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Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

Old May 12th 2020, 3:53 pm
  #91  
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Default Re: Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

Originally Posted by iaink
To be fair, politics is the number one reason I am mulling a move back to Canada right now.

Hardly the same thing as the comments and responses that are being made arguing their political viewpoints... Let's please keep to the OP's question without the political snarky comments to one another.
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Old May 13th 2020, 1:37 am
  #92  
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Default Re: Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

But...we are all getting snarky. It’s been seven weeks of more than a bit of fear, uncertainty and unpleasantness...with no clear way out in sight.

I vote that we all give ourselves a big pat on the back for playing together so nicely so far! Many thanks Siouxie for keeping us on course We get political because we care...if we keep it up...we might get the world back on track!

It’s bloody snowing here again...and I would list that as a great big reason for Not moving to Canada!
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Old May 13th 2020, 1:54 am
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Default Re: Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

Originally Posted by MillieF
But...we are all getting snarky. It’s been seven weeks of more than a bit of fear, uncertainty and unpleasantness...with no clear way out in sight.

I vote that we all give ourselves a big pat on the back for playing together so nicely so far! Many thanks Siouxie for keeping us on course We get political because we care...if we keep it up...we might get the world back on track!

It’s bloody snowing here again...and I would list that as a great big reason for Not moving to Canada!

Log fire here.. This is not a habitable climate.
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Old May 16th 2020, 12:39 am
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Default Re: Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

Originally Posted by dbd33
Log fire here.. This is not a habitable climate.
Not at all - it is a dreadful climate- although it’s been pleasant today My clay? Chimney Liner went at the beginning of March and we ended up with 5 fire trucks in my tiny 13 home terrace! We now need to get a replacement and the chimney unblocked...first off it was that we needed the snow to go...and now...all the contractors appear to have gone! Yes...I had already paid another contractor, who has since disappeared for the same job some time ago.

Certainly a reason to not move to the less inhabited parts of Canada, is the lack of willing and qualified contractors!
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Old May 16th 2020, 2:12 pm
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Default Re: Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

Originally Posted by carcajou
Toronto is just Buffalo or Cleveland on steroids.
Oh, bullshit.

How much time have you actually spent in any of the three, carcajou???
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Old May 16th 2020, 3:10 pm
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Default Re: Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

Originally Posted by abner
Oh, bullshit.

How much time have you actually spent in any of the three, carcajou???
I am not going to bother replying directly to another one of your illogically aggressive and confrontational posts. For the rest of the forum, here are a few links on how Toronto and Buffalo had a common trajectory, similar history and even like skylines until Toronto's growth and Buffalo's decline provided some separation. It is some interesting history including how as late as the 1980s, people from Toronto used to go to Buffalo for nightlife. Toronto also had other things going for it that helped it become the premier city of the Great Lakes region, including a more diversified economy than Buffalo, and it benefited from the political instability caused by the Quebec independence movement. All of which caused rapid population increase and improved financial fortunes compared to neighbouring major cities. Hence the "Buffalo on steroids" comment.

https://buffalonews.com/2019/07/19/t...n-for-buffalo/

https://www.blogto.com/city/2016/05/...al_as_toronto/

Toronto is perfectly fine as a place to live as are Buffalo and Cleveland. Those cities are some people's cup of tea but not for others. That shouldn't be causing anyone's back to go up.
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Old May 16th 2020, 3:52 pm
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Default Re: Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

The weather gets me down.
So much cold and rain.
The winters last about five and a half months and then as soon as it warms up a bit we get mosquitoes.
I came to live here with my wife but if I was a bit younger I'd probably look for somewhere a bit warmer.
I don't think you can ever get used to the extreme cold weather if you're not used to it.
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Old May 16th 2020, 5:14 pm
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Default Re: Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

I guess the weather is a personal preference thing. Both myself and my wife prefer the climate here in SW Ontario to the UK.

The UK climate is either wet and cool / cold or warn and wet. When it is not, it is cloudy and windy. Summer is usually one particular week anytime from May to September (our experience of the home counties and Gloucestershire over many years).

Yep, can be very cold in the winter here, but get equipped for it, get the appropriate clothes and it is fine. We happily walk from our house to our local sports bar (about 1 km) in all weathers. Actually like the snow and frost, there are many 'high pressure' clear and sunny and very cold days, which we quite like.

