Siouxie

These may be of use https://techtalent.ca/canadian-tech-cities/
https://www.profitableventure.com/ca...job-immigrant/
12 Cities with the Most Tech Companies in Canada – TheMagazine.ca

Waterloo comes up in searches as the 'up and coming' tech hub - and also London, Ontario.

dbd33

M4 corridor = K-W and surroundings, maybe?

jandro

My impression is that many sectors are flooded with applicants and it's been that way for years. I haven't found salaries in metro Vancouver that great. My work/life balance wasn't that great when I was doing infrastructure support here. I was dead tired on my days off.

With your skill set in operational support you might have the best luck in the corporate sector which means Toronto, possibly Calgary(?). Aren't tech hubs places where they need people with very specific software, engineering, management or sales skills. Infrastructure support for tech companies can be very demanding because each software dev and engineer has some specific technical demand compared to your typical user in a plumbing company for example.

dbd33

Like jandro, I suggest the OP wouldn't want to target a tech firm. If work/life balance is the objective and a government job is out of the question, due to the lack of residency, a bank might be good.

domainnamesandwich

I worked at a development house as my first job for nearly five years, so I've definitely got experience supporting those environments

But I'm more involved with infrastructure services and building platforms for developers and Application specialist.

Tech hub is a very broad term, but those specialists all need infrastructure to support them!

The market does seem very competitive, but then again so is the market in London.

domainnamesandwich

Well I mean.. by work/life balance, actually having the time to explore Ontario (if that is the destination) and the surrounding area. Fully appreciate from the advice here, and general research, that NA work/life balance is far worse than UK. However... The quality of the "life" aspect is also important. I don't mind working harder if it means experiencing more (if this makes sense) quality life.

Siouxie

I was responding to the OP's question of where in Canada 'Tech Hubs' were that weren't necessarily large metro centres such as Toronto / Vancouver, if the OP's aim is to obtain employment of any sort to enable them to move to Canada and gain Permanent Residency then they may not be able to be too picky who they work for initially! Unlikely that banks would be offering LMIA's or sponsorship for Provincial Nomination unless the OP has a very specific skill set.

domainnamesandwich

I think that's very fair! Most important factor would be obtaining a decent job quickly. I can accept that I may have to go in lower than my skill set, due to a lack of Canadian experience.
I won't lie though.. I've been doing a lot of very job specific research this week and I won't lie that I am quite nervous the more I investigate.
I think when it comes to immigration, it can be really hard to get a more balanced opinion. There are so many variables in how someone will assimilate with immigration, that someone’s experience can be completely irrelevant to what yours would be like.
Sometimes I’ll spend hours and hours researching and walk away thinking “This is a bad idea, you have no chance of making it and you should give up”. Perhaps that’s fairly normal as well

Lychee

Let's focus back on quality of life. Can you describe how you imagine your quality of life improving by moving to Canada? How will you know when your quality of life has improved?

In your original post, you wrote:

"I'm not a massive fan of London. Don't get me wrong I really enjoy a good gig/bar/restaurant and the like, but I'm a much more townesque person in general, than a massive city. From the outside, things that I imagine I would like doing most in Canada would be: Exploring national parks, snowboarding, local community based groups/meetups - overall generally a slightly more personal experience. In London you're a Tadpole in a lake of other Tadpoles. Again thinking of balance with work/social, where should I be looking mostly if I'm not fussed about the city life?"

If this is how you feel, then scrap Toronto off your list. It's a fun city if you're a city person. It's a city for people who thrive for gigs, restaurants, bars, shopping, nightlife, music, the arts, etc. It's a career-oriented city. The culture there is, generally speaking, mainly all about work work work. But if you're not a city person in Toronto, you need to travel a significant distance to escape the urban environment there. Snowboarding and exploring national parks are not a part of the Toronto lifestyle any more than they are a part of the London lifestyle, to be honest. I'd argue it's even easier to escape London's urban vibe than Toronto's. Have you played around with Google Street View?

So this is why I focus on quality life. If you're wanting to add snowboarding into your life, are you anticipating mountains nearby in your new home? Contrary to popular belief, Canada is not uniformly mountainous. If you're wanting to explore national parks, are you hoping to move somewhere where there is wilderness nearby? Because if this is the lifestyle you anticipate by moving to Canada, are these the criteria you should be choosing your new home? Don't forget how vast Canada is. Not everywhere in Canada has mountains or snowboarding. Not everywhere in Canada has national parks immediately nearby. Toronto, for example, is about a 4-hour flight away from the Rockies.

