pros and cons of moving to Canada.
Aug 15th 2002 | 7:35 am
#1
Thread Starter
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 44
From: Stockton-onTees
pros and cons of moving to Canada.
There's a thread on expat chat that has brought a lot of debate . It's about Australia and what people really think about the place once they have landed, and started to settle in.
I'd like to know about the Canadian experience for people especially Calgary. Did you love it? did you hate it? have you come back to the UK? Have your expectations been realised?:PARTY:
I'd like to know about the Canadian experience for people especially Calgary. Did you love it? did you hate it? have you come back to the UK? Have your expectations been realised?:PARTY:
Aug 15th 2002 | 8:45 pm
#2
Thread Starter
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 44
From: Stockton-onTees
Re: pros and cons of moving to Canada.
Come on lets have some feedback, someone must have a story to tell good or bad!
Aug 16th 2002 | 6:14 am
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: pros and cons of moving to Canada.
i wish i did, but i am still waiting for a damned visa. i shall no doubt make an
effort to tell you some experiences once i have moved there and gained some.
"jap" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Come on lets have some feedback, someone must have a story to tell good or bad!
> --
> Posted via http://britishexpats.com
effort to tell you some experiences once i have moved there and gained some.
"jap" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Come on lets have some feedback, someone must have a story to tell good or bad!
> --
> Posted via http://britishexpats.com
Aug 16th 2002 | 11:05 am
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: pros and cons of moving to Canada.
jap <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> There's a thread on expat chat that has brought a lot of debate . It's about
> Australia and what people really think about the place once they have landed, and
> started to settle in. I'd like to know about the Canadian experience for people
> especially Calgary. Did you love it? did you hate it? have you come back to the UK?
> Have your expectations been realised?:PARTY:
Please come to Canada. This is a bullshit country...
news:<[email protected]>...
> There's a thread on expat chat that has brought a lot of debate . It's about
> Australia and what people really think about the place once they have landed, and
> started to settle in. I'd like to know about the Canadian experience for people
> especially Calgary. Did you love it? did you hate it? have you come back to the UK?
> Have your expectations been realised?:PARTY:
Please come to Canada. This is a bullshit country...
Aug 16th 2002 | 8:28 pm
#5
Thread Starter
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 44
From: Stockton-onTees
Re: pros and cons of moving to Canada.
Very good Jason. Now enlighten us.
Aug 20th 2002 | 1:40 am
#6
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: pros and cons of moving to Canada.
jap <[email protected]> wrote:
This is a tough question to answer because your perspective depends entirely where
you came from.
I'm from the UK so here's my comparison
Economy/Money
1. Compared with Glasgow when I first came I found it equally as hard to get work
(1994-1996) i.e. damn near impossible. But by the time of the boom (around
1996-1999) it was a piece of cake. Right now it is virtually impossible to find
work but I've been told by old-hands
(i.e. an old italian guy that emigrated in the 1950's that things are very cyclical)
2. The salaries are the same as in Glasgow i.e. The "average" person doing a
"normal" job makes about $30-$40K. They are lower than in London.
3. Taxes are a bit higher. i.e. You have a bit less money for the same size
paycheck.
4. Prices of goods for most things are comparable to Glasgow.
5. Rent is about the same as in Glasgow. It is lower than in London.
6. Availability of goods and services is much better in Toronto than in Glasgow.
Shops are opened till 9pm weekdays and till 5pm saturday and sunday.
7. Pre-Sales Service is better in Toronto in Glasgow
8. Post-Sales Service sucks. They only want your money.
9. You have almost no consumer protection except the courts.
10. Everything is based upon your credit history
11. Everything is pre-tax. i.e. something that says $9.99 is not $9.99 it is
$9.99 plus tax.
12. Something that is advertised as $399 per month is not $399 per month. It is $399
per month PLUS tax PLUS additional charges. Canadians talk about something
costing $500 when they really mean it cost $753 including taxes and extra
charges. They are used to this and figure it in automatically. You may have a
hard time adjusting to this if you're not used to it.
