life in canada

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str_motorsport's picture
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Italy

Dec 7, 2010
life in canada

Hi guys, i am from Italy and i would like to know more about life in canada,like overall quality,jobs,cost of life and so on!
Thanks
David

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Nicholas Chu
Vancouver

Jan 24, 2008

depends where... canada is huge.. with enormous diversity from coast to coast..  

if u want a more european lifestyle, pick montreal, wages are lower though, but so is cost of living, you'd have to learn Quebecois french, super cold winter, you get the f1 race which is awesome.  wicked strip clubs, good food.

if u want a finance job or to work for large firms, toronto, probably highest salaries in canada.  but it is the super urban sprawl and largest city of canada.. everything is far apart and spaced out by highways (i'd say minimum 40-50 minutes drive is normal here), its the most american like city in canada.  lots of jobs, very cold in the winter, hot in the summer, but you get 4 big pro sports teams there, in american style football, soccer, hockey, basketball.  and its very multicultural.  lots of opportunity here, its the closest thing to a metropolis in canada.

if u want to work in the oil n gas industry, you go to calgary/edmonton/ft mcmurray in alberta
ugly cities, good pay, cost of living is not bad, terrible winters

if u want a laidback outdoors lifestyle, come live in vancouver.  least affordable, high taxes, avg pay, extremely high property/rental costs relative to income.  extremely multicultural (lots of asian influence), lots to do outdoors, everything is close by.  if you're into skiing snowboarding mountain biking mountain climbing, whistler is 1hr away, with local mountains 20 mins away.  golf courses everywhere, its a really beautiful city, except it rains a lot, but hardly gets any snow.  its the 3rd largest city in canada behind toronto, montreal.  2hrs drive down to the usa to seattle.  if you're into software development or graphics or game development, vancouver is where its at in canada.  there is a microsoft dev center here.  we have the worst drivers in canada, but some may argue montreal does.  oh yeah its not a crime to smoke weed in vancouver :), its like a speeding ticket 175$ fine.  if you're into the motorspots industry, the only real tracks are down in seattle and in the usa.  toronto and montreal have far more motorsports if you're into that.

these are my opinions of the places in canada.. everyone's is going to be different, im impartial to Vancouver b/c i was born and raised here.  i have spent time in edmonton and toronto as i've lived there before as well.

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Vancouver , BC

Dec 15, 2010

Hey David,

I can only speak for British Columbia (Vancouver) , I but I moved here myself from another country and no regrets whatsoever. As far as the immigration is concerned, once you've got some education/career history they make it pretty easy for you to settle. Don't forget it's one of the world's most under populated countries. Settling in has been easy as the majority of people I know aren't originally from this city as well and Canadians is general are very friendly. However if you're an Inter fan ,then people like me will give you a hard time hahaha.

Like nick said there's a great opportunity to get involved in all types of industries, the city has seen radical growth in the time I've been here. Real estate can be pricey if you're looking to live in the city core but the overall cost of living is manageable . Only thing for me which is a draw back is to visit my friends/fam back home I've gotta fly to the east coast then make a connecting flight. Having said that ...#1.living here definitely makes up for that,#2 Anyone that has come here to visit me has fallen in love with British Columbia #3 In my opinion east coast winters are brutal... Vancouver barely hits -10 C. Your call.

Tons of recreation and social life to occupy your free time. Overall super happy living here, lots of roads to stretch out the R, good tuner support both local, from the U.S and Australia.

Any questions,give me a shout.Peace.

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Really Noneyourbuis
Canada

May 11, 2008

I live in Windsor Ontario were a city of industry.

Average house hold income in Windsor is about 4-8k more than the provincial average. which isnt alot but when you consider you can buy an older 3 bed room home that's been updated with a garage and pool for under 200k than you really appreciate the cost of living here.

Also 2 hrs to get to Seattle is great and all but it's 15 mins to Detroit. I goto Detroit once a week and buy gas and grocery's.

We haven't had a murder in almost 2 years

Water quality is the best in the world (great lakes)

There are more machine shops than you've had hot meals.

Drive for 15 mins one way and your in Deroit.... drive 15 mins another and your in farmland.

Mine isn't bigger than yours.. I just like to drive

str_motorsport's picture
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Italy

Dec 7, 2010

Thanks for the comments guys.i currently work in the export dept. Of a big company in the ligjting industry.
Italy is a nice country, but life is getting difficult,and ii start  thinking that moving abroad is a good idea.
I have never visited Canada, but it looks fascinating.
What about crimes, average income ,health services?

z chopper's picture
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Nanaimo, BC

Jul 5, 2011

free health care and if I am not mistaken it ranks in the top 25 in the world for health care. Import/Export business you would be wanting a port city on the west coast that would be Vancouver, BC ofcourse Victoria, BC would also be a good choice and you get a bit of the european flair or any of the port cities along the St. Lawrence in eastern Canada. Western Canada high cost of living is the only draw back

str_motorsport's picture
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Italy

Dec 7, 2010

thanks guys for the replies.
any site where I could find employement offers?I am really evaluating this idea, have to look for something better for me and my family

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Nicholas Chu
Vancouver

Jan 24, 2008

monster.ca
workopolis.com

many of the big logistics companies have offices here like
evergreen

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Really Noneyourbuis
Canada

May 11, 2008

Employment offers? lol if your allowed to immigrate then you put on welfare ( monthly Check) and housed right away... Basically the government of Canada gives you a strong start because they want you to be a contributing citizen.

