EPTOn April 15 2012 14:38 Fallians wrote:
Learn to play hockey and speak french.
Learn to play hockey and speak french.
One does not simply.....
Learn to play hockey.
Moving to Canada - Thoughts? - Page 4
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Zorkmid
4410 Posts
One does not simply..... Learn to play hockey. | ||
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TheGeneralTheoryOf
235 Posts
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Divinek
Canada4045 Posts
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emperorchampion
Canada9496 Posts
On April 15 2012 22:45 lifeisgood99 wrote: Come to Montreal :D Could work, especially if you were looking for a job in the game industry. If you live downtown (the only place I would consider living if I moved to Montreal) French is definitely not necessary. My only concern for OP would be that he would have a hard time meeting new people. There are tons of students in the area, but you might be more interested in meeting people your own age. Montreal is a great place to be if you are young and single, not really sure if I'd want to stay and raise a family here though. Also, Montrealers are notorious for being impolite lol (can't really say if this is actually true though). | ||
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Thaniri
1264 Posts
I don't know if it is worth a move from a stable life, it is a big risk in to the unknown for you. | ||
Falling
Canada11378 Posts
However, if this is your sole reason: My mind was blown. Could this really be what being a Canadian's like? Being nice and fun and friendly. See, in Australia, the culture is based heavily on drinking, having barbecues, being friendly in the sense that if someone's around you'll say G'day, or if someone needs a hand with something you'll lend it. But you never really get to know anybody unless you have a reason to. It just shocked me deeply that here was this person that I just met at a party, who spent the time to actually get to know me, and was convincing me that there is a better place for someone like me to be. Then, I am reminded of a Dr Seuss book: I Had Trouble Getting To Solla Sollew. If you are looking for a place where you never have troubles at least very few, then I'm afraid Canada is not your place either. | ||
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zZygote
Canada898 Posts
We are jolly, we like hockey, and we also love beer, so you'll totally enjoy your stay! | ||
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GogoKodo
Canada1785 Posts
On April 15 2012 16:55 ElMeanYo wrote: No one has mentioned the taxes yet. If you are a single guy with no kids expect to pay at least 45% income tax right off the bat. Then there is the sales taxes like GST, PST etc. It depends somewhat on your tax bracket of course but the taxation makes it hard to succeed. Half your income goes to a bloated socialist nanny-state where you will be paying the wages of those who are mooching off the government. That being said... If you can accept this reality then Canada does have a lot going for it. Clean in most places, the great outdoors, mostly friendly people and a low crime rate. I would recommend Calgary as it has a lot of high tech industry, lively nightlife scene and a booming economy with no PST. If you can handle the weather and like winter sports theres some great skiing not far in Banff. The Canadian Rockies are some of the most beautiful things you will ever see. 45% is not right unless you're making quite a bit of money and it also depends on the province. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/fq/txrts-eng.html | ||
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WolfintheSheep
Canada14127 Posts
On April 15 2012 16:55 ElMeanYo wrote: No one has mentioned the taxes yet. If you are a single guy with no kids expect to pay at least 45% income tax right off the bat. Then there is the sales taxes like GST, PST etc. It depends somewhat on your tax bracket of course but the taxation makes it hard to succeed. Half your income goes to a bloated socialist nanny-state where you will be paying the wages of those who are mooching off the government. That being said... If you can accept this reality then Canada does have a lot going for it. Clean in most places, the great outdoors, mostly friendly people and a low crime rate. I would recommend Calgary as it has a lot of high tech industry, lively nightlife scene and a booming economy with no PST. If you can handle the weather and like winter sports theres some great skiing not far in Banff. The Canadian Rockies are some of the most beautiful things you will ever see. Don't forget the Death Panels where we cull off some of the mooches on life support. I'm honestly curious how high US taxes are, that you need to jump up to 45% to sound ludicrous. | ||
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Durak
Canada3685 Posts
On April 16 2012 03:01 jjun212 wrote: Man I was raised with bagged milk. It's so normal to me. I thought it was the industry standard! I still get surprised when others go WTF looooollll. I haven't ever seen bagged milk and I've been most places west of Toronto. Someone explain the concept to me and what area of the country it's common in? Didn't see this explicitly stated anywhere else, but you should realize that Canada is a huge and diverse country. It's like the different areas of Australia: Daintree rainforest, red centre, north end, east coast urban centres, chill Canberra, etc. The country is pretty awesome everywhere but it's still a complex decision to choose a place for a home. The main difference is obviously the climate (you'll get snow pretty much everywhere except on the coasts) but there is also a different cultural mix. Aboriginals are treated pretty much the same way. Some small things: 1. You don't need to know French. It's spoken in certain communities but it is very much the "second language" for most of the country. Unless you're in rural locations or Quebec, most people who speak French also speak English anyway. 2. Spend some time visiting areas you're interested in before you make any commitments. 3. As others have said, people are people. I think on average Canadians are pretty good people but I don't know if it's even a tangible difference or a factor in your decision. I will say that people won't have any negative prejudices about your background or accent, so that isn't a problem at all, and it could get you favorable attention in the way of conversation from some people. Edit: Oh, and obviously you'll get better ping. I don't think that should impact your decision though. | ||
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Falling
Canada11378 Posts
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/vrUL7.jpg) stolen from google | ||
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skipgamer
Australia701 Posts