13. Banks will hold your paycheque for up to a week for the first six months till
they have a history and then they will clear it quicker
14. It is relatively easy to get credit if you have a job
15. It is relatively easy to get a mortgage if you have a job
16. You need two salaries to maintain a house which will fit a family.
17. Cars are cheap but car insurance is up to four times what you pay in the UK.
Social
18. Canadians accept almost everybody. They are very un-racist compared to other
people e.g. Those in the States or the USA
19. You will find restaurants from every corner of the globe including some bizarre
ones (to UK eyes) like "somalian" and "colombian".
20. You will meet *everyone* here from somalians, colombians, brits, chinese,
indians etc etc.
21. You get a much more wordly picture of other cultures since everyone speaks
English it is easier to communicate. You get to realize (from a UK perspective)
that most people are the same everywhere.
22. It is not easy to make friends. It takes a lot of effort over months and
sometimes years.
23. Canadians are much more formal than Brits (you have to e.g. make appointments to
see your friends, rather than just drop in on them, which they find irritating)
24. Canadians bullshit and exaggerate a lot, especially with regard to Canada and
it's place in the world. They even believe their own bullshit. Of course, the
same is true of the Brits but it is interesting when they spout their myths
which you *know* to be false and they are dead-serious. e.g. About Americans
showing up at the border in mid-summer with skis. I know Canadians who will
*swear* this is true.
Work
25. You will be hit with a "no-canadian experience" excuse which will be used to a.
deny you entry to the job market and b. lower your salary until you have canadian
experience. A variation of this is "no canadian recognized certification". If you
are from the UK or the USA you are in better shape because US/UK experience are
typically viewed as equal to Canadian (except, I might add by Canadians of
non-european or non-US descent).
26. The work environment is very laid back except when there is a deadline. Deadline
is king and it is the worst thing you can do is miss the deadline. When there is
a deadline, you can be expected to work the whole weekend to meet it.
27. Bosses have much more power than in the UK. You cannot say "No, I've got a family
engagement" when asked to work overtime. This is viewed as not acceptable.
28. You get much less vacation time than in the UK and it has to be earned. i.e. you
get vacation time *after* a year.
29. two weeks vacation does not mean 14 days vacation which is nearly three working
weeks. It means 10 days.
Leisure
30. You can do *anything* you want to do leisure-wise, season permitting. If you are
into winter-sports there is everything there. They are very into hockey. This
leaks into the language e.g. "keep your stick on the ice = keep to the point". In
the summer there are a *ton* of things to do also. Canad's wonderland. A safari.
Toronto zoo is *excellent*.
31. Tons and tons of restaurants and *cheap*.
32. Much more variety of fast food and *cheap* i.e. wendy's, taco bell etc etc
33. The lakes in the summer time are almost like being at the beach in the
meditarrean (i.e. wasaga beach) except it feels wierd because it doesn't
smell of salt!!
34. For proper foreign vacations you are screwed since a. you don't have enough
vacation time to properly enjoy it and b. it costs *far* too much. There are no
cheap flights here such as easyjet, ryanair etc etc. Last minute flights
bizarrely cost *much more* than flights booked in advance. Travel agents will
also go to any length to rip you off and will not show you one-way flights making
up excuses such as "there's no such thing as a one way flight". Flights are so
expensive that you never hear (as you do often in the UK) "I was in paris at the
weekend" or "I went to Prague for the weekend" more likely you will hear "I was
in vancouver/dallas etc on business.".
35. Distances are so great that contrary to your expectations you probably will not
get to see as much of North America as you expected.
i.e. There won't be frequent trips to New York/chigago etc because simply, flights
are too expensive.
Weather
1. The summer is brilliant from a Glasgow perspective . It hardly ever rains
although you sometimes get thunderstorms. Much better than Glasgow anyday. In
fact you regularly wear shorts in the summer because it is too hot for pants
(trousers).
2. The winter is freezing and LONG (from my perspective it feels like it lasts for
seven months temperature wise). It seems like it should end in march but drags on
till the beginning of may. The upside is that there is plenty of sunshine even in
winter so you don't get so depressed as in glasgow. Also, the spring is so quick
(it seems like it lasts two weeks where it fluctuates between winter and summer
day to day) that when it ends you are in full summer then you can just forget
about the winter. I really enjoy may for that reason.
3. TOO MUCH FUGGEN SNOW!
4. You get used to the snow.
5. After having lived in Toronto for seven years, I'd say I prefer the weather in
Toronto since they at least get five months of summer and you can forget all
about the winter during that five months. In contrast the weather in Glasgow is
SHIT all year round even though we only have a three month winter here in
comparison.
