CANADA? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

bondagegirl · 07-01-2003, 02:07 PM

OK so My boyfriend and I are always trying to think of new places to live that are practical, different and interesting. I was talking to him the other day and he brought up moving to canada.

At first I was like WHAT? but I've thought about it lately and I've heard good things about canada. But not enough. I know there are a lot of canadians around here on TFP and I wanted to ask where would be the best place to live there? Where are the nicer cities and most jobs? and what all is involved in moving to a different country? Is the free medical care only for residents? and how would I become a resident? I have so many questions about this to see if it would actually be possible... I hope some of you guys can help.

LittleOralAnnie · 07-01-2003, 02:21 PM

I'm no expert but I've traveled vastly around the world and I know a few things about Canada that might help until a Canuck comes along to answer more. Canadian Immigration would be very helpful in answering any and all of the questions you possess.

Toronto is a terrific city, full of culture, jobs and there is so much to see and do there. I've heard Vancouver is wonderful too but I've yet to visit.

The medical care is free but to the best of my knowledge you have to be dubbed a citizen first or be there a certain amount of time first.

In order to immigrate there are atleast three ways to choose from. Skilled worker class, business class, or family class.

I have a good website that would help you out tremendously. Not sure if I'm allowed to post it so I'll wait until I get permission to do so.

bondagegirl · 07-01-2003, 02:23 PM

Yeah I'm pretty sure you can put up a link. I know others do it.
oh btw thanks for the help

cheerios · 07-01-2003, 02:42 PM

hook us up Annie, i'm curious about this myself!

LittleOralAnnie · 07-01-2003, 03:00 PM

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/

lafemmefatale · 07-01-2003, 03:14 PM

http://canadainternational.gc.ca/vie...3&act=1&tbID=1

that's the official canadian gov. website on immigrating [copy paste, i dunno how to link

] granted it must be somewhat biased...

the break down of major canadian cities

VANCOUVER [including lower mainland] - beautiful place, just gorgeous, the ppl here are, dare i say it, healthiest in the coutry...why? because of so much natural beauty it's hard to want to stay in doors. The music scene here is excellent...excellent public facilities everywhere. Job scene is average...however that may change for the better...much better if we get the 2010 olympics [decision tomorrow...ooo the tension]. but you know...i'm saying this only cuz i'm local ^_____^...weather: very wet from fall to late spring...similar to seattle...

calgary/edmonton: not as metropolitan as vancouver, having been to edmonton twice, it's a well developped place, most exciting thing is probably the edmonton mall...largest mall in the world, you can never find an end to that place...they even have a hooters in there...my guess is cuz it's so cold in winter you get 5 feet snowfalls like it ain't no thang. There's a lot of money in the province from the oil...it may be slowing down now but it's still good for jobs i believe

Toronto: everyone knows about toronto so forget it...good job place...

anywhere in quebec: quebec is really like the north american europe...incredible place, very very rich in arts and culture...and they get a lot of money from the gov...tons. the taxes are lower there too i believe...unfourtunately the province [not the ppl] treat other canadians like foreigners ie. out of prov. university students must pay a higher tuition...but other universities don't do that to quebecers...but nonetheless it's still very cool especially if you're into the french thing

maritimes: stunning place with cheap seafood...not good for jobs though...

territories: very cold...

clavus · 07-01-2003, 04:27 PM

My best friend moved to Canada from the USA. He married a Canadian and has been trying for about 4 years to cut through the red tape to: A) get medical benefits and B) get a workers permit. He has pretty much resigned himself to the idea of never working legally in Canada.

To him I say - What do you expect? You snuck North over the border for a better job and free medical care. You've fathered two kids and want them to get the benefits of another country's educational system. You don't speak the language (French). You work without a permit (in a restaurant, no less).

I call him a "frost-back." It drives him nuts.

My own experiences with Canada have been very positive. Its beautiful on the coasts. The people are great.

Bob Biter · 07-01-2003, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by lafemmefatale
anywhere in quebec: quebec is really like the north american europe...incredible place, very very rich in arts and culture...and they get a lot of money from the gov...tons. the taxes are lower there too i believe...unfourtunately the province [not the ppl] treat other canadians like foreigners ie. out of prov. university students must pay a higher tuition...but other universities don't do that to quebecers...but nonetheless it's still very cool especially if you're into the french thing

It's true, Quebec universities charge higher tuition fees to non-Quebec residents, for reasons I don't really understand, but our taxes are definitely not lower. Aside from the GST (Goods and Services Tax), we have the TVQ (Taxe de vente du Québec - our provincial sales tax). Income tax obviously varies according to your income, but expect 30-40% of your salary to disappear to pay for free health care (ironic, isn't it?), the provincial pension rate, unemployment insurance, etc.

We do get a lot of money from the federal government, but we are the largest province. Also, if you have no knowledge of French and aren't an extremely fast learner, move to Montreal (specifically, the west part of the island). Quebecers are generally friendly and accomodating, but if you end up in Lac-St-Jean and stick to English, well that would be like for me to move to Texas and speak only French. The novelty would wear off in about 2 seconds.

A few American friends of mine (from Boston) have moved to Toronto and love it there. The whole application process was fairly simple, but they already had colleagues there who helped them get settled and since they already had a job waiting for them, it was just a simple matter of securing appartments and getting their medicare cards. The whole thing took about 3 months. However, immigrating anywhere is really a case-by-case issue, so I can't give a definite timetable here.

As for jobs, well any large city like Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, etc. pretty much run the whole gamut of job types. I can't speak for other cities, but Montreal has a booming communications/multimedia sector and any skilled blue-collar worker can find a job relatively easily.

I wish you the best of luck in finding a new place to live!

obelix · 07-01-2003, 09:12 PM

I was born and raised in Canada and have been all over the place. I will try to give a small description of the places that I have lived over the course of my 20 years.