On April 16 2012 11:08 Falling wrote: Canada is a wonderful place and the west coast is great and so you should come. However, if this is your sole reason: Then, I am reminded of a Dr Seuss book: I Had Trouble Getting To Solla Sollew. If you are looking for a place where you never have troubles at least very few, then I'm afraid Canada is not your place either. Thanks for the concern (and i love the dr Suess reference) but its not that... Well it is, but it's different. There's a whole other life out there that I have to experience. It could be worse, or better, I don't know. If it get's worse I'll just come back, but if I never try it I'll never know. On April 16 2012 13:44 Durak wrote: Edit: Oh, and obviously you'll get better ping. I don't think that should impact your decision though. I dunno man, do you know how frustrating it is to not be able to land key spells like ravage and frostbite in time due to lag as a support in dota2? Let alone have access to u.s.e in-house leagues which are unplayable from aus. It sounds nerdy, and it is, but it just means there are more opportunities and less frustration when it comes to online games which is a huge hobby of mine. On April 15 2012 16:55 ElMeanYo wrote: No one has mentioned the taxes yet. And thanks for bringing it up, I looked in to it, it seems liveable. And why do people always throw socialist in with nanny-state? "I believe Socialism is the grandest theory ever presented, and I am sure it will someday rule the world. Then we will have attained the Millennium.… Then men will be content to work for the general welfare and share their riches with their neighbors.” -Andrew Carnegie I wish I had the time to reply to more posts, so many good points being brought up, things to think about etc... edit: That being said I printed out my passport application, just going to get a friend at work to sign it :D Once that's done I can apply for the visa. I can't stop thinking about this idea, whoever the girl at the party was I think that was just the catalyst for the thought. Nothing said so far has really turned me off it (the weather will be an interesting change). People have just made me realise it just requires that I bring a bit more money, and make sure I'm organised, not only with stuff here. But for when I get to Canada too. | ||
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viletomato
Canada277 Posts
A few observations and personal opinions Torontotians are generally as a whole, not nice. I actually found the people of Melbourne to be a lot nicer. (I was in Melbourne as a 'Mormon' missionary so I talked to people every moment I could on public transportation or on the street. The general sense I got was that the people of Melbourne were relaxed, friendly and easy to strike up a conversations with. In toronto that is a LOT harder. I tried doing the same thing here and people look at you if you are crazy, maybe it's because I don't wear a missionary tag anymore but I do think there is a different mentality here. Toronto's metropolis population is about the same as Melbourne's so I can't say these differences are the result of urbanization. Toronto is a lot more muliticultural, you have people from everywhere here. From my observations, the population in Melbourne was either white, oriental or from aboriginal descent, very few black and brown. Toronto is a true melting pot of the world, and how nice people can be heavily influenced by their cultural background. Toronto's weather is depressing.... compared to Australia's. My trip to Australia ended 5 years ago and I still dream of living there. I miss the sunshine and the palm trees in winter. Most of the months in Toronto are cold and depressing. Toronto is also less green, with fewer parks, trees and in a general sense a lot more dirty than Melbourne's. Trams, (called street cars here) look much older and the city itself just doesn't look as modern. I hear that the minimum wage in Australia is much higher than Canada's while the costs of living is slightly higher. So that is one thing you might want to consider. You probably would be making less here while expending approximately the same kinda $$. Finally if I was to choose a place to live, I would go with Australia. Come for a visit, see how it is then you will see how it is really like. | ||
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ExceeD_DreaM
Canada500 Posts
If you live in Toronto, the mega city of Canada, you may find many things you might not like here. First of all, VERY multicultural, and you will feel like you are in Shanghai or New Delhi. As the poster above said, it truly is a cultural melting pot, and as a result, religions as well. LOTS of muslims, christians, and jews in Toronto. If you go to Dundas Square, which is pretty much the core of downtown Toronto, you will see Christian and Muslim group preaching like everyday in public. I don't understand how there has not been any known physical conflicts... Downtown condos and apartments are very expensive and overpriced. The housing market has NOT gone down for now 12 years in a row, and a LOT of Middle Eastern wealthy oilers/Chinese buy lots of houses/condos here. There are condos being built EVERYWHERE and very expensive. The prices will probably and hopefully go down soon.. The tax is very high, but you get a very good medical services here. OF course, you will have to wait couple months to do anything. Toronto makes it's money from parking and speed tickets, so gotta be careful when driving here and parking in places. there are all kinds of parking signs and rules and a good example is a new sign they implemented secretly front of my apartment, where one day they posted up - Right turn at red light before 9 AM is forbidden - and every morning there are 2 police cars parked secretly behind a tree waiting for right turn drivers. Travelling really depends on what kind of job you have. If you have no vision of your life in your 30's or 40's, raising children and etc, then by all means, live your life and travel. However, with living expense really high, the maximum amount of time you can travel while making good enough money to support a family is at max 1 month. People working in government organizations (best benefits and good pay) get only 5 weeks of vacation in their 20+ years of working. If you are younger, that reduces to 2-3 weeks. So, if your main idea of coming here is to travel and have fun, think it over. Enjoying life is great, but travelling all over the world while working and saving up money for children's educational costs + paying rent/or buying condo + owning a car = impossible. That is, unless you are like at least a director level at a company. Edit: I should also note that Toronto has THE WORST Public transportation system of any major cities in the world. This stupid city's council and public transportation organization is so stupid that they would prefer to build a street car to clog the already busy streets and kill their economy instead of building subway lines where it is really necessary. Probably the only city in the world that prefers street car OVER subway... ridiculous! (And I am paying my tax for this garbage, so if you don't want your tax money gone to something absolutely dreadful, something to consider too!) | ||
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Tamburlaine
Canada288 Posts
In my admittedly limited experience, people really like and are nice to foreigners who speak the same language. The locals want to impress the foreigner and make them feel good about the country, and there is no real communication barrier. I mean, except when you guys try to say the word "pawn". "I found it at the pawn store." Cracks me up every time. | ||
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Zombo Joe
Canada850 Posts
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