To summarize: If the economy wasn't so shite right now I'd move back in an instant
because it is an amazing place to stay when you and your wife have a job.
This is a tough question to answer because your perspective depends entirely where
you came from.
I'm from the UK so here's my comparison
Economy/Money
1. Compared with Glasgow when I first came I found it equally as hard to get work
(1994-1996) i.e. damn near impossible. But by the time of the boom (around
1996-1999) it was a piece of cake. Right now it is virtually impossible to find
work but I've been told by old-hands
(i.e. an old italian guy that emigrated in the 1950's that things are very cyclical)
2. The salaries are the same as in Glasgow i.e. The "average" person doing a
"normal" job makes about $30-$40K. They are lower than in London.
3. Taxes are a bit higher. i.e. You have a bit less money for the same size
paycheck.
4. Prices of goods for most things are comparable to Glasgow.
5. Rent is about the same as in Glasgow. It is lower than in London.
6. Availability of goods and services is much better in Toronto than in Glasgow.
Shops are opened till 9pm weekdays and till 5pm saturday and sunday.
7. Pre-Sales Service is better in Toronto in Glasgow
8. Post-Sales Service sucks. They only want your money.
9. You have almost no consumer protection except the courts.
10. Everything is based upon your credit history
11. Everything is pre-tax. i.e. something that says $9.99 is not $9.99 it is
$9.99 plus tax.
12. Something that is advertised as $399 per month is not $399 per month. It is $399
per month PLUS tax PLUS additional charges. Canadians talk about something
costing $500 when they really mean it cost $753 including taxes and extra
charges. They are used to this and figure it in automatically. You may have a
hard time adjusting to this if you're not used to it.
13. Banks will hold your paycheque for up to a week for the first six months till
they have a history and then they will clear it quicker
14. It is relatively easy to get credit if you have a job
15. It is relatively easy to get a mortgage if you have a job
16. You need two salaries to maintain a house which will fit a family.
17. Cars are cheap but car insurance is up to four times what you pay in the UK.
Social
18. Canadians accept almost everybody. They are very un-racist compared to other
people e.g. Those in the States or the USA
19. You will find restaurants from every corner of the globe including some bizarre
ones (to UK eyes) like "somalian" and "colombian".
20. You will meet *everyone* here from somalians, colombians, brits, chinese,
indians etc etc.
21. You get a much more wordly picture of other cultures since everyone speaks
English it is easier to communicate. You get to realize (from a UK perspective)
that most people are the same everywhere.
22. It is not easy to make friends. It takes a lot of effort over months and
sometimes years.
23. Canadians are much more formal than Brits (you have to e.g. make appointments to
see your friends, rather than just drop in on them, which they find irritating)
24. Canadians bullshit and exaggerate a lot, especially with regard to Canada and
it's place in the world. They even believe their own bullshit. Of course, the
same is true of the Brits but it is interesting when they spout their myths
which you *know* to be false and they are dead-serious. e.g. About Americans
showing up at the border in mid-summer with skis. I know Canadians who will
*swear* this is true.
Work
25. You will be hit with a "no-canadian experience" excuse which will be used to a.
deny you entry to the job market and b. lower your salary until you have canadian
experience. A variation of this is "no canadian recognized certification". If you
are from the UK or the USA you are in better shape because US/UK experience are
typically viewed as equal to Canadian (except, I might add by Canadians of
non-european or non-US descent).
26. The work environment is very laid back except when there is a deadline. Deadline
is king and it is the worst thing you can do is miss the deadline. When there is
a deadline, you can be expected to work the whole weekend to meet it.
27. Bosses have much more power than in the UK. You cannot say "No, I've got a family
engagement" when asked to work overtime. This is viewed as not acceptable.
28. You get much less vacation time than in the UK and it has to be earned. i.e. you
get vacation time *after* a year.
29. two weeks vacation does not mean 14 days vacation which is nearly three working
weeks. It means 10 days.
Leisure
30. You can do *anything* you want to do leisure-wise, season permitting. If you are
into winter-sports there is everything there. They are very into hockey. This
leaks into the language e.g. "keep your stick on the ice = keep to the point". In
the summer there are a *ton* of things to do also. Canad's wonderland. A safari.