Winnipeg, Manitoba: Born there in 1983. I spent 5 years there, so I dont remember a whole lot, but return visits have refreshed my memory a couple times. Winnipeg isnt the nicest place, but it has its nicer areas. Most of the downtown is quite old, but traditional. In terms of climate, the summer scorch and the winters freeze. Imo, I don't care for both extremes.

St. Albert, Alberta (near Edmonton): A booming city with a lot to do. Very beautiful environment and surroundings. Great people, great overall town. the weather is somewhat similar to that of Winnipeg. I lived there for 8 years, from age 5-13. I would recommend this city to you for sure.

Prince Rupert, BC: A rather small town with a population of about 16000. There is not much to do in this town, but it is green all year long, mainly due to the fact that it is literally the rainiest city in the world. no joke. There are only 2 high schools and downtown consists of 3 main streets. That should give you an idea of how small the place is. I lived there for 5 years, from age 13-18. graduated there and everything

Calgary, Alberta: I lived here for a summer, moved to Vancouver for a year and moved back. Calgary is by far the most enjoyable place that I have ever lived. In terms of people, activities, scenery, and overall grandeur. It is not very crowded for such a large city, (approx 2 million inl surrounding cities) and it is very well planned. Weather is very reasonable. The winters are cold, but not unbearable and the summers are gorgeous. The only thing is, is that you can have any sort of weather on any given day of the year, but that really isnt so bad. Finding work in Calgary is so simple its not even funny. I see no reason why there are homeless people here because of the abundance of manual labour positions available city-wide. I recieved 3 phone calls the first day that I was passing out resumes and I started work the next day

I highly recommend Calgary to you, if you are in search of relative calamity and peace of mind. There are a lot of nice areas to live in in all divisions of the city.

Vancouver, BC: I lived here for one year while attending school and learned a lot about the place. Vancouver is very crowded and very oriental, not that there is anything wrong with either of the two. It did not really suit my tastes as a convenient place to live, learn, or work. Finding jobs there is extremely challenging unless you want something simple like a grocery store, or unless you have a college education. Vancouver is a very busy place and traffic is quite horrendous almost all of the time. The older parts of the city have very narrow roads, which are just waiting to cause accidents. A benefit could be that there are a lot of surrounding cities and districts, such as Surrey, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Richmond, New Westminister and others. Living in any of those surrounding cities will not be as crowded and you will still have easy access to the larger city of vancouver. Another benefit is that it is close the the beautiful Vancouver Island (you may want to consider Victoria, BC also)

(no, i'm not just hyping up calgary because i live here. its worth it. :P )

Fly · 07-02-2003, 05:12 AM

anywhere in B.C.you wouldn't believe how absolutely gorgeous it is here all year round.sun,snow,rain,whatever.mountains,rivers,lakes,streams,hell you name it ....we got it.

don't be shy,come on up.

Charlatan · 07-02-2003, 05:37 AM

Bondagegirl

As you can see by the responses it all depends on what you are looking for in place to live. If you are looking for a laidback lifestyle where you can get all outdoorsy definately go to Vancouver.

However, if you are looking for an urban experience then Toronto or Montreal are really the way to go (not that you can't get to some very stunning outdoors just a short drive from Toronto - just no really big mountains is all).

james t kirk · 07-02-2003, 05:47 AM

Toronto is a collection of neighbourhoods actually. Many with distinct feels. Ask anyone who lives here where they live and they will probably tell you the neighbourhood.

You see, at one time, these neighbourhoods were their own distinct towns or communities that eventually blurred to form the city.

The thing i love about toronto is how people live right in the heart of the city. You turn off Bloor street and you are right into residential complete with lawns, trees and gardens.

If you decide to come here, you should live in the city, never mind the burbs.

The Annex,
Bloor West
High Park,
The beaches
Leaside
Cabbage town
Forrest Hill
Parkdale
rosedale
Riverdale
China town
little italy

are all some of the neighbourhoods i was describing.

There are lots of parks, toronto island, lake ontario, the beaches etc.

Oh, and if you are into BDSM, there is no shortage of places to go for that either.

bender · 07-02-2003, 07:23 AM

Toronto is the place.

Tirian · 07-02-2003, 09:02 AM

I live in a small town about 1/2 the way between Edmonton and Calgary. It is an easy drive to either city if I need to get a product or service not offered locally. Ya it's a bit of a pain, but that's one thing I give up for the small town life.

My wife and I just bought a parcel of land out of town, so next year or so we will be living in no town.

Generally speaking this area is known as central Alberta, and is in my opinion a great place to live.

I just got back from a 3 day hiking trip in the rockies and that was great. Basically there is a lot of really cool stuff within a 2 or 2.5 hour drive from my house.

rmarshall · 07-02-2003, 09:25 AM

I grew up in Montreal and loved it. I married twice and had my first child there.

I have customers in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal and I only have to go see them maybe once a week if that. The rest of the time I can work from home. So, after my last divorce I moved to the Kingston Ontario area. What a beautiful place! Central to everything!

I live on a lake and the lunes sing me to sleep at night. I'm 30 minutes from Kingston, 2 and a half hours to Toronto, 3 and a half hours to Montreal and 2 hours to Ottawa. And if I want to fly somewhere in the states, I can drive to Syracuse.

I have a boat on the lake for tubing and waterskiing and a big boat in Kingston to cruise the 1000 islands with.

I ride all over the place on my motorcycle.

We always leave the keys in the vehicles and we don't even have keys for the house. We occasionally have deer and wild turkeys wandering around the yard.

This is what I call paradise! It depends what you want. I'm 47 years old and am no longer a city-slicker.

Cubby · 07-02-2003, 10:30 AM

Let's see,

Vancouver BC, absolutely gorgeous. I wouldn't say too crowded but it is one of Canada's larger cities (I think around 5 million in the Greater Vancouver area?). Having said that some of the suburbs are still empty and all have pretty good access to downtown. Road situation are the same as any large city..not nearly as bad as Boston, Atlanta, Seattle, etc. There are many improvements that could be made though. The weather here can be miserable and can be absolutely gorgeous. My favorite time here is in the fall September is usually sunny and with the colours of the leaves changing it is really beautiful. You can ski on the North Shore hills or hike, kayak, fish, rollerblade, run all of it taking place in the local mountains, parks, lakes, or ocean. If you want more information on Vancouver (specific or general) just PM me an I'll give you more of a lowdown. I've lived here for almost 25 years and wouldn't really want to live anywhere else. One of the downsides to living here is the cost of housing is getting quite high. Cheaper housing out in the suburbs and the occasional steal of a deal in closer in are still possible.

