When it comes to water pressure I find that Canada beats the UK handsdown. An upgrade to many of my relatives homes in the UK is a 'power shower'. My cousin and his wife raved about the water pressure at hotels that they have stayed in during a vacation in Florida. I find when visiting homes in the UK for a shower I'm getting drizzled on rather than blasted by water. Just my thoughts....they may be all 'local' though

Unless it's a dry summer in Canada and your water is fed via a well

My water pressure here is pretty good. In the UK I lived in a top floor flat in London. We had the old system where the water in your bathroom is supplied by a tank in the loft. Being on the top floor, the tank was only about 2 to 3 feet above us, and being gravity fed, meant we had p*ss poor water pressure. I installed a pump for the bath and shower which made a huge difference.

My Dad was a plumber, so growing up he always told us not to drink the water from the bathroom sink. Ok to clean your teeth, but just don't swallow it. I told my wife not to drink the water in the bathroom and she thought I was mad.

I live in KW. It's a nice enough place. Yep - it has the high tech companies and the unis. And it has lots of green spaces, local festivals etc. Excellent place for families. It's trying to be trendy with loft accommodation etc for the young crowd, who inevitably go to Toronto for their fun. For Brits in their 30s like me who believe you''re never too old to socialize, it's not that exciting. But it's friendly enough, safe, clean.

Doesn't that just sum up Canada, in a nutshell?

I have a walk in closet, we call it the spare room.

Lived there for 2 years prior to trecking across to Sas.

It is a nice area and close to a few attractions as someone previously mentioned. The market at St Jacobs is good, quite liked Fergus as a village as well.

Octoberfest was the biggest disappointment for me though, they made such a fuss about it, claiming to be the biggest beer festival outside Germany, etc. I was so fed up YOU COULD ONLY BUY MOLSTON'S CANADIAN IN A PLASTIC GLASS. Hate that 'so called' beer.

Went to a big German club during the festival where they had decent things on, just even there you could only get Canadian... spit...

We're in KW and really like it. I personally feel that it is quite safe considering it's a city. Oh, and Steven Hawkings is here so that can only be a bonus!

Unfortunately for us there is no work here or rather I should say no industry here so we will be moving. Also 4 years wait to get on the waiting list for a doctor, having said that the emergency walk-in clinic has been great. I think if you work for certain companies though, they can help you get access to a family doctor more or less straight away.

Good weekend to be in Fergus:

www.fergustruckshow.com

the only better showcase for the region would be a foxhunt combined with a gun show.

Unfortunately, yes it does sum it up quite accurately..........but 2 things I LOVE about Canada - the multiculturalism and nature/green spaces. MUCH better than the UK for both. But the lack of proper socialising and humour/banter is a real drag!
Anyhow, back to the point. If you're coming to Ontario, KW is a pretty decent enough place.

Do you really believe that?

My house in Kent had 4 bathrooms and walk in closet in master suite. When my stint in Canada is over I will go back to Kent and buy a house in the sun some where as well.

Absolutely. Both Multiculturalism and Nature/green spaces are better developed here. People are much more tolerant and accepting of other cultures and the infrastructure for newcomers is much better here. I work with immigrants and refugees and definitely see the differences. In the UK, poeple are not as willing to mix with other cultures and racism is much mote blatant. As for Nature, there is so much more here. The Provincial Parks and Conservation Areas are just fantastic. There is an abundance of activites and events for all the family to get involved with Nature and infinite naturalist groups and environmental summer camps. How many UK kids and teenagers get involved in Nature activities? ANd there's camping, cottaging, trails, natural areas, lakes etc..........

Well as long as you believe what you write, that's all that matters

I/we live in KW too.

Its not bad, its got two Uni's (I'm in grad school at UW), which are quite ugly but are good "schools". Its got a few 'pubs', even a sort of english themed one called the Duke of Wellington. The fishing on the grand river is not bad too, especially for carp!

The kitchener farmers market is nice too. There are some really nice leafy streets to live on pretty close to downtown or uptown. I hate the malls. Kitchener downtown is a dump too. The lonely planet describes it as 'awash
with homeless alcoholics and bong shops' and I cant argue with them.

I like it here though. Its not tremendously exciting! Im lucky my common laws parents have a cottage up on the Bruce to escape to. If you can afford to get a cottage up there for weekends then you can really live the Canadian dream!

The weathers pretty hot in the summer too. Cold in the winter. Public transport (buses) are not too bad if you live near king street.

In conclusion: Is waterloo all that? well it depends on what you want I guess