Canada

[theapportioner]

Achimp and other canadians, could you tell me a little about your fine country? Esp. housing costs, benefits, civil rights, job prospects etc.

[Sethomas]

As a cephalothoracopagus, I object to being labelled as non-viable.

[Ricky Glue]

The only things I know about Canada are as follows-

1. Housing costs aren't bad at all. If you're not in a major city, land is FUCKIN cheap. Less than 30k for a single family home with 5-10 acres.

2. Gas prices are ridiculously high. Somehwere in the area of 5 dollars a gallon. Also, cigarette prices are also very expensive.

3. Crime and violence in Canada is so low it makes a corn field in Iowa look like Baltimore City.

4. Certain cities in Canada are not friendly toward Americans, so thus stay away from those designated areas to avoid racism at it's best.

Thats all I know...anyone feel free to add some information.

[Alive]

5. canada has also been well known to provide an "optimal solution" for those americans wanting to avoid a "draft"

[FS]

4. Certain cities in Canada are not friendly toward Americans, so thus stay away from those designated areas to avoid racism at it's best.

Once again, Americans are not a race, stupid. I hate it when people throw the word racism around because discrimination is too complex for them.

[Anonymous]

Really, Ricky. Give us a few generations before you go classifying Americans like that. Assuming we haven't blown ourselves off the map or provoked someone else into doing it, you'll start to notice a more hunched-over posture and pronounced frontal lobe in the next few centuries, I'd wager.

[FartinMowler]

It's a nice place to live if you have a occupation that is viable.

[AChimp]

Housing is fairly cheap unless you move to BC or the Toronto/Montreal area (simply a case of supply and demand). For example, here in Winnipeg, you can get an nice apartment for $500 where the same would cost around $1200 in Toronto. I have never heard of a 5-10 acre lot going for $30K, but I guess that it is possible... if the house is only slightly better than a shack.

Civil rights, etc. are all the same as in the U.S, as far as I know. Except for guns, there aren't really any major differences. Anything you can buy in the U.S. is basically available in Canadian stores. Gas and cigarettes are expensive because of the taxes on them.

As for job prospects, those a little different. The smaller areas where housing is cheap don't offer all that much, which is why prices are so high in the big cities. For a decent chance at a good job, you definitely want to go to Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto or Montreal, but that doesn't mean there isn't stuff available in other parts of the country.

I don't know what the rules are for foreigners getting jobs, though. To qualify for healthcare, you definitely have to be a citizen, I think (or at least dual citizenship).

Anti-Americanism is common, but it's hardly what I would call unfriendly. It's usually just "Bush is so dumb that <insert punchline here>."

[Zebra 3]

http://images.bravenet.com/common/images/smilies/canada.gif - Starsky in Canada (http://starskytorino.com/franksharib/franksharib.html).

[Bass]

What good colleges are in Canada?

[AChimp]

What subject area?

[Cosmo Electrolux]

perverse sexual practices. I headed for a masters.

[AChimp]

Ah, then you want the University of Guelph. There isn't a more fitting euphemism for perverts and sickos than "Guelph."

[Miss Modular]

For example, here in Winnipeg, you can get an nice apartment for $500 where the same would cost around $1200 in Toronto.

Is that in US or Canadian Dollars? Cause if it's US, I could swing it.

[soundtest]

Civil rights, etc. are all the same as in the U.S, as far as I know. Except for guns, there aren't really any major differences.

I disagree. Besides issues with firearms, Canadian law is much more relaxed than U.S. law, especially when it comes to drugs.

With employment (especially IT), expect to make significantly less here than you would in the U.S., but the cost of living is generally lower.

Canada's much boasted about healthcare system is great if you don't mind waiting 8 hours in the emergency room (fatal injuries the exception).

Personally, I think Canada is a frozen shithole, but despite that there is no way I'd ever live in the U.S. over here. If you do move here you want to live in either Vancouver, Toronto, or Montreal, in that order. Everywhere else is so desolate you'll end up killing yourself.

[Bass]

I plan on majoring in broadcasting/communications, so I need a college that would be good for that.

[ziggytrix]

Canada's much boasted about healthcare system is great if you don't mind waiting 8 hours in the emergency room (fatal injuries the exception).

Our private hospitals aren't much better, if your emergency isn't of the bleeding to death vriety. At least, I had to wait for 4 hours before they could even have a nurse look at me when I had to go for what I was scared might have been appendicitus.

Turns out it was just a kidney stone, and I could have not gone, bought some street-variety painkillers and saved myself about $5,000 USD. :(

[AChimp]

Soundtest is right on all counts. I tend to take a lot of things for granted when comparing the two countries.