Toronto zoo is *excellent*.
31. Tons and tons of restaurants and *cheap*.
32. Much more variety of fast food and *cheap* i.e. wendy's, taco bell etc etc
33. The lakes in the summer time are almost like being at the beach in the
meditarrean (i.e. wasaga beach) except it feels wierd because it doesn't
smell of salt!!
34. For proper foreign vacations you are screwed since a. you don't have enough
vacation time to properly enjoy it and b. it costs *far* too much. There are no
cheap flights here such as easyjet, ryanair etc etc. Last minute flights
bizarrely cost *much more* than flights booked in advance. Travel agents will
also go to any length to rip you off and will not show you one-way flights making
up excuses such as "there's no such thing as a one way flight". Flights are so
expensive that you never hear (as you do often in the UK) "I was in paris at the
weekend" or "I went to Prague for the weekend" more likely you will hear "I was
in vancouver/dallas etc on business.".
35. Distances are so great that contrary to your expectations you probably will not
get to see as much of North America as you expected.
i.e. There won't be frequent trips to New York/chigago etc because simply, flights
are too expensive.
Weather
1. The summer is brilliant from a Glasgow perspective . It hardly ever rains
although you sometimes get thunderstorms. Much better than Glasgow anyday. In
fact you regularly wear shorts in the summer because it is too hot for pants
(trousers).
2. The winter is freezing and LONG (from my perspective it feels like it lasts for
seven months temperature wise). It seems like it should end in march but drags on
till the beginning of may. The upside is that there is plenty of sunshine even in
winter so you don't get so depressed as in glasgow. Also, the spring is so quick
(it seems like it lasts two weeks where it fluctuates between winter and summer
day to day) that when it ends you are in full summer then you can just forget
about the winter. I really enjoy may for that reason.
3. TOO MUCH FUGGEN SNOW!
4. You get used to the snow.
5. After having lived in Toronto for seven years, I'd say I prefer the weather in
Toronto since they at least get five months of summer and you can forget all
about the winter during that five months. In contrast the weather in Glasgow is
SHIT all year round even though we only have a three month winter here in
comparison.
To summarize: If the economy wasn't so shite right now I'd move back in an instant
because it is an amazing place to stay when you and your wife have a job.
Aug 20th 2002 | 8:19 am
#7
Thread Starter
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 44
From: Stockton-onTees
Re: pros and cons of moving to Canada.
Originally posted by Bodza Bodza:
jap <[email protected]> wrote:
This is a tough question to answer because your perspective depends entirely where
you came from.
I'm from the UK so here's my comparison
Economy/Money
1. Compared with Glasgow when I first came I found it equally as hard to get work
(1994-1996) i.e. damn near impossible. But by the time of the boom (around
1996-1999) it was a piece of cake. Right now it is virtually impossible to find
work but I've been told by old-hands
(i.e. an old italian guy that emigrated in the 1950's that things are very cyclical)
2. The salaries are the same as in Glasgow i.e. The "average" person doing a
"normal" job makes about $30-$40K. They are lower than in London.
3. Taxes are a bit higher. i.e. You have a bit less money for the same size
paycheck.
4. Prices of goods for most things are comparable to Glasgow.
5. Rent is about the same as in Glasgow. It is lower than in London.
6. Availability of goods and services is much better in Toronto than in Glasgow.
Shops are opened till 9pm weekdays and till 5pm saturday and sunday.
7. Pre-Sales Service is better in Toronto in Glasgow
8. Post-Sales Service sucks. They only want your money.
9. You have almost no consumer protection except the courts.
10. Everything is based upon your credit history
11. Everything is pre-tax. i.e. something that says $9.99 is not $9.99 it is
$9.99 plus tax.
12. Something that is advertised as $399 per month is not $399 per month. It is $399
per month PLUS tax PLUS additional charges. Canadians talk about something
costing $500 when they really mean it cost $753 including taxes and extra
charges. They are used to this and figure it in automatically. You may have a
hard time adjusting to this if you're not used to it.