Calgary, I've visited it a couple of times. Seems like a great city. Really booming economically these days as many people are flocking to a cheaper place to live. Close to Banff and great skiiing in the Rockies. Has an international airport which makes vacations easier. Taxes are good (see comment in Edmonton below).

Edmonton, as has been said before..has the Edmonton mall. I've only visited Edmonton a couple of times and not at all in like 10 years so can't say much about the city. As for the province though, the province has a wealth of oil reserves. Due to these reserves and the extra revenues they bring in, Alberta does not have a provinical sales tax. They have also recently been considering phasing out the provincial income tax but I doubt that will actually happen.

Winnipeg, Manitoba. Been there a bunch due to relatives. Very cold in winter, very hot in summer but still a very neat place to visit and see. They have a different culture than the west coast. Grand Beach (north of Winnipeg)..one of the top 10 (top 5?) fresh water beaches in North America. Amazing place to stay cool in summer.

Ottawa, Ontario. Lived there for 8 months and have been back to visit several times. I really love Ottawa, it is a great place to live and work. Mostly government and hi tech work here and due to the recent economy many of the hi tech jobs are now gone. Beatuiful in fall, cold in winter but that has its own beauty with the winter carnival and skating on the world's larges ice rink (the canal freezes and you can skate something like 5 km right to downtown). Summer can be quite hot but you can escape across the border into the Gatineau hills for some caving or hikes...etc.

That's all I'll give you for now as I haven't really experienced too many more cities. I've been to Quebec City and Montreal and some cities in Saskatchewan and I have friends in the maritime province so I do have some idea of those but no firm opinions or facts.

As I said before..if you need more info please PM me!

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics!!!

Minx · 07-02-2003, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by obelix
Calgary, Alberta: I lived here for a summer, moved to Vancouver for a year and moved back. Calgary is by far the most enjoyable place that I have ever lived. In terms of people, activities, scenery, and overall grandeur. It is not very crowded for such a large city, (approx 2 million inl surrounding cities) and it is very well planned. Weather is very reasonable. The winters are cold, but not unbearable and the summers are gorgeous. The only thing is, is that you can have any sort of weather on any given day of the year, but that really isnt so bad. Finding work in Calgary is so simple its not even funny. I see no reason why there are homeless people here because of the abundance of manual labour positions available city-wide. I recieved 3 phone calls the first day that I was passing out resumes and I started work the next day I highly recommend Calgary to you, if you are in search of relative calamity and peace of mind. There are a lot of nice areas to live in in all divisions of the city.

I love Calgary....not my true home as far as my heart goes but it is a fantastic city. You can find anything you want up here, just as you will in the good ol' USA....you want rural, city-life, scenaric....it all depends on what you want where you will end up.

I was born in Edmonton (will never go back unless I have a DAMN good reason), lived in Calgary (out at the base of the Rockies) on an acreage but for me heaven is the Okanagan Valley which is what I consider "home" and now reside again in Calgary. Love Vancouver but it's a little too rainy and busy for me (as in traffic busy). The east is nice but Toronto is just way too impersonal for my tastes. You want friendly...come out west to the Stampede! yahoo!

Just as every other country we have our ups and downs. But, we have kick-ass medical care (and no, I don't think the red-tape to get it is as bad as some people make it out to be as long as you are on the up-and-up and not just trying to milk the system) and hell, we're just nice folks!

bondagegirl · 07-02-2003, 01:36 PM

so minx you live on the west coast? Is calgary on the west side? Forgive my ignorance with this. Canada a very new thing for me considering I probably couldn't live farther, I guess unless I was in southern texas.

How are canadians with americans that want to move up there? All of you guys seem so proud about canada, and nice about people leaving the states to live there. But are most canadians like that? I know I'm completely generalizing, but what else can I do?

BTW thanks to everyone for the great info! This is why I come to TFP!

rockzilla · 07-02-2003, 02:27 PM

Calgary's on the western side of central Canada, there's no coast though, it's landlocked. About as far west as Idaho or Utah.

You might encounter some anti-american sentiments up here, most of them are directed at the government and media though. As long as you're not constantly shoving America in our faces, you'll be fine.

Himbo · 07-02-2003, 02:46 PM

I'm Canadian and it is a great place to live. The immigration system goes a little something like this. It works on a point system. Where you fill out alot of forms and your skills, trades, background, apirations, etc. earn you points. You have to get to a certain point level to qualify. The top places to live in Canada would be (in my opinion) Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Vancouver. As far as the job market goes it depends on what you do of course so I can't say to much about that. Good luck with this.

obelix · 07-02-2003, 04:27 PM

we hold no grudges. all are welcome

Calgary is the second most western province in Canada, BC being the most western. Anyhow, it looks like you have a lot to think about, so good luck with your decisions.

Nostromo · 07-02-2003, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bondagegirl

How are canadians with americans that want to move up there? All of you guys seem so proud about canada, and nice about people leaving the states to live there. But are most canadians like that? I know I'm completely generalizing, but what else can I do?

