Anybody from Canada? :o)

HI all ,

I was wondering what it's like to live in Canada, and wanted to ask those of you who are from there. Nothing is 100% yet, but I am considering moving out far away from New York (where I live now), and possibly even out of the U.S. My choices are Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, or "somewhere" in Canada. But the problem is I know nothing about living in Canada nor about its geography, lol. I plan to visit Canada someday, before I'd ever decide to move there. So my questions would be: Though I know it's much colder there than in the U.S., how cold exactly is it? Are there humid places? (I HATE humidity - which is one of the many reasons why I want to move out of NY.) Which places are not humid? (I like dry climate and I don't mind cold winters - I like all 4 seasons in my weather ) Also, are there any nice mountain areas to live in, that are also close to some cities where one can work? (LOVE mountains!) How is the job market in Canada?

Some of the other questions would be: Does education (college degree) from the U.S. count in Canada? And can one obtain a decent job in Canada based on the college degree from the U.S.? Or would one have to go to college all over again in Canada? Also, do U.S. citizens have legal rights in Canada? Or do they need to become Canadian citizens? Is it hard to obtain Canadian citizenship?

I've already looked at house prices in Canada and I couldn't believe how cheap they are. Not only that, they're also beautiful. I am probably thinking houses in Canada are cheap because houses in NY are impossibly expensive AND ugly - believe me. For $250,000 CAD (which is about $300,000 USD) one can buy a huge and beautiful house in Canada (nearly new if not new), while for that same amount of money, all you get in NY is a disgusting little house that is ugly and old - not kidding (not even a backyard). If any one of you ever reviewed NY real estate, you'll know what I am talking about. In fact, I don't know if these days one can even buy a house in NY for $300,000, an apartment maybe. Terrible, isn't it? If you want a beautiful house in NY (which you can buy in Canada for around $300,000 USD), you'd have to have around a MILLION dollars, LOL! NOT KIDDING, haha !

The reason I want to move out, as I've said before is NY climate (terrible weather all year long). I am also very worried about U.S. economy, which is becoming worse and worse, especially as U.S. wages its wars in the Middle East. Oil will be a big problem in the U.S. as well. And imagine if that happens ... I don't even want to know what it'll be like then - we'll probably have something of the "Crash of the 30's" again. Healthcare and education in the U.S. are also becoming worse - everything seems to be sort of going to ruin. Jobs are becoming scarce ... and I could go on like this forever! I really don't think the situation will improve in the U.S. anytime soon. For this reason, many businesses are relocating to other countries and many people are actually moving out of the U.S. Seeing with my own eyes all of these changes in NY and how much worse the city has become over just a couple of years, I am thinking of moving out as well. I won't move out now. If I do, it will be in a couple of years.

Anyway, sorry for my message being so long! Thanks anyone for any information about Canada

 

Isabella, I do not live in Canada, but I have been there many times before. The Vancover area is very nice. It has all 4 seasons is not humid "at least in the dozen or so times I have been there". I don't know about the housing or job market there, but from what I have seen it is not bad. I have a few friends that have moved to Vancover, and gotten jobs there very easily, with degrees from here. Hope this helps a little bit.

P.S. Just be glad you don't live in the Bay Area in California. The housing prices out here are outrageous. A 4 bed 2 bath 1600-1800 sq ft house ranges anywhere from $550,000-$1,000,000 deepending on the neighborhood. And don't think that the houses are better at the higher price they are about the same, it is all about what area you buy in.

 

Hmm I can maybe give u a little info but don't go by my word

Well for starters I'm from Alberta and it is not humid at all. However it can get very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer lol. The job market is widely open, for example if u walk down a street in my town u will c a lot of help wanted signs and I mean alot. In Fort McMurry u can get 24 bucks an hour working at Mcdonalds!!! that is in Fort McMurry but they are desperate for poeple up there (Fort Mcmurry is a city in alberta by the way). Also if u come to alberta I would suggest looking for a job on the oil rigs they pay extremly high wages and they are always looking for poeple.  If u want to see mountains I would suggest BC tho. They have the Rockies there... Very nice scenery. Unfortunatley houses in bc and alberta are the most expensive in the country,  the average home in calgary is going for about 400-500 grand these days and that's just an average house. Naother thing is the Healthcare that is a big plus. I'm not sure about the college degree sorry bout that but I have heard of lots of doctors getting their degree here then moving to the USA so u might be in luck but as I said don't go by my word. Anyway I would suggest if u do move to choose either Alberta or BC. ALberta is growing very fast and the pop. is soring so if you want to move here u better look into it fast If u have any other (simple) questions just ask me and ill try to help u out a bit. By the way I'm from Drumheller its a fair place to live but after u get used to living here it bores u silly so probably look into Calgary. Sorry if I forgot anything.

