Where to live in Canada
 

We’ve been living for the last 11 years just outside of Edmonton and have got to a point where my wife and I plus one teen want to move.

have found it extremely difficult to get a social network that’s more than just the smile and wave brigade, and only have two friends (both Brit couples) that resemble anything close to what we had back home. We are British and became Cad citizens in 2020.

so, where would you recommend in Ontario, BC, or on the East coast?

Re: Where to live in Canada
 

Vancouver has the reputation for being a not so welcoming city and difficult to make friends, so you may want to avoid Vancouver region.

I found people in Ontario a lot friendlier compared to BC though, at least in the smaller communities within 1-2 hours of Toronto, I never lived in the Toronto area so not sure how Toronto compares.

Of the places in Canada I have lived (BC city's of Vancouver, Abbotsford, Chilliwack & Squamish (Edmonton) (ON city's/towns of Whitby and Port Hope) I rank them as follows from best to worst based on my experience as to friendliness of people:

Whitby
Port Hope
Edmonton
Abbotsford
Chilliwack
Squamish
Vancouver

Everyone has different experiences, so what works for some wont work for others, BC is very outdoor sports oriented and I find if you don't enjoy outdoor sports, its hard to make real friends and connections.

Re: Where to live in Canada
 

I've found most of the towns and city people around my area to be very friendly.

Burlington has lots of Brits and Brit social events (there's about 3 Brit FB groups for Burlington and surrounding areas, lol) - on the water.. lots of pubs, restaurants, festivals, it's a nice town.
Hamilton - where I currently live, have found people to be friendly, a City with a smaller town feel in parts (it's spread out, but not like Toronto), lots to do and see (there's a wiki about it)
Dundas - close by and again, friendly people, nice little town, my 2nd choice of places to move to

Port Dover I absolutely love and would like to move to - but prices have gone through the roof.. the people I have met there have been super friendly.
Port Rowan, lovely little town on the water

To determine a place to live you need to decide what is important to you - what you like and what you like to do, what you dislike... do you want to be in a smaller City / Town.. somewhere with lots of pubs / restaurants / parks / open space / water / sports / etc. and of course, where can you find work!

:)

Re: Where to live in Canada
 

Looks like a nice and sensible sized town.

BUT be advised that every Friday 13th (of any month), the town is taken over by hoardes of motorbikers from all over North America (think 5000+ motorbikes!). Good natured gathering. Usually a couple of Chapters of Hells Angels there as well (always the ones from Hamilton and often visiting chapters). They tend to set up their own stands and mind their own business, just don't look too long at them and definitely don't take photos of them (they will assume you are an undercover cop).

Re: Where to live in Canada
 

Unlike Jsmith ............

I love Vancouver, have lived here over 50 years and have never been sorry. We have many friends and friendly neighbours.

BUT you are asking a question that is impossible for anyone else to answer.

You are moving into established neighbourhoods wherever you go as adults. Many people in those areas will have lived there all their lives and have their own groupings of friends, sometimes from as long ago as kindergarten! It is difficult to break into those groups, just as it is if you move to somewhere in the UK from elsewhere.

I moved from a mill town in Lancashire to a smaller town in Cheshire that was the centre of an agricultural area in the mid-1960s, and found it very difficult to find new friends, certainly not from among the people at work or neighbours. I joined, of all things, the Young Conservatives ...... it allegedly had an active social life and was much less interested in politics.

That turned out to be true ............. but the ones who were friendly were the other singles and 2 or 3 couples who had no children.

I learnt pretty quickly that you have to put yourself out, and look for groups to join. Don't expect work mates to be like in the UK, because you just haven't grown up with them. They have their own lives, just as did those people I worked with all those years ago.

Re: Where to live in Canada
 

Vancouver is an okay city if you love the outdoors and have a high enough income where one can actually enjoy Vancouver and the things the city offers.

Re: Where to live in Canada
 

Well, .............. we don't love the outdoors in the sense of needing to pay high prices to ski, snowmobile, etc etc.

We've skied once at Manning Park on a VERY cut price weekend organised by graduate students, never skied any other place.