(From David Letterman)
Top Ten Canadian Complaints About Americans

10. Won't acknowledge enormous cultural contributions of Howie Mandel

9. We're pretty sure they're holding Wayne Gretzky down there against his will

8. Every time we mention the city "Regina," they won't stop giggling

7. Incredibly, they only have one word for "snow"

6. In American encyclopedias, Canada often called "North Dakota's gay neighbor"

5. They call it American cheese, even though it was invented by Canadian superstar Gordon Lightfoot

4. They've never even heard of our most popular superhero, Captain Saskatchewan

3. Two words: "Weird Al"

2. Sick of that gap-toothed loser on "The Late Show with Paul Shaffer"

1. Not enough guys named "Gordie"

charlesesl · 07-02-2003, 09:58 PM

dont come to vancouver
other than mild temperature this place has nothing
jobs are so hard to find
the traffic is very bad
and bad city infestructure

Papageorgeo101 · 07-03-2003, 03:43 AM

Well, BC is very beautiful and diverse, and there are many places in Ontario that are developing cities. Take for instance my hometown, Windsor. We have a population of 230,000 and we have a busy downtown, a casino, a major mall, and we are right on the border of Canada to the US. We are right across from Detriot, Michigan, only seperated by the Detriot river. We have a ton of riverfront housing and riverfront parks, and a lot of parks in general around. The only problem with Windsor is the air pollution. We get a lot of pollution generated by Ohio and Illinois, so the air pollution can be bad sometimes, but otherwise it's a good city to be in.

Cubby · 07-03-2003, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by obelix
we hold no grudges. all are welcome
Calgary is the second most western province in Canada, BC being the most western. Anyhow, it looks like you have a lot to think about, so good luck with your decisions.

Not to be nitpicky but we don't want to give our friends to the south any incorrect information about geography. BC is the most western province with ALBERTA being the next most western. Calgary is in the south west-ish of that province.

Cubby · 07-03-2003, 07:33 AM

bondagegirl,

I think you need to decide what type of place is for you in terms of how you like to live. Canada has as many different and diverse regions, cities and towns as the US does. If you like metropolitan areas we can find them for you. If you like wide open spaces we can find them for you. If you like to farm, we need people who want to farm. Basically whatever type of place you'd like to live we could find a spot for you.

Just take all of these recommendations with a grain of salt as you can definitely see peoples prejudices and preferences coming up.

Cubby · 07-03-2003, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by charlesesl
dont come to vancouver
other than mild temperature this place has nothing
jobs are so hard to find
the traffic is very bad
and bad city infestructure

Charlesesl...how does Vancouver have nothing? What do you mean by nothing? No nature? No fun? No work?

The traffic here is no worse than any other major city. I agree the infrastructure could be better but it will improve. Vancouver has grown extremely rapidly and is still a choice destination around the world. Why else would it have been ranked in the top two cities in the world to live for the past few years?

bender · 07-03-2003, 08:23 AM

Alberta seems to be Canada's most conservitive prov. and has a reputation for being filled with red necks.

rockzilla · 07-03-2003, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bender
BG... just to let you know a little about the people in Alberta, they are heavy into oil and gas and deal alot with people from Texas, and have some of the same social ideals.
Alberta seems to be Canada's most conservitive prov. and has a reputation for being filled with red necks.
The biggest event draws approx 1-1.5 million people over 10 days is a rodeo/drinking fest called the Calgary Stampede.
Imag. a city filled with drunken people dressed as cowboys/girls yelling " Yeehaw " for 10 days.

I call that a party

Sticky · 07-03-2003, 09:12 AM

<b>bondagegirl</b>, here is a map of Canada (with U.S. below) to help you out on the geography.
<img src="http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas/canada.jpg" border="0" width="817" height="979">

bondagegirl · 07-03-2003, 10:03 AM

Thanks for the map! thats what I needed!
bender I seriously laughed out loud at what you said! too funny, that only happens in calgary right?

OK so I'm still figuring canada out, the different "sections", BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, obtario and quebec, compared to the US are they states? and then everything else is just a city in that state? I'm learning I'm learning!

Cubby · 07-03-2003, 10:57 AM

The calgary stampede is not the only Rodeo in Canada but it is the largest. In Williams Lake in the interior of BC there is a large rodeo as well and even getting close to vancouver there is the Cloverdale Rodeo.

As for Canada. Yes the provinces are just like the American states. Each province has their own law courts, taxes, etc. They generally get funding from the federal government as well (although it is not exactly equally doled out).

Looking at that map it is actually an out-dated one. There are now 10 provinces and 3 territories (Northwest Territories were split into the Northwest Territories and Nunavut just a few years ago.)

Here is a new map:

Cubby · 07-03-2003, 11:01 AM

Now to clarify the above map and some terms:

Western canada has often been described as the four provinces BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba

Then there is the large province of Ontario and the french speaking province of Quebec.

The Maritimes provinces are:
Newfoundland and Labrador (one province), Prince Edward Island (or P.E.I - where Anne of Green Gables is from/was created?), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The territories are
Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Charlatan · 07-04-2003, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by james t kirk
Toronto is a collection of neighbourhoods actually. Many with distinct feels. Ask anyone who lives here where they live and they will probably tell you the neighbourhood.

You see, at one time, these neighbourhoods were their own distinct towns or communities that eventually blurred to form the city.

The thing i love about toronto is how people live right in the heart of the city. You turn off Bloor street and you are right into residential complete with lawns, trees and gardens.

If you decide to come here, you should live in the city, never mind the burbs.

The Annex,
Bloor West
High Park,
The beaches
Leaside
Cabbage town
Forrest Hill
Parkdale
rosedale
Riverdale
China town
little italy

are all some of the neighbourhoods i was describing.

There are lots of parks, toronto island, lake ontario, the beaches etc.

Oh, and if you are into BDSM, there is no shortage of places to go for that either.

Kirk... Great read on Toronto.

Cubby: Anne of Green Gables was set in PEI but written in Leaskdale, Ontario.

Bondagegirl: You should visit sites like lonelyplanet.com or other travel books and read up on the various bits of Canada. They have a lot of information concisely written.

Cheers.

Cubby · 07-04-2003, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Charlatan
Cubby: Anne of Green Gables was set in PEI but written in Leaskdale, Ontario.

I did not know that..thanks for the info!

Minx · 07-04-2003, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bender
Alberta seems to be Canada's most conservitive prov. and has a reputation for being filled with red necks.