Jordan

 

I absolutely agree Tumbleweed. And ... you should be glad you don't live in NY, lol! My parents have a very nice house, so they need not worry as they bought the house very very long ago, when the houses were really cheap here. But NOW, if I wanted to buy a house like theirs, I'd have to have at least a million dollars in my pocket It is unbelievable. And this house is NOT even worth a million dollars - never! In Canada, it would be worth about $300,000 USD - and that's what I am talking about. I am NOT going to pay a million dollars when I want to buy a house - it's ridiculous. I don't even have a million dollars for a house, lol! That's why I think I should move out of NY, and it's a VERY serious thought on my part.

Anyway, thanks for all the info Tumbleweed - it's very helpful I am glad to hear my college education from U.S. would count in Canada I am also glad to hear it's not hard to find a job in Canada. I actually do have a friend in Toronto, but I haven't seen or spoken to her in about 10 years ... lol, so I don't even know if she still counts as a friend, heh We studied together in elementary school and her parents were friends with my parents. But after they all left for Canada, our contact was steadily lost.

 

HI Jordan, thank you too All very useful and interesting info! But what is BC? (Sorry, lol! ) Maybe British Columbia province? Well, I know a price of $500,000 is a lot, BUT if you have a good paying job, you can take the house on mortgage + downpayment. I suppose a downpayment for a $500,000 house would be around $50,000, which is not so "unattainable" if you're good at saving. Plus, if you save up in NY, you can bring that $50,000 to Canada I mean, compare a downpayment of $50,000 to a downpay. of $100,000 for the same house in NY! Big difference, isn't it?

 

lol yes BC is British Columbia.. sorry about that. Anyways ya the diffrences in house costs is a lot comparing Canada and USA. By the way Vancouver is in BC so if you choose there you will also get the mountains.

Jordan

 

That's great

By the way:

In Fort McMurry u can get 24 bucks an hour working at Mcdonalds!!!

WHAT!? Never heard of $24/hr at a McDonald's! LOL ;D So how much money do doctors and lawyers make an hour in Canada, if McDonald's workers make $24/hr there!? I don't know how much you'll get per hour in NY for working at a McDonalds, but I am guessing around $7 - 8 for a start (I am 100% sure you will never get $24/hr for a start at a McDonald's in NY, lol).

 

ya well 24 hours is not for starting wage but it is pretty close to that... that is a lot but in Fort M they have a great loss of people and are very desperate for people

Jordan

 

Something similar is happening in Ireland (Europe). I have some friends there who are telling me that Ireland also desperately needs people for work and that's why they pay a lot too. The reason they don't have enough people is because too many left Ireland when the country's economic situation was bad (many left to the U.S.). But now, that the country's population is getting smaller, there are many jobs available and they want them all to come back, lol . Besides, the country is in a good economic shape and it's growing well now. Many of these friends of mine are college students and they used to come to U.S. to work mainly in the summers, but now they're noticing it's not worth it anymore. They say, now they can make more money in Ireland than they can make in the U.S. and that the pay in the U.S. is very bad. And I am not surprised to hear all of this, because it's true. NY economy alone is getting worse and worse, and a lot of people here find it harder and harder to find better paying jobs, if not finding a job at all. It's scary, isn't it?

 

Hey there I'm from Canada Alberta Drummheller It is not humid hear. We have short hot summers about 2 and half months and 2 months of fall and and 5 months of winter and and 2 months of spring but the weather varies. the market in Alberta right now is excellent.