13. Banks will hold your paycheque for up to a week for the first six months till
they have a history and then they will clear it quicker
14. It is relatively easy to get credit if you have a job
15. It is relatively easy to get a mortgage if you have a job
16. You need two salaries to maintain a house which will fit a family.
17. Cars are cheap but car insurance is up to four times what you pay in the UK.
Social
18. Canadians accept almost everybody. They are very un-racist compared to other
people e.g. Those in the States or the USA
19. You will find restaurants from every corner of the globe including some bizarre
ones (to UK eyes) like "somalian" and "colombian".
20. You will meet *everyone* here from somalians, colombians, brits, chinese,
indians etc etc.
21. You get a much more wordly picture of other cultures since everyone speaks
English it is easier to communicate. You get to realize (from a UK perspective)
that most people are the same everywhere.
22. It is not easy to make friends. It takes a lot of effort over months and
sometimes years.
23. Canadians are much more formal than Brits (you have to e.g. make appointments to
see your friends, rather than just drop in on them, which they find irritating)
24. Canadians bullshit and exaggerate a lot, especially with regard to Canada and
it's place in the world. They even believe their own bullshit. Of course, the
same is true of the Brits but it is interesting when they spout their myths
which you *know* to be false and they are dead-serious. e.g. About Americans
showing up at the border in mid-summer with skis. I know Canadians who will
*swear* this is true.
Work
25. You will be hit with a "no-canadian experience" excuse which will be used to a.
deny you entry to the job market and b. lower your salary until you have canadian
experience. A variation of this is "no canadian recognized certification". If you
are from the UK or the USA you are in better shape because US/UK experience are
typically viewed as equal to Canadian (except, I might add by Canadians of
non-european or non-US descent).
26. The work environment is very laid back except when there is a deadline. Deadline
is king and it is the worst thing you can do is miss the deadline. When there is
a deadline, you can be expected to work the whole weekend to meet it.
27. Bosses have much more power than in the UK. You cannot say "No, I've got a family
engagement" when asked to work overtime. This is viewed as not acceptable.
28. You get much less vacation time than in the UK and it has to be earned. i.e. you
get vacation time *after* a year.
29. two weeks vacation does not mean 14 days vacation which is nearly three working
weeks. It means 10 days.
Leisure
30. You can do *anything* you want to do leisure-wise, season permitting. If you are
into winter-sports there is everything there. They are very into hockey. This
leaks into the language e.g. "keep your stick on the ice = keep to the point". In
the summer there are a *ton* of things to do also. Canad's wonderland. A safari.
Toronto zoo is *excellent*.
31. Tons and tons of restaurants and *cheap*.
32. Much more variety of fast food and *cheap* i.e. wendy's, taco bell etc etc
33. The lakes in the summer time are almost like being at the beach in the
meditarrean (i.e. wasaga beach) except it feels wierd because it doesn't
smell of salt!!
34. For proper foreign vacations you are screwed since a. you don't have enough
vacation time to properly enjoy it and b. it costs *far* too much. There are no
cheap flights here such as easyjet, ryanair etc etc. Last minute flights
bizarrely cost *much more* than flights booked in advance. Travel agents will
also go to any length to rip you off and will not show you one-way flights making
up excuses such as "there's no such thing as a one way flight". Flights are so
expensive that you never hear (as you do often in the UK) "I was in paris at the
weekend" or "I went to Prague for the weekend" more likely you will hear "I was
in vancouver/dallas etc on business.".
35. Distances are so great that contrary to your expectations you probably will not
get to see as much of North America as you expected.
i.e. There won't be frequent trips to New York/chigago etc because simply, flights
are too expensive.
Weather
1. The summer is brilliant from a Glasgow perspective . It hardly ever rains
although you sometimes get thunderstorms. Much better than Glasgow anyday. In
fact you regularly wear shorts in the summer because it is too hot for pants
(trousers).
2. The winter is freezing and LONG (from my perspective it feels like it lasts for
seven months temperature wise). It seems like it should end in march but drags on
till the beginning of may. The upside is that there is plenty of sunshine even in
winter so you don't get so depressed as in glasgow. Also, the spring is so quick
(it seems like it lasts two weeks where it fluctuates between winter and summer
day to day) that when it ends you are in full summer then you can just forget
about the winter. I really enjoy may for that reason.
3. TOO MUCH FUGGEN SNOW!
4. You get used to the snow.
5. After having lived in Toronto for seven years, I'd say I prefer the weather in
Toronto since they at least get five months of summer and you can forget all
about the winter during that five months. In contrast the weather in Glasgow is
SHIT all year round even though we only have a three month winter here in
comparison.