I don't think that everything outside of V/T/M is desolate, though. Maybe if you are used to living in a really big city, but places like Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton are good places to live with a decent amount of services (Calgary especially likes to act like a big city) and they are much cheaper. Admittedly, there aren't as many job opportunities outside of V/T/M.

Mod: That was $500 in Canadian dollars.

[Royal Tenenbaum]

Being a Canadian currently living in Los Angeles (thankfully only for 2 months, so I can get out of America The Target) I can say the following things:

1. Canada is better if you are not an ignorant, conservative douche-bag. Also, if you like being scared of terrorists even though you live in a cornfield, stay in America.

2. Gas is EXACTLY the same price! Our gas is like 80 cents a litre, CANADIAN. That is 64 cents American a litre, and 3.8 litres make a gallon, so it's 2.43 dollars a gallon. About $2.25 is how much gas costs in Los Angeles.

3. Canada is much more liberal. Sometimes for the good - gays can marry in Manitoba and 4 other provinces, pot is looked at as being pretty mild in terms of crime. Sometimes for the bad - occasionally someone gets a really, really miniscule sentence for beating a person to death with a pool ball in a sock. There are pro's and con's, but, from what I can tell, the pro's outweigh the cons immensely.

4. Housing is insanely cheap in Winnipeg compared to most cities. In LA I split a $1200 cnd (about $975AMR) rent, where in Winnipeg I could get the same place for about $600 cnd in an ok area. Obliviously every city has super shitty areas, but, comparatively, it's pretty good. You could live in some of the "bad" areas in Winnipeg and not be that worried about safety. In a "regular" neighbourhood there are the occasional crimes, but it's pretty damn low. People leave their doors unlocked in the day when there is more than one person at home.

5. In terms of jobs, move to Alberta, especially Calgary. It's the fast growing city in Canada and has the best economy.

6. If you are looking for places with stuff to do, move to New York or Los Angeles. Anywhere else you can basically get the same shit from any city with a million or more. Winnipeg has about 700,000 people, so you can see most films, and we get the occasional good concert. Also, there are lots of restaurants.

7. If you want to go to school, Canada Universities are generally really cheap. Those of us on the board that go to the University of Manitoba pay about $3500 a year with books and get a decent enough degree.

8. The only places that would be against Americans in Canada would be certain parts of Quebec, but those places have problems with CANADIANS! If you come to any other place, bad mouth Bush a bit, people will love you and your money. :)

9. Why don't you just come visit a Canadian city for a bitand find out for yourselves, damn it?

[ScruU2wice]

someone told me canada isn't accepting anymore immigrants...

[Royal Tenenbaum]

Ha.

[Burger Lord]

I dunno, I think having hordes of angry americans flooding across the border may piss of the canadians a bit more than poeple realize. If it does work, I would think it to be some republican plot to get rid of all the democrats by sending them north. If it dosen't work, then we'll just create an illegal immigrant network rivaling that of the american mexican border with more and more americans taking away all of your jobs causing hate-filled redneck canadians to multiply in hatred, ...then you will be just like us


you guys really don't have conservatives? ...amazing..

[AChimp]

Well, see, there's the rub. People typically don't emigrate from a first world country to another first world country, so all of Canada's immigrants are refugees, etc. Same deal as immigration into the U.S.

There's permanent residency, though... Pub probably knows more about how this kind of stuff works. He's a Brit that frelled off to New Zealand to live with the jungle tribes.

[AChimp]

you guys really don't have conservatives? ...amazing..

Canada has conservatives, but they are still liberal when compared to Republicans. In the past couple of elections, though, they have been moving further and further right, with some crazy fundie elements trickling in.

[Burger Lord]

Does God regularly talk to your conservatives?

[Royal Tenenbaum]

No, and also, they rarely get more than 20% of the popular vote. Also, when they fuck up, they get punished harsh. Our last Conservative Government, in the late 80s, went from a majority of about 200 seats to about 6 seats after they fucked up. But in modern terms, if Bush had been our President, there would be about 10 Republicans in the House.

[AChimp]

It was 2 seats.

[Zebra 3]

:) - Chimp's right, it was from two consecutive PC majorities to a humiliating defeat of two seats and it's worth noting that Prime Minister Brian Mulroney left before the election with a historical low approval rating of 15%. Election night was then described by Pres. Bubba as "breath taking."

[center:dbdbdf806b]- Canadian Embassy, Washington D.C.: Visas and Immigration - (http://www.canadianembassy.org/immigration/index-en.asp)[/center:dbdbdf806b]

[AChimp]

To immigrate, there's a $500 application fee and a $975 landing tax, as well, on top of the six to 12-month waiting period.

[AChimp]

And I think you have to take a course on how to be a Canadian.

[ScruU2wice]

you're setting yourself up for a canada joke, achimp..

[Sethomas]

Like, "yeah, I already took that, except we here call it 4-H"