Don't listen to him bondagegirl...he tends to be rather sarcastic at times. Alberta is not full of red necks...yes it's true that Calgary itself is a big oil town but that does not mean we are red necks by any means whatsoever. Sheesh!
And yes we do go a little wierd over the ten days of Stampede (it officially kicked off this morning) but it's fun and there's nothing wrong at all with proudly celebrating your heritage. And hey...people come from all over the world (literally) to come enjoy Stampede time...we've just gotten complacent living here!
If I can ever figure out my picture posting troubles (sigh) I'll post a few pics here for you!

Mango · 07-04-2003, 08:47 AM

Vancouver B.C. is a really nice place to live, if yo like cities. I personally don't like them that much so I live in a small town in the mountains of B.C. I have all the amenities I need available. The cost of living is cheaper in the boonies than in a city and there is less to tempt you into spending your cash (or as is often the case charging it and going into debt to the banks forever) Medicare is not exactly free. It is free if your income is below a certain level. The maximum rate is $208/month for a family.

edit: My new avater is giving me wood. I wanna go ski some powder.

splck · 07-04-2003, 12:26 PM

BC has it all. You can have all the cold weather and snow you want or you can live in an area that very rarely gets snow, let alone freezing weather. You can also live in an area that is as hot and dry as Texas or cool and wet most of the year (thank the mountain ranges for that). As much as I like Vancouver, I could never live there. I like country living too much to live there again. I can deal with the drive when I need my city fix. Victoria and the rest of Vancouver Island is a great place to live if you like the ocean and you can put up with ferry rides once in a while.
Here's a panorama pic I took last week while on Vancouver Island.

Alberta is nice too. The people are great and the economy is cooking. If I were going to live there I would choose the outskirts of Calgary..no question. The weather there is not as bad as some would have you believe and as Minx says, not everybody is a redneck and the stampede is a blast.

Ontario has a lot of big cities if that's what you want. The countryside is very nice, with lots of lakes and rolling hills. The only thing that drove me nuts is the very cold long winters and the humid sticky summers.

Never been to Quebec or the Maritimes, but I plan to one day. I have friends from Newfoundland and New Brunswick. They are some of the friendliest people you could ever meet.

The thing is, Canada is so stinkin' big that you could never sum it up in a few paragraphs.

Come on up and check it out...even Americans are welcome

obelix · 07-04-2003, 03:33 PM

forget everything else, come to canada for the real beer!

matteo101 · 07-04-2003, 05:36 PM

definetly move to canada, i would suggest vancouver personally. its just an amazing city, its got culture, mountains, ocean, forest everything..the air is clean and its beautiful..but it is extremetly expensive to live there. but cheaper for you considering you have american funds....

07-01-2003, 02:07 PM	#1 (permalink)
bondagegirl Muy loca en la cabeza!! Location: San Diego. Ca.	CANADA? OK so My boyfriend and I are always trying to think of new places to live that are practical, different and interesting. I was talking to him the other day and he brought up moving to canada. At first I was like WHAT? but I've thought about it lately and I've heard good things about canada. But not enough. I know there are a lot of canadians around here on TFP and I wanted to ask where would be the best place to live there? Where are the nicer cities and most jobs? and what all is involved in moving to a different country? Is the free medical care only for residents? and how would I become a resident? I have so many questions about this to see if it would actually be possible... I hope some of you guys can help. __________________ "Dream as if you'll live forever, Live as if you'll die today."

07-01-2003, 02:21 PM	#2 (permalink)
LittleOralAnnie Banned	I'm no expert but I've traveled vastly around the world and I know a few things about Canada that might help until a Canuck comes along to answer more. Canadian Immigration would be very helpful in answering any and all of the questions you possess. Toronto is a terrific city, full of culture, jobs and there is so much to see and do there. I've heard Vancouver is wonderful too but I've yet to visit. The medical care is free but to the best of my knowledge you have to be dubbed a citizen first or be there a certain amount of time first. In order to immigrate there are atleast three ways to choose from. Skilled worker class, business class, or family class. I have a good website that would help you out tremendously. Not sure if I'm allowed to post it so I'll wait until I get permission to do so. Last edited by LittleOralAnnie; 07-01-2003 at 02:29 PM..

07-01-2003, 02:23 PM	#3 (permalink)
bondagegirl Muy loca en la cabeza!! Location: San Diego. Ca.	Yeah I'm pretty sure you can put up a link. I know others do it. oh btw thanks for the help __________________ "Dream as if you'll live forever, Live as if you'll die today."

07-01-2003, 03:14 PM	#6 (permalink)
lafemmefatale Insane Location: Vancouver	http://canadainternational.gc.ca/vie...3&act=1&tbID=1 that's the official canadian gov. website on immigrating [copy paste, i dunno how to link ] granted it must be somewhat biased... the break down of major canadian cities VANCOUVER [including lower mainland] - beautiful place, just gorgeous, the ppl here are, dare i say it, healthiest in the coutry...why? because of so much natural beauty it's hard to want to stay in doors. The music scene here is excellent...excellent public facilities everywhere. Job scene is average...however that may change for the better...much better if we get the 2010 olympics [decision tomorrow...ooo the tension]. but you know...i'm saying this only cuz i'm local ^_____^...weather: very wet from fall to late spring...similar to seattle... calgary/edmonton: not as metropolitan as vancouver, having been to edmonton twice, it's a well developped place, most exciting thing is probably the edmonton mall...largest mall in the world, you can never find an end to that place...they even have a hooters in there...my guess is cuz it's so cold in winter you get 5 feet snowfalls like it ain't no thang. There's a lot of money in the province from the oil...it may be slowing down now but it's still good for jobs i believe Toronto: everyone knows about toronto so forget it...good job place... anywhere in quebec: quebec is really like the north american europe...incredible place, very very rich in arts and culture...and they get a lot of money from the gov...tons. the taxes are lower there too i believe...unfourtunately the province [not the ppl] treat other canadians like foreigners ie. out of prov. university students must pay a higher tuition...but other universities don't do that to quebecers...but nonetheless it's still very cool especially if you're into the french thing maritimes: stunning place with cheap seafood...not good for jobs though... territories: very cold... __________________ -poor is the man whose pleasure depends on the permission of another-

07-01-2003, 04:27 PM	#7 (permalink)
clavus pow! Location: NorCal	My best friend moved to Canada from the USA. He married a Canadian and has been trying for about 4 years to cut through the red tape to: A) get medical benefits and B) get a workers permit. He has pretty much resigned himself to the idea of never working legally in Canada. To him I say - What do you expect? You snuck North over the border for a better job and free medical care. You've fathered two kids and want them to get the benefits of another country's educational system. You don't speak the language (French). You work without a permit (in a restaurant, no less). I call him a "frost-back." It drives him nuts. My own experiences with Canada have been very positive. Its beautiful on the coasts. The people are great. __________________ Ass, gas or grass. Nobody rides for free.