To summarize: If the economy wasn't so shite right now I'd move back in an instant
because it is an amazing place to stay when you and your wife have a job.
jap <[email protected]> wrote:
This is a tough question to answer because your perspective depends entirely where
you came from.
I'm from the UK so here's my comparison
Economy/Money
1. Compared with Glasgow when I first came I found it equally as hard to get work
(1994-1996) i.e. damn near impossible. But by the time of the boom (around
1996-1999) it was a piece of cake. Right now it is virtually impossible to find
work but I've been told by old-hands
(i.e. an old italian guy that emigrated in the 1950's that things are very cyclical)
2. The salaries are the same as in Glasgow i.e. The "average" person doing a
"normal" job makes about $30-$40K. They are lower than in London.
3. Taxes are a bit higher. i.e. You have a bit less money for the same size
paycheck.
4. Prices of goods for most things are comparable to Glasgow.
5. Rent is about the same as in Glasgow. It is lower than in London.
6. Availability of goods and services is much better in Toronto than in Glasgow.
Shops are opened till 9pm weekdays and till 5pm saturday and sunday.
7. Pre-Sales Service is better in Toronto in Glasgow
8. Post-Sales Service sucks. They only want your money.
9. You have almost no consumer protection except the courts.
10. Everything is based upon your credit history
11. Everything is pre-tax. i.e. something that says $9.99 is not $9.99 it is
$9.99 plus tax.
12. Something that is advertised as $399 per month is not $399 per month. It is $399
per month PLUS tax PLUS additional charges. Canadians talk about something
costing $500 when they really mean it cost $753 including taxes and extra
charges. They are used to this and figure it in automatically. You may have a
hard time adjusting to this if you're not used to it.
13. Banks will hold your paycheque for up to a week for the first six months till
they have a history and then they will clear it quicker
14. It is relatively easy to get credit if you have a job
15. It is relatively easy to get a mortgage if you have a job
16. You need two salaries to maintain a house which will fit a family.
17. Cars are cheap but car insurance is up to four times what you pay in the UK.
Social
18. Canadians accept almost everybody. They are very un-racist compared to other
people e.g. Those in the States or the USA
19. You will find restaurants from every corner of the globe including some bizarre
ones (to UK eyes) like "somalian" and "colombian".
20. You will meet *everyone* here from somalians, colombians, brits, chinese,
indians etc etc.
21. You get a much more wordly picture of other cultures since everyone speaks
English it is easier to communicate. You get to realize (from a UK perspective)
that most people are the same everywhere.
22. It is not easy to make friends. It takes a lot of effort over months and
sometimes years.
23. Canadians are much more formal than Brits (you have to e.g. make appointments to
see your friends, rather than just drop in on them, which they find irritating)
24. Canadians bullshit and exaggerate a lot, especially with regard to Canada and
it's place in the world. They even believe their own bullshit. Of course, the
same is true of the Brits but it is interesting when they spout their myths
which you *know* to be false and they are dead-serious. e.g. About Americans
showing up at the border in mid-summer with skis. I know Canadians who will
*swear* this is true.
Work
25. You will be hit with a "no-canadian experience" excuse which will be used to a.
deny you entry to the job market and b. lower your salary until you have canadian
experience. A variation of this is "no canadian recognized certification". If you
are from the UK or the USA you are in better shape because US/UK experience are
typically viewed as equal to Canadian (except, I might add by Canadians of
non-european or non-US descent).
26. The work environment is very laid back except when there is a deadline. Deadline
is king and it is the worst thing you can do is miss the deadline. When there is
a deadline, you can be expected to work the whole weekend to meet it.
27. Bosses have much more power than in the UK. You cannot say "No, I've got a family
engagement" when asked to work overtime. This is viewed as not acceptable.
28. You get much less vacation time than in the UK and it has to be earned. i.e. you
get vacation time *after* a year.
29. two weeks vacation does not mean 14 days vacation which is nearly three working
weeks. It means 10 days.
Leisure
30. You can do *anything* you want to do leisure-wise, season permitting. If you are
into winter-sports there is everything there. They are very into hockey. This
leaks into the language e.g. "keep your stick on the ice = keep to the point". In
the summer there are a *ton* of things to do also. Canad's wonderland. A safari.
