What's it like to live in Canada?

[keesio]

And side note: A lot of famous actors you see in the United States are actually Canadian, and many backdrops and T.V. series are often filmed in Canada. Sure, you have to move to the U.S. to become that rich and famous actor, but I just find it interesting that several of the well-known actors are from Canada.

Yes this is evidence that culturally, the two countries are very similar. It is telling that Canadians are the only foreigners who can blend in so well in the USA that many Americans don't even know that they are not American. Likewise, when I first moved up here, people had no idea I was not Canadian at the time. Canadians like to think they are very different and have more in common with say Europe, but that is not the case.

 

[AAL1984]

Yes this is evidence that culturally, the two countries are very similar. It is telling that Canadians are the only foreigners who can blend in so well in the USA that many Americans don't even know that they are not American. Likewise, when I first moved up here, people had no idea I was not Canadian at the time. Canadians like to think they are very different and have more in common with say Europe, but that is not the case.

Why is this a shock to anyone? Why would Canadians and Americans be any different? Is an Italian American in NY any different from one in Toronto? Or Jewish, or Polish etc..?

Same White people from Europe who moved to North America, so many people have 1st, 2nd and 3rd cousins across the border as one brother from Ireland ended up in Halifax the other in Boston. We are the same people.

 

[keesio]

A person of European decent who grew up in Mexico is quite different than one who grew up in the US or Canada though all countries are North American. That is because you absorb the local culture of where you grow up.

 

[seeking]

I am hoping to hear some constructive feedback here, as after reading last 6 pages, it seems this discussion certainly has turned into anything but informative.

We are thinking about moving to CA from Sydney (AU) after living here for 9 years. Ideally we are looking at settling somewhere around 20K radius from Toronto CBD. We are family of 3, Husband, wife (early 30s) and our boy 1.7 years old.
Bit more about us (might help to give us information more focused to our situation): Wife is Canadian born and brought up, has a booming bridal makeup business here in Syd and unfortunately she will have start from zero there. We understand that, prepared for it and she is giving herself ~2 years to establish herself in Toronto.

Myself – Kiwi. No formal degree. Have a 10+ years business analyst (non-IT) and project management experience (again non-IT). I work within business improvement projects with multinational blue chips companies (the likes of Unilever, Coca-Cola, insurance companies etc). I work within the frame work of ‘lean six sigma' and other project management principles (in case you are familiar with these).

I would extremely appreciate if I could get some firsthand feedback on the bellows:

1. Is there any family from AU who primarily worked within AU corporate world on this forum? What's your experience so far for getting a corporate job around Toronto?
2. Initially if we are to rent 3 beds semidetached house close to CBD, what would be approx. monthly rent? Any suggestion on preferable suburbs around CBD?
3. By the time we move to Canada our boy would be at least 4. Could someone pls let us know how does private schooling work in Toronto?
4. Coming from a place with eternal sunshine, I know we are going to struggle with the weather. I don't have any misconception about that and certainly my biggest concern (also we visit CA pretty much every year so familiar with the bitter cold, but that's when we are on holiday so it's very different). How bad Toronto weather really is during winter, especially when you have to get up in the morning to go to work etc? Does it get depressing sometimes? How long does the real winter last?
5. We have an amazing train system as part of public transportation here in Sydney, and I have tried Toronto train system, to me it looked like it's at its infancy!. So is it possible to depend on the train to commute to work?
6. Finally any constructive suggesting would be highly appreciated

Apologies, this turned into a long essay! ;D

 

[SMFAHAD]

[size=10pt][size=10pt]Dear Mate Hi there ...

Till the time some knowledgeable person gives answer to your query could you plz give me your point of view about leaving Australia andgoing to canada ..

Actually I was thinking of immigrating and am extremely confused as to whether immigrate to Australia or Canada and therefore I applied for both ..

Can you plz guide me ...

The one real plus point for me moving to Australia is its weather (as i am an Asian and Australian weather suits me)

Looking forward to your response which may be helpful for others as well ...

Regards[/size][/size]

 

[fkl]

@seeking there are so many questions - and i don't live in Toronto (live in Montreal - 5 hr drive from Toronto) though visit Toronto often and have several friends who live and work there.

