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Thread: Calling all Canadians

  1. #1
    Member BronzedAussie's Avatar
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    WWW Calling all Canadians

    Hi,
    Hubby and I have been thinking about moving to Canada.
    We don't know much about Canada, other than it is absolutely freezing!
    We live in one of the hottest areas of Australia; our average winter temperature (26/27c - 80F) is Canada's highest summer temperature.
    The taxing is the about same as Australia, as are some of the wages, but the cost of living seems to be a lot less in Canada.
    We can afford rent of up to $4k/month and will be looking to send our 6yr old son to a private catholic school.

    I was wondering what you consider to be the best and worst things about living in Canada and also which suburbs are the best and which are the poor areas?

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    Featured Member SuperJa's Avatar
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    Default Re: Calling all Canadians

    What city are you planning on living in? It's a huge country and somebody answering the questions from each city is going to have vastly different answers.

    We've had a ton of 35+C days here this summer, so your temperature info is a little off.

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  4. #3
    God/dess audrey_k's Avatar
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    Default Re: Calling all Canadians

    Canada is the second biggest country in the world, you're going to have to narrow it down a bit before you start asking for advice. I would decide on a province and go from there.

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    Default Re: Calling all Canadians

    If you're looking for a warm place, I'd suggest British Columbia. The okanagan valley stays warm pretty much all year so you won't have to freeze your ass off, and there's nothing like bc cherries in the summer!
    Alberta gets beyond freezing, but depending on what you and your hubby do, has a lot of money. Lots of young men with more money than they know what to do with.

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    Default Re: Calling all Canadians

    I know Canada is vast and each province is different.
    As we don't know anything about Canada, we haven't decided on anywhere in particular.
    I just wanted your opinion of the province/area you live in or know.

    I am a camgirl and SAHM (though my mum duties are now before and after school).
    Hubby is currently an underground coal miner (Fitter, 8yrs), but has experience in the hard rock and oil/gas industries, so can work in any of the mining sectors.
    He is pretty keen and has applied for 20 jobs in the past week!

    I suppose what we are looking for is middle to upper-middle class, family-safe community, great schools and not too frigid in the winter- but enough to have a white Christmas!

    Looks like Wikipedia has failed once again, with their 'facts' Supaja.
    They said that the top summer temp was 26-27c. - just like they say that Australia doesn't get temps over 50c, yet it gets to 56c where I am!
    35c is perfect summer weather!

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    Default Re: Calling all Canadians

    Forget Canada. Everything costs a fortune. Come to Texas, you can live like royalty on 4K (USD) rent.

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    Default Re: Calling all Canadians

    Actually, the cost of living in Canada is less than living In Australia!
    We pay over 130 taxes before income tax. (My husband pays $88k in income tax, every year!)
    You spend the same amount renting a dilapidated and outdated 3brm house here in Australia, that you pay to rent a stunning, new, 5brm mc-mansion, in Canada!
    Last edited by BronzedAussie; 07-26-2015 at 04:32 AM.

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    Default Re: Calling all Canadians

    Given your husband's field, it's very likely you'll end up in Alberta or Saskatchewan, which are where the oil/gas and mining industries are. Unfortunately he isn't applying at the best time. Normally business is booming but oil and gas has been suffering a bit lately with some layoffs here and there.

    In any case, your husband will likely find a job sort of in the middle of nowhere of one of those two provinces. It's not uncommon for the workers to travel back and forth, so you could set up your home in a nearby city and he'll work for a few weeks and then spend a few weeks with you, on and off. In Alberta, Calgary is the biggest hub and a fine city. I prefer Edmonton, but I've spent more time there. Both are close to the mountains and have all the same amenities as any other city. Great places to live IMO if you can get over the winter. In Saskatchewan, the big cities are Regina and Saskatoon

    Personally, I'd choose Alberta over Saskatchewan, but both have brutal winters. Outside of coastal British Columbia, which is hella expensive and not where your husband will find work anyway, that is an unavoidable part of living in Canada. Winter is long too -- sometimes staring as early as October and regularly through March. We do get some weeks in the summer that go up to 35 or even 40, but don't expect that for the entire few months of summer. In Edmonton, I find the evenings are still cool enough in the summer for a sweater, unlike in, say, Ontario, where it stays warm at night.

    Also, I have no idea where slowpoke is getting his figures, but not everything costs a fortune in all of Canada. Up north, yeah, things are outrageously expensive, and property in the big cities certainly isn't cheap (as I'm sure it's not in the big cities in Texas), but overall our cost of living is lower than Australia's and you can definitely live off 4k a month. As I'm sure you know, the oil/gas and mining industries pay pretty handsomely too.

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    Default Re: Calling all Canadians

    Thank you so much coma288 and Shanna!
    It's our rental limit which is $4k/month, we are lucky to spend less than $12k/month on 'living'.
    I can't stand living in the city. We have just moved from an outback town 4 hours from civilisation, with less than 1,000 people, to a town with 80,000 people and it's a bit too much.
    A quiet mountain home sounds wonderful!

    Hubby already works away and we are prepared for him to continue working away from home.
    We did notice the large amount of jobs being advertised and I suggested that they may have had mass layoffs recently, which is what they do here. Lay off 100 staff, only to advertise their position a week later.
    Mining is also a cyclical industry. Coal is in a gloom, while oil & gas are on the boom, here.
    Fortunately Hubby has been lucky to keep his job through the past 3 years of mass layoffs.
    Last edited by BronzedAussie; 07-26-2015 at 07:58 AM.

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    Default Re: Calling all Canadians

    I know the oil and gas guys work on rotations with 7 days off, 21 days on for example. I don't recommend Alberta or Saskatchewan you will freeze! if commuting is possible, Come to Vancouver or the suburbs, it rarely gets below 0 in winter but snow is still possible for a couple of weeks before turning to slush and rain. White Christmas doesn't happen on a yearly basis but sometimes we get lucky
    It rains a lot here but it's not cold. Summer (from June to September) it's mostly sunny with temps in the mid twenties, and it stays warm through the night. It startes raining in October and doesn't stop until summer starts, with a week or two of snow.

    There is quite a large Australian population here too. Vancouver is beautiful, close to the mountains and ocean!

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    Default Re: Calling all Canadians

    I don't live in Canada, but I've heard Vancouver is a great city to live in.

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    Default Re: Calling all Canadians

    ^It's also the most expensive city to live in Canada.

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    Default Re: Calling all Canadians

    Quote Originally Posted by shanna dior View Post
    ^It's also the most expensive city to live in Canada.
    This ^^

    For what I was paying for a huge two-bedroom in Edmonton, my friend was basically renting a closet in Vancouver.

    Personally I think Van is overrated- I know people who live there love it and talk about the "warm winters" but I can't deal with rain. I feel like the humidity makes it different too. Alberta/Sask etc are so dry that temperature doesn't mean a lot. Vancouver doesn't often get cold, but -10 in Vancouver is COLD because of the humidity. -20, 25 here is actually bearable as long as you have a decent jacket on.

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