07-01-2003, 02:42 PM	#4 (permalink)
cheerios Banned Location: 'bout 2 feet from my iMac	hook us up Annie, i'm curious about this myself!

07-01-2003, 03:00 PM	#5 (permalink)
LittleOralAnnie Banned	http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/

07-01-2003, 09:12 PM	#9 (permalink)
obelix Insane Location: Calgary, AB	I was born and raised in Canada and have been all over the place. I will try to give a small description of the places that I have lived over the course of my 20 years. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Born there in 1983. I spent 5 years there, so I dont remember a whole lot, but return visits have refreshed my memory a couple times. Winnipeg isnt the nicest place, but it has its nicer areas. Most of the downtown is quite old, but traditional. In terms of climate, the summer scorch and the winters freeze. Imo, I don't care for both extremes. St. Albert, Alberta (near Edmonton): A booming city with a lot to do. Very beautiful environment and surroundings. Great people, great overall town. the weather is somewhat similar to that of Winnipeg. I lived there for 8 years, from age 5-13. I would recommend this city to you for sure. Prince Rupert, BC: A rather small town with a population of about 16000. There is not much to do in this town, but it is green all year long, mainly due to the fact that it is literally the rainiest city in the world. no joke. There are only 2 high schools and downtown consists of 3 main streets. That should give you an idea of how small the place is. I lived there for 5 years, from age 13-18. graduated there and everything Calgary, Alberta: I lived here for a summer, moved to Vancouver for a year and moved back. Calgary is by far the most enjoyable place that I have ever lived. In terms of people, activities, scenery, and overall grandeur. It is not very crowded for such a large city, (approx 2 million inl surrounding cities) and it is very well planned. Weather is very reasonable. The winters are cold, but not unbearable and the summers are gorgeous. The only thing is, is that you can have any sort of weather on any given day of the year, but that really isnt so bad. Finding work in Calgary is so simple its not even funny. I see no reason why there are homeless people here because of the abundance of manual labour positions available city-wide. I recieved 3 phone calls the first day that I was passing out resumes and I started work the next day I highly recommend Calgary to you, if you are in search of relative calamity and peace of mind. There are a lot of nice areas to live in in all divisions of the city. Vancouver, BC: I lived here for one year while attending school and learned a lot about the place. Vancouver is very crowded and very oriental, not that there is anything wrong with either of the two. It did not really suit my tastes as a convenient place to live, learn, or work. Finding jobs there is extremely challenging unless you want something simple like a grocery store, or unless you have a college education. Vancouver is a very busy place and traffic is quite horrendous almost all of the time. The older parts of the city have very narrow roads, which are just waiting to cause accidents. A benefit could be that there are a lot of surrounding cities and districts, such as Surrey, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Richmond, New Westminister and others. Living in any of those surrounding cities will not be as crowded and you will still have easy access to the larger city of vancouver. Another benefit is that it is close the the beautiful Vancouver Island (you may want to consider Victoria, BC also) (no, i'm not just hyping up calgary because i live here. its worth it. :P ) __________________ no substance

07-02-2003, 05:12 AM	#10 (permalink)
Fly see the links to my music? Location: Beautiful British Columbia	anywhere in B.C.you wouldn't believe how absolutely gorgeous it is here all year round.sun,snow,rain,whatever.mountains,rivers,lakes,streams,hell you name it ....we got it. don't be shy,come on up. __________________ BASTARD SterlingStudios

07-02-2003, 05:37 AM	#11 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	Bondagegirl As you can see by the responses it all depends on what you are looking for in place to live. If you are looking for a laidback lifestyle where you can get all outdoorsy definately go to Vancouver. However, if you are looking for an urban experience then Toronto or Montreal are really the way to go (not that you can't get to some very stunning outdoors just a short drive from Toronto - just no really big mountains is all). __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

07-02-2003, 05:47 AM	#12 (permalink)
james t kirk Junkie Location: Toronto	Toronto is a collection of neighbourhoods actually. Many with distinct feels. Ask anyone who lives here where they live and they will probably tell you the neighbourhood. You see, at one time, these neighbourhoods were their own distinct towns or communities that eventually blurred to form the city. The thing i love about toronto is how people live right in the heart of the city. You turn off Bloor street and you are right into residential complete with lawns, trees and gardens. If you decide to come here, you should live in the city, never mind the burbs. The Annex, Bloor West High Park, The beaches Leaside Cabbage town Forrest Hill Parkdale rosedale Riverdale China town little italy are all some of the neighbourhoods i was describing. There are lots of parks, toronto island, lake ontario, the beaches etc. Oh, and if you are into BDSM, there is no shortage of places to go for that either.

07-02-2003, 07:23 AM	#13 (permalink)
bender Addict Location: around the corner	Toronto is the place. Last edited by bender; 10-20-2003 at 10:01 AM..

07-02-2003, 09:02 AM	#14 (permalink)
Tirian Addict Location: Canada	I live in a small town about 1/2 the way between Edmonton and Calgary. It is an easy drive to either city if I need to get a product or service not offered locally. Ya it's a bit of a pain, but that's one thing I give up for the small town life. My wife and I just bought a parcel of land out of town, so next year or so we will be living in no town. Generally speaking this area is known as central Alberta, and is in my opinion a great place to live. I just got back from a 3 day hiking trip in the rockies and that was great. Basically there is a lot of really cool stuff within a 2 or 2.5 hour drive from my house.