We did love camping .......... in a tent, usually on Forest Service campgrounds or Provincial Parks, in the days when those were free.

We enjoyed going to the theatre for plays and the opera, and saved our pennies to do so.

We weren't rich by any means, we saved for our house, and lived on a lot of spahetti and meat sauce, even when we had friends for dinner.

It costs nothing to walk in Stanley Park, go to the beach, down to Steveston and the board walk there.

There was, and still is, lots to do for free, if you enjoy the outdoors!

Re: Where to live in Canada
 

I've been going to Port Dover for more than 17 years and have friends who live there who have never had any issues or problems with the participants of Friday 13th in the 15+ years they have lived there. As for looking at them or taking photos - nobody minds people taking photos of the bikes.. and there are dozens if not hundreds of photos of biker participants on google :) I've had friends supply me with photos for my 'bikes' video in the past... and have friends with stores there (including Route 6) :)

It's very well organised and there is a police presence :) https://www.escapetodover.com/friday-13th

Re: Where to live in Canada
 

Oh you can take as many photos of motorbikes as you like, you can even get your photo taken with full patch members of Hells Angels (if you ask them nicely and often hand over some cash) if that floats your boat. What I am saying is that it is unwise to take photos of HA people and other biker gangs (e.g. Outlaws) without asking them first. Yes, it is very well organised, and the biker gangs are on their best behaviour, but still trouble occurs (usually between the HA and the Outlaws), but it is still very disruptive for about 3 / 4 days (days either side to prep and clean up). I would hate anyone to decide PD is the place to be without at least knowing about the PD13 gatherings. It wouldn't bother me, but not everyones cup of tea!

Re: Where to live in Canada
 

Your experience from attending last year (was it your first time there?) is clearly very different to that experienced by my many friends who live in Port Dover and attend the event every time.

Perhaps to keep this in context, there is only ONE Friday 13th next year - and few the following years - it's not every month and isn't quite as disruptive as you may think - most of the townspeople who have business's enjoy the added revenue - and much of the money raised goes to charities and local causes. They were up in arms because of the changes made for the September event last year! https://www.simcoereformer.ca/news/l...-balancing-act

https://portdoverkinsmen.com/friday-the-13th/ (there is a FB group if you are interested in going to Port Dover again, HB! :)
08/13/2021
05/13/2022
01/13/2023
10/13/2023
09/13/2024
12/13/2024

Re: Where to live in Canada
 

So 130,000 people descend on a town of 6,000? I clearly have a different idea of what disruptive means 😁

https://www.harley-davidson.com/ca/e...20one%20place.

Re: Where to live in Canada
 

Well, that’s nice to hear! I live in Whitby and we drive out to Port Hope on Saturday - lovely little town to visit and quite busy.

Re: Where to live in Canada
 

What do you like to do?

Renting, or buying? What's the price range you're looking for, cause that's going to have an impact.
Driving or Transit? How's your driving in snow? The night buses in Toronto were a great help for me when my wife needed the car.
Rural or city-dweller, or somewhere between?
Are you people who like to travel around the region, or prefer to stay local to home?
Beach or malls?
Work, or people of leisure, or somewhere between.
Are your hobbies social ones, or are they individual / family activities?
Where would the teen go to school / college (if not old enough for college yet, they will be some day). Transportation?

I lived in Ontario for 5? years, and enjoyed every bit of it. There are pros and cons everywhere, and you'll probably make some trade-offs along the way.

Re: Where to live in Canada
 

When I moved to Kamloops, BC in 2007 I didn't know anyone. I know it sounds cliché but I volunteered at a few local organizations and made a bunch of new contacts. Those contacts introduced me to their contacts and eventually I made some good friends.

I think it's important to have work friends as well as non work friends.

Re: Where to live in Canada
 

You get bikers in Port Dover most weekends when the weather is good, not just on Friday 13th.
I was there a couple of weeks ago and even with the beach closed there was around 200-250
Not sure what the attraction is, they just seem to hang around Tim Horton's parking lot