Best and Worst things in Canada

[steaky]

personally i haven't found any "negatives" for moving here, and i haven't found it to be more difficult to get work than in the us. there are more people than good paying jobs no matter if you're in canada or another country. i'd argue there's LESS competition in canada since there are less people here, and in my experience it was easier to find employment here than in the us. for me, in the us, i was a small fish in a large pond. here i'm a bigger fish in a smaller pond, and my skills/work ethics are highly valued. not all places are going to have a lot of opportunity and not all places will have limited opportunities. people with very specific skills (not general) will find it easier to find full time employment. for those like me who have more general experience, it's not impossible to do. it takes time, effort, and sometimes doing jobs that are "below" education/experience level to get references. i worked part time for a year, then used that job to leverage myself into a full time position.

for me i love the overall quality of living here. people are less stressed, friendlier and more respectful of eachother. i appreciate the gun safety laws and even the new "distracted driving" law in ontario. i don't mind the higher taxes because of what i get in return (healthcare, safe roads that are maintained, clean neighborhoods, snow removal, etc.). There are also a ton of free services for newcomers including language classes, mentorship/job search programs, etc. As for most things in life, you get out what you put in.

what isn't ideal to me are the high gas prices and the low value of the loonie. exchanging money to us is brutal right now... i wish it would go back up to a reasonable rate!

I thought you like the exchange rate because you can your HKD for more CAD. You can offset paying high gas if you pump in the US.

 

[CDNPR2014]

I thought you like the exchange rate because you can your HKD for more CAD.

I don't know what this means...

You can offset paying high gas if you pump in the US.

i'm not going to drive 45 min - 2 hours (depending on the border) just to save on gas. at that point, there would be no savings. i fill up in the states when i go there on trips, and it will usually last 1.5-2 weeks. for every day gas purchases, that is just not logical.

 

[steaky]

I don't know what t

I don't know what this means...

The strength of the HKD is still stronger than Cad compare to few years back. If you sell your HKD, you can have more Cad.

 

[CDNPR2014]

The strength of the HKD is still stronger than Cad compare to few years back. If you sell your HKD, you can have more Cad.

well i don't have HKD, as i am not from there and don't travel there. so i don't get your point? are you suggesting i should exchange USD to HKD first, then exchange HKD to CAD? that makes no sense at all. i'll stick to the crappy usd to cad exchange rate, thanks.

 

[steaky]

well i don't have HKD, as i am not from there and don't travel there. so i don't get your point? are you suggesting i should exchange USD to HKD first, then exchange HKD to CAD? that makes no sense at all. i'll stick to the crappy usd to cad exchange rate, thanks.

Sorry I mistake you with another member from HK.

 

[CDNPR2014]

Sorry I mistake you with another member from HK.

oh, that makes more sense. no biggie.

 

[ozlis]

I'll go against trend and say that weather was part of the reason I moved to Canada - and the reason most of my family visits (ski season).

 

[CDNPR2014]

I'll go against trend and say that weather was part of the reason I moved to Canada - and the reason most of my family visits (ski season).

ha! i don't mind the cold at all (except for maybe those -40 cold snaps). i much prefer it to the sweltering heat!

 

[keesio]

personally i haven't found any "negatives" for moving here, and i haven't found it to be more difficult to get work than in the us. there are more people than good paying jobs no matter if you're in canada or another country. i'd argue there's LESS competition in canada since there are less people here, and in my experience it was easier to find employment here than in the us.

I somewhat agree... but I'd say that there are less barriers to working in the US depending on your field. For example, my wife works in the health care profession (physiotherapist). She was working in the US before she came here. When she wanted to work in Canada, the licensing process for Ontario was complex, long and expensive. I guess the industry is much more regulated here (makes sense with a single payer system). In any case, she was surprised how complicated it was vs someone foreign trained coming to work in the US. Many fields are like this in Canada, especially in health care. It is why many wish to jump to the US when possible and why some skilled immigrants get stuck in survival jobs they can never break out of.

For me, the experience was much easier. I didn't need a license to work here so I just arrived and worked right away (my employer actually sponsored me with a work permit). But my wife certainly had to deal with a lot more.