1. No idea about Australians but the general thing in Canada is, employers are biased towards Canadian experience. So in professions where they can easily find Canadian work force, it is harder to fit in. The best way to achieve that is to bring a skill to the table which is useful to them and harder to find in Canadians. Initially try to settle with any reasonable work that you can get, even if it is different from your field and try getting a certification from here in your domain.
Often this is not the case, and people are hired internationally for a particular experience / skill that is short in Canada. But if you are not one of those, you would have a hard time finding work here.

2. Try to live a bit farther - may be even in missusuaga or other areas like Scarborough, Oshawa etc. People live there and often commute to work via Go train. Down town and close center toronto is very expensive. In Toronto CBD one bed room apartment is easily around 1500 CAD. 2 or 3 is certainly going to be higher.

3. 4 is the right age for pre school. I don't know why are you considering private schools. Try to research a bit on locality by first finding good public schools. A private school might easily cost you 500 CAD per month or more. I have 3 kids - the older one is 8 - goes to public IB school in Montreal and we are very happy with his education.

4. Weather is certainly going to have a major impact. Toronto has gotten worst in the last year or so and getting to work often becomes challenging. The major highway 401 (among the busiest few in the world) was jammed last year during winter due to accidents. Distances are huge in Toronto and cost significantly in terms of time and money too. However, if you could find a place close to Go train and manage to get to work using that, it is a great idea. I have friends who used to live in a Pent house in Scarborough next to Lake Ontario (3 storey with 3-4 beds) costing around 1800 CAD per month (which is way cheap for Toronto). It was a minute walk from Go Train and one of them commuted via that to his work. It was a beautiful location too (see lake through window as if a silent sea every morning) although you cannot escape the cold weather.

True winter can last up to 5 months or could be shorter. E.g. it has not gotten worst yet this year (end Nov.). We had a few snow falls but still it is barely around -5. The standard usual is at least -15 getting up to -35 or even -40 C at worst (true for both Montreal and Toronto). So if worst comes around Dec, it might stay until April. This was the case last year, although it should start getting normal around Mar end. In general Feb is the coldest.

Remember having picnic in snow is wayyyy different from living through it. It is no fun having to walk even a few minutes in snow - with slipping ice sheets or quickly moving away when you see a snow removal car cleaning the path way. At worst if you are in a house, you are responsible for cleaning your drive way. It is always better to live in an apartment initially at least. The maintenance cost is low compared to house and you don't have to clean the front of your house in winter.

5. I expect trains in australia to be better. Even Montreal might be better than Toronto. Nevertheless as i stated earlier, you can still depend on public transport for commute to work provided you live in a location that helps with that.

6. Your wife's domain seems very popular to me in Toronto. I already know people who have even established beauty parlors in garages of their houses. Though it might be some struggle to start with.

Hope this helps

 

[seeking]

Thank you fkl, much appreciated.
Could I pls get someone from Toronto preferably who has been living and working there, to comment on.
Thanks

 

[Rossei]

Thank you fkl, much appreciated.
Could I pls get someone from Toronto preferably who has been living and working there, to comment on.
Thanks

@fkl answered your questions well. I don't live in Toronto now but lived there for almost 2 years on and off out of my 10 years in Canada.

Here's some basic things about living in Toronto:
People cannot afford to buying a house in Toronto with middle-class income. Hence, they live further (50~100 km away). They commute in GO train everyday to come to work (if they work in Toronto). Those who live closer (North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke etc.) take subway or bus. You will kill 2~4 hours each day just to commute back and forth to work. The highways stay pact with vehicles from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm everyday. The pressure is increasing and yet no alternative. Renting a one-bed apartment can vary from $1100~$2000. The weather is pretty much same all over southern Ontario. It gets cold from November and stays till April. But as fkl said, Jan-Feb are the core winter months. Unlike other smaller cities, Toronto gets cleaned pretty fast on a snowy day. Toronto is not as cold as Montreal (I visited Montreal several times). Normally. it drops to -25C/-30C for a week or two in the whole winter in Southern Ontario. In odd years, it can fall up to -35C. But for Montreal, -35C isn't odd. Generally, it varies from +8C to -16C all winter.

Comparing Australia to Canada (I visited Australia as well), it's a huge change in weather. I have family from there visit me almost every year. They shiver even in early May. Canada pays less and the expense is also cheaper compared to Australia.