07-02-2003, 09:25 AM	#15 (permalink)
rmarshall Addict Location: Kingston,Ontario	I grew up in Montreal and loved it. I married twice and had my first child there. I have customers in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal and I only have to go see them maybe once a week if that. The rest of the time I can work from home. So, after my last divorce I moved to the Kingston Ontario area. What a beautiful place! Central to everything! I live on a lake and the lunes sing me to sleep at night. I'm 30 minutes from Kingston, 2 and a half hours to Toronto, 3 and a half hours to Montreal and 2 hours to Ottawa. And if I want to fly somewhere in the states, I can drive to Syracuse. I have a boat on the lake for tubing and waterskiing and a big boat in Kingston to cruise the 1000 islands with. I ride all over the place on my motorcycle. We always leave the keys in the vehicles and we don't even have keys for the house. We occasionally have deer and wild turkeys wandering around the yard. This is what I call paradise! It depends what you want. I'm 47 years old and am no longer a city-slicker.

07-02-2003, 10:30 AM	#16 (permalink)
Cubby Insane Location: BC, Canada	Let's see, Vancouver BC, absolutely gorgeous. I wouldn't say too crowded but it is one of Canada's larger cities (I think around 5 million in the Greater Vancouver area?). Having said that some of the suburbs are still empty and all have pretty good access to downtown. Road situation are the same as any large city..not nearly as bad as Boston, Atlanta, Seattle, etc. There are many improvements that could be made though. The weather here can be miserable and can be absolutely gorgeous. My favorite time here is in the fall September is usually sunny and with the colours of the leaves changing it is really beautiful. You can ski on the North Shore hills or hike, kayak, fish, rollerblade, run all of it taking place in the local mountains, parks, lakes, or ocean. If you want more information on Vancouver (specific or general) just PM me an I'll give you more of a lowdown. I've lived here for almost 25 years and wouldn't really want to live anywhere else. One of the downsides to living here is the cost of housing is getting quite high. Cheaper housing out in the suburbs and the occasional steal of a deal in closer in are still possible. Calgary, I've visited it a couple of times. Seems like a great city. Really booming economically these days as many people are flocking to a cheaper place to live. Close to Banff and great skiiing in the Rockies. Has an international airport which makes vacations easier. Taxes are good (see comment in Edmonton below). Edmonton, as has been said before..has the Edmonton mall. I've only visited Edmonton a couple of times and not at all in like 10 years so can't say much about the city. As for the province though, the province has a wealth of oil reserves. Due to these reserves and the extra revenues they bring in, Alberta does not have a provinical sales tax. They have also recently been considering phasing out the provincial income tax but I doubt that will actually happen. Winnipeg, Manitoba. Been there a bunch due to relatives. Very cold in winter, very hot in summer but still a very neat place to visit and see. They have a different culture than the west coast. Grand Beach (north of Winnipeg)..one of the top 10 (top 5?) fresh water beaches in North America. Amazing place to stay cool in summer. Ottawa, Ontario. Lived there for 8 months and have been back to visit several times. I really love Ottawa, it is a great place to live and work. Mostly government and hi tech work here and due to the recent economy many of the hi tech jobs are now gone. Beatuiful in fall, cold in winter but that has its own beauty with the winter carnival and skating on the world's larges ice rink (the canal freezes and you can skate something like 5 km right to downtown). Summer can be quite hot but you can escape across the border into the Gatineau hills for some caving or hikes...etc. That's all I'll give you for now as I haven't really experienced too many more cities. I've been to Quebec City and Montreal and some cities in Saskatchewan and I have friends in the maritime province so I do have some idea of those but no firm opinions or facts. As I said before..if you need more info please PM me! 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics!!! __________________ Don't be irreplaceable - if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted!

07-02-2003, 01:36 PM	#18 (permalink)
bondagegirl Muy loca en la cabeza!! Location: San Diego. Ca.	so minx you live on the west coast? Is calgary on the west side? Forgive my ignorance with this. Canada a very new thing for me considering I probably couldn't live farther, I guess unless I was in southern texas. How are canadians with americans that want to move up there? All of you guys seem so proud about canada, and nice about people leaving the states to live there. But are most canadians like that? I know I'm completely generalizing, but what else can I do? BTW thanks to everyone for the great info! This is why I come to TFP! __________________ "Dream as if you'll live forever, Live as if you'll die today."

07-02-2003, 02:27 PM	#19 (permalink)
rockzilla Junkie Location: The Kitchen	Calgary's on the western side of central Canada, there's no coast though, it's landlocked. About as far west as Idaho or Utah. You might encounter some anti-american sentiments up here, most of them are directed at the government and media though. As long as you're not constantly shoving America in our faces, you'll be fine.

07-02-2003, 02:46 PM	#20 (permalink)
Himbo Tilted Location: Canada	I'm Canadian and it is a great place to live. The immigration system goes a little something like this. It works on a point system. Where you fill out alot of forms and your skills, trades, background, apirations, etc. earn you points. You have to get to a certain point level to qualify. The top places to live in Canada would be (in my opinion) Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Vancouver. As far as the job market goes it depends on what you do of course so I can't say to much about that. Good luck with this.