Yep winter can drag on and 'spring' varies from days that are the remnants of winter to 20 degrees from early March to the end of May. Summer can be very hot and steamy, much to the surprise of non-Canadian who are convinced it is cold here all the time!. Mozzies nowhere near as bad here in London as we experienced south of Ottawa, but yes, a lot more than in the UK.

There are at least 'proper' seasons.

I guess it is all down to personal preference and what one makes of it.

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Old May 16th 2020, 7:08 pm
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Default Re: Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

Originally Posted by carcajou
I am not going to bother replying directly to another one of your illogically aggressive and confrontational posts. For the rest of the forum, here are a few links on how Toronto and Buffalo had a common trajectory, similar history and even like skylines until Toronto's growth and Buffalo's decline provided some separation. It is some interesting history including how as late as the 1980s, people from Toronto used to go to Buffalo for nightlife.
We went to watch the houses on fire, that's probably not what most people think of as "nightlife". Irv Weinstein was our compere.
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Old May 16th 2020, 7:17 pm
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Default Re: Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

Originally Posted by Hurlabrick
I guess the weather is a personal preference thing. Both myself and my wife prefer the climate here in SW Ontario to the UK.

The UK climate is either wet and cool / cold or warn and wet. When it is not, it is cloudy and windy. Summer is usually one particular week anytime from May to September (our experience of the home counties and Gloucestershire over many years).

Yep, can be very cold in the winter here, but get equipped for it, get the appropriate clothes and it is fine. We happily walk from our house to our local sports bar (about 1 km) in all weathers. Actually like the snow and frost, there are many 'high pressure' clear and sunny and very cold days, which we quite like.

Yep winter can drag on and 'spring' varies from days that are the remnants of winter to 20 degrees from early March to the end of May. Summer can be very hot and steamy, much to the surprise of non-Canadian who are convinced it is cold here all the time!. Mozzies nowhere near as bad here in London as we experienced south of Ottawa, but yes, a lot more than in the UK.

There are at least 'proper' seasons.

I guess it is all down to personal preference and what one makes of it.
I think people will find that weather in UK is very different to what you say and there are loads of microclimates. Some places are getting far too dry and it's certainly not wet all the time. If it's raining somewhere you just have to drive a bit and will always find the sun. If the temp is 13, it actually feels more like 20. Winter is winter but we rarely have a weekend where you can't go out and even playing 5 aside in December is no problem.

Last edited by Moses2013; May 16th 2020 at 7:26 pm.
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Old May 16th 2020, 10:49 pm
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Default Re: Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

Originally Posted by carcajou
...until Toronto's growth and Buffalo's decline provided some separation.
Buffalo was never more than a relatively successful regional center even in its heyday, and has been in decline since 1950. In contrast, Toronto has been the largest city in English Canada since Confederation in 1867, and after a long rivalry with Montreal, decisively eclipsed that city in the early 1980s as a financial and population center. The breadth and depth of financial, cultural, and educational opportunities hasn't been comparable between Toronto and Buffalo for generations. Torontonians mostly visit Buffalo to shop at the outlet malls, when the exchange rates are good.

From an Australian perspective--for carcajou's benefit--describing Toronto as "Buffalo on steroids" is like describing Melbourne as "Geelong on steroids".

And yes, I am biased. I've moved around a lot over the decades, both while growing up and later while chasing professional opportunities, but I've spent more time in Toronto than anywhere else, and it's the closest thing I have to a "home town". But, I didn't really appreciate just how remarkable a city it is until I started (or rather continued, but as an adult) moving and travelling internationally. There are several other great "livable" cities out there--Melbourne, San Diego, and Copenhagen stand out for me--and even more "great cities" that aren't very livable (unless you're independently wealthy).

And then there's Buffalo, which doesn't rank in either category. ;-)

Last edited by abner; May 16th 2020 at 10:57 pm.
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Old May 17th 2020, 1:20 am
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Default Re: Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

Originally Posted by abner
Buffalo was never more than a relatively successful regional center even in its heyday, and has been in decline since 1950. In contrast, Toronto has been the largest city in English Canada since Confederation in 1867, and after a long rivalry with Montreal, decisively eclipsed that city in the early 1980s as a financial and population center. The breadth and depth of financial, cultural, and educational opportunities hasn't been comparable between Toronto and Buffalo for generations. Torontonians mostly visit Buffalo to shop at the outlet malls, when the exchange rates are good.

From an Australian perspective--for carcajou's benefit--describing Toronto as "Buffalo on steroids" is like describing Melbourne as "Geelong on steroids".