Toronto zoo is *excellent*.
31. Tons and tons of restaurants and *cheap*.
32. Much more variety of fast food and *cheap* i.e. wendy's, taco bell etc etc
33. The lakes in the summer time are almost like being at the beach in the
meditarrean (i.e. wasaga beach) except it feels wierd because it doesn't
smell of salt!!
34. For proper foreign vacations you are screwed since a. you don't have enough
vacation time to properly enjoy it and b. it costs *far* too much. There are no
cheap flights here such as easyjet, ryanair etc etc. Last minute flights
bizarrely cost *much more* than flights booked in advance. Travel agents will
also go to any length to rip you off and will not show you one-way flights making
up excuses such as "there's no such thing as a one way flight". Flights are so
expensive that you never hear (as you do often in the UK) "I was in paris at the
weekend" or "I went to Prague for the weekend" more likely you will hear "I was
in vancouver/dallas etc on business.".
35. Distances are so great that contrary to your expectations you probably will not
get to see as much of North America as you expected.
i.e. There won't be frequent trips to New York/chigago etc because simply, flights
are too expensive.
Weather
1. The summer is brilliant from a Glasgow perspective . It hardly ever rains
although you sometimes get thunderstorms. Much better than Glasgow anyday. In
fact you regularly wear shorts in the summer because it is too hot for pants
(trousers).
2. The winter is freezing and LONG (from my perspective it feels like it lasts for
seven months temperature wise). It seems like it should end in march but drags on
till the beginning of may. The upside is that there is plenty of sunshine even in
winter so you don't get so depressed as in glasgow. Also, the spring is so quick
(it seems like it lasts two weeks where it fluctuates between winter and summer
day to day) that when it ends you are in full summer then you can just forget
about the winter. I really enjoy may for that reason.
3. TOO MUCH FUGGEN SNOW!
4. You get used to the snow.
5. After having lived in Toronto for seven years, I'd say I prefer the weather in
Toronto since they at least get five months of summer and you can forget all
about the winter during that five months. In contrast the weather in Glasgow is
SHIT all year round even though we only have a three month winter here in
comparison.
To summarize: If the economy wasn't so shite right now I'd move back in an instant
because it is an amazing place to stay when you and your wife have a job.
Bloody excellent reply,exactly what I wanted to see. I appreciate your point on perspective as I worked in Glasgow last year for a fortnight and I can well understand why Toronto was such an attraction.
So are you back in Glasgow? and if so why? Is the jobs market really that bad? I'm not into IT like every body else seems to be.I'm a BT linesman.
Send an email to me if you like.
All the best.
Jimmy
Sep 9th 2002 | 11:19 pm
#8
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: pros and cons of moving to Canada.
jap <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi Bodza Bloody excellent reply,exactly what I wanted to see.
You're welcome. I am trying to present a balanced opinion of what Canada (Toronto is
really like). I can only speak from an IT perspective however and from a West
European cultural/job market perspective.
>I appreciate your point on perspective as I worked in Glasgow last year for a
>fortnight and I can well understand why Toronto was such an attraction.
I was sick of Toronto by late 2001 but now I'm back in Glasgow I'm sick of it here
again. It's especially the weather. I'd move back in an instant if the IT job market
was better but I don't see it recovering till 2005 and I have other issues to work
out also (like a new baby) that necessitate me staying a couple of years. I have
Canadian citizenship though, so I don't have the immigration issues.. Although I do
have immigration issues for my wife in the UK but that's a whole other story ROFL!
> So are you back in Glasgow? and if so why? Is the jobs market really that bad?
Yes. I didn't take my own advice and prepare for the sudden decline in salaries that
appeared in the IT "bust". I was one of the majority who thought that the internet
boom etc was a permanent thing. Like many people I know out there I lost a ton of
money in the stock market and weighing up how much money I had to survive compared
with my outgoings and my savings compared with available jobs/salaries in Toronto I
looked at available jobs/salaries in Glasgow and it was a no-brainer. I rented out my
house in Toronto and moved back here temporarily.
>I'm not into IT like every body else seems to be.I'm a BT linesman.
You might be in better shape then. The optimists say the Canadian economy is booming.