Mine isn't bigger than yours.. I just like to drive

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London Ontario

Dec 23, 2009

Also, you get paid double as an immigrant on welfare that what a retiree gets paid from the government after paying taxes for 40 years.

Canada will take care of you. Even if you don't feel like working after you get here, just stay on welfare and you can collect a cheque for nothing.

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Nanaimo, BC

Jul 5, 2011

the immigrant welfare is only if you are from countries like india and come over with your whole multigenerational family with no employable skills.

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Kitchener, ON

Apr 21, 2010

I'm in Kitchener/Waterloo (home of RIM). Great student town but got slammed by offshore manufacturing. The winters are 2-4 months long and a wide mix of temps/conditions. The summers are freaking tropical. Locals' conversations always start and end with the weather. Tech industry is on the backside of a boom so be careful.
My city(s) used to have 2 universities, two brewerys and a distillary...PARTY! Seagrams and Labatts left town but we still party very hard. We have lots of outdoor festivals during the summer. During the week everything closes between 6-9. Weekends, shops stay open later. Beer and liquor is only available at governement run shops so that is kind of a drag. lol. Crime is very low compared with other countrys (542 homicides in canada in 2000 vs 15,517 homicides in the U.S....2000 the United States' rate for robberies was 65 percent higher, its rate for aggravated assault was more than double...rates of vehicle theft were 22% higher in Canada than in the US...from wiki). Getting across town is easy and we have a great highway system (that is bursting with recent population growth). We are right between Windsor and Toronto. Equi-distance to the major centers and the US/Canada border. I have to drive for a bit to get to waterfront play areas (beach) but once you are out of the city the driving is easy country roads. The fall here is the best! Perfect weather, beautiful colours, farm harvest coming in.
I love it here, not too big but not too small. If you move here I'll buy you a case of beer.

GTi-R, the best ugliest car I've EVER seen/driven. You can make it cool, you can make it fast but you CAN'T make it look pretty.

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New Mexico

Apr 6, 2012

I am from New Mexico.. I spent some days in Canada.. I enjoyed very much & very nice....

[url=http://www.incarparts.com/nissan-1-32/body-kits-3-5]Nissan Body Kits[/url]

str_motorsport's picture
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Italy

Dec 7, 2010

Anyone from Missis
sauga on here that can comment on quality of life and so on?

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Nicholas Chu
Vancouver

Jan 24, 2008

Mississauga is just an extension of the original toronto city.  its now part of the Toronto megacity... its a suburb extension of toronto.

 

str_motorsport's picture
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Italy

Dec 7, 2010

Bad news, applied for a job in Mississauga but it seems that the process is harder than expected.
The employer had my resume checked by a consultant and it seems that LMO will not allow me to be employed for that job cause I am lacking a bachelor degree ,even if this is not a problem for the employer.
Seems like the only option is to get a degree here,but it will take 3 years at least!
Or do you guys rhink I can find another job with less requirements and get the degree in Canada larer on.
Is the whole process so hard?
I am fluent in English,French,German and of course Italian but that is not enough!
Any experience you would like to share?
I am afraid my dream will never come true..

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Nicholas Chu
Vancouver

Jan 24, 2008

look for jobs in ft mcmurrary, suck it up for a year, it sucks up there
get your work permit, then get out of ft mac

str_motorsport's picture
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Italy

Dec 7, 2010

Sorry,can you explain a little better?

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Nicholas Chu
Vancouver

Jan 24, 2008

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-nopermit.asp

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-special.asp

there are certain jobs that are in demand that will get a u work permit easily,
and some jobs in certain areas that work permits are given out quite easily
http://www.fortmcmurrayonline.com/jobs/welcome.aspx

ftmcmurrary is terrible place tho.. just be forewarned, had to do a consulting job out there, if the money wasn't so good i woulda quit

b13Sentra's picture
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U.S.A.

Apr 24, 2010

STR listen to these guys about the cold. It gets very very cold in Canada. I grew up in the New York City area, and I thought Canada cold would be similar. I was very wrong. Canadian cold is much much worse. Also during winter the roads are heavily salted. This will destroy any nice car you may have. I'd say it will rust badly within 5 years if you drive it during the winter season.

 

The social conditions are a plus though. Lower crime than the USA, as well as a national healthcare system.

 

Maybe the Canadian guys can get more into the taxes they have to pay and living expenses such as food and fuel.

z chopper's picture
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Nanaimo, BC

Jul 5, 2011

get a health care cerfification and become a livein caregiver, in many countries that only takes about 9 months

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Gerry
Western Australia

Jan 29, 2013

As a rule of thumb what would a wood machinest/setter get an hr or a week?

 

And what would a prison guard??

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Ryan
Winnipeg, MB

Mar 21, 2008

Prison guard (Corrections officer we call it) get paid very well in canada. In manitoba in provnicial facilities its easily over $30 an hour, and you can go up from there. Don't know about the rest of canada though as wages differ hugely across the country.

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Gerry
Western Australia

Jan 29, 2013

Sounds similair to what I am on now!!

 

May look into this as I wanted to immigrate a few years back may see if they will do a bridging course....

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Nanaimo, BC

Jul 5, 2011

I have been told federal correctional officers get paid more than provincial correctional officers