I saw PL54's thread on Toronto and reminded me would be a good idea to ask myself.
I'm going Canada for 2 years in December, starting off in Ontario.
For people that have been Canada before what do you make of it and what's your personal experience?
Advice and on things to do etc.
Cheers
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Lovely place, you won't want to come back.
Why 2 years? Work contract ?
Been here 4.5 years now, living in Edmonton and have travelled a little bit down to BC and other areas of Alberta. Not made it across to Ontario yet. You get people for all over here in Edmonton and I have found that there can be a bit of a variation in attitude depending on where in Canada folks are from (much like the UK but more spread out) but generally everyone is friendly and welcoming. I think of it as being how America might have turned out if they hadn't turfed us out. I think you get a lot of the good stuff from the states, plus public health care and minus the gun toting religious zealots (well a lot less zealots anyway).
Over here in Western Canada there is still a little bit of a get 'er done frontier spirit that is refreshing coming from England where it can all feel a bit worn out and doom and gloom at times. I love it and for all the things I miss about home there are no plans to move back (wife and I have permanent residency now, waiting to be eligible for citizenship, we've bought a house and had a baby here). I got a good pay rise for coming here (moved sideways in the same company). I think the cost of living here is less than in Ontario (thanks to the GTA housing prices) and we're not quite wiping our arses with bank notes just yet, but I feel less pressure on my bank balance and am able to save more than I ever could back home.
Edmonton is considered a kind of grubby industrial city by a lot of people, kind of a Birmingham equivalent, but even here, by European standards, is a clean vibrant city and there is a big festival scene etc in the summer. I find it a great place to raise a family.
Get outside and enjoy the great outdoors - summer and winter. Just avoid the days with crazy wind chill and wrap up well and you'll probably find you don't mind the cold as much as you thought you would. As I say, not been to Toronto yet but sure there are a lot of fantastic bars and restaurants to enjoy.
Get a CAFC Player subscription. Toronto has a team in all the major North American sports leagues as well (although the maple Leafs are arguably even worse than the Oilers right now) so get out and enjoy (or at least try) those.
I miss the live matchday experience at the Valley, the sane half of the family, a good British style ruby and a pint on a summers day in a nice rural beer garden, but apart from that I can get everything else I want here plus a bunch of things I can't do back home and we've made some fantastic friends to help make up for losing some family.
When planning a journey, remember to factor in that everywhere is effing miles and miles and miles away. Learn to enjoy road trips.
I can give you some other tips on getting setup and settled in - which bank to choose and stuff like that. Feel free to PM me with any questions you may have.
Come on fella, give us an update :-)
Will be a line cook in a hotel in Ontario. As you would expect the money ain't great and not the kind of work I would specifically enjoy but it's certainly live-able and about the overall experience of just being there.
I will be accommodated but of course will be in company most likely living with at least 15 other people I've been told. I don't know how big the house is yet and I'd imagine the loss of personal space to be a challenge to adapt to even for the most socialised person...which I am not.
No word of a lie I ain't been on holiday since 2010...which was also one of those eventual regrettable "lads holidays" that create good memories but also mostly just point out the many occasions of when I was an idiot.
I thought I would like to go somewhere that is more optimistic for a change and that would hopefully rub off on me.
I'm not a lover of hot weather and Canada sounds more peaceful then the states.
Nice to read the pleasant experiences, most notably @Exiled_Addick cheers.
I need to get more prepared but looking forward to it. Certainly need a good camera I would think.
Early days to be talking about this, but if you find you like and think you want to stay, start looking at you visa options early, I have a few expat friends on temporary permits who have run into issues because they underestimated how complicated and lengthy a process it is to get PR. They have changed the rules recently on temporary foreign workers as well.
Actually that's one of the good things about Canada - you are so close to the US - on the Western side Washington, Oregon and California are all very accessible by air or road.
gives all the relevant info.
A lot more detail involved then getting an Australian one etc.
I know permanent residency is getting tougher and taking longer to get - we got ours just in time before they tightened the rules on those as well and I know a couple of British expats who have been here for 2 - 3 years and have jobs but are struggling to get their PR under the quota system or because delays to their applications have caused them to timeout. They're not about to be deported or anything like that but they are stuck a bit in limbo.
Citizenship is relatively straightforward to get I think. As I understand it you have to wait something like 1000 days after you get PR (used to able to count 0.5 days for every day you were in Canada prior to getting your PR card but they tightened the rules on that too) and I think you then just have to pay a fee, take a test and then get sworn in at one of the ceremonies. There's not a lot of difference between Citizenship and PR except you get to vote, can't wriggle out of jury service so easily, and don't have to reapply for your status every 5 years. I have another 18 months or so before I can apply but intend to do so as you can hold dual nationality with the UK and my daughter is a Canadian citizen so it'll just make things simpler with passports etc.
A - absolute filthmongers
B - totally tonto
If I was under 30 I'd move there in a heartbeat