Me personally (and this could be coloured by my own experiences) I think the Canadian
economy is in recession or close to it. But who knows. If I could predict such things
I wouldn't have lost any money....
> Hi Bodza Bloody excellent reply,exactly what I wanted to see.
You're welcome. I am trying to present a balanced opinion of what Canada (Toronto is
really like). I can only speak from an IT perspective however and from a West
European cultural/job market perspective.
>I appreciate your point on perspective as I worked in Glasgow last year for a
>fortnight and I can well understand why Toronto was such an attraction.
I was sick of Toronto by late 2001 but now I'm back in Glasgow I'm sick of it here
again. It's especially the weather. I'd move back in an instant if the IT job market
was better but I don't see it recovering till 2005 and I have other issues to work
out also (like a new baby) that necessitate me staying a couple of years. I have
Canadian citizenship though, so I don't have the immigration issues.. Although I do
have immigration issues for my wife in the UK but that's a whole other story ROFL!
> So are you back in Glasgow? and if so why? Is the jobs market really that bad?
Yes. I didn't take my own advice and prepare for the sudden decline in salaries that
appeared in the IT "bust". I was one of the majority who thought that the internet
boom etc was a permanent thing. Like many people I know out there I lost a ton of
money in the stock market and weighing up how much money I had to survive compared
with my outgoings and my savings compared with available jobs/salaries in Toronto I
looked at available jobs/salaries in Glasgow and it was a no-brainer. I rented out my
house in Toronto and moved back here temporarily.
>I'm not into IT like every body else seems to be.I'm a BT linesman.
You might be in better shape then. The optimists say the Canadian economy is booming.
Me personally (and this could be coloured by my own experiences) I think the Canadian
economy is in recession or close to it. But who knows. If I could predict such things
I wouldn't have lost any money....
Jan 19th 2005 | 8:49 am
#9
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: pros and cons of moving to Canada.
I took a trip into the history of the forum today and came up with this thread from 2002 ... I think that the list of pros & cons part way through this thread is pretty comprehensive 
Funny how people are still asking exactly the same questions over two years later
Funny how people are still asking exactly the same questions over two years later
Jan 19th 2005 | 9:05 am
#10
Part Time Poster
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 4,219
From: Worcestershire
Re: pros and cons of moving to Canada.
That one of the best pro anc on list i've seen..
should be made a sticky or at least a FAQ
should be made a sticky or at least a FAQ
Jan 19th 2005 | 9:14 am
#11
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: pros and cons of moving to Canada.
Originally Posted by MikeUK
That one of the best pro anc on list i've seen..
should be made a sticky or at least a FAQ
should be made a sticky or at least a FAQ
Jan 19th 2005 | 10:05 am
#12
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 846
From: Toronto, Ontario
Re: pros and cons of moving to Canada.
Confused the hell out of me there because that 3rd posting from "The Wizzard" was a post I made while I was waiting for my visa like 2 or 3 years ago and at first I didn't see the date and I am thinking I never said that someone must be posting with my name and then I noticed it was 2002. Madness.
Jan 19th 2005 | 10:35 am
#13
Account Closed
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 959
Re: pros and cons of moving to Canada.
Originally Posted by wizzard
Confused the hell out of me there because that 3rd posting from "The Wizzard" was a post I made while I was waiting for my visa like 2 or 3 years ago and at first I didn't see the date and I am thinking I never said that someone must be posting with my name and then I noticed it was 2002. Madness.
Great list of pros/cons.
Jan 19th 2005 | 11:10 am
#14
Premium Member
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,928
From: Ontario.
Re: pros and cons of moving to Canada.
Originally Posted by wizzard
Confused the hell out of me there because that 3rd posting from "The Wizzard" was a post I made while I was waiting for my visa like 2 or 3 years ago and at first I didn't see the date and I am thinking I never said that someone must be posting with my name and then I noticed it was 2002. Madness.
Jan 19th 2005 | 1:27 pm
#15
Moderαtor Emeritus
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 30,771
From: Upstate South Carolina
Re: pros and cons of moving to Canada.
Its an OK list, but not worth making sticky. There are a few bits I would disagree with, and if it was a list of pros and cons, I didnt notice too many pros!
Very in line with general forum negativity at the moment if you ask me.
Very in line with general forum negativity at the moment if you ask me.