If both of you are doing good in Australia; why do you want to start from scratch here? There won't be any significant update I think. Besides, since you don't have formal degree; you may have real hard time to find anything here. Canada is way conservative in giving opportunity to foreign trained/experienced/educated people.

In a nutshell, Toronto is nothing different than a diverse metropolitan vast city with its pros and cons. It's still the economic centre of the country. But transportation/infrastructure is pretty poor compared to similar cities in the world. FYI, half the money are spent on cleaning/salting and sustainment of roads/highways here.

 

[torontosm]

Thank you fkl, much appreciated.
Could I pls get someone from Toronto preferably who has been living and working there, to comment on.

I'm not Australian, but will try to address your questions:

- Housing: As mentioned earlier, housing prices around Toronto vary greatly based on the area you are in, the proximity to the downtown core and the availability of transit links. A 3 BR semidetached can cost you anywhere from $1,800 per month up to $5,000 per month. Depending on your budget, I'd be happy to provide you with some recommended areas.
- Schooling: Every child in Canada is eligible to attend public schools at no cost. Again, depending on the area, some of these schools are exceptional while others are sub-par. If you are looking at public schools, you will have to do your research carefully when deciding on where to live as school boundaries are not always designed in a logical fashion. In the event you are looking at private schools, these will typically cost you between $25,000 and $40,000 per annum, plus fees. The curriculum for public and private schools in Ontario is exactly the same (as it is designed and mandated by the government), but the difference is in the class sizes and the extra-curricular activities.
- Weather: You will be surprised at how quickly your body adjusts to the weather. It is definitely far from perfect, but after a while, you learn to accept it as a part of Canadian life. Toronto winters can be harsh, particularly with these polar vortexes that we faced last year and earlier this year, but they are mild as compared to other Canadian cities. It can get depressing to wake up in the dark and have it dark by the time to get home again, but again, you learn to live with it. It also teaches you to appreciate the beautiful summers even more! Winters typically start around November and run through April or May.
- Transit: The transit links in Toronto are extremely poor. There is a modest subway that links a small portion of the city, and that is supplemented by the Go train system that connects most suburbs. The problem with the Go train is the variability of the trains. Some lines offer trains every 30 minutes, including during off-peak hours, while other lines only operate trains during rush hours (and force you to take a bus during non-rush hour periods and on weekends). While the buses are comfortable, due to the horrific traffic around the GTA, this could add several hours to your commute.
- Advice: Come with an open mind, try to integrate yourself into Canadian society and don't compare everything to back home.

Let me know if I can help in any way!

 

[mrbeachman]

I was married to an Australian girl. Me Canadian, she from Sydney.

She came in her early 20's to Canada on one of those work experience programs.

When we married she took a job at Nortel. If you don't know Nortel, that was the top Telecom company during the late 1990's boom. When she got that job she basically took a 50% paycut from her parking attendant salary she had in Sydney.... and those were the good days.

Why, oh why do you want to move from Australia to Canada if you already have a life there.

 

[RocketCity]

It is telling that Canadians are the only foreigners who can blend in so well in the USA that many Americans don't even know that they are not American. Likewise, when I first moved up here, people had no idea I was not Canadian at the time.

I work in the US at the moment. We have a contractor who is based in Vancouver. When he comes to our site, you couldn't tell he wasn't an American. That is until he starts saying the words oot and aboot

 

[Edgar Poe]

Pardon me for butting in but I wanna know if I'm crazy or not because I think I'm the only one who've noticed that all the new cops, firemen and paramedics are all non-minority.
I find it funny their posters, websites and videos showing people of color and their so called "equal opportunity". Not!

 

[fkl]

Pardon me for butting in but I wanna know if I'm crazy or not because I think I'm the only one who've noticed that all the new cops, firemen and paramedics are all non-minority.
I find it funny their posters, websites and videos showing people of color and their so called "equal opportunity". Not!

The immigration programs are heavily skewed towards well qualified ones. In fact at the moment, if you don't have a university degree you cannot effectively apply for any PR program (except those with an LMIA based jobs, although many of those still are classified as skilled).

Take this with a grain of salt though. There aren't enough skilled jobs and many skilled people end up taking odd jobs.

But in general - Canada is far more welcoming to people from all over the world. In my personal experience (non white - bearded South Asian) it is second to none in discrimination - easily better than say Europe, Australia or the states.