 

Thanks King Dojo I've seen some pictures of Alberta online, and I think this province is so beautiful Especially Lake Louise - its scenery is literally breathtaking! Where is it located? (Look here: https://www.picturesofplaces.com/Canada/alberta.html)

As for the winter ... how cold does it get there? I presume it's colder in northern Alberta than in southern part of it? Also, the winters are probably longer in the north than in the south of Alberta?

 

Lake Louis is by Banff which is kinda near the border between ALberta and BC (British COlumbia) it has a great skI mountain there and is a very great place. Yes it is colder up in north Alberta than it is in the south.

Jordan

 

I've already looked at house prices in Canada and I couldn't believe how cheap they are. Not only that, they're also beautiful. I am probably thinking houses in Canada are cheap because houses in NY are impossibly expensive AND ugly - believe me. For $250,000 CAD (which is about $300,000 USD) one can buy a huge and beautiful house in Canada (nearly new if not new), while for that same amount of money, all you get in NY is a disgusting little house that is ugly and old - not kidding (not even a backyard). If any one of you ever reviewed NY real estate, you'll know what I am talking about. In fact, I don't know if these days one can even buy a house in NY for $300,000, an apartment maybe. Terrible, isn't it? If you want a beautiful house in NY (which you can buy in Canada for around $300,000 USD), you'd have to have around a MILLION dollars, LOL! NOT KIDDING, haha !

well, it actually matters where in canada you're looking, for exemple (by vancouver-not vancouver) It costs 300,000 for an aparatement-one bedroom
where as in some places in ontario you can buy about 30acres and a house for 200,000
so it matters where you're looking.
I mostly know stuff about ontario and BC so if you're looking in either of those areas then maybe I could help you

 

I live in Toronto and it's a nice city (the most American city) but it does get very humid here in the summer. Winters here are VERY mild. I don't even remember the last time I needed boots for the winter.  We get very little snow here in Toronto most of the time. Not all of Canada is cold. Many times places like upstate NY and Michigan are much colder and more snow.
I've heard Vancouver is great for weather. I don't know about the job market though. I guess it depends on what you do.
I am considering moving OUT of Canada because I really don't like this country! Too boring for me and I don't like the culture! California is where I want to be. Getting into Canada is not that hard. Getting into the US is EXTEMEMLY difficult, especially for a Canadian! I'd be better off coming from some third world country than Canada!  I really wish we could trade places and it would be legal!

 

Thanks Tamara . I realize that even in Canada you can get expensive houses - depending on where they're located. But still, I don't think it can get more expensive anywhere than it is in NY. Besides, when I buy my own house, I don't want it to be located inside a city. It will be either in the suburbs or even further away from a city. I am willing to drive to work, even if it takes long. I don't live in a very busy place in NY, it's quite OK where I am, but I've been in the city nearly every day of my high school, and especially college, life. While I don't "terribly dislike" the city, I would never want to live there. It's too noisy, busy, and crowded (and what-not) for me. I like some peace as well as spacious places (and NYC is extremely congested). I can work in the city, as long as I don't have to live there. So I don't think I'll still have to pay a lot of money for a house in Canada, as I am not considering buying a house in the city, but in the suburbs. And suburb houses' prices do vary a lot between Canada and NY/NYC (not to mention the city). Though I apologize if I am wrong - after all, it's you who lives in Canada, not me.

Phloxface ... lol, OK let's switch places . It's not that I don't like my country (I will always love it), but it's the things that I am beginning to see in the U.S. (and especially in NY) that really worry me. I don't think the U.S. is headed in the right political, economic, and social directions - as I've described above. Besides, lol, HOW could you NOT like Canada!? It's such a beautiful country - you should be proud of it. There are many people who'd love to live in Canada but can't - one more reason to love your country. I think if you lived for a while in NYC, you'd definitely want to go back to your country - believe me! I am not describing all of the states though. I am just describing NYC. The rest of the states are also beautiful and much cheaper to live in than NYC. Which is why I didn't say Canada is final - I only said it's one of the options (the other options are Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, and possibly Michigan).

P.S. What do you mean by "not liking Canadian culture"? Do you mean it's "too varied" or that Canada is "too multi-cultural"? If that's what you mean, so are the States. I don't think Canada and U.S. vary that much in terms of cultural composition. We have people of all nations, cultures, religions, ethnicities, etc ... in the U.S. And as far as I know, so does Canada. No?