07-02-2003, 04:27 PM	#21 (permalink)
obelix Insane Location: Calgary, AB	we hold no grudges. all are welcome Calgary is the second most western province in Canada, BC being the most western. Anyhow, it looks like you have a lot to think about, so good luck with your decisions. __________________ no substance

07-02-2003, 09:58 PM	#23 (permalink)
charlesesl Psycho	dont come to vancouver other than mild temperature this place has nothing jobs are so hard to find the traffic is very bad and bad city infestructure __________________ It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. Dr. Viktor E. Frankl

07-03-2003, 03:43 AM	#24 (permalink)
Papageorgeo101 Upright Location: Windsor, Ontario, Canada	Well, BC is very beautiful and diverse, and there are many places in Ontario that are developing cities. Take for instance my hometown, Windsor. We have a population of 230,000 and we have a busy downtown, a casino, a major mall, and we are right on the border of Canada to the US. We are right across from Detriot, Michigan, only seperated by the Detriot river. We have a ton of riverfront housing and riverfront parks, and a lot of parks in general around. The only problem with Windsor is the air pollution. We get a lot of pollution generated by Ohio and Illinois, so the air pollution can be bad sometimes, but otherwise it's a good city to be in. __________________ The face is but a visage to the human soul; and the eyes are the gateway. To look into a person's eyes is to delve deep into an endless pit of complexities, emotions, and feelings. Such an enormous theory, but yet so simple.

07-03-2003, 07:33 AM	#26 (permalink)
Cubby Insane Location: BC, Canada	bondagegirl, I think you need to decide what type of place is for you in terms of how you like to live. Canada has as many different and diverse regions, cities and towns as the US does. If you like metropolitan areas we can find them for you. If you like wide open spaces we can find them for you. If you like to farm, we need people who want to farm. Basically whatever type of place you'd like to live we could find a spot for you. Just take all of these recommendations with a grain of salt as you can definitely see peoples prejudices and preferences coming up. __________________ Don't be irreplaceable - if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted!

07-03-2003, 08:23 AM	#28 (permalink)
bender Addict Location: around the corner	Alberta seems to be Canada's most conservitive prov. and has a reputation for being filled with red necks. Last edited by bender; 10-20-2003 at 09:56 AM..

07-03-2003, 09:12 AM	#30 (permalink)
Sticky	<b>bondagegirl</b>, here is a map of Canada (with U.S. below) to help you out on the geography. <img src="http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas/canada.jpg" border="0" width="817" height="979"> __________________ Sticky The Stickman

07-03-2003, 10:03 AM	#31 (permalink)
bondagegirl Muy loca en la cabeza!! Location: San Diego. Ca.	Thanks for the map! thats what I needed! bender I seriously laughed out loud at what you said! too funny, that only happens in calgary right? OK so I'm still figuring canada out, the different "sections", BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, obtario and quebec, compared to the US are they states? and then everything else is just a city in that state? I'm learning I'm learning! __________________ "Dream as if you'll live forever, Live as if you'll die today."

07-03-2003, 10:57 AM	#32 (permalink)
Cubby Insane Location: BC, Canada	The calgary stampede is not the only Rodeo in Canada but it is the largest. In Williams Lake in the interior of BC there is a large rodeo as well and even getting close to vancouver there is the Cloverdale Rodeo. As for Canada. Yes the provinces are just like the American states. Each province has their own law courts, taxes, etc. They generally get funding from the federal government as well (although it is not exactly equally doled out). Looking at that map it is actually an out-dated one. There are now 10 provinces and 3 territories (Northwest Territories were split into the Northwest Territories and Nunavut just a few years ago.) Here is a new map: __________________ Don't be irreplaceable - if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted!

07-03-2003, 11:01 AM	#33 (permalink)
Cubby Insane Location: BC, Canada	Now to clarify the above map and some terms: Western canada has often been described as the four provinces BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba Then there is the large province of Ontario and the french speaking province of Quebec. The Maritimes provinces are: Newfoundland and Labrador (one province), Prince Edward Island (or P.E.I - where Anne of Green Gables is from/was created?), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The territories are Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. __________________ Don't be irreplaceable - if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted!

07-04-2003, 08:47 AM	#37 (permalink)
Mango Banned	Vancouver B.C. is a really nice place to live, if yo like cities. I personally don't like them that much so I live in a small town in the mountains of B.C. I have all the amenities I need available. The cost of living is cheaper in the boonies than in a city and there is less to tempt you into spending your cash (or as is often the case charging it and going into debt to the banks forever) Medicare is not exactly free. It is free if your income is below a certain level. The maximum rate is $208/month for a family. edit: My new avater is giving me wood. I wanna go ski some powder. Last edited by Mango; 07-04-2003 at 09:01 AM..

07-04-2003, 12:26 PM	#38 (permalink)
splck it's jam Location: Lowerainland BC	BC has it all. You can have all the cold weather and snow you want or you can live in an area that very rarely gets snow, let alone freezing weather. You can also live in an area that is as hot and dry as Texas or cool and wet most of the year (thank the mountain ranges for that). As much as I like Vancouver, I could never live there. I like country living too much to live there again. I can deal with the drive when I need my city fix. Victoria and the rest of Vancouver Island is a great place to live if you like the ocean and you can put up with ferry rides once in a while. Here's a panorama pic I took last week while on Vancouver Island. Alberta is nice too. The people are great and the economy is cooking. If I were going to live there I would choose the outskirts of Calgary..no question. The weather there is not as bad as some would have you believe and as Minx says, not everybody is a redneck and the stampede is a blast. Ontario has a lot of big cities if that's what you want. The countryside is very nice, with lots of lakes and rolling hills. The only thing that drove me nuts is the very cold long winters and the humid sticky summers. Never been to Quebec or the Maritimes, but I plan to one day. I have friends from Newfoundland and New Brunswick. They are some of the friendliest people you could ever meet. The thing is, Canada is so stinkin' big that you could never sum it up in a few paragraphs. Come on up and check it out...even Americans are welcome __________________ nice line eh?

07-04-2003, 03:33 PM	#39 (permalink)
obelix Insane Location: Calgary, AB	forget everything else, come to canada for the real beer! __________________ no substance

07-04-2003, 05:36 PM	#40 (permalink)
matteo101 In transition Location: north, no south abit, over to the right, getting warmer...there!	definetly move to canada, i would suggest vancouver personally. its just an amazing city, its got culture, mountains, ocean, forest everything..the air is clean and its beautiful..but it is extremetly expensive to live there. but cheaper for you considering you have american funds....