Where in Canada 🇨🇦
 

Dear all,
So I’m just getting to grips with this website - it’s been some easy/scary reading :)
Basically I have decided that I want to live abroad. I am half Scottish half Belgian and I am just not loving England any more. We have just had a little one (10 months now) and I just decided that I’d like to take this show on the road so my son can have a slightly more interesting life.
I study language and the languages and cultures of indigenous people particularly those impacted by European invasion; therefore Canada, New Zealand and Australia are of particular interest to me. I have always been slightly obsessed with what I have seen of Canada though.
my partner who is a historian travelled there extensively as a child and potentially wishes to do a PhD there. Obviously there will be lots of recon missions but I just wanted to ask some general opinions about towns and cities.
I have heard good things about Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg
Obviously they are all very different - I’d like to narrow down my recon destinations and would like opinions. For me the key features must be proximity to the countryside and natural beauty, I like to live in beautiful city areas or suburbs, I will be raising a child (maybe children by the time we get out there) so interested in places that are good for raising a family, good hospital, healthcare, schools, we are into alternative education and so will either look to alternative schools or home schooling we are your typical lefties, eco, the art scene, vegetarians (yawn, I know) obviously the universities will play a role in our choice but I’d like to get the word on the ground about my other requirements.
My partner studies early modern history with an interest in morality, this covers the colonisation period of course. I am about 60% Fluent in French, 40% in Spanish and German so I thought I would strengthen my languages and then be useful as a language tutor.
I heard a LOT of negative things about vancouver, but don’t mind expensive, I don’t mind rainy weather, I don’t mind homelessness and addiction obviously I mind that they exist but I’m not repelled by it, I’m in recovery myself and would be happy to engage in community volunteer work - but please feel free to give me positives and negatives of all and any cities and areas.
If you like a city please let me know which areas to check out - this could help me decide on my recon trips.
Thank you so much in advance

Re: Where in Canada 🇨🇦
 

Hi, and welcome to BE.

You've not mentioned a visa, but assume you know you're definitely eligible for one without a job offer? It's just that most people do require a job offer to get a visa, so if that were the case with you, you may not get much choice in location anyway and will just have to go wherever you can find a sponsoring employer.

Another thing you've not mentioned but which will play a big part in location is your housing budget? If you can give people an idea of what you'd want to spend and what you'd like for that (i.e. how many bedrooms, type of property, proximity to amenities etc), then they can help. There will be a huge difference between what you can afford in Vancouver versus what you can afford in Winnipeg for example.

Anything more info/criteria you can give would be super helpful (do you want bilingual, do you mind lots of snow/cold, do you need proximity to airports for European flights, do you want to ski/snowboard, do you want oceans etc), Canada is such a vast country that specifics really help when you're asking people to recommend areas.

Best of luck with it.

Re: Where in Canada 🇨🇦
 

You will fit right in, if a little cliche in Vancouver

Re: Where in Canada 🇨🇦
 

Thank you for your reply, yes at the moment we are on a bit of borrowed information- my partners overseer on his MA course is Canadian and has told us that many universities are keen to have abroad PhD students and grant them and their families visas for the duration of study (which is 5-6 years) during which time we would both seek to work in Canada and remain if we enjoyed it; however if it is not straightforward we have family in Vancouver who might be able to help, or, after deciding where we want to be, my partner would have to complete his studies in the uk and then work on getting a job in our desired place.
My house budget would be high, as my business was property before I became a mother and I did quite well. I do not need a massive home, but outside space in a nice area would be ideal. I ski and wouldn’t mind being within an hour or 3 of slopes,I don’t mind snow but I like sun too, I love nature and the ocean - bilngual is fine as I said, but fine if not. I know Canada is vast which is why I was asking to see if people wanted to tell me about the places where they lived and what they loved or didn’t love etc. This would help me plan our recon trips. Within 1-2 hours of a good airport is good.

