasnt true. It also showed in the grades they achieved!

Mrs G

Glaswegian

That doesnt make for a worse healthcare system. It just means the funding is different. We have found that now that we have to pay for our drugs we get better quality stuff!

You should also bear in mind that you are no longer paying NIC.

You should consider the equivalent of the Alberta Blue Cross - that works our cheaper than buying the drugs in many cases. Dont forget your medical costs are tax deductible here - nothing like that in the UK!

The other thing you can investigate is the provincial program which may pay for your sons medicines for you.

Mrs G

wcitizen

I'm not a red socialist, and I didn't like it when some lazy cheaters in the UK abused NHS or benefits system paid by tax payers (like myself); but the practical difference for me is that if I didn't had a job in the UK my kid's medicine was still covered.

I'm not making anything to pay or not to pay NIC or anything like that.

Thanks for the lead. I checked their Ontario web site. Considering the premiums you pay for a family plan, for drugs it's still cheaper to pay uninsured, because their coverage for dental is a ridiculous $280 per year.

dawnwynne

My daughter is now taking her A Levels...so I can speak from great experience

Taking A Levels is like taking first year College (not university) or first year Technical training...depending on the courses they are taking. This is true.Technically she finished High School when she completed her GSCE's.

Now whether this means that on the completion of her GCSE's she has the same knowledge base as a High School diploma I will be better able to tell you when we return to Canada this summer...as she intends to go back to High School for grade 12...because she always wanted to 'graduate' with the cap and gown!!

John Thom Don

I opened this thread with great interest thinking I was gonna get plenty of real life positives and negatives about what's in front of me (hopefully).

To be honest I was a little disappointed that most of the 4 pages were taken up with aimless bickering about whose experiences were right/wrong.

I'm really grateful for any information from anyone who has 'done it', whether it worked out or not.

I think sometimes the most important thing is that people gave it everything they'd got, rather than whether it worked out for them in the end.

Keep posting.

flashman

Unfortunately the "Bickering" is a typical British characteristic.
Other factors which determine the success rate are based on attitude which includes :-

- having an "Open Mind" which accepts change and differences.

- being able to develop new friendships rather than whining for existing ones.

- being flexible. If your preferred occupation doesn't work out then try a career change.

- being adventurous and welcoming the resulting challenges

The experiences related in this forum don't provide much insight into the attitudes beind the situations.

markedel

If you can afford buy drug and dental coverage. Believe me! A lot of jobs offer benefits (just as in the states lots of jobs offer health coverage) which makes things easier. Of course the problem with immigrating is that it is hard to find such jobs, and I don't think Canada's job market will ever become as open as our neighbor to the south.

One of the joys of Toronto is that you have lots to choose from. Sadly, if you don't like suburbia its awfully hard to find an affordable place in the city given all the costs of immigration. But I'm Torontonian and the city can be great if you enjoy it.

Finally in terms of education:

It costs $4-8k for undergraduate (more for programs like nursing, engineering, commerce) and $12-25k for professional schools. Most people take out rather large loans-it's viewed as an investment.

It's generally agreed that the good Canadian universities are generally better then all but the very best European universities especially in terms of undergraduate education. Post-secondary education is truly a get what you pay for deal. There are lots of ways to get money aside from loans-I've gotten the odd merit based scholarship, the problem is you have to be seen as poor to get serious low cost loans from the government/bursuries-and if you're making 60k a year the government doesn't think you're poor.

prose

Hi Snowqueen,
I too live in Dublin, now. I lived in Vancouver from 1990 - 2000. Vancouver is a fantastic city, great place to raise kids, great outdoor life, great amenities, facilities (down to starbucks hot chocolates with a smiley face for the kids!) cost of living in comparison, is much cheaper except now house prices seem to have caught up with here! However, like any society, when you're not used to the culture you can feel a little isolated. It does take time to adjust. I find the Canadian people very direct and upfront. What you see is usually what you get, it is a breath of fresh air, although sometimes a bit pc. In europe we do tend to bend the rules sometimes, where as in vancouver, not as much. I hope everything works out for you.

seacreature

I've been in Toronto now for 2 months and have mixed opinions. Perhaps I haven't given it long enough yet, but here's my experience anyway....
As far as crime and anti-social behavior are concerned, Britain is far worse. One of the wonderful things about Toronto is the way you can walk around downtown after dark without being constantly menaced by drunks and low-lifes. There are some very dodgy areas in Toronto, but none on a par with the sink estates you find in the UK.
I also like the climate. The winters are bitterly cold and snowy, but most days are still bright and sunny. I found this very refreshing compared to the bleak greyness you always find in Britain. Cloudy days are much less common here.
On the downside, JOBS!!!
Finding a job here is like pulling teeth. It's the most frustrating, irritating exercise imaginable. It's not that there aren't jobs available, it's just that Canadians seem to build barriers specifically to stop immigrants getting them. I walked into jobs easily in the UK, however here, I now find that I'm not eligible as I don't have 'Canadian Experience' or 'Canadian Qualifications'. What utter bull. Are Canadian shops different to UK shops? Do Canadian computers work differently to UK computers? I even found this applying to HMV (a British company!!!!) I mean, is the concept of customer service and stacking CD's somehow different in Canada?
You will find this annoying facett of Canada yourself I guarantee it.
The chairman of ICI would probably have trouble landing a job stacking shelves at WalMart over here, because he 'didn't have Canadian Work Experience'.
Compared to the job situation, the other problems are extremely minor. I do miss cosy English country pubs and pretty villages though, British TV and our sense of humour.

Biiiiink

Wow, we must have hit a full moon or something because that's not my experience at all!

We were there 2wks ago staying in a hotel a couple of blocks from the Eaton Centre and I've never felt so threatened walking city streets as I did in Toronto, and not once were we out after 8pm (toddler in tow). Many times we had to turn around and walk back on ourselves because some drugged-up person was acosting passers-by, one even was throwing a cricket ball (ahem, a baseball probably, wouldn't know what cricket was, would he?!) at people in a path walkway. Really hard overarm throwing. Nice.

Mr B was also offered drugs and he doesn't look the sort to want to purchase drugs at all, never mind from a stranger on the street. We found many semi-conscious people in public toilets we popped into for toddler nappy changes, much to ours and their suprise!

All in all, not the Toronto I remember from previous visits. And certainly not the clean, safe place it's marketed as. Seemed rather seedy to me and I was surprised at feeling safer on the streets of Glasgow (Old Firm derby match days excluded of course)!

seacreature

Obviously you had a bad day! I can honestly say I haven't had half as much trouble here as I used to get in Leeds and Hull.
Queen St East around Moss Park and Lower Jarvis is very seedy indeed. I wouldn't advise hanging around there. Is that were you stayed?

tonster

Cities are cities. All the scum generally seem to congregate in them the world over!

No where is perfect. Canada is no exception but, overall, much happier over here this time! (NS was too quiet and had some other quirks).

snowqueen

At last - someone else living in Dublin! If you don't mind me saying, what on earth induced you to leave lovely clean Vancouver and come (back?) to this dirty auld place, with its grey skies and crappy infrastructure (don't get me started..!) See on another post of yours though that you have seen the light an intend returning to Vancouver - good luck with that Let us know how you get on. Anyone else out there leaving Ireland for Canada?