 

[CDNPR2014]

I somewhat agree... but I'd say that there are less barriers to working in the US depending on your field. For example, my wife works in the health care profession (physiotherapist). She was working in the US before she came here. When she wanted to work in Canada, the licensing process for Ontario was complex, long and expensive. I guess the industry is much more regulated here (makes sense with a single payer system). In any case, she was surprised how complicated it was vs someone foreign trained coming to work in the US. Many fields are like this in Canada, especially in health care. It is why many wish to jump to the US when possible and why some skilled immigrants get stuck in survival jobs they can never break out of.

yes, i definitely agree needing some sort of certification or license makes it much more difficult to find a job. The cost and time it takes can be defeating for sure, especially when there's no guarantee there will actually be a job available. Working in the private sector and not needing any sort of certification makes it easier, though is still not a cake walk. it takes a lot of determination and patience to get something. I knew right off the bat I would be starting from scratch, so I was ok with working a survival job or two that will help leverage me into a full time role.

 

[jc94]

I'm surprised to see high taxes especially for another ex-Brit. I pay far less taxes here though I do note it does vary significantly across provinces.
Having to do a tax return sucks, but it's generally a rebate so there is that.

The lack of sick/vacation days is my biggest issue, followed by the TTC, then the weather.

Good things, more space and cleaner (even downtown Toronto is so much better than the likes of London or NYC), I'd give Oz and NZ the edge here perhaps though overall.
It's generally much friendlier, especially in the prairies and maritimes. I find there are more opportunities and a better working environment. In the UK especially a "bad" employee can last years causing a general issue - while this varies by company ... it's less prevalent here.

I think the barriers to getting jobs is mainly something associated with "moving country". I don't think it's a fair comparison to say it's harder to get a job in Canada vs X country because there is always an issue with being foreign. Even if you are a native English speaker, there are social differences and sometimes issues with training/experience.

Just my two cents

 

[Softdev00]

Very nice feedback and answers from everyone. More answers and opinions are always welcome

One thing I know regarding the jobs in Canada is that they pay more for IT employers than many Europe countries.

In general do companies in Canada concentrate much on employees? For example are they mostly ready to listen what the employer have to say? I know this is quiet difficult to answer because each company is different, but at some level would it be possible to tell?

 

[CDNPR2014]

The lack of sick/vacation days is my biggest issue

i'm curious what you're used to in your home country and what you receive here?

In the us, 2 weeks is standard for vacation and 1-2 weeks is standard for sick time (from my experience). Here in Ottawa, I get 3 weeks each. My husband gets 4 weeks vacation and a ridiculous amount of sick time (he's in a union). When I worked at a college part time, full time employees had great vacation/sick times too (they were also unionized). i'm assuming 2 weeks is the standard here, so my experience has been the opposite of yours. i'm guessing this is specific to where a person is from...

 

[ozlis]

i'm curious what you're used to in your home country and what you receive here?

In the us, 2 weeks is standard for vacation and 1-2 weeks is standard for sick time (from my experience). Here in Ottawa, I get 3 weeks each. My husband gets 4 weeks vacation and a ridiculous amount of sick time (he's in a union). When I worked at a college part time, full time employees had great vacation/sick times too (they were also unionized). i'm assuming 2 weeks is the standard here, so my experience has been the opposite of yours. i'm guessing this is specific to where a person is from...

I had four weeks holiday and 10 sick days in Australia.

Now after negotiating on 3 weeks holiday and 5 sick here in Canada - still not enough

 

[zardoz]

i'm curious what you're used to in your home country and what you receive here?

In the us, 2 weeks is standard for vacation and 1-2 weeks is standard for sick time (from my experience). Here in Ottawa, I get 3 weeks each. My husband gets 4 weeks vacation and a ridiculous amount of sick time (he's in a union). When I worked at a college part time, full time employees had great vacation/sick times too (they were also unionized). i'm assuming 2 weeks is the standard here, so my experience has been the opposite of yours. i'm guessing this is specific to where a person is from...

When I left the UK, I was getting 25 days a year and an extra 5 days in each 5th anniversary year. Sick pay was at least 6 months at full pay. Not sure what happens after that... Here I get 15 days. Not sure about sick days but I do know that it doesn't appear to be specifically limited.