And yes, I am biased. I've moved around a lot over the decades, both while growing up and later while chasing professional opportunities, but I've spent more time in Toronto than anywhere else, and it's the closest thing I have to a "home town". But, I didn't really appreciate just how remarkable a city it is until I started (or rather continued, but as an adult) moving and travelling internationally. There are several other great "livable" cities out there--Melbourne, San Diego, and Copenhagen stand out for me--and even more "great cities" that aren't very livable (unless you're independently wealthy).

And then there's Buffalo, which doesn't rank in either category. ;-)
Generally in agreement. I lived in Toronto from age 17 until 30 off an on (four years off and on in Waterloo) but for 25 years now in Ottawa. I was in Toronto today for about an hour (that was enough) in mid town and then headed over to my old stomping grounds where I lived when we moved here. It all looked different (houses are now 55 years old) with some re-builds etc. Drove past homes of friends from that era wondering who lived there. These houses now cost about 1.1 million on average which I find hard to justify.

Agree that Buffalo is and always will be a B list city. It has chicken wings, 3 alarm blazes in Tonawanda but not much else other than a hollowed out core and ex-urbia as far as one can see. Detroit is very similar, a testament to the destruction that single occupant car society can create.
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Old May 17th 2020, 1:33 am
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Default Re: Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

Originally Posted by abner
Buffalo was never more than a relatively successful regional center even in its heyday, and has been in decline since 1950. In contrast, Toronto has been the largest city in English Canada since Confederation in 1867, and after a long rivalry with Montreal, decisively eclipsed that city in the early 1980s as a financial and population center. The breadth and depth of financial, cultural, and educational opportunities hasn't been comparable between Toronto and Buffalo for generations. Torontonians mostly visit Buffalo to shop at the outlet malls, when the exchange rates are good.

From an Australian perspective--for carcajou's benefit--describing Toronto as "Buffalo on steroids" is like describing Melbourne as "Geelong on steroids".

And yes, I am biased. I've moved around a lot over the decades, both while growing up and later while chasing professional opportunities, but I've spent more time in Toronto than anywhere else, and it's the closest thing I have to a "home town". But, I didn't really appreciate just how remarkable a city it is until I started (or rather continued, but as an adult) moving and travelling internationally. There are several other great "livable" cities out there--Melbourne, San Diego, and Copenhagen stand out for me--and even more "great cities" that aren't very livable (unless you're independently wealthy).

And then there's Buffalo, which doesn't rank in either category. ;-)
I'm not a great fan of Toronto though I lived there for decades (first downtown and then progressively more suburban, Leslieville and then the Beach). I still go there for cheese. I find the built environment ugly and the site unattractive. The traffic jams are horrific. However, it's growing, lots of people move there, it's expensive because of the demand. Buffalo may have better food and a broader choice of goods, especially premium goods, in the shops, but the city is in decline, Cleveland more so. Both cities have large areas of unoccupied housing because the people left

carcajou has a dated view, I think. It's not Hogtown now, the slaughterhouse isn't in High Park anymore. In Toronto bars open on Sundays and one can have a drink without buying a meal. Alcohol for consumption at home is limited in choice and available only from the government but one can see the product before buying it; there's no more passing of the wrapped package through a slot. I'd still say Toronto is a prissy place but it's no longer the case that one can go to Buffalo and be startled how much more progressive it is.
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Old May 17th 2020, 1:40 am
  #104  
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Default Re: Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

Originally Posted by Partially discharged
Drove past homes of friends from that era wondering who lived there. These houses now cost about 1.1 million on average which I find hard to justify.
I think that's just because we're old. The one daughter still in Canada is shopping for a first house and hoping not to have to spend more than 1.75, that seems a ridiculous amount to me but I expect my parents were aghast at me splashing out half a million Canadian on a house. None of these numbers is enough to buy my mother's modest house at home though they might land an ex-council semi. Inflation, innit?
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Old May 17th 2020, 2:12 am
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Default Re: Top Reasons to Move (and Not Move) to Canada

Originally Posted by Partially discharged
Agree that Buffalo is and always will be a B list city. It has chicken wings, 3 alarm blazes in Tonawanda...
To be fair, for variety the Buffalo TV news channels also throw in 3 alarm blazes in Cheektowaga. ;-)

For years, my father's standard euphemism for having a post-dinner nap in front of the tele was that he was "off to watch the houses burning in Buffalo".
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