Edit: I should say, I'm not trying to persuade you to move to anywhere in Canada in particular, but to think about the purpose of your move. There is a tremendous shift happening now where people are moving out of the cities and into smaller towns, into more rural wilderness locations across Canada, to work remotely and improve their lifestyles to include more nature, more outdoor recreation, less commute time, less hustle and bustle. While IT is not my expertise, I once worked in a university IT department and I know enough folks who work in IT who have also left their big city job to work remotely in Canada's smaller mountain towns. They work for the local ISPs, or for software development firms, for the local university/college, and so on. I'd argue that you will be able to find work wherever you go; it's a matter of finding somewhere that offers the lifestyle that will improve your quality of life that you really need to focus on. Otherwise, you will be trading your current lifestyle for the identical lifestyle in Canada to be frank.

dbd33

Just to emphasize the point about Toronto. Two of my daughters are skiers, both reported better skiing opportunities after leaving Toronto. One went to Alaska, to a resort, and then to Vancouver from where she could take the bus to resorts (while she was a student, after that she couldn't afford the bus) so that's as one would expect. The other emigrated to Tower Hamlets. Tower Hamlets has the DLR, the city airport, EasyJet and competitors and so offers access to the European ski resorts. Air fares within Canada make trips to the ski areas infeasible from Toronto. The people I know who ski regularly in Alberta either live within driving distance or in Norway. There are some bunny hills, and Lake Placid, within driving distance of Toronto but it's not a location one would choose if skiing (or white trash skiing) is important.

Mordko

It all depends on what is meant by “exploring Ontario and the surrounding area”. Ontario is huge.

Within an hour’s drive from Toronto one can find great provincial parks (Bronte Creek, Forks of the Credit, etc). They are very large by UK’s standards and actually have trees which is always a plus. Lots to do for nature lovers. There are camping sites, trails, rivers with salmon and skating rinks in winter.

Niagara Falls/Niagara on the Lake are a little further but can be reached in 1h30min by car or 2h by Go Train. Lots to do in that area.

Blue Mountains are 2h from Toronto. Not Alps, but downhill and cross country skiing and snowboarding are available.

For someone who likes walking/running/biking/cross country skiing, the region surrounding Toronto is heaven. Miles upon miles of beautiful trails.

Algonquin Park is 3 hours from Toronto. Thats quite something. Only accessible by canoe or on foot. 3000 square miles. Thats 15% the size of Wales. Lots of wildlife.

Another hour further north, you get to the Ottawa Valley and ZECs. These dwarf the Algonquin. If you are thinking “real wilderness”, this is it. Cell phones won’t work. Heaven for hunting, fishing and kayaking but one needs to know what he is doing.

Traffic isn’t great in Toronto and 401 isn’t fun but its not a giant traffic jam like the areas around London.

Keep in mind that you get different seasons in Ontario; and the difference is more than the size of rain droplets. If you are into winter activities you’ll be fine. If you hate snow then Australia is a better option.

domainnamesandwich

Thanks for the comment!
I believe I mentioned above about striking balance, so I'm not gonna scrap Toronto because it has arguably the best opportunities.
While I feel more at home in a townesque environment, I have no issue with living in major cities like Toronto. I would much rather initially live somewhere that isn’t 100% my most preferred lifestyle, but I can find work - than the other side and live in my ideal but the opportunities aren’t there.

Appreciated - When I mentioned other places than Toronto, this was mostly a curiosity based question, as I thought there might be something I had overlooked.

I'm not thinking about moving to Canada because I want to snowboard



Many thanks.


Appreciate that - but again, it’s more about the risk of moving to a town and not being able to find work.

domainnamesandwich

I like snow

Australia is my worst suited place hehe.

glendem4

It's not what you know, but who you know that gets you a job interview in Canada. Use LinkedIn to find suitable contacts. The Canadian banks dominate IT opportunities in Ontario.

dbd33

What proportion of IT people work for the banks? Lots, but is it really more than the insurance companies, government, utilities and software companies combined?