Re: Where in Canada 🇨🇦
 

Based on everything you are saying points to Vancouver, or at least lower mainland, possibly even the island. The issue is going to be house prices a 2-bed house, opposed to condo or apartment, i.e. with a yard in a nice area (not that there are too many not nice areas here) is going to run you approx. $1.7M.

https://www.zolo.ca/vancouver-real-estate/trends

Re: Where in Canada 🇨🇦
 

Ottawa or Montreal are possibilities. Mont Tremblant ski resort about 1.5 hour drive. Just coz it ain't a jagged Alps-type mountain doesn't mean it isn't good skiing.

Re: Where in Canada 🇨🇦
 

Sounds like you should be looking closer to home. What's wrong with Edinburgh for example?

Re: Where in Canada 🇨🇦
 

Kingston isn't bad either (Queen's University, handy enough for Montreal and Ottawa, attractive area - "thousand islands", and reasonably affordable housing). Forget the skiing though!

Re: Where in Canada 🇨🇦
 

That was my first thought, too. Several Canadian higher (and further) ed institutions are ramping up their indigenous angles in various ways, so it's certainly something that may be attracting funding right now.

From my impressions of the two cities (including friends that now live there), I think you could easily find what you're after in terms of quality of life in both. I'm not au fait enough with specific neighbourhoods, but if others can't assist PM me and I can ask friends directly.

Re: Where in Canada 🇨🇦
 

Absolutely nothing wrong with Edinburgh- in fact we considered it for many years - only thing is it’s still in the uk and our interests are pulling us elsewhere.

Re: Where in Canada 🇨🇦
 

Hi there so I was just replying and it vanished ! Sorry if a half baked reply turns up! So on my online research I have found myself drawn to Ottawa, obviously it’s hard to tell just from the internet but it looks great. Plus it’s close enough to both Montreal and Quebec City both of which also look attractive to me. Skiing is def not a requirement - it’s like bubblegum, I’ll partake if it’s there but I don’t go out of my way to get involved... thank you for your reply!

Re: Where in Canada 🇨🇦
 

That’s fantastic news about the higher ed indigenous programs - linguistics being my area I might just start looking into learning some of the endangered First Nation languages and preservation is so important. Admittedly this was an original draw to British Columbia as I had heard that there is a vibrant indigenous presence over that way, my inspections online into Vancouver as a city weren’t fruitful because I found it quite confusing to figure out what different areas were like, although the scenery does look rather insanely beautiful which is a big draw! I suppose one really can’t get a feel for the place until one is there.

Re: Where in Canada 🇨🇦
 

Mont Blanc isn't far from Montreal/Ottawa, for skiing.

Absolutely stunning scenery and nature reserves around that area too - my sisters just spent 3 weeks touring there.

:)

Re: Where in Canada 🇨🇦
 

Vancouver Island might fit your criteria. Many indigenous bands, certainly a high profile area politically and culturally. Lots and lots of dippy hippy types. Artisan is a word used as much as toilet paper. However, I think there are only 3 universities - UVIC, Vancouver Island Uni and Royal Roads. There is also Camosun College and maybe other stuff up Island. Big downside of the Island is it isn't really that close to anything else. You're 8 hours behind the UK. House prices have gone up appreciably, but aren't anything like Vancouver. Nice countryside and there's skiing up at Mt Washington. Lots of home schooling goes on too (with the associated home school groups - how does that work???). Just throwing it out there...

Re: Where in Canada 🇨🇦
 

Literally every Indigenous language in Canada is endangered, largely because of the Residential School system that took children away from their homes between the late 1800s to as late as the 1990s in some areas, and forced them to learn English (or French in Quebec). That mean they lost the knowledge of their own languages or dialects, and have not been able to pass them down to today's children.

It is a HUGE problem, and there are hundreds if not thousands of languages.

Fortunately there is a distinct push for elders who still know the to teach today's young ones ....... and some teenagers are learning the language at the same time as they set up groups to also learn.

In BC alone, there are almost 200 distinct First Nations groups, with over 30 distinct languages and 60 dialects.

There are about 60 distinct Indigenous languages in Canada, each with many distinct dialects.

The written versions of the Indigenous languages are very different from any other written language.


I know several people who have learnt Indigenous languages, and all say that they are very difficult to master.