 

If you don't want to live in the city than they'll be REALLY cheap!
good luck with it!

 

I hope I'm not going to offend any Canadians here  but this is just my opinion... I hate the anti-American sentiment here. I've always been an American at heart even if I'm not a citizen. I hate the Canadian "hoser" accent (people who talk slow and say "eh"). No, not everyone talks like that but quite a few that I know do and it drives me NUTS! I can't even be around people who talk like that. I guess it just reminds me too much of where I am! It's hard to say exactly why I don't like Canada... I just find it VERY boring here! I've never in my life felt at home here. I've always felt I should have been born in the US. Everything about life here seems wrong for me. It may seem from a distance that Canada and the US are almost the same, but they're really not. Everytime I cross the border to visit in the US I feel as though I've come home. I am in tears every time I have to go back to Canada!

 

... I hate the anti-American sentiment here ...

Where? In Canada, or on Fish Lore? I don't think there is any anti-American sentiment on Fish Lore, lol, so you must be talking about Canada? If yes, how strong is the anti-American sentiment there? Can you give any specific examples? You mean, Canadians really dislike Americans? In that case ... maybe I shouldn't consider Canada as one of the options? I wouldn't want to be disliked by the people where I live As for myself, I like Canadians very much. I really like and respect people of all nations

As for your not liking living in Canada and considering it boring ... you know, I think many people think so about the place where they live, wherever that place may be. I live in NY and I don't really like it here, but I've loved being in other states in the U.S. I also always think that I wish I lived somewhere else but not NY. Especially after the September 11 attacks and the constant threats of another "imminent" terrorist attack. It's very scary living in NYC and its suburbs now, because if it (God forbid!) ever comes to a world-wide nuclear war, NYC (and Washington DC) is a # 1 target But even beyond that, the city's economy, and many other aspects of it, is becoming worse and worse. And I am seeing this pattern all over the nation as well, though it may not be apparent at a first glance. Closer analysis and research, however, will show something entirely different. But ... I don't want to get into this topic as it is a very long and complicated one.

I do love my country, and if I moved to Canada it wouldn't be because I "don't like it". I consider Canada as one of the options because of its natural beauty, less crowding, less noise, and less congestion, etc ... as well as for the fact that it's much cheaper to live there at the same standard that one lives in America. Besides ... as I've already said ... the possibility of an international war because of U.S. foreign policies ... it all scares me very much. Let's just say: I love my country and its people, as well as my Constitution, but what I really dislike right now is the current Bush administration and its politics, all of which have dramatically affected America. One president at one point in time is not the American Constitution and America itself. Yet Bush is unscrupulous enough to twist and break our Constitution - a system of laws for which our forefathers have fought for and worked hard for. It's extremely saddening to see one man treat the U.S. Constitution as a mere "piece of paper" - these are actually Mr. Bush's own words.

 

I live in New York and I know a lot of people who are getting sick of it and moving away ((I live on Long Island, but I love the city)) No one I know has left the country though.... mostly they're moving to North/South Carolina, Florida, Vermont, My mom's friend even moved to the Amish country in Pennysilvania. I'm not really sure what my point here is except that maybe its just New York.

 

Emm, I live in Long Island too (but closer to Queens), but I've been in the city for most of my high school and college life. I do like Long Island but if I wanted to buy a house that I want (and where I want) in LI, I'd have to have about a million dollars for it. I think it's ridiculous to pay that much for a house that is not even worth that kind of price - and that's how much houses cost now where I live. My parents bought their house long ago, when houses where still cheap. It's different now. Besides, Long Island is not very large and if you want to go on vacation, you have to go elsewhere, always having to get through the city first - no other way out. Besides, I like places with mountains and lakes much better than places with beaches - like Long Island. So, I may just move out of NY altogether in a few years. I didn't say Canada is final, but that it's one of the options There are many other beautiful states in America too - for example, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, or Michigan (I personally like these). Plus, the same houses in these states (and in Canada) are one-third of the price of the houses in Long Island. So why pay a million dollars for a house that is worth (on average) $